De Novo Reconstruction of Transcriptome Identified Long Non-Coding RNA Regulator of Aging-Related Brown Adipose Tissue Whitening in Rabbits

Abstract

Brown adipose tissues (BATs) convert to a “white-like” phenotype with age, which is also known as “aging-related BAT whitening (ARBW)”. Emerging evidence suggested that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were widely involved in adipose biology. Rabbit is an ideal model for studying the dynamics of ARBW. In this study, we performed histological analysis and strand-specific RNA-sequencing (ssRNA-seq) of rabbit interscapular adipose tissues (iATs). Our data indicated that the rabbit iATs underwent the ARBW from 0 days to 2 years and a total of 2281 novel lncRNAs were identified in the iATs. The classical rabbit BATs showed low lncRNA transcriptional complexity compared to white adipose tissues (WATs). A total of 631 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) were identified in four stages. The signal pathways of purine metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)/cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGMP-PKG) signaling pathway and lipid and atherosclerosis were significantly enriched by the DELs with unique expression patterns. A novel lncRNA that was highly expressed in the iATs of aged rabbits was validated to impair brown adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Our study provided a comprehensive catalog of lncRNAs involved in ARBW in rabbits, which facilitates a better understanding of adipose biology.

Keywords

• BATs
• rabbits
• ssRNA-seq
• homeothermic ability
• whitening