Molecular Biology Commons^™

Liver-Specific Expression Of The Agouti Gene In Transgenic Mice Promotes Liver Carcinogenesis In The Absence Of Obesity And Diabetes, Alexander I. Kuklin, Randall L. Mynatt, Mitchell L. Klebig, Laura L. Kiefer, William O. Wilkison, Richard P. Woychik, Edward J. Michaud

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Background

The agouti protein is a paracrine factor that is normally present in the skin of many species of mammals. Agouti regulates the switch between black and yellow hair pigmentation by signalling through the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) on melanocytes. Lethal yellow (A^y) and viable yellow (A^vy) are dominant regulatory mutations in the mouse agouti gene that cause the wild-type protein to be produced at abnormally high levels throughout the body. Mice harboring these mutations exhibit a pleiotropic syndrome characterized by yellow coat color, obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and increased susceptibility to hyperplasia and carcinogenesis …