Prospective analyses of white adipose tissue gene expression in relation to long-term body weight changes

The aim of this study was to investigate transcriptome signatures in human subcutaneous white adipose tissue (sWAT) before and after long-term weight changes and assess their predictive value for body weight change. Long-term body weight change in adult women associates with altered sWAT transcriptome. Expression of genes associated with inflammation, insulin response, adipogenesis and lipogenesis are linked to weight loss. However, other pathways such as protein homeostasis not only associate with but also predict future weight gain suggesting that intrinsic factors in sWAT impact tissue expansion. A total of 56 women were followed longitudinally and subdivided into weight-stable (n=25), weight-gaining (n=14) and weight-losing (n=17) groups between baseline and follow-up (13±1 years). The subdivision is based on a cut-off for weight change between baseline and follow-up of ≥7%. Follow-up sWAT sample was missing for one weight-stable woman. The fasting sWAT transcriptome was analyzed by gene microarray at baseline and follow-up. Key genes associated with weight changes were validated using quantitative real-time PCR.