¹Laval Hospital Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University, Québec, QC, Canada

Correspondence: Dr F Picard, Laval Hospital Research Center, Y3106 Pavillon Marguerite-d'Youville, Hôpital Laval, 2725 Chemin Ste-Foy, Québec, QC, Canada G1 V 4G5. E-mail: Frederic.Picard@crhl.ulaval.ca

Received 14 July 2008; Revised 8 September 2008; Accepted 28 September 2008; Published online 4 November 2008.

Abstract

Aging is associated with increased visceral fat, and recent studies suggested that in turn, visceral fat could influence longevity. We therefore tested whether obesity could be a condition of premature aging. Whole-genome microarray analysis of gene expression between obese mice, aged mice and their respective controls, revealed that long-term adaptations in gene expression in visceral fat upon aging are different from those occurring during fat accretion in young adult animals, suggesting specific, divergent and non overlapping pathways of regulation.