Obesity-dependent dysregulation of glucose homeostasis in kinase suppressor of ras 2^-/- mice

Disruption of KSR2 in humans and mice decreases metabolic rate and induces obesity, coincident with dysregulation of glucose homeostasis. Relative to wild-type mice, ksr2^-/- mice are small prior to weaning with normal glucose tolerance at 6 weeks of age, but demonstrate excess adiposity by 9 weeks and glucose intolerance by 12-14 weeks. Defects in AICAR tolerance, a measure of whole-body AMPK activation, are detectable only when ksr2^-/- mice are obese. Food restriction prevents the obesity of adult ksr2^-/- mice and normalizes glucose and AICAR sensitivity. Obesity and glucose intolerance return when ad lib feeding is restored to the diet-restricted mice, indicating that glucose dysregulation is secondary to obesity in ksr2^-/- mice. The phenotype of C57BL/6 ksr2^-/- mice, including obesity and obesity-related dysregulation of glucose homeostasis, recapitulates that of humans with KSR2 mutations, demonstrating the applicability of the C57BL/6 ksr2^-/- mouse model to the study of the pathogenesis of human disease. These data implicate KSR2 as a physiological regulator of glucose metabolism during development affecting energy sensing, insulin signaling, and lipid storage, and demonstrate the value of the C57BL/6 ksr2^-/- mouse model as a unique and relevant model system in which to develop and test therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and obesity-related metabolic disorders.