Rb and p107 regulate preadipocyte differentiation into white versus brown fat through repression of PGC-1α

The Rb family, Rb, p107, and p130, play important roles in cell cycle control and cellular differentiation, and Rb has been suggested to regulate adipocyte differentiation. We report here that mice lacking p107 displayed a uniform replacement of white adipose tissue (WAT) with brown adipose tissue (BAT). Mutant WAT depots contained mutilocular adipocytes that expressed elevated levels of PGC-1 alpha and UCP-1 typical of BAT. WAT from p107(-1-) mice contained markedly elevated numbers of adipogenic precursors that displayed downregulated expression of pRb. Consistent with the hypothesis that pRb is required for adult adipocyte differentiation, Cre-mediated deletion of Rb in adult primary preadipocytes blocked their differentiation into white adipocytes. Importantly, pRb was observed to bind the PGC-1 alpha promoter and repress transcription. Therefore, p107 and pRb regulate PGC-1 alpha expression to control the switch between white and brown adipocyte differentiation from a common pool of presumptive adult progenitors in fat tissue.