is dispensable for normal fat deposition in mice.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have detected association between variants in or near the () locus and metabolic traits, including central obesity, fatty liver and waist-to-hip ratio. is also known to be upregulated in the adipose tissue of obese patients. However, the physiological role of is not understood. To investigate the function of we investigated the phenotype of the homozygous mouse. Body composition was unaltered in knockout mice as assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning, both on normal chow and on a high-fat diet. Adipose tissue distribution between visceral and subcutaneous fat depots was unaltered, with no change in adipocyte cell size. The response to both insulin and glucose dosing was normal in homozygous mice, with normal fasting blood glucose concentrations. RNAseq analysis of liver, muscle and adipose tissue confirmed that expression was ablated with minimal additional changes in gene expression. These results suggest that is dispensable for normal mouse metabolic physiology and that despite having been maintained through evolution is not an essential gene, suggesting possible functional redundancy. Further studies will be required to clarify its physiological role.