Transcriptome signature of white adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle in 24 hours fasted mice (C57Bl/6J)

Fasting is the process of metabolic adaption to food deprivation that is taking place in most organisms, e.g. during the daily resting phase in mammals. Furthermore, in biomedical research fasting is used in most metabolic studies to synchronize nutritional states of study subjects. Because there is a lack of standardization for this procedure, we need a deeper understanding of the dynamics and the molecular players in fasting. In this study we investigated the transcriptome signature of white adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle in 24 hours fasted mice (and chow fat controls) using Affymetrix whole-genome microarrays. Food was withdrawn from the fasting group at the beginning of the light phase (9 a.m.) when mice are in their inactive phase. Mice were sacrificed 24 hours later by cervical dislocation. Chow-fed controls had ad libitium access to food during this time. Edidymal white adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle were dissected out, shock frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C.