Subcutaneous and gonadal adipose tissue transcriptome differences in lean and obese female dogs

Adipose, once considered an inert storage depot, is now known to be an active endocrine tissue involved in total body homeostasis and metabolism, which exerts effects on multiple systems including food intake, immune function, and blood glucose regulation. Adipose tissue depots are known to have unique metabolic and gene expression profiles in vivo and when cultured in vitro. Differences in adipose tissue depot function could be important in determining chronic disease risk. Few comparisons of depot gene expression have been performed in the dog. Utilizing microarray technology, our objective was to identify differentially expressed genes and enriched functional pathways between subcutaneous and gonadal adipose of lean and obese dogs. Subcutaneous and gonadal adipose tissue samples were collected from 9 intact female beagles (4 yr-old; 4 lean controls; 5 obese ad libitum-fed) after 24 wk of ad libitum feeding.