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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Isolating Brown Adipocytes from Murine Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue for Gene and Protein Expression Analysis
Published on: March 12, 2021
[Effects of different diet composition on the expression of UCP2 mRNA in different tissues of rat]
Changhao Sun1, Rongxia Fu, Rong Liu
1Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China.
Objective:
In order to explore effect of different diet composition on uncoupling proteins 2 (UCP2)-gene expression in rat brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
Methods:
Male Wistar rats were fed with different diets (including basic diet, high protein, high fat, high calorie 1 and 2 diet) for 2 months. The effects of the different diets on weight, the ratio of fat to body weight and free fatty acids were observed. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was used to measure the expression of UCP2 mRNA in rat brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
Results:
Body weight, the ratio of rat to body weight and free fatty acids in high calorie 1 and 2 diet groups are obviously higher than that in groups of basic diet, high protein, high fat diet (P < 0.05), but there is no significant difference between the last three groups (P > 0.05). UCP2 gene expression in white adipose tissue increases in high calorie diet 1 group and high calorie diet 2 group, and no significant difference in basic diet, high protein and high fat group with equal energy is observed. The expression of UCP2 mRNA between brown adipose tissue and muscle is similar in all groups.
Conclusion:
Energy can induce UCP2 mRNA expression in rat white adipose tissue, and expression level is related to store energy in body, but the expression of UCP2 mRNA in brown adipose tissue and muscle is unrelated to diet composition.
