FIG. 7.

A: Serum adiponectin levels at 20 weeks in WT or RAGE^−/− mice fed either with normal (N) or high-fat (HF) diet. B: Insulin tolerance test was done in WT (n = 9; 18.0 ± 1.3 weeks of age) or RAGE^−/− mice (n = 8; 18.1 ± 1.4 weeks of age) fed with normal diet as described in Research Design and Methods. Mice were injected with insulin (2.0 units/kg for mice) intraperitoneally after a 6-h fast. Blood samples were taken at indicated time points, and blood glucose levels were determined. Reproducible results were obtained in another set of experiments. C: Total RNA was isolated from epididymal adipose tissues obtained from WT or RAGE^−/− mice fed either with N or HF diet at 15 or 20 weeks of age. mRNA levels of corresponding Glut4, FABP4, PPARγ, and adiponectin were determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. mRNA expression levels of each mouse gene were determined by a comparative Ct method using 18S ribosomal RNA as endogenous reference, and mRNA level of WT/N at 15 weeks was expressed as 100%. Columns represent mean ± SD. Numbers of animals are shown in parentheses. *P < 0.05 vs. WT mice, §P < 0.1 vs. WT, Student t test.