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 used for RNA isolation and subsequent global gene expression profiling using custom Agilent ferret-specific 2x400K microarrays. Data analysis indicated that while the cold exposure induces an increase on metabolism in inguinal white adopose tissue, in periaortic white adipose tissue this stimulus induces a reduction on expression of genes involved in cell cycle and in immune response