Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a cap-n-collar basic leucine zipper (CNC-bZIP) transcription factor that is well established as a master regulator of phase II detoxification and antioxidant gene expression and is strongly expressed in tissues involved in xenobiotic metabolism including liver and kidney. Nrf2 is also abundantly expressed in adipose tissue; however, the exact functio...

In human and mice adipose tissue, lactoferrin (LTF) has been found to be associated with increased adipogenesis and decreased inflammatory markers. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of LTF knockdown (KD) in human adipocyte differentiation. In addition, the effects of exogenous LTF administration and iron chelation [using deferoxamine (DFO, 10 μM)] were tested. In both subcutaneous and v...

The global obesity epidemic demands an improved understanding of the developmental and environmental factors regulating fat storage. Adipocytes serve as major sites of fat storage and as regulators of energy balance and inflammation. The optical transparency of developing zebrafish provides new opportunities to investigate mechanisms governing adipocyte biology, however zebrafish adipocytes rem...

Sera and plasma from different species and from rats of various dietary statuses were compared with regard to effects on proliferation, glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity, and lipid-filing of rat adipocyte precursors converting to adipocytes in primary cell culture. All of the tested sera and plasma samples were comparably supportive of cell multiplication, but their effects on elev...

BACKGROUND We have previously shown that exposure to tributyltin (TBT) modulates critical steps of adipogenesis through RXR/PPARγ and that prenatal TBT exposure predisposes multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to become adipocytes by epigenetic imprinting into the memory of the MSC compartment. OBJECTIVE We tested whether the effects of prenatal TBT exposure were heritable in F2 and F3 g...

Preadipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1) is a transmembrane protein highly expressed in preadipocytes. Pref-1 expression is, however, completely abolished in adipocytes. The extracellular domain of Pref-1 undergoes two proteolytic cleavage events that generate 50 and 25 kDa soluble products. To understand the function of Pref-1, we generated transgenic mice that express the full ectodomain corresponding ...

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for the development of secondary complications such as type 2 diabetes. However, only a part of the obese population develops secondary metabolic disorders. Here, we identify the transcription factor retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ) as a negative regulator of adipocyte differentiation through expression of its newly identified target gene matrix ...

In cancer, the lymphatic system is hijacked by tumor cells that escape from primary and metastasize to sentinel lymph nodes. Tumor lymphangiogenesis stimulated vascular endothelial growth factors-C (VEGFC) after binding its receptor VEGFR-3. However, how VEGFC cooperates with other molecules promote lymphatics has not been fully determined. We showed developed in tumoral lesions surrounding adi...

Leptin modulates glucose homeostasis by acting as an insulin-sensitizing factor in most insulin target tissues. Nevertheless, insulin-dependent glucose uptake in white adipose tissue decreases after in vivo treatment with leptin. Moreover, elevated leptin concentrations inhibit insulin metabolic effects in adipocytes. Here we studied both, direct and centrally mediated effects of leptin on insu...

The molecular clock is intimately linked to metabolic regulation, and brown adipose tissue plays a key role in energy homeostasis. However, whether the cell-intrinsic clock machinery participates in brown adipocyte development is unknown. Here, we show that Bmal1 (also known as ARNTL), the essential clock transcription activator, inhibits brown adipogenesis to adversely affect brown fat formati...