Germline deletion of Krüppel-like factor 14 does not increase risk of diet induced metabolic syndrome in male C57BL/6 mice

The transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 14 (KLF14) has been associated with type 2 diabetes and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) through genome-wide association studies. The mechanistic underpinnings of KLF14's control of metabolic processes remain largely unknown. We studied the physiological roles of KLF14 in a knockout (KO) mouse model. Male whole body Klf14 KO mice were fed a chow or high fat diet (HFD) and diet induced phenotypes were analyzed. Additionally, tissue-specific expression of Klf14 was determined using RT-PCR, RNA sequencing, immunoblotting and whole mount lacZ staining. Finally, the consequences of KLF14 loss-of-function were studied using RNA sequencing in tissues with relatively high Klf14 expression levels. KLF14 loss-of-function did not affect HFD-induced weight gain or insulin resistance. Fasting plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, cholesterol, HDL-C and ApoA-I were also comparable between Klf14+/+ and Klf14−/− mice on chow and HFD. We found that in mice expression of Klf14 was the highest in the anterior pituitary (adenohypophysis), lower but detectable in white adipose tissue and undetectable in liver. Loss of KLF14 function impacted on the pituitary transcriptome with extracellular matrix organization as the primary affected pathway and a predicted link to glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Whole body loss of KLF14 function in male mice does not result in metabolic abnormalities as assessed under chow and HFD conditions. Mostly likely there is redundancy for the role of KLF14 in the mouse and a diverging function in humans. •Loss of KLF14 function does not affect diet-induced obesity phenotypes in male mice.•KLF14 expression is undetectable in adult mouse liver.•KLF14 is highly expressed in mouse adenohypophysis.•Loss of KLF14 function impacts on the pituitary transcriptome.