Characterization of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue transcriptome in pregnant women with and without spontaneous labor at term: implication of alternative splicing in the metabolic adaptations of adipose tissue to parturition

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine gene expression and splicing changes associated with parturition and regions (visceral vs subcutaneous) of the adipose tissue of pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN The transcriptome of visceral and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue from pregnant women at term with (n=15) and without (n=25) spontaneous labor was profiled with Affymetrix GeneChip Human Exon 1.0 ST array. Overall gene expression changes and differential exon usage rate were compared between patient groups and adipose tissue regions (paired analyses). Selected genes were tested by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Four hundred eighty-two genes were differentially expressed between visceral and subcutaneous fat of pregnant women with spontaneous labor at term (q-value <0.1; fold change >1.5). Biological processes enriched in this comparison included tissue and vasculature development, inflammatory and metabolic pathways. Differential splicing was found for 42 genes (q-value <0.1; difference FIRMA scores >2) between adipose tissue regions of women not in labor. Differential exon usage associated with parturition was found for three genes (LIMS1, HSPA5 and GSTK1) in subcutaneous tissues. CONCLUSION We show for the first time evidence of implication of mRNA splicing and processing machinery in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of women in labor compared to those without labor.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Differential Transcriptomic Profile of the Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue and Their Resident Stem Cells

“…It is accepted that SAT and VAT have different compositions and different metabolic influence and thus, each depot has a different transcriptome and proteome [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Although obesity is widely known as a risk factor for different pathologies, many studies have shown that being overweight and obesity can exert, in certain cases, a protective role, giving rise to what is known as the “paradox of the obesity”.…”

Editorial

“…Mazaki-Tovi et al from Israel and the US [11] aimed to determine gene expression and splicing changes associated with parturition and regions (visceral vs. subcutaneous) of the adipose tissue of pregnant women. They reported for the first time evidence of implication of mRNA splicing and processing machinery in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of women in labor compared to those without labor.…”

Determining the prognostic significance of alternative splicing events in soft tissue sarcoma using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas

“…AS occurs at a fundamental regulatory crossroad between transcription and translation that is conducive to creating protein diversity in mammals [16]. Up to 95% of highly-evolved eukaryotic species, especially human multi-exon genes, have been shown to produce multiple isoforms through AS [17, 18]. More specifically, AS, which takes place in a limited number of genes in the human genome, is thought to play a major role in increasing the functional complexity and diversity of proteins.…”