Effect of volatile fatty acids on adipocyte differentiation in bovine dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells in vitro.

Here, we established dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells from mature bovine adipocytes and then examined the effects of volatile fatty acids on the differentiation of these DFAT cells into adipocytes in vitro. When mature adipocytes were isolated from bovine adipose tissue and cultured using the ceiling culture method, they were dedifferentiated into fibroblast-like cells without lipid droplets. These fibroblast-like cells, termed bovine DFAT (b-DFAT) cells, actively proliferated.

Generation of metabolically functional hepatocyte-like cells from dedifferentiated fat cells by Foxa2, Hnf4a and Sall1 transduction.

Mature adipocyte-derived dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells have been identified to possess similar multipotency to mesenchymal stem cells, but a method for converting DFAT cells into hepatocytes was previously unknown. Here, using comprehensive analysis of gene expression profiles, we have extracted three transcription factors, namely Foxa2, Hnf4a and Sall1 (FHS), that can convert DFAT cells into hepatocytes. Hepatogenic induction has converted FHS-infected DFAT cells into an epithelial-like morphological state and promoted the expression of hepatocyte-specific features.