Centre de Recherche Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.
PLoS One. 2011;6(5):e19908. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019908. Epub 2011 May 16.
The biological functions of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) remain largely unknown. However, the proximity of EAT to the coronary arteries suggests a role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). The objectives of this study were to identify genes differentially regulated among three adipose tissues, namely EAT, mediastinal (MAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) and to study their possible relationships with the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Samples were collected from subjects undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries. Gene expression was evaluated in the three adipose depots of six men using the Illumina® HumanWG-6 v3.0 expression BeadChips. Twenty-three and 73 genes were differentially up-regulated in EAT compared to MAT and SAT, respectively. Ninety-four genes were down-regulated in EAT compared to SAT. However, none were significantly down-regulated in EAT compared to MAT. More specifically, the expression of the adenosine A1 receptor (ADORA1), involved in myocardial ischemia, was significantly up-regulated in EAT. Levels of the prostaglandin D2 synthase (PTGDS) gene, recently associated with the progression of atherosclerosis, were significantly different in the three pairwise comparisons (EAT>MAT>SAT). The results of ADORA1 and PTGDS were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR in 25 independent subjects.
Overall, the transcriptional profiles of EAT and MAT were similar compared to the SAT. Despite this similarity, two genes involved in cardiovascular diseases, ADORA1 and PTGDS, were differentially up-regulated in EAT. These results provide insights about the biology of EAT and its potential implication in CAD.
心外膜脂肪组织（EAT）的生物学功能在很大程度上尚不清楚。然而，EAT 与冠状动脉的接近表明其在冠状动脉疾病（CAD）的发病机制中起作用。本研究的目的是鉴定三种脂肪组织（即 EAT、纵隔（MAT）和皮下（SAT））中差异调节的基因，并研究它们与心血管疾病发展的可能关系。
从接受冠状动脉旁路移植术的患者中采集样本。使用 Illumina® HumanWG-6 v3.0 表达 BeadChips 在六个男性的三个脂肪组织中评估基因表达。与 MAT 和 SAT 相比，EAT 中分别有 23 和 73 个基因上调。与 SAT 相比，EAT 中有 94 个基因下调。然而，与 MAT 相比，EAT 中没有明显下调的基因。更具体地说，参与心肌缺血的腺苷 A1 受体（ADORA1）的表达在 EAT 中明显上调。与动脉粥样硬化进展最近相关的前列腺素 D2 合酶（PTGDS）基因的水平在三种两两比较（EAT>MAT>SAT）中均存在显著差异。ADORA1 和 PTGDS 的结果在 25 个独立的研究对象中通过定量实时 PCR 得到了验证。
总体而言，EAT 和 MAT 的转录谱与 SAT 相似。尽管如此，两种与心血管疾病相关的基因 ADORA1 和 PTGDS 在 EAT 中差异上调。这些结果为 EAT 的生物学及其在 CAD 中的潜在作用提供了新的见解。
