Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of Cold Exposure and β3-AR Agonist CL316,243-Induced Browning of White Fat

• Main Authors: Yu Li, Xiaodan Ping, Yankang Zhang, Guoqiang Li, Ting Zhang, Geng Chen, Xinran Ma, Dongmei Wang, Lingyan Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-05-01
• Series: Frontiers in Physiology
• Subjects: browning of white fat; cold exposure; β3-AR agonist; heterogeneity analysis; transcriptomics
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.667698/full

Beige adipocytes are newly identified thermogenic-poised adipocytes that could be activated by cold or β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) signaling and offer therapeutic potential for treating obesity and metabolic diseases. Here we applied RNA-sequencing analysis in the beige fat of mice under cold exposure or β3-AR agonist CL316,243 (CL) treatment to provide a comparative and comprehensive analysis for the similarity and heterogeneity of these two stimulants. Importantly, via KEGG analysis, we found that cold and CL commonly induced oxidative phosphorylation. Meanwhile, cold increased glycerolipid and amino acids metabolism while CL treatment triggered a broader spectrum of metabolic responses including carbohydrate metabolism. Besides, cold or CL treatment featured greater heterogeneity in downregulated gene programs. Of note, the top changed genes in each category were confirmed by qPCR analysis. Overall, our analysis provided a better understanding of the heterogeneity of differential models for beige adipocytes activation and a possible clue for optimizing β3-AR agonists in the future.