Identifying circadian transcripts in human subcutaneous adipose tissue

The circadian system regulates many biological processes, including the transcriptome. An issue with human research is that serial sampling of tissues is difficult, and thus a temporal profile of the transcriptome is hard to generate. Using a technique developed at Surrey, biopsies of subcutaneous adipose tissue could be taken over multiple time points in one individual under highly controlled laboratory conditions. This study aimed to discover if the transcriptome of human subcutaneous adipose tissue was under circadian regulation, and whether key metabolic processes were under circadian variation. For each participant, 5 subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies were taken at 6-hourly intervals. Biopsies were taken under the highly controlled conditions of a constant routine, used in the field of chronobiology. Each participant had followed a strict sleep/wake and meal schedule prior to the biopsies.