Context: Excessive eating and intake of a Western diet negatively affect the intestinal immune system, resulting in compromised glucose homeostasis and lower gut bacterial diversity. The G protein-coupled receptor GPR183 regulates immune cell migration and intestinal immune response and has been associated with tuberculosis, type 1 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel diseases.
Objective: We hypothesized that with these implications, GPR183 has an important immunometabolic role and investigated this using a global Gpr183 knockout mouse model.
Methods: Wild-type (WT) and Gpr183-deficient (Gpr183-/-) mice were fed a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HFSD) for 15 weeks. We investigated changes in weight, body composition, fecal immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels, fecal microbiome, and glucose tolerance before and after the diet. Macrophage infiltration into visceral fat was determined by flow cytometry, and hepatic gene expression was measured.
Results: A sexual dimorphism was discovered, whereby female Gpr183-/- mice showed adverse metabolic outcomes compared to WT counterparts with inferior glucose tolerance, lower fecal IgA levels, and increased macrophage infiltration in visceral fat. In contrast, male Gpr183-/- mice had significantly lower fasting blood glucose after diet than male WT mice. Liver gene expression showed reduced inflammation and macrophage markers in Gpr183-/- livers, regardless of sex, while the pancreatic islet area did not differ between the groups. No conclusive differences were found after microbiome sequencing.
Conclusion: Gpr183 maintains metabolic homeostasis in female but not in male mice independent of diet. If confirmed in humans, future therapy targeting GPR183 should consider this sexual dimorphism.
Keywords: G protein–coupled receptor; GPR183; Gpr183 knockout mouse; high-fat; high-sucrose diet; oxysterols; sexual dimorphism.
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society.