Endocrine diseases including hypothyroidism and diabetes show abnormalities in many different organs and tissues. To detect and identify of proteins related to the diseases, we have searched for in various tissues of animal models. (1) The rdw rat with hereditary dwarfism and hypothyroidism: Pituitary, pancreas, adrenal, thyroid and submandibular glands among 12 tissues inspected showed abnormalities in protein contents. Abnormalities in the rdw thyroid gland were far more serious than in the

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... her tissues. Decrease of thyroglobulin contents and accumulation of ER molecular chaperone proteins (BiP and GRP94) in the rdw thyroid suggest that thyroglobulin folding and secreting disorder underlie the hypothyroidism of the rdw rat. (2) The ob and db mice with hereditary diabetes: Liver, pancreas, spleen, atrium, small intestine, visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT) among 17 tissues inspected showed abnormalities in protein contents. In particular, abnormalities in the liver and the two adipose tissues both in the ob/ob and db/db mice were more serious than in the other tissues. At least 10 and 24 protein levels in the ob/ob and db/db liver, respectively, were above, and 39 and 36, respectively, were below the normal. Such liver abnormalities in these obese mice suggest that obesity is an important factor affecting liver metabolism.