In silico and functional analysis identifies key gene networks and novel gene candidates in obesity-linked human visceral fat.

Objective: Visceral adiposity is associated with increased proinflammatory activity, insulin resistance, diabetes risk, and mortality rate. Numerous individual genes have been associated with obesity, but studies investigating gene regulatory networks in human visceral obesity have been lacking.

Methods: We analyzed gene regulatory networks in human visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from 48 and 11 Chinese patients with and without obesity, respectively, using gene coexpression and gene regulatory network construction from RNA-sequencing data.

Critical role of the BAF chromatin remodeling complex during murine neural crest development.

The BAF complex plays an important role in the development of a wide range of tissues by modulating gene expression programs at the chromatin level. However, its role in neural crest development has remained unclear. To determine the role of the BAF complex, we deleted BAF155/BAF170, the core subunits required for the assembly, stability, and functions of the BAF complex in neural crest cells (NCCs).