Targeted disruption of the trehalase gene: determination of the digestion and absorption of trehalose in trehalase-deficient mice

Trehalose has been shown to inhibit bone loss in ovariectomized (OVX) female mice and excessive osteoclastogenesis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injected mice. These facts suggest that there may be select physiological functions for trehalose. Since orally administrated trehalose is digested to glucose by a specific digestive enzyme, trehalase, trehalase-free experimental animals are necessary to study the physiological roles of trehalose in detail. Therefore, we generated trehalase-deficient (treh −/−) mice using the gene-targeting procedure, and an oral trehalose tolerance test revealed that while the blood glucose level increased rapidly in wild-type mice, it was unchanged in treh −/− mice. Thus, these results demonstrate that there is no alternative enzyme for trehalase and suggest that the treh −/− mice are a useful tool to analyze mechanisms of trehalose action on osteoclastogenesis, and the physiological functions of trehalose and trehalase.