Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) of brown adipose tissue from postnatal day 12 mice perinatally exposed to vehicle or DDT

The insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its persistent metabolite, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), have been associated with increased adiposity and obesity in rodent and human studies. These lipophilic pollutants accumulate in adipose tissue and it is theorized that their exposure leads to decreased decrease energy expenditure through the impairment of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. We hypothesized that impaired thermogenesis is due to persistent epigenetic modifications of brown adipose tissue. To address this, we exposed C57BL/6J mice to DDT from gestational day 11.5 to postnatal day 5 and isolated brown adipose tissue for RRBS from one offspring per litter when mice reached postnatal day 12 (n=20 DDT litters and 22 vehicle litters). DNA methylation levels in brown adipose tissue of mice perinatally exposed to vehicle or DDT were determined using RRBS. Analyses of differential methylation and KEGG pathway enrichment were performed. Overall design: RRBS was conducted on brown adipose tissue samples of postnatal day 12 mice perinatally exposed to DDT or vehicle (n=12 DDT, n=12 vehicle)