Resistin promotes 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between resistin (a potential link between obesity and type 2 diabetes) and preadipocyte differentiation. DESIGN: A rat resistin expression vector was transfected into 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and differentiation was compared between normal 3T3-L1 cells, rat resistin-transfected cells and non-transfected cells grown in conditioned medium taken from resistin-expressing cultures. METHODS: The rat resistin gene was inserted into the pDual GC and pEFGP-N2 expression vectors for examination of the effects of resistin overexpression in 3T3-L1 cells before and after differentiation was stimulated with 3-isobutyl-1-methyxanthine (MIX), insulin and dexamethasone (DEX). Smaller conserved fragments were inserted into short interference RNA (siRNA) expression vectors, for examination of the effect of targeted resistin inhibition on differentiation of resistin-overexpressing 3T3-L1 cells. RESULTS: Prior to stimulation, the resistin-transfected 3T3-L1 cells contained many more small lipid droplets than did non-transfected 3T3-L1 cells. Following stimulation, differentiation in the resistin-transfected 3T3-L1 cells was dramatically promoted, especially in the early stages. Stimulation of differentiation was also observed in non-transfected 3T3-L1 cells grown in resistin protein-containing conditioned medium. The expression of adipocyte differentiation-associated markers such as CCAAT enhancer binding protein (C/EBPalpha), retinoid X receptor (RXRalpha) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was upregulated in resistin-overexpressing cells, whereas expression of preadipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1), an inhibitor of preadipocyte differentiation, was downregulated. In addition, expression of two of the three tested siRNAs inhibited the adipoconversion process, providing further evidence that resistin promotes the differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes. CONCLUSION: Resistin can promote preadipocyte differentiation. Based on this, we propose that resistin may be an important candidate mediator of obesity-induced insulin resistance.