mRNA Sequencing Analysis of Subcutanous White Adipose Tissue Transcriptomes from Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and Sham-operated WT-Mice

Purpose: VSG has leads to a restructuring of WAT anantomy and physiology. The study aimed to understand how the (rhythmic) transcriptome is affected by these changes, especially in regard to metabolism and circadian clock genes. Methods: Animals were fed HFD for approx. 10 weeks to be considered overweight (ca. 35g body weight). 32 animals underwent either sham or VSG surgery. After 3-4 days of postoperative care with liquid diet and analgetic treatment, subcutanous WAT biopsies from Zeitgeber time 1, 7, 13, and 19 were collected 9 days after surgery. mRNA sequencing was conducted with Illumina HiSeq 2000 and rhythm analysis of filtered genes performed with JTK_CYCLE. Results: We found a reduction of cycling genes after VSG (sham: 2,493 vs. VSG: 1,013) in parallel to a reduced amplitude of cycling genes shared between VSG and sham animals (paired t-test p < 0.05) independent of the expression of core clock genes. Genes associated with lipid metabolic pathways (fatty acid breakdown and lipogenesis) showed altered circadian regulation. Conclusions: We found VSG to reorganize WAT rhythmic transcriptome in a specific manner independent of the core clock machinery. White adipose tissue mRNA profiles 9 days after surgical intervention at 4 time points across the day with each 4 animals per group (n = 16 / group)