Molecular mechanism of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3inhibition of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells

Abstract

We have investigated the molecular mechanism whereby 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25(OH)2D3] inhibits adipogenesis in vitro. 1,25(OH)2D3blocks 3T3-L1 cell differentiation into adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner; however, the inhibition is ineffective 24–48 h after the differentiation is initiated, suggesting that 1,25(OH)2D3inhibits only the early events of the adipogenic program. Treatment of 3T3-L1 cells with 1,25(OH)2D3does not block the mitotic clonal expansion or C/EBPβ induction; rather, 1,25(OH)2D3blocks the expression of C/EBPα, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1, and other downstream adipocyte markers. The inhibition by 1,25(OH)2D3is reversible, since removal of 1,25(OH)2D3from the medium restores the adipogenic process with only a temporal delay. Interestingly, although the vitamin D receptor (VDR) protein is barely detectable in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, its levels are dramatically increased during the early phase of adipogenesis, peaking at 4–8 h and subsiding afterward throughout the rest of the differentiation program; 1,25(OH)2D3treatment appears to stabilize the VDR protein levels. Consistently, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of human (h) VDR in 3T3-L1 cells completely blocks the adipogenic program, confirming that VDR is inhibitory. Inhibition of adipocyte differentiation by 1,25(OH)2D3is ameliorated by troglitazone, a specific PPARγ antagonist; conversely, hVDR partially suppresses the transacting activity of PPARγ but not of C/EBPβ or C/EBPα. Moreover, 1,25(OH)2D3markedly suppresses C/EBPα and PPARγ mRNA levels in mouse epididymal fat tissue culture. Taken together, these data indicate that the blockade of 3T3-L1 cell differentiation by 1,25(OH)2D3occurs at the postclonal expansion stages and involves direct suppression of C/EBPα and PPARγ upregulation, antagonization of PPARγ activity, and stabilization of the inhibitory VDR protein.