Fig. 6: Reduced sympathetic response of Gdf15-KO mice and thermogenesis gene expression in adipose tissue.

a The rectal temperature of Gdf15-KO and control mice monitored at 4 °C for 4 h (n = 10 per group). b The rectal temperature of Gdf15-KO and control mice at 4 °C and 25 °C (n = 10 per group). c The expression of genes of lipid catabolism and thermogenesis in the iWAT and BAT from Gdf15-KO and control mice, assessed by real-time RT–PCR (n = 5 per group). d The UCP1 immunohistochemistry of BAT and iWAT sections from Gdf15-KO and control mice. Scale bar, 200 μm. e Levels of serum norepinephrine and epinephrine before (basal) and 30 min after insulin (1 U/kg) injection to Gdf15-KO and control mice (n = 10 per group). f The real-time RT–PCR using mRNA from iWAT and BAT of Gdf15-KO and control mice and primers specific for indicated genes of catecholamine synthesis (n = 5 per group). g Blood glucose levels before (0) and after insulin (1 U/kg) injection to Gdf15-KO and control mice (n = 10 per group). h, i,The systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean BP (MBP) (h) and heart rate (i) of Gdf15-KO and control mice before (basal) and 60 min after insulin injection (n = 10 per group). All data are shown as means ± s.e.m. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-test.