Impact of changing mice housing temperature on glucocorticoids' effects on different adipose tissue depots

Elevated serum concentrations of glucocorticoids (GCs) result in excessive lipid accumulation in white adipose tissue (WAT) as well as dysfunction of thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT) – ultimately leading to the development of obesity and metabolic disease. Here, we examined the impact of cold exposure on the adverse metabolic effects of chronic GC exposure on adipose tissue in rodents. Male 10-week-old C57BL/6NRj mice were treated with corticosterone (GC) via drinking water or placebo (Ctrl) for 4 weeks while being maintained at 22°C (room temperature) or 13°C (cold temperature). Gene expression of 3 adipose tissue depots [interscapular BAT (iBAT), gonadal WAT (gWAT), subcutaneous WAT (sWAT)] was analysed via RNA seq.