Open AccessThe Molecular Mechanism of the Stimulation of Adipocyte Differentiation by a Glucocorticoid
Author(s) -
George Wolf
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
nutrition reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.958
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1753-4887
pISSN - 0029-6643
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1999.tb06907.x
Subject(s) - adipogenesis , adipocyte , glucocorticoid , endocrinology , medicine , stimulation , dexamethasone , gene expression , gene , cellular differentiation , 3t3 l1 , cell culture , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , adipose tissue , genetics
The glucocorticoid dexamethasone (dex) stimulates differentiation of cultured preadipocytes of the 3T3‐L1 cell line to adipocytes. The preadipocytes express a gene termed preadipocyte factor 1 (pref‐1). The pref‐1 gene product is abundant in preadipocytes but completely absent in adipocytes. Constitutive expression of pref‐1 blocks differentiation of adipocytes, as does a soluble 50 kDa fragment of the pref‐1 protein. It appears that dex mediates adipogenesis by down‐regulating expression of pref‐1.