Integrated approach to the study of human adipocyte differentiation (original) (raw)

Background / Purpose: During adipogenesis, precursor cells acquire the capability to produce and store lipids, which is linked to obesity. Alterations in gene expression have been reported while the key metabolic changes remain less well characterized. Microarray data from SGBS human pre-adipocyte cell line, Recon1, and Shlomi’s method were used to predict metabolic differences in pre-adipocytes and adipocytes. By further integrating genome-wide transcription factor binding profiles of the known adipogenic key regulators PPAR-gamma, CEBP-alpha and LXR-alpha (from ChIP-seq data) and the transcriptome-wide experimental identification of primary microRNA targets, we were able to highlight the main metabolic changes in adipocyte differentiation and their links with key regulators. Main conclusion: Adipocyte flux predictions revealed a trend of upregulation in pathways involved in lipid metabolism, with cholesterol, fatty acid and triacylglycerol metabolism being the most representative....