House musk shrew, Suncus murinus: a novel and natural obesity-resistant animal model
SHUANG-QIN YI1*, JUN LI2*, NING QU2, HENG-XIAO WANG2, MASAHIRO ITOH2, TAKESHI YAMAGUCHI1, SEN-ICHI ODA3, AND NORIYUKI OZAKI1
1Department of Anatomy and Neuroembryology, University of Kanazawa, Kanazawa, 2Department of Anatomy, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, 3Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. *Yi S.Q. and Li J. contributed equally to this manuscript

Background and aims: Obesity is the principal risk factor for metabolic syndrome. The establishment of an appropriate animal model is urgently required to elucidate the mechanisms of visceral fat accumulation, metabolic syndrome and to develop therapeutic strategies. In the present study, we investigated a novel and natural obesity-resistant animal model, the house musk shrew, Suncus murinus. Methods: Ten male Suncus murinus were employed to investigate the body weight, body mass index (BMI), and plasma glucose levels. Besides, five male Suncus murinus were employed to measure visceral fat accumulation by in vivo micro-computerized tomography (micro-CT) during gradual aging. Thirteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were employed as control animals (n=10, n=3, respectively). Results: Body weight hardly changed during aging from 2-month to 12-month-old, and less visceral fat accumulation, especially mesenteric fat accumulation, occurred until old age in Suncus murinus. BMI and micro-CT measurement showed the same results; the rate of visceral fat accumulation in 1-year-old shrews was only 2.93% and was considerable lower than in 1-year-old rats (36.03%). Conclusions: It was suggested that Suncus murinus is a suitable and efficacious model to investigate obesity and metabolic syndrome, particularly the mechanism of obesity resistance. Obesity and Metabolism 2010; 6: 22-28.

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