The interaction between vitamin A and thiazolidinedione on bovine adipocyte differentiation in primary culture

Abstract

We studied the effects of a thiazolidinedione (T-174) and retinoids on adipocyte differentiation in beef cattle. Stromal-vascular (SV) cells containing preadipocytes were prepared from perirenal adipose tissue of 21-mo-old Japanese Black steers. After confluence, these cells were cultured in 25 μM T-174, which is a specific ligand for an adipogenesis stimulating nuclear receptor (i.e., γ subtype of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [PPARγ]), with 1 μM all-trans retinoic acid (RA) or .4 to 40 μg/100 mL of retinol for 10 to 14 d. The number of cells accumulating lipid droplets was counted as morphologically differentiated adipocytes, and the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), a biochemical index for the differentiation, was determined. The number of lipid-laden cells and GPDH activity were increased by the addition of T-174. All-trans retinoic acid completely blocked the stimulative action of T-174. The addition of retinol also decreased the number of lipid-laden cells and GPDH activity in a dose-dependent manner. These results showed that the thiazolidinedione stimulated adipocyte differentiation and the retinoids blocked the adipogenesis induced by the thiazolidinedione in primary culture of bovine SV cells. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ may play an important role in adipocyte differentiation, and retinoids may interfere with the action of PPARγ in cattle.

Beef Cattle, Adipocytes, Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase, Differentiation, Retinoids