Project description:Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ that protects animals against hypothermia and obesity. BAT derives from the multipotent paraxial mesoderm; however, the identity of embryonic brown fat progenitor cells and regulators of adipogenic commitment are unclear. We identified the transcription factor GATA6 as a selective marker of brown adipogenic progenitor cells. Deletion of Gata6 in the brown fat lineage resulted in a striking loss of BAT. To gain insight into the mechanism by which GATA6 supports BAT development, we performed ChIP-seq for GATA6 from the BAT of embryonic day 15.5 embryos.
Project description:Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ that protects animals against hypothermia and obesity. BAT derives from the multipotent paraxial mesoderm; however, the identity of embryonic brown fat progenitor cells and regulators of adipogenic commitment are unclear. Here, we performed single cell gene expression analyses of mesenchymal cells during mouse embryogenesis with a focus on BAT development.
Project description:Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ that protects animals against hypothermia and obesity. BAT derives from the multipotent paraxial mesoderm; however, the identity of embryonic brown fat progenitor cells and regulators of adipogenic commitment are unclear. Here, we performed single cell gene expression analyses of mesenchymal cells during mouse embryogenesis with a focus on BAT development.
Project description:Attainment of a brown adipocyte cell phenotype in white adipocytes, with their abundant mitochondria and increased energy expenditure potential, is a legitimate strategy for combating obesity. The unique transcriptional regulators of the primary brown adipocyte phenotype are unknown, limiting our ability to promote brown adipogenesis over white. In the present work, we used microarray analysis strategies to study primary preadipocytes, and we made the striking discovery that brown preadipocytes demonstrate a myogenic transcriptional signature, whereas both brown and white primary preadipocytes demonstrate signatures distinct from those found in immortalized adipogenic models. We found a plausible SIRT1-related transcriptional signature during brown adipocyte differentiation that may contribute to silencing the myogenic signature. In contrast to brown preadipocytes or skeletal muscle cells, white preadipocytes express Tcf21, a transcription factor that has been shown to suppress myogenesis and nuclear receptor activity. In addition, we identified a number of developmental genes that are differentially expressed between brown and white preadipocytes and that have recently been implicated in human obesity. The interlinkage between the myocyte and the brown preadipocyte confirms the distinct origin for brown versus white adipose tissue and also represents a plausible explanation as to why brown adipocytes ultimately specialize in lipid catabolism rather than storage, much like oxidative skeletal muscle tissue. Keywords: In vitro differentiation
Project description:Blnc1 is a novel nuclear lncRNA that promotes brown and beige adipocyte differentiation and function. Blnc1 forms a ribonucleoprotein complex with transcription factor EBF2 to stimulate the thermogenic gene program. Further, Blnc1 itself is a target of EBF2, thereby forming a feedforward regulatory loop to drive adipogenesis toward thermogenic phenotype. We used microarrays to elucidate the role of Blnc1 on brown adipocyte differentiation and mitochondrial function. Brown adipocytes expressing Scramble or brown fat lncRNA 1 knockdown (shBlnc1) were differentiated for 6 days and harvested for RNA isolation and microarray using Affymetrix Mouse MG-430 PM Strip arrays. Two replicated samples were included in this study.
Project description:Blnc1 is a novel nuclear lncRNA that promotes brown and beige adipocyte differentiation and function. Blnc1 forms a ribonucleoprotein complex with transcription factor EBF2 to stimulate the thermogenic gene program. Further, Blnc1 itself is a target of EBF2, thereby forming a feedforward regulatory loop to drive adipogenesis toward thermogenic phenotype. We used microarrays to elucidate the role of Blnc1 on brown adipocyte differentiation and mitochondrial function.