LAUSR

Absent in Melanoma (AIM) 2, an HIN-200 domain family interferon inducible gene, is a cytosolic sensor for double-stranded DNA, forms the AIM2 inflammasome, and is a tumor suppressor gene. Lack of AIM2 increases the risk for cancers including liver cancer. We had earlier shown that mice with whole body deletion of AIM2 (AIM2-/-) exhibit increased body weight and total fat mass (without change in lean mass), visceral and subcutaneous adiposity, elevated fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerant test without significant change in food intake. To assess the effects of AIM2-/- on liver, we analyzed liver weight, gene expression and protein levels of key players of hepatic lipid metabolism in female wild type (WT) and AIM2-/- mice (14-month-old, n=7/group) on chow diet. Fatty acid oxidation in liver was determined by incubating 14 C-palmitate with liver lysate, and trapping and quantifying the 14 CO 2 generated from the 14 C-palmitate. We found that liver was enlarged in AIM2-/- mice compared to WT controls (liver weight 1.25±0.03 vs. 1.62±0.09 g, p Disclosure Z. Gong: None. R. Jiang: None. K. Su: None. E. Goetzman: None. H. Dong: None. R. Muzumdar: None.