Deletion of the nuclear receptor RORα in macrophages does not modify the development of obesity, insulin resistance and NASH

Abstract

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-alpha (RORα) is a transcription factor from the nuclear receptor family expressed by immune cells and involved in the development of obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It was recently reported that mice deficient for RORα in macrophages develop more severe NASH upon high fat diet (HFD) feeding due to altered Kupffer cell function. To better understand the role of RORα in obesity and IR, we independently generated a macrophage RORα-deficient mouse line. We report that RORα deletion in macrophages does not impact on HFD-induced obesity and IR. Surprisingly, we did not confirm an effect on NASH development upon HFD feeding nor in the more severe and obesity-independent choline-deficient, L-amino acid-defined diet model. Our results therefore show that RORα deletion in macrophages does not alter the development of obesity and IR and question its role in NASH.