The Emerging Role That Splicing Factor Plays in the Adipose Development

Adipose tissue is a prominent organ that plays a pivotal role in regulating the energy homeostasis. Two functionally distinct types of adipose tissue exist in mammals: white adipose tissue (WAT) reserves the triglyceride as energy source efficiently, whereas brown adipose tissue (BAT) is demonstrated to scatter the energy through thermogenesis and therefore counteract obesity in rodents. Even though, less is known about the presence and exact function of BAT in adult human particularly. Apart from the function, the knowledge of factors that influence the development of BAT is sparse. The splicing factor RBM4 is demonstrated to modulate the splicing of insulin receptor (IR) which largely contributes to the development of skeletal muscle and pancreas. The influence of IR-mediated signaling on adipogenesis and metabolic homeostasis in RBM4-knockout mice both prompt me to next investigate the possible function of RBM4 on adipose tissue. Increasing of both RBM4 protein and a set of adipose-essential genes imply the potential effect of RBM4 on the development of adipocyte. This proposal will be aimed firstly to evaluate the effect of RBM4 on adipogenesis and next decipher the potential mechanism. I anticipate this study would bring a comprehensive scope on the post-transcriptional regulation of adipose differentiation.