Transcriptomic responses of the liver and adipose tissues to altered carbohydrate-fat ratio in diet: an isoenergetic study in young rats

BACKGROUND: To elucidate the effects of altered dietary carbohydrate and fat balance on liver and adipose tissue transcriptomes, 3-week-old rats were fed three kinds of diets: low-, moderate-, and high-fat diets (L, M, and H) containing a different ratio of carbohydrate-fat (C-F) (65:15, 60:20, and 35:45 in energy percent, respectively). METHODS: The rats consumed the diets for 9 weeks and were subjected to biochemical and DNA microarray analyses. RESULTS: The rats in the H-group exhibited lower serum triacylglycerol (TG) levels but higher liver TG and cholesterol content than rats in the L-group. The analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between each group (L vs M, M vs H, and L vs H) in the liver revealed about 35% of L vs H DEGs that were regulated in the same way as M vs H DEGs, and most of the others were L- vs H-specific. Gene ontology analysis of these L vs H DEGs indicated that those related to fatty acid synthesis and circadian rhythm were enriched. Interestingly, about 30% of L vs M DEGs were regulated in a reverse way compared with L vs H and M vs H DEGs. These reversed liver DEGs included M-up/H-down genes (Sds for gluconeogenesis from amino acids) and M-down/H-up genes (Gpd2 for gluconeogenesis from glycerol, Agpat9 for TG synthesis, and Acot1 for beta-oxidation). We also analyzed L vs H DEGs in white (WAT) and brown (BAT) adipose tissues and found that both oxidation and synthesis of fatty acids were inhibited in these tissues. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the alteration of dietary C-F balance differentially affects the transcriptomes of metabolizing and energy-storing tissues. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12263-017-0558-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.