Dysfunctional subcutaneous fat with reduced dicer and brown adipose tissue gene expression in HIV infected patients

Abstract

Context: HIV patients are at an increased risk for cardiometabolic disease secondary to depotspecific alterations in adipose function, but mechanisms remain poorly understood. Objective: The endoribonuclease Dicer has been linked to the modulation of brown and white adipocyte differentiation. We previously demonstrated that Dicer knockout mice undergo transformation of brown adipose tissue to white adipose tissue and develop a lipodystrophic phenotype. We hypothesized reduced Dicer and brown adipose tissue gene expression from nonlipomatous sc fat among HIV patients with a lipodystrophic phenotype. Design: Eighteen HIV (nine with and without lipodystrophic changes in fat distribution, characterized by excess dorsocervical adipose tissue [DCAT]) and nine non-HIV subjects underwent punch biopsy of abdominal sc fat to determine expression of Dicer and other adipose-related genes. Results: HIV subjects with long-duration antiretroviral use demonstrated excess DCAT vs non-HIV subjects (9.8 ± 1.0 vs 6.6 ± 0.8 cm2, P