Transcriptional and epigenetic control of adipocyte remodeling during obesity

Abstract

The rising prevalence of obesity over the past decades coincides with the rising awareness that a detailed understanding of both adipose tissue biology and obesity‐associated remodeling is crucial for developing therapeutic and preventive strategies. Substantial progress has been made in identifying the signaling pathways and transcriptional networks that orchestrate alterations of adipocyte gene expression linked to diverse phenotypes. Owing to recent advances in epigenomics, we also gained a better appreciation for the fact that different environmental cues can epigenetically reprogram adipocyte fate and function, mainly by altering DNA methylation and histone modification patterns. Intriguingly, it appears that transcription factors and chromatin‐modifying coregulator complexes are the key regulatory components that coordinate both signaling‐induced transcriptional and epigenetic alterations in adipocytes. In this review, we summarize and discuss current molecular insights into how these alterations and the involved regulatory components trigger adipogenesis and adipose tissue remodeling in response to energy surplus.

Elevated Serum Concentration of Adipocyte Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Correlates with the Markers of Abdominal Obesity Independently of Thyroid Hormones in Non-Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

“…The achievement of this study seems to be the demonstration that non-obese PCOS women present metabolic abnormalities even before the onset of obesity. During unfavorable adipose tissue homeostasis, as an adaptive response to the body's energetic demand, preadipocytes and adipocytes may show significant expansion through the proliferation of tissue-resident precursors and differentiation in mature adipocytes (hyperplasia) as well as an increase in cell size of existing adipocytes (hypertrophy) [35]. These processes of adipose tissue remodeling leading to subsequent adipocyte dysfunction may mean further susceptibility to obesity and obesity-related complications.…”

STAT3 Is the Master Regulator for the Forming of 3D Spheroids of 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes

“…The number and sizes of adipocytes, which are elastic and plastic cells in fat tissue, are altered during adipogenic differentiation or are eliminated through necrosis or apoptosis in response to fluctuations in metabolism states [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Since those characteristic changes in adipocytes occur within the three-dimensional (3D) spaces of the body, a 3D cell culture method would be expected to be more representative than conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture methods in adipocyte-related research.…”

Adipose Tissue Hyperplasia and Hypertrophy in Common and Syndromic Obesity—The Case of BBS Obesity

“…In the early stage of adipocyte differentiation, the expression of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ increases, which upregulates C/EBPα expression, further activating PPARγ, the master regulator of adipocytes' differentiation. PPARγ binds to the retinoic acid X receptor (RXR) to form heterodimers that bind to the PPARγ response element (PPRE) and initiate the transcription of downstream genes, including C/EBPα (positive feedback), to obtain mature adipocytes' phenotype with the ability to accumulate fat and secret adipokines, such as leptin and adiponectin [93,94].…”