A long-term high fat diet induces differential gene expression changes in spatially distinct adipose tissue of male mice.

Abstract

The accumulation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In contrast, individuals with increased subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) without corresponding increases in VAT are associated with a metabolic healthy obese phenotype. These observations implicate dysfunctional VAT as a driver of disease processes, warranting investigation into obesity-induced alterations of distinct adipose depots. To determine the effects of obesity on adipose gene expression, male mice (n=4) were fed a high fat diet to induce obesity or a normal laboratory diet (lean controls) for 12-14 months. Mesenteric VAT and inguinal SAT were isolated for bulk RNA-sequencing. AT from lean controls served as a reference to obesity-induced changes. The long-term high fat diet induced the expression of 169 and 814 unique genes in SAT and VAT, respectively. SAT from obese mice exhibited 308 differentially expressed genes (164 upregulated, 144 downregulated). VAT from obese mice exhibited 690 differentially expressed genes (262 genes upregulated, 428 downregulated). KEGG pathway and GO analyses revealed that metabolic pathways were upregulated in SAT vs. downregulated in VAT while inflammatory signaling was upregulated in VAT. We next determined common genes that were differentially regulated between SAT and VAT in response to obesity and identified four genes that exhibited this profile: elovl6 and kcnj15 were upregulated in SAT/downregulated in VAT while trdn and hspb7 were downregulated in SAT/ upregulated in VAT. We propose that these genes in particular should be further pursued to determine their roles in SAT vs. VAT with respect to obesity.