Transcriptome Profiling of Adipose Tissue Reveals Depot-Specific Metabolic Alterations among Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Mariam Haffa - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden (Author)
  • Andreana N. Holowatyj - , University of Utah (Author)
  • Mario Kratz - , Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Author)
  • Reka Toth - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Axel Benner - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Biljana Gigic - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Nina Habermann - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg (Author)
  • Petra Schrotz-King - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Jürgen Böhm - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University of Utah (Author)
  • Hermann Brenner - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Martin Schneider - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Alexis Ulrich - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Esther Herpel - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Peter Schirmacher - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Beate K. Straub - , Heidelberg University , University Medical Center Mainz (Author)
  • Johanna Nattenmüller - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Hans Ulrich Kauczor - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Tengda Lin - , University of Utah (Author)
  • Claudia R. Ball - , National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Dresden, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Cornelia M. Ulrich - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University of Utah (Author)
  • Hanno Glimm - , National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden, German Cancer Consortium (Partner: DKTK, DKFZ), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Dominique Scherer - , German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University  (Author)

Abstract

Context: Adipose tissue inflammation and dysregulated energy homeostasis are key mechanisms linking obesity and cancer. Distinct adipose tissue depots strongly differ in their metabolic profiles; however, comprehensive studies of depot-specific perturbations among patients with cancer are lacking. Objective: We compared transcriptome profiles of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) from patients with colorectal cancer and assessed the associations of different anthropometric measures with depot-specific gene expression. Design: Whole transcriptomes of VAT and SAT were measured in 233 patients from the ColoCare Study, and visceral and subcutaneous fat area were quantified via CT. Results: VAT compared with SAT showed elevated gene expression of cytokines, cell adhesion molecules, and key regulators of metabolic homeostasis. Increased fat area was associated with downregulated lipid and small molecule metabolism and upregulated inflammatory pathways in both compartments. Comparing these patterns between depots proved specific and more pronounced gene expression alterations in SAT and identified unique associations of integrins and lipid metabolism-related enzymes. VAT gene expression patterns that were associated with visceral fat area poorly overlapped with patterns associated with self-reported body mass index (BMI). However, subcutaneous fat area and BMI showed similar associations with SAT gene expression. Conclusions: This large-scale human study demonstrates pronounced disparities between distinct adipose tissue depots and reveals that BMI poorly correlates with fat mass-associated changes in VAT. Taken together, these results provide crucial evidence for the necessity to differentiate between distinct adipose tissue depots for a correct characterization of gene expression profiles that may affect metabolic health of patients with colorectal cancer.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5225-5237
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Volume104
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2019
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 31225875