Abstract
Background: Bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure is widespread and early life exposure is associated with metabolic syndrome. While visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) are implicated in the development of metabolic syndrome, the adipose depot-specific effects of prenatal BPA treatment are poorly understood. Objective: To determine the impact of prenatal BPA exposure on genome-wide gene expression of VAT and SAT depots. Methods: RNA sequencing was performed on SAT and VAT from 21-month old control and prenatal BPA-treated female sheep. Gene expression and pathway differences between SAT and VAT depots with or without prenatal BPA-treatment and the effect of prenatal BPA treatment on each depot were tested. Results: There were 179 differentially expressed genes (padjusted < 0.05, log2-fold change >2.5) between SAT and VAT. Development and immune response pathways were upregulated in SAT, while metabolic pathways were upregulated in VAT. These adipose depot-specific genes and pathways were consistent with prenatal BPA-treatment. In SAT, BPA-treatment resulted in differential expression of 108 genes (78% upregulated with BPA) and altered pathways (immune response downregulated, RNA processing upregulated). In contrast in VAT, BPA-treatment differentially expressed 4 genes and upregulated chromatin and RNA processing pathways. Conclusion: Prenatal BPA-treatment induces adult depot-specific alterations in RNA expression in inflammation, RNA processing, and chromatin pathways, reflecting the diverse roles of SAT and VAT in regulating lipid storage and insulin sensitivity. These adipose tissue transcriptional dysregulations may contribute to the metabolic disorders observed in prenatal BPA-treated female sheep.