| First Author | Liu JJ | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Stem Cells | Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 1477-85 |
| PubMed ID | 22511293 | Mgi Jnum | J:194576 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5474179 | Doi | 10.1002/stem.1109 |
| Citation | Liu JJ, et al. (2012) Paternally inherited gsalpha mutation impairs adipogenesis and potentiates a lean phenotype in vivo. Stem Cells 30(7):1477-85 |
| abstractText | Paternally inherited inactivating mutations of the GNAS gene have been associated with a rare and disabling genetic disorder, progressive osseous heteroplasia, in which heterotopic ossification occurs within extraskeletal soft tissues, such as skin, subcutaneous fat, and skeletal muscle. This ectopic bone formation is hypothesized to be caused by dysregulated mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation that affects a bipotential osteogenic-adipogenic lineage cell fate switch. Interestingly, patients with paternally inherited inactivating mutations of GNAS are uniformly lean. Using a mouse model of Gsalpha-specific exon 1 disruption, we examined whether heterozygous inactivation of Gnas affects adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal precursor cells from subcutaneous adipose tissues (fat pad). We found that paternally inherited Gsalpha inactivation (Gsalpha(+/p-) ) impairs adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs). The Gsalpha(+/p-) mutation in ASCs also decreased expression of the adipogenic factors CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)beta, C/EBPalpha, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, and adipocyte protein 2. Impaired adipocyte differentiation was rescued by an adenylyl cyclase activator, forskolin, and provided evidence that Gsalpha-cAMP signals are necessary in early stages of this process. Supporting a role for Gnas in adipogenesis in vivo, fat tissue weight and expression of adipogenic genes from multiple types of adipose tissues from Gsalpha(+/p-) mice were significantly decreased. Interestingly, the inhibition of adipogenesis by paternally inherited Gsalpha mutation also enhances expression of the osteogenic factors, msh homeobox 2, runt-related transcription factor 2, and osteocalcin. These data support the hypothesis that Gsalpha plays a critical role in regulating the balance between fat and bone determination in soft tissues, a finding that has important implications for a wide variety of disorders of osteogenesis and adipogenesis. |
