Nr4a1 is required for fasting-induced down-regulation of Pparγ2 in white adipose tissue.

Expression of the nuclear receptor gene, Nur77 (Nr4a1), is induced in white adipose tissue (WAT) in response to β-adrenergic stimulation and fasting. Recently, Nur77 has been shown to play a gene regulatory role in the fasting response of several other major metabolic tissues. Here we investigated the effects of Nur77 on the WAT transcriptome after fasting.

MicroRNA-30c promotes human adipocyte differentiation and co-represses PAI-1 and ALK2.

Obesity is characterized by excessive adipose tissue mass and associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. To fight obesity and its sequels, elucidating molecular events that govern adipocyte differentiation and function is of key importance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of non-coding, regulatory RNAs that have been shown to regulate crucial cellular processes, including differentiation.

Arxes: retrotransposed genes required for adipogenesis.

Retrotransposed sequences arise from messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that have been reinserted into genomic DNA by reverse transcription. Usually, these sequences are embedded in dormant regions, collect missense mutations over time and constitute processed, nonfunctional pseudogenes. There are thousands of processed pseudogenes in the mouse and human genome.