Technologies

People with familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH) are hypertriglyceridemic and hypercholesterolemic, and often go on to develop type II diabetes mellitus in middle age. Current FCH mouse models resulting from crosses of genetically altered “knockout” mice, show hyperlipidemia, but do not exhibit other characteristics of the disorder. UW-Madison researchers have developed a population of California mice that is an excellent model for familial combined hyperlipidemia and related disorders in humans. They discovered a colony of California mice ( Peromyscus californicus ) that, like humans with FCH, becomes hyperlipidemic and eventually diabetic when fed a high fat diet. Some California mice also show elevated levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, and develop hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance after 12 weeks on this diet. Susceptibility to these metabolic abnormalities varies considerably within the population and is passed on to offspring. The researchers plan to selectively breed California mice that show either high or low triglyceride and cholesterol responses to dietary fat.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in a mouse model for familial combined hyperlipidemia.