Project description:Adipogenesis is tightly controlled by a complex network of transcription factors acting at different stages of differentiation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) family members are key regulators of this process. We have employed DNase I hypersensitive site analysis to investigate the genome-wide changes in chromatin structure that accompany the binding of adipogenic transcription factors. These analyses revealed a dramatic and dynamic modulation of the chromatin landscape during the first hours of adipocyte differentiation that coincides with cooperative binding of multiple early transcription factors (including glucocorticoid receptor, retinoid X receptor, Stat5a, C/EBPbeta and -delta) to transcription factor 'hotspots'. Our results demonstrate that C/EBPbeta marks a large number of these transcription factor 'hotspots' prior to induction of differentiation and chromatin remodeling and is required for their establishment. Furthermore, a subset of early remodeled C/EBP binding sites persists throughout differentiation and is later occupied by PPAR gamma , indicating that early C/EBP family members, in addition to their well established role in activation of PPAR gamma transcription, may act as pioneering factors for PPAR gamma binding. DNase I hypersensitive chromatin regions and transcription factor binding sites were identified at various time points of 3T3-L1 differentiation using DHS-seq and ChIP-seq, respectively.
Project description:The nuclear receptor PPAR gamma is required for adipocyte differentiation, but its role in mature adipocytes is less clear. Here we report that knockdown of PPAR gamma expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes returned the expression of most adipocyte genes towards preadipocyte levels. Consistently, down regulated but not up regulated genes showed strong enrichment of PPAR gamma binding. Surprisingly, not all adipocyte genes were reversed and the adipocyte morphology was maintained for an extended period after PPAR gamma depletion. To explain this, we focused on transcriptional regulators whose adipogenic regulation was not reversed upon PPAR gamma depletion. We identified GATA2, a transcription factor whose down-regulation early in adipogenesis is required for preadipocyte differentiation, remaining low after PPAR gamma knockdown. Forced expression of GATA2 in mature adipocytes complemented PPAR gamma depletion and impaired adipocyte functionality with a more preadipocyte- like gene expression profile. Ectopic expression of GATA2 in adipose tissue in vivo had similar effect on adipogenic gene expression. These results suggest that PPAR gamma-independent down regulation of GATA2 prevents reversion of mature adipocytes after PPAR gamma depletion. Keywords: cell type comparison, Gata2, PPAR gamma, adipocyte, preadipocytes, differentiation
