Abstract
Activation of thermogenic adipocytes (brown and beige) has been considered an attractive target for weight loss and treatment of metabolic disease. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1 α (PGC1-α) is a master regulator of thermogenic gene expression in thermogenic adipocytes. We previously reported that α-tocopherol upregulated PGC-1α gene expression and promoted thermogenic adipocyte differentiation in mammalian adipocytes. In this study, we investigated the effects of the vitamin E analogs (α-, γ- and δ-tocopherol) on PGC-1α and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) gene expression in 3T3-L1 cells. The expression of PGC-1α and UCP1 increased significantly with the addition of δ-tocopherol. In δ-tocopherol-treated cells, nuclear translocation of PGC-1α increased, as did p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) expression and phosphorylation. Our results suggest that p38 MAPK activation by δ-tocopherol contributes to PGC-1α activation and UCP1 induction.
Keywords:
PGC-1α; Thermogenic adipocytes; Tocopherol; UCP1; p38 MAPK.
Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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3T3-L1 Cells
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Adipocytes, Brown / cytology
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Adipocytes, Brown / drug effects*
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Adipocytes, Brown / metabolism
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Animals
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Cell Differentiation
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Cell Nucleus / drug effects
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Cell Nucleus / metabolism
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Cytosol / drug effects
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Cytosol / metabolism
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Gene Expression Regulation
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Mice
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Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha / agonists
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Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha / genetics*
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Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha / metabolism
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Phosphorylation / drug effects
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Protein Transport / drug effects
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Signal Transduction
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Tocopherols / pharmacology*
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Uncoupling Protein 1 / genetics*
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Uncoupling Protein 1 / metabolism
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alpha-Tocopherol / pharmacology
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gamma-Tocopherol / pharmacology
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p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / genetics*
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p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism
Substances
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Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha
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Ppargc1a protein, mouse
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Ucp1 protein, mouse
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Uncoupling Protein 1
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gamma-Tocopherol
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p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
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alpha-Tocopherol
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delta-tocopherol
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Tocopherols