Genome-wide analysis identifies colonic genes differentially associated with serum leptin and insulin concentrations in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet

Obesity-induced chronic inflammation is known to increase the risk of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and colorectal cancer. Accumulating evidence suggests that leptin and insulin are key molecules linking obesity with diseases of the lower intestine. Here, we identified serum phenotype-associated genes in the colon of diet-induced obese mice as early biomarkers of obesity-associated colonic diseases. C57BL/6J mice were fed with either normal diet (ND, 15% of fat calories) or high-fat diet (HFD, 45% of fat calories) for 8 weeks. Serum concentrations of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), leptin, and adiponectin were measured as obesity-related phenotypic markers. Genome-wide gene expression profiles of colon tissue were determined, followed by statistical analyses to detect differentially expressed and serum phenotype-associated genes. HFD-fed mice showed higher serum concentrations of leptin (P < 0.001) and insulin (P < 0.01) than those in the ND group, whereas serum IGF-1 and adiponectin concentrations did not differ between the two dietary groups. Among differentially expressed genes affected by HFD, 135, 128, 110, and 341 genes were associated with serum levels of leptin, insulin, IGF-1, and adiponectin, respectively. We identified 17 leptin-associated genes and 4 insulin-associated genes that inversely responded to HFD and ND. Among these, leptin-associated Peli3 (Pellino E3 ubiquitin protein ligase family member 3), Creb1 (cAMP responsive element binding protein 1), and Enpp2 (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 2, autotaxin) and insulin-associated Centg1 (AGAP2, ArfGAP with GTPase domain) are reported to play a role either in obesity or colonic diseases. mRNA expression of these genes was validated by RT-qPCR. Our data suggest Peli3, Creb1, Enpp2, and Centg1 as potential early biomarker candidates for obesity-induced pathophysiological changes in the colon. Future studies verifying the function of these candidates are needed for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of colon diseases.