Figure 2.

Body composition, histological, and adipogenic gene expression analyses of 12-wk-old wild-type and Gdf3^−/− mice. A, Mass of dissected organs and fat depots represented as a percentage of body weight. The normal diet-induced increase in white adipose depot mass seen in wild-type mice was not observed for the Gdf3^−/− mice. Muscle and small intestines (SI) were weighed only from mice on high-fat diet. An asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). n = 6–8 for each group. B, Representative histological appearance of retroperitoneal fat. In wild-type regular diet panel, bar is 100 μm. C, Quantification of adipocyte cell surface area. The typical finding of diet-induced adipocyte hypertrophy was not observed in Gdf3^−/− mice fed high-fat diet (n = 6–8 for each group). D, Expression analyses of the effect of GDF3 deficiency on adipogenesis markers in whole white adipose tissue (n = 4). HFD, High-fat diet; repro, inguinal/parametrial; retro, retroperitoneal; sub, subscapular; supra, suprascapular.