A dysregulation in CES1, APOE and other lipid metabolism-related genes is associated to cardiovascular risk factors linked to obesity.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the differential expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in subcutaneous adipose tissue and metabolic syndrome features in lean and obese subjects with habitual high fat intake.


METHODS
Microarray and RT-PCR analysis were used to analyze and validate differential gene expression in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue samples from lean and obese phenotype subjects.


RESULTS
Several genes and transcripts involved in lipolysis were down-regulated, such as AKAP1, PRKAR2B, Gi and CIDEA, whereas NPY1R and CES1 were up-regulated, when comparing obese to lean subjects. Similarly, transcripts associated with cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism showed a differential expression, with APOE and ABCA being decreased and VLDLR being increased in obese versus lean subjects. In addition, positive correlations were found between different markers of the metabolic syndrome and CES1 and NPY1R mRNA expressions, while APOE showed an inverse association with some of them.


CONCLUSIONS
Different expression patterns in transcripts encoding for proteins involved in lipolysis and lipoprotein metabolism were found between lean and obese subjects. Moreover, the dysregulation of genes such as CES1 and APOE seems to be associated with some physiopathological markers of insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors in obesity.
Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences, Physiology and Toxicology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
M Pilar
MP
Marrades
Pedro
P
González-Muniesa
J Alfredo
JA
Martínez
María J
MJ
Moreno-Aliaga
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000328:Adult; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D009765:Obesity / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D055815:Young Adult
D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases; C474609:CES1 protein, human