Peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a source of cold exposure biomarkers

Male ferrets, aged 3 months, were divided into two group: one group remained at 22 degrees Celsius, while the other group was acclimatized to 4 degrees Celsius for one week. After sacrification, inguinal and periaortic white adipose tissues were dissected, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated. The three tissues are used for RNA isolation and subsequent global gene expression profiling using custom Agilent ferret-specific 2x400K microarrays. Data analysis indicated that the cold exposure induce a clear gene expression response of some genes in the inguinal and periaortic white adipose tissue as in PBMC. These genes could be defined as a biomakers of the effect of cold exposure in these cells.