The insulin-independent and combined effects of fatty acids (FA; linoleic and oleic acids) and insulin in modulating lipid accumulation and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells was investigated using a novel protocol avoiding the effects of a complex hormone 'induction' mixture. 3T3-L1 cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) plus serum (control) or in DMEM plus either 0.3 mmol/l linoleic or oleic acids with 0.3 mmol/l FA-free bovine serum albumin in the presence or absence of insulin. Cells were cultured for 4 to 8 days and cell number, lipid accumulation, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-g) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) protein expression were determined. Cell number appeared to be decreased in comparison with control cultures. In both oleic acid and linoleic acid-treated cells, notably in the absence (and presence) of insulin, oil-red O stain-positive cells showed abundant lipid. The percentage of cells showing lipid accumulation was greater in FA-treated cultures compared with control cells grown in DMEM plus serum (P , 0.001). Treatment with both linoleic and oleic acid-containing media evoked higher levels of PPAR-g than observed in control cultures (P , 0.05). GLUT-4 protein also increased in response to treatment with both linoleic and oleic acid-containing media (P , 0.001). Lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells occurs in response to either oleic or linoleic acids independently of the presence of insulin. Both PPAR-g and GLUT-4 protein expression were stimulated. Both proteins are considered markers of adipogenesis, and these observations suggest that these cells had entered the physiological state broadly accepted as differentiated. Furthermore, 3T3-L1 cells can be induced to accumulate lipid in a serum-free medium supplemented with FA, without the use of induction protocols using complex hormone mixtures. We have demonstrated a novel model for the study of lipid accumulation that will improve the understanding of adipogenesis in adipocyte lineage cells.Keywords: adipogenesis, fatty acids, GLUT-4, insulin, PPAR-g
IntroductionProgression to lipid storage in adipocytes is characterised by two distinct phases. In the first step of hyperplastic expansion, progenitor cells are thought to become committed to the adipocyte lineage, after which they cannot revert back to a less differentiated 'stem-like' cell (Thompson et al., 1998;Boone et al., 2000). Once committed, adipoblasts undergo an exponential replication phase that terminates and the cell cycle arrests at gap 1 (G1). Early markers of differentiation, such as lipoprotein lipase (LPL) are then expressed, and these cells, known as preadipocytes, may then undergo proliferation (Boone et al., 2000). After preadipocytes stop proliferating, late markers of differentiation, such as glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and fatty acid synthetase (FAS) are detected. Cells then begin lipid accumulation in the cytosol at which time cells are termed adipocytes (Boone et al., 2000).Much of our understanding of these proc...