Impact of Visceral Fat on Gene Expression Profile in Peripheral Blood Cells

We profiled gene expression in peripheral blood cells from 28 obese patients by microarray analysis and visceral fat accumulation caused the gene expression proliles especially in circadian rhythm, inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune response. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m2 according to the Japanese criteria and visceral fat area (VFA) was estimated by abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis. Subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, malignant diseases, and infectious diseases were excluded. Patients treated with statin and/or thiazolidinediones were also excluded.