Fig 1.
Relationship between high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) concentration and contribution of HFCS to total energy intake.
Mice were administered increasing concentrations of HFCS, receiving 0.26, 1.05, 4.2, 16.8% HFCS between 4 and 7 weeks, respectively. The percent total energy from HFCS was calculated. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs (n = 6).
Fig 2.
Effect of food texture on body weight and food or drink intake of mice.
(A) Body weight, (B) cumulative total calorie intake, (C) cumulative water intake, and (D) cumulative calorie intake from solid food of mice fed hard or soft food, with or without 4.2% high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs. The asterisks indicate statistically significant differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; n = 5–8, Student’s t-test at each age bracket).
Fig 3.
Evaluation of μ-opioid with regard to the preference for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in mice.
Five-week-old mice were injected with 10 mg/kg naltrexone twice/day for 7 days. Food and drink intakes were measured. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs. The different letters indicate statistically significant differences (p < 0.05; n = 5–6, two-way ANOVA, Tukey-Kramer’s post-hoc testing).
Fig 4.
Effect of food texture on glucose and insulin metabolism.
(A) Blood glucose levels and (B) area under the curve for the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) in mice at 16 weeks of age. (C) Plasma insulin levels after stimulation with glucose for 15 min. (D) Blood glucose levels and (E) area under the curve for the insulin tolerance test (ITT) in mice at 17 weeks of age. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs. The asterisks indicate statistically significant differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; n = 5–9, Student’s t-test at each time point).
Fig 5.
Effect of food texture on pancreatic β-cell mass and insulin contents.
(A) Representative image of insulin-positive β-cells. Comparison of (B) β-cell mass and (C) insulin content in the pancreas. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs. (n = 5–8, Student’s t-test).
Table 1.
Relative organ weights (% of body weight).
Fig 6.
Expression profiles of genes regulating blood glucose in the liver.
Expression of (A) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pepck), (B) pyruvate carboxylase (Pc), (C) fibroblast growth factor 21 (Fgf21), and (D) insulin degrading enzyme (Ide) in the liver. Target gene expression was normalised to the expression of β-actin. (E) Urine protein-to-creatinine ratio. Data are expressed as the means ± SEs. (n = 5–8, Student’s t-test).
Table 2.
Biochemical parameters of the plasma and liver.