Global mapping of RNA N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) in human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue reveals novel targets that correlate with clinical variables of obesity

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Obesity is a major health challenge and fat accumulation in visceral depots is more strongly associated with metabolic comorbidities than deposition in subcutaneous depots. Epitranscriptomic regulation of gene expression by N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) influences various aspects of RNA metabolism, however the m 6 A methylome in human adipose tissue and its relationship with fat distribution has not yet been investigated in detail. Methods In this study, we performed epitranscriptomic mapping of m 6 A in intra-individually paired samples of subcutaneous (SAT) and omental visceral adipose tissue (OVAT) from women with normal weight (BMI ≤25, n = 3) and obesity (BMI ≥35, n = 10) using meRIP-seq (discovery cohort). We further investigated differential m 6 A methylation for specific target genes in a larger cohort of individuals with obesity (n = 72, validation cohort) using meRIP-qPCR. meRIP-seq was performed for primary adipocytes from a subset of the patients (n = 4) to account for cell type specific differences. Results We here provide the first global map of m 6 A in human adipose tissue in paired samples of SAT and OVAT. We show an overall high overlap in m 6 A sites between individuals and depots, but also distinct depot-specific differences. We identify 339 target genes showing depot-specific m 6 A methylation. Depot-specific methylation was validated for selected

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

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