Growth-arrested 3T3-L1 preadipocytes rapidly express CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-β (C/EBPβ) upon hormonal induction of differentiation. However, the DNA binding activity of C/EBPβ is not activated until the cells synchronously reenter S phase during the mitotic clonal expansion (MCE) phase of differentiation. In this period, C/EBPβ is sequentially phosphorylated by MAPK and glycogen synthase kinase-3β, inducing C/EBPβ DNA binding activity and transcription of its target genes. Because the DNA binding activity of C/EBPβ is further enhanced by oxidation in vitro, we investigated how redox state affects C/EBPβ DNA binding and MCE during adipogenesis. When 3T3-L1 cells were treated with H₂O₂ and hormonal stimuli, differentiation was accelerated with increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. Interestingly, cell cycle progression (S to G₂/M phase) was markedly enhanced by H₂O₂, whereas antioxidants caused an S phase arrest during the MCE. H₂O₂ treatment resulted in the early appearance of a punctate pattern observed by immunofluorescent staining of C/EBPβ, which is a hallmark for C/EBPβ binding to regulatory elements, whereas a short antioxidant treatment rapidly dispersed the centromeric localization of C/EBPβ. Consistently, reactive oxygen species production was increased during 3T3-L1 differentiation. Our results indicate that redox-induced C/EBPβ DNA binding activity, along with the dual phosphorylation of C/EBPβ, is required for the MCE and terminal differentiation of adipocytes.

CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)β, C/EBPα, and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)γ act in a cascade where C/EBPβ activates expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ, which then function as pleiotropic activators of genes that produce the adipocyte phenotype. When growth-arrested 3T3-L1 preadipocytes are induced to differentiate, C/EBPβ is rapidly expressed but still lacks DNA-binding activity. After a long (14-hour) lag, glycogen synthase kinase 3β enters the nucleus, which correlates with hyperphosphorylation of C/EBPβ and acquisition of DNA-binding activity. Concurrently, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes synchronously enter S phase and undergo mitotic clonal expansion, a prerequisite for terminal differentiation. Ex vivo and in vitro experiments with C/EBPβ show that phosphorylation of Thr-188 by mitogen-activating protein kinase “primes” C/EBPβ for subsequent phosphorylation on Ser-184 and Thr-179 by glycogen synthase kinase 3β, acquisition of DNA-binding function, and transactivation of the C/EBPα and PPARγ genes. The delayed transactivation of the C/EBPα and PPARγ genes by C/EBPβ appears necessary to allow mitotic clonal expansion, which would otherwise be prevented, because C/EBPα and PPARγ are antimitotic.

Previous studies showed that exposure of C3H10T1/2 stem cells to bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) produced cells that convert into adipocytes at high frequency when treated with differentiation inducers. In the present investigation, an independent approach shows that BMP-4 is required for stable commitment of pluripotent stem cells to the adipocyte lineage. Exposure of proliferating 10T1/2 stem cells to 5-azacytidine, a potent DNA methylation inhibitor, gave rise to a subpopulation of cells that can be cloned and that have the capacity to undergo conversion into adipocytes upon treatment with terminal differentiation inducers. Detailed studies performed with a cloned committed subline, the A33 line, verified stable adipocyte lineage determination in the absence of exogenous BMP-4. Remarkably, this cell line expresses and secretes BMP-4 during proliferation in the same time window that exogenous BMP-4 must be added to naïve 10T1/2 cells to induce maximal adipocyte commitment. Furthermore, exposure of A33 cells to noggin, a naturally occurring BMP-4–binding antagonist, during this critical time window blocks subsequent differentiation. The role of BMP-4 in adipocyte lineage commitment is further strengthened by gene expression profiling of proliferating 10T1/2 stem cells and A33 preadipocytes. These findings revealed changes in the molecular circuitry, specifically coordinated changes in the expression of members of the BMP-4 signaling pathway, that distinguish A33 preadipocytes from uncommitted parental 10T1/2 stem cells. Together, these studies provide compelling evidence for the participation of BMP-4 in adipocyte lineage determination.

Recently, hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ has been implicated in hepatic lipid accumulation. We found that the C3H mouse strain does not express PPARγ in the liver and, when subject to a high-fat diet, is resistant to hepatic steatosis, compared with C57BL/6 (B6) mice. Adenoviral PPARγ2 injection into B6 and C3H mice caused hepatic steatosis, and microarray analysis demonstrated that hepatic PPARγ2 expression is associated with genes involved in fatty acid transport and the triglyceride synthesis pathway. In particular, hepatic PPARγ2 expression significantly increased the expression of monoacylglycerol O -acyltransferase 1 (MGAT1). Promoter analysis by luciferase assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that PPARγ2 directly regulates the MGAT1 promoter activity. The MGAT1 overexpression in cultured hepatocytes enhanced triglyceride synthesis without an increase of PPARγ expression. Importantly, knockdown of MGAT1 in the liver significantly reduced hepatic steatosis in 12-wk-old high-fat–fed mice as well as ob/ob mice, accompanied by weight loss and improved glucose tolerance. These results suggest that the MGAT1 pathway induced by hepatic PPARγ is critically important in the development of hepatic steatosis during diet-induced obesity.

CCAAT enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) plays an essential role in the cascade that triggers adipocyte differentiation. C/EBPβ activates transcription of C/EBPα and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, transcriptional activators of genes that give rise to the adipocyte phenotype. Sequential phosphorylation of C/EBPβ/liver activating protein (LAP) on Thr ₁₈₈ by MAPK and on Ser ₁₈₄ or Thr ₁₇₉ by glycogen synthase kinase β (GSK3β) is required for acquisition of DNA binding activity and transcriptional activation. To investigate how phosphorylation and dimerization of C/EBPβ/LAP alter these activities, wild-type (Wt) and mutant rC/EBPβs were prepared and purified to assess DNA binding and transcription in cell-free systems. rC/EBPβ/LAP, phosphorylated by MAPK and GSK3β in vitro , produced a >100-fold increase in DNA binding activity. Mutation of the phosphorylation to Glu increased DNA binding activity. Using a cell-free transcription system with nuclear extract from 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and rC/EBPβ/LAP, only doubly phosphorylated rC/EBPβ/LAP (by MAPK and GSK3β) activated transcription driven by Wt C/EBPα, 422/aP2, and SCD1 promoters. Oxidation-induced dimerization of doubly phosphorylated Wt rC/EBPβ/LAP increased DNA binding, whereas unphosphorylated Wt rC/EBPβ/LAP lacked DNA binding activity. Mutation of the C-terminal Cys ₂₉₆ adjacent to the leucine zipper and Cys ₁₄₃ just upstream of the DNA binding domain eliminated phosphorylation-, oxidation-, and dimerization-dependent DNA binding activity, whereas mutation of Cys ₂₀₁ within the basic DNA binding domain had little effect on DNA binding. These findings indicate that dual phosphorylation of C/EBPβ/LAP caused a conformational change that facilitates S–S bond formation and dimerization, rendering the basic region accessible to the C/EBP regulatory element.