Diet induced gene expression in rat peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Gene expression of rat peripheral blood mononuclear cells was analyzed by microarray analysis in normoweight and in diet-induced obese rats (cafeteria rats). The aim of this study was to identify genes involved in energy homeostasis that are altered in the obese state. Keywords: Dietary treatment, obese-state analysis This study analyzed the gene expression of PBMC in normoweight and in diet-induced obese (cafeteria-fed) Wistar rats submitted to ad libitum feed conditions. Two-month-old male Wistar rats (n=10) were assigned into two dietary groups for 4 months: the control group (n=5) was fed with a standard chow diet, whereas the second group (cafeteria group, n=5) was fed with a fat-rich hypercaloric cafeteria diet in addition to the standard chow. At 6 months of age, blood samples were collected in feeding conditions from the safena vein. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated by Ficoll gradient separation, and RNA was extracted. One sample in the control group was excluded because of a low amount of RNA. Gene expression changes were assessed using an Agilent rat whole genome microarray (G4131F Agilent Technologies).