Gene expression profile of adipocyte differentiation and its regulation by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonists

PPARgamma is an adipocyte-specific nuclear hormone receptor. Agonists of PPARgamma, such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), promote adipocyte differentiation and have insulin-sensitizing effects in animals and diabetic patients. Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays representing 6347 genes were employed to profile the gene expression responses of mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes and differentiating preadipocytes to a TZD PPARgamma agonist in vitro. The expression of 579 genes was significantly up- or down-regulated by more than 1.5-fold during differentiation and/or by treatment with TZD, and these genes were organized into 32 clusters that demonstrated concerted changes in expression of genes controlling cell growth or lipid metabolism. Quantitative PCR was employed to further characterize gene expression and led to the identification of beta-catenin as a new PPARgamma target gene. Both mRNA and protein levels for beta-catenin were down-regulated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared with fibroblasts and were further decreased by treatment of adipocytes with PPARgamma agonists. Treatment of db/db mice with a PPARgamma agonist also resulted in reduction of beta-catenin mRNA levels in adipose tissue. These results suggest that beta-catenin plays an important role in the regulation of adipogenesis. Thus, the transcriptional patterns revealed in this study further the understanding of adipogenesis process and the function of PPARgamma activation.