Chemokine and chemokine receptor gene expression in the mesenteric adipose tissue of KKAy mice.

Objective: To investigate chemokines and their receptors gene expression in the intra-abdominal adipose tissue of diabetic/obese mice.

Methods: KKAy mice were fed either by a high-fat diet (HFD) or a low-fat diet (LFD) and obese characteristics were analyzed. Various adipose tissues were isolated from HFD-fed obese KKAy mice and from obese controls. We carried out RT-PCR, GeneChip microarray, and real-time PCR analyses on samples derived from the adipose tissues.

Results: The HFD-feded obese KKAy mice had the physiological characteristics of obese animal and had increased levels of the transcripts of several chemokine and chemokine receptor genes, such as CCL5, CCL19, CCL25, CXCL10, CXCL13, CCR6, and CCR7, in their intra-abdominal adipose tissue. The strong expression of CCR6 and CCR7 was verified by microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analysis. The HFD increased CCR6 and CCR7 expression only in mesenteric (ME) adipose tissue, not in subcutaneous (SC) adipose tissue.

Discussion: Since the enhanced expression of such molecules is likely to contribute to the inflammation in chronic inflammatory disease, our data suggest that the increased levels of CCR6 and CCR7 are involved in the inflammation response in the intra-abdominal adipose tissue of the obese/diabetic mice.