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Sexual Dimorphism in Clock Genes Expression in Human Adipose Tissue

  • Physiology Research
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Abstract

Background

This study was carried out to investigate whether sex-related differences exist in the adipocyte expression of clock genes from subcutaneous abdominal and visceral fat depots in severely obese patients.

Methods

We investigated 16 morbidly obese patients, eight men and eight women (mean age 45 ± 20 years; mean BMI 46 ± 6 kg/m2), undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Biopsies were taken as paired samples [subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue (AT)] at the beginning of the surgical process at 11:00 h in the morning. Metabolic syndrome features such as waist circumference, plasma glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were also studied. The expression of clock genes (PER2, BMAL1, and CRY1) was measured by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical analysis.

Results

Gene expression was significantly higher in women than in men for the three genes studied in both ATs (P < 0.05). In visceral fat, these differences were more marked. (P < 0.001). Western blot analysis partially confirmed these results since statistical differences were observed for PER2 in both ATs and for CRY1 in subcutaneous adipose tissue. There were no differences in BMAL1 protein expression. Interestingly, clock gene expression level was correlated with LDL-C and HDL-C (P < 0.05). Moreover, we found significant associations with body fat mass in women and with age in men.

Conclusions

Clock genes expression is sex dependent in human adipose tissue from morbidly obese subjects and correlates to a decreased in metabolic syndrome-related traits. These preliminary results make necessary to go deep into the knowledge of the molecular basis of the sexual dimorphism in chronobiology.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Government of Education, Science and Research of Murcia (Project BIO/FFA 07/01-0004) and by The Spanish Government of Science and Innovation (projects AGL2008-01655/ALI and AGL2008-04332/ALI and SAF2008-01432). CIBERehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grants HL-54776, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, grant number DK075030, and by contracts 53-K06-5-10 and 58-1950-9-001 from the US Department of Agriculture Research.

Disclosure statement

There is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    P. Gómez-Abellán, J. A. Madrid & M. Garaulet

  2. General Surgery Service, University Hospital “Virgen de la Arrixaca”, Murcia, Spain

    J. A. Luján & M. D. Frutos

  3. CIBERehd—Department of Pharmacology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    R. González & F. Sánchez de Medina

  4. CIBERehd—Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    O. Martínez-Augustín

  5. Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    J. M. Ordovás

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Population Genetics, “Centro Nacional Investigación Cardiovascular” (CNIC), Madrid, Spain

    J. M. Ordovás

  7. IMDEA Alimentación, Madrid, Spain

    J. M. Ordovás

Authors
  1. P. Gómez-Abellán
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  2. J. A. Madrid
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  4. M. D. Frutos
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  5. R. González
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  6. O. Martínez-Augustín
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  7. F. Sánchez de Medina
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  8. J. M. Ordovás
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  9. M. Garaulet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Garaulet.

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Gómez-Abellán, P., Madrid, J.A., Luján, J.A. et al. Sexual Dimorphism in Clock Genes Expression in Human Adipose Tissue. OBES SURG 22, 105–112 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-011-0539-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-011-0539-2

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