['The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the differential expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in subcutaneous adipose tissue and metabolic syndrome features in lean and obese subjects with habitual high fat intake.', 'Microarray and RT-PCR analysis were used to analyze and validate differential gene expression in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue samples from lean and obese phenotype subjects.', 'Several genes and transcripts involved in lipolysis were down-regulated, such as AKAP1, PRKAR2B, Gi and CIDEA, whereas NPY1R and CES1 were up-regulated, when comparing obese to lean subjects. Similarly, transcripts associated with cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism showed a differential expression, with APOE and ABCA being decreased and VLDLR being increased in obese versus lean subjects. In addition, positive correlations were found between different markers of the metabolic syndrome and CES1 and NPY1R mRNA expressions, while APOE showed an inverse association with some of them.'] Is a dysregulation in CES1 , APOE and other lipid metabolism-related genes associated to cardiovascular risk factors linked to obesity?