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Abstract
As in man, obesity is a risk factor for many diseases including diabetes mellitus. The cat is an important and unique model for the study of obesity and its progression to diabetes. Recently, tissue specific regulation of glucose metabolism in fat and muscle has been identified as an important factor for insulin sensitivity and it has been hypothesized that glucose uptake into tissues is altered in obesity causing insulin resistance. Seventeen cats were tested in the lean state and again after a 6 month period of ad libitum food intake which led to a significant increase in weight (p < 0.0001). The Glut4 expression was significantly decreased in both muscle (p< 0.01) and adipose tissue (p<0.001), respectively, in the obese cats. Glut1 expression showed no significant change in the obese cats in either muscle or adipose tissue.