Abstract
BackgroundObesity is characterized by increased adipose tissue mass that results from increased fat cell size (hypertrophy) and number (hyperplasia). The molecular mechanisms that govern the regulation and differentiation of adipocytes play a critical role for better understanding of the pathological mechanism of obesity. However, the mechanism of adipocyte differentiation is still unclear.ObjectiveThe present study aims to compare the gene expression changes during adipocyte differentiation in the transcriptomic level, which may help to better understand the mechanism of adipocyte differentiation.MethodsRNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology, GO and KEGG analysis, quantitative RT-PCR, and oil red O staining methods were used in this study.ResultsA lot of genes were up- or down-regulated between each two differentiation stages of 3T3-L1 cells. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that lipid metabolism and oxidation–reduction reaction were mainly involved in the whole process of adipocyte differentiation. Decreased immune response and cell cycle adhesion occurred in the late phase of adipocyte differentiation, which was demonstrated by divergent expression pattern analysis. Moreover, quantitative RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA expression levels of Trpv4, Trpm4, Trpm5, and Trpm7 were significantly decreased in the differentiated adipocytes. On the other hand, the mRNA expression levels of Trpv1, Trpv2, Trpv6, and Trpc1 were significantly increased in the differentiated adipocytes. Besides, the mRNA expressions of TRPV2 and TRPM7 were also significantly increased in subcutaneous white adipose tissue from diet-induced mice. In addition, the activation of TRPM7, TRPV1, and TRPV2 suppressed the differentiation of adipocytes.ConclusionThese data present the description of transcription profile changes during adipocyte differentiation and provides an in-depth analysis of the possible mechanisms of adipocyte differentiation. These data offer new insight into the understanding of the mechanisms of adipocyte differentiation.
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity has been recognized as a serious global health problem (Wang et al, 2011)
We have previously reported that Trpv1 and Trpv3 mRNAs were significantly decreased, whereas Trpv2 and Trpv4 mRNAs were significantly increased in the white adipose tissue (WAT) of either db/db or diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice (Sun et al, 2017a)
Our results demonstrated that the mRNA expression levels of Trpv4, Trpm4, Trpm5, and Trpm7 were significantly decreased in the differentiated adipocytes (Figure 6B)
Summary
The prevalence of obesity has been recognized as a serious global health problem (Wang et al, 2011). Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in most developed countries of the world with 30–40% of adults being obese (James, 2004), and its frequency continues to increase at an alarming rate in developing countries. These developments require urgent strategies for the prevention and reversal of obesity and related metabolic diseases.
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