Multi-tissue networks behind obesity biology
Adipose–hypothalamus coexpression subnetworks, including circadian genes, associate with obesity-related biology beyond single-tissue views.
Source
Multi-tissue coexpression networks reveal unexpected subnetworks associated with disease
What they did
Built multi-tissue coexpression networks integrating expression across tissues to find cross-tissue subnetworks linked to disease traits.
What they found
Several adipose–hypothalamus TTC subnetworks map to biological functions; a central C2 subnetwork is enriched for obesity- and circadian-related genes (e.g., Arntl, Per1/2).
The limits
What it doesn't show
Network enrichment is not a clinical treatment trial; causality of each edge remains to be tested.
Key terms
- Coexpression network
- Graph of genes with correlated expression patterns.
- Cross-tissue subnetwork
- Gene module spanning multiple organs.
- Adipose–hypothalamus axis
- Fat–brain communication relevant to energy balance.
- Circadian genes
- Clock genes such as Arntl/Per that oscillate daily.
- Obesity-associated genes
- Genes linked to obesity traits in genetic/functional data.
Flashcards
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Central tissue pair:
Common questions
Which tissues feature centrally?
Adipose and hypothalamus.
What is special about C2?
Obesity + circadian enrichment at the AH network center.
Example clock genes?
Arntl, Dbp, Per1, Per2.
Why multi-tissue?
Complex traits arise from networks within and between tissues.
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