The transcriptional basis of a developmental transition from brown to white adipose tissue.
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ABSTRACT: Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used to measure the levels of gene transcription in perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) in late gestation sheep fetuses (~ 2 weeks before birth) and in 12 week old lambs.
Project description:Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used to find regions enriched for the histone modifications, H3K27me3, H3K27ac and H3K4me3 in perirenal adipose tissue in late gestation sheep fetuses, (i.e.~ 2 weeks before birth) and 12 week old lambs. This was undertaken to investigate the epigenetic changes that occur as a result of development during this key period where the perirenal adipose tissue transitions from a primarily brown adipose tissue state to a primarily white adipose tissue state. The former tissue has a primary role in maintaining thermogenesis in new-born mammals while the latter acts as an energy storage vehicle that enhances survival when food is limiting. Both tissues are involved in maintaining energy homeostasis in adults and are strongly implicated in chronic metabolic diseases associated with obesity in humans. Little is known about this developmental process in terms of mechanism and changes in gene expression. This developmental contrast revealed that this developmental transition is associated with large changes in chromatin modifications associated with the morphological change of the tissue during this brief period.
Project description:Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used to find regions enriched for the histone modifications, H3K27ac in perirenal adipose tissue in late gestation sheep fetuses, (i.e.~ 2 weeks before birth) . This tissue has a primary role in maintaining thermogenesis in new-born mammals.
Project description:Brown and white adipose tissues are functionally and morphologically distinct. Theformer tissue has a primary role in maintaining thermogenesis in new born mammals while the latter acts as an energy storage vehicle that enhances survival when food is limiting. Both tissues are involved in maintaining energy homeostasis in adults and are strongly implicated in chronic metabolic diseases associated with obesity in humans. The perirenal adipose depot in sheep undergoes a relatively rapid transition from brown to white adipose tissue between late gestation and a few weeks after birth. However, little is known about this developmental process in terms of mechanism, changes in gene expression and epigenetic architecture. Citation: Tony Vuocolo, Aaron Statham, Denis C. Bauer, Sean McWilliam, Shalima Nair, Janna L Morrison, Song Zhang, Michael Buckley, Isabella C McMillen, Susan Clark, Ross L Tellam. "The epigenetic and transcriptional basis of the developmental transition from brown to white adipose tissue" ( submitted).
Project description:Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used to measure the levels of gene transcription in perirenal adipose tissue in late gestation sheep fetuses (~ 2 weeks before birth). Through the discovery of SNP in the population, allele specific expression was identified.
Project description:Expression data from Sheep longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle during development; fetal lambs (80, 100, 120 days gestation), new born lambs at birth (150 d) and lambs at 12 weeks (230 d) The fetal to neonatal developmental transition corresponds with profound changes in skeletal muscle function as it adapts to the new physiological demands of locomotion and postural support against gravity. The mechanisms underpinning this adaption process are unclear but are likely to be initiated by changes in hormone levels occurring during the major developmental transition. We tested the hypothesis that this period is associated with changes in the transcription of skeletal muscle genes, particularly genes involved in oxidative metabolism. Using an ovine model, transcriptional profiling was performed on longissimus dorsi skeletal muscle taken at three fetal developmental time points (80, 100 and 120 d of fetal development) as well as two postnatal time points, one within 3 days after birth and a second at 12 weeks of age. The developmental time course was dominated by large changes in the expression of 2471 genes during the period from late fetal development (120 d fetal development) to birth (within 1-3 days of birth). Analysis of the functions of the genes that were uniquely up-regulated in this period showed strong enrichment for oxidative metabolism and the TCA cycle indicating enhanced mitochondrial activity. Indeed, histological examination of tissues from these developmental time points directly demonstrated a marked increase in mitochondrial activity between the late fetal and early post-natal samples. The genes that were down-regulated in this period suggested de-emphasis of an array of biological functions including Wnt signaling, cell adhesion and differentiation. There were also changes in the expression of genes prior to this late fetal â postnatal transition and between the two postnatal time points that involved a variety of biological functions. It is concluded that there is substantial and coordinated changes in the transcription of a large number of genes in skeletal muscle which underpin the adaption of muscle to the new physiological demands in the postnatal environment. Microarrays were used for transcription profiling of skeletal muscle samples taken from fetal lambs (80, 100, 120 days gestation), new born lambs at birth (150 d) and lambs at 12 weeks (230 d) Sheep used in this experiment were bred from a research flock of Dorset/Suffolk/Rambouillet cross-bred sheep raised at Utah State University and cared for and euthanased for sample collection in accordance with the animal ethics guidelines of Utah State University (Utah, USA). Longissimus dorsi (LD) skeletal muscle samples were taken from fetal lambs at 80, 100 and 120 days of gestation, new born lambs within 1 to 3 days of birth (i.e. 150 days of development) and young lambs at 12 weeks of age (230 days of development). Three individuals were sampled at each developmental time
Project description:Worldwide, fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects 7 to 10% of pregnancies, or roughly 20.5 million infants, each year. FGR not only increases neonatal mortality and morbidity but also the risk of obesity in later life. Currently, the molecular mechanisms by which FGR "programs" an obese phenotype are not well understood. Studies demonstrate that FGR females are more prone to obesity compared to males; however, the molecular mechanisms that lead to the sexually dimorphic programming of FGR are not known. Thus, we hypothesized that FGR leads to the sexually dimorphic programming of preadipocytes and reduces their ability to differentiate into mature adipocytes. To test the hypothesis, we utilized a maternal hyperthermia-induced placental insufficiency to restrict fetal growth in sheep. We collected perirenal adipose tissue from male and female near-term FGR and normal-weight fetal lambs (N=4 in each group, 16 total), examined the preadipocytes' differentiation potential, and identified differential mRNA transcript expression in perirenal adipose tissue. Male FGR fetuses have lower cellular density compared to control male fetuses. However, no difference was observed in female FGR fetuses compared to control female fetuses. In addition, the ability of preadipocytes to differentiate into mature adipocytes with fat accumulation was impaired in male FGR fetuses, but this was not observed in female FGR fetuses. Finally, we examined the genes and pathways involved in the sexually dimorphic programming of obesity by FGR. On enrichment of differentially expressed genes in males compared to females, the Thermogenesis KEGG Pathway was downregulated, and the Metabolic and Steroid Biosynthesis KEGG pathways were upregulated. On enrichment of differentially expressed genes in male FGR compared to male control, the Steroid Biosynthesis KEGG Pathway was downregulated, and the PPAR Signaling KEGG pathway was upregulated. No pathways were altered in females in response to growth restriction in perirenal adipose tissue. Thus, the present study demonstrates a sexually dimorphic program in response to growth restriction in sheep fetal perirenal adipose tissue.
Project description:The period of development from the last two weeks of gestation through the first two weeks of life spans a period of great functional and metabolic challenge to the fetal and neonatal lamb heart. Important changes in gene expression occur to meet these challenges. On this study, septa from sheep hearts at 130 days gestation (n=6), term (n=8, gestational lenght is around 145 days) and 14-days-old lambs (n=8) were used to model the changes in gene expression patterns during the perinatal period using Agilent 15k ovine microarrays. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) determined five major patterns of co-expressed and functionally related genes during this critical period of cardiac transition. Septum samples from the heart were collected from non-treated fetuses at 130 days of gestational age (GA130d, n=6) and term (n=8); and from naturally born 14-days-old lambs (Lamb, n=8). None of the ewes suffered gestational diseases or showed signs of impending labor.
Project description:In sheep, differences were observed regarding fat accumulation and fatty acid composition between males and females, which may impact the quality and organoleptic characteristics of the meat. The analysis of omics technologies is a relevant approach for investigating biological and genetic mechanisms associated with complex traits. Here, the perirenal tissue of six male and six female Assaf suckling lambs was evaluated using RNA sequencing.
Project description:Maternal nutrition during different stages of pregnancy can induce significant changes in the structure, physiology, and metabolism of the offspring. These changes could have important implications on food animal production especially if these perturbations impact muscle and adipose tissue development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different maternal diets on the transcriptome of fetal tissues in sheep. Ewes were bred to a single sire and from days 67 ± 3 of gestation until necropsy (days 130 ± 1), they were fed one of three isoenergetic diets: alfalfa haylage (H; fiber), corn (C; starch), or dried corn distillers grains (D; fiber plus protein plus fat). Longissimus dorsi (M), subcutaneous adipose depot (S), and perirenal adipose depot (R) tissues from individual fetuses were pooled and then analyzed by RNA sequencing. A total of 26 fetuses were removed from 15 dams. From the fetuses three different tissues were collected including one muscle, longissimus dorsi muscle (M), and two adipose tissues, perirenal adipose depot (R) and subcutaneous adipose depot (S). The RNA samples from the 26 fetuses were pooled to generate four biological replicates per maternal diet and tissue. In particular, per each diet and tissue, two RNA pools were created from male fetuses and two RNA pools were created from female fetuses. Overall, a total of 36 pools (i.e., 12 pools per tissue, 3 tissues in total) underwent RNA extraction, library generation, and subsequent sequencing.
Project description:Samples of perirenal fat tissue from 8 Assaf breed suckling lambs. These animals were selected from a larger group of 17 Assaf suckling lambs for which carcass traits were measured. The 8 selected lambs were those showing the highest and the lowest values, from the larger group, for the percentage of perirenal and cavitary fat relative to the half carcass weight. Hence, considering the values for this trait, we defined the High-PF group (n = 4; average: 3.23 ± 0,.47) and the Low-PF group (n = 4; 1.65 ± 0,.16), respectively.