Obesity due to overnutrition causes adipose tissue dysfunction, which is a critical pathological step on the road to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other metabolic disorders. In this study, we conducted an unbiased investigation into the fundamental molecular mechanisms by which adipocytes transition to an unhealthy state during obesity. We used nuclear tagging and translating ribosome affinity purification (NuTRAP) reporter mice crossed with Adipoq-Cre mice to determine adipocyte-specific 1) transcriptional profiles (RNA-seq), 2) promoter and enhancer activity (H3K27ac ChIP-seq), 3) and PPARγ cistrome (ChIP-seq) profiles in mice fed chow or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks. We also assessed the impact of the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone (Rosi) on gene expression and cellular state of adipocytes from the HFD-fed mice. We integrated these data to determine the transcription factors underlying adipocyte responses to HFD and conducted functional studies using shRNA-mediated loss-of-function approaches in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Adipocytes from the HFD-fed mice exhibited reduced expression of adipocyte markers and metabolic genes and enhanced expression of myofibroblast marker genes involved in cytoskeletal organization, accompanied by the formation of actin filament structures within the cell. PPARγ binding was globally reduced in adipocytes after HFD feeding, and Rosi restored the molecular and cellular phenotypes of adipocytes associated with HFD feeding. We identified the TGFβ1 effector protein SMAD to be enriched at HFD-induced promoters and enhancers and associated with myofibroblast signature genes. TGFβ1 treatment of mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes induced gene expression and cellular changes similar to those seen after HFD in vivo, and knockdown of Smad3 blunted the effects of TGFβ1. Our data demonstrate that adipocytes fail to maintain cellular identity after HFD feeding, acquiring characteristics of a myofibroblast-like cell type through reduced PPARγ activity and elevated TGFβ-SMAD signaling. This cellular identity crisis may be a fundamental mechanism that drives functional decline of adipose tissues during obesity.

Objective: The critical role of adipose tissue in energy and nutrient homeostasis is influenced by many external factors, including overnutrition, inflammation, and exogenous hormones. Prior studies have suggested that glucocorticoids (GCs) in particular are major drivers of physiological and pathophysiological changes in adipocytes. In order to determine whether these effects directly require the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) within adipocytes, we generated adipocyte-specific GR knockout (AGRKO) mice. Methods: AGRKO and control mice were fed chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 14 weeks. Alternatively, AGRKO and control mice were injected with dexamethasone for two months. Glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, adiposity, lipolysis, thermogenesis, and insulin signaling were assessed. Results: We find that obesity, insulin resistance, and dysglycemia associated with high fat feeding do not require an intact GR in the adipocyte. However, exogenous dexamethasone (Dex) promotes metabolic dysfunction in mice, and this effect is reduced in mice lacking GR in adipocytes. The ability of Dex to promote “whitening” of brown fat is also reduced in these animals. We also show that GR is required for β-adrenergic and cold stimulation-mediated lipolysis via expression of the key lipolytic enzyme ATGL. Conclusions Our data suggest that the GR plays a role in normal adipose physiology via effects on lipolysis and mediates at least some of the adverse effects of exogenous steroids on metabolic function. The data also indicate that intra-adipocyte GR plays less of a role than previously believed in the local and systemic pathology associated with overnutrition.

Zinc is essential for many cellular processes. To use Caenorhabditis elegans to study zinc metabolism, we developed culture conditions allowing full control of dietary zinc and methods to measure zinc content of animals. Dietary zinc dramatically affected growth and zinc content; wild-type worms survived from 7 μm to 1.3 mm dietary zinc, and zinc content varied 27-fold. We investigated cdf-2, which encodes a predicted zinc transporter in the cation diffusion facilitator family. cdf-2 mRNA levels were increased by high dietary zinc, suggesting cdf-2 promotes zinc homeostasis. CDF-2 protein was expressed in intestinal cells and localized to cytosolic vesicles. A cdf-2 loss-of-function mutant displayed impaired growth and reduced zinc content, indicating that CDF-2 stores zinc by transport into the lumen of vesicles. The relationships between three cdf genes, cdf-1, cdf-2, and sur-7, were analyzed in double and triple mutant animals. A cdf-1 mutant displayed increased zinc content, whereas a cdf-1 cdf-2 double mutant had intermediate zinc content, suggesting cdf-1 and cdf-2 have antagonistic functions. These studies advance C. elegans as a model of zinc metabolism and identify cdf-2 as a new gene that has a critical role in zinc storage.