Zic1 negatively regulates brown adipogenesis in CHT cells.

Zinc finger in the cerebellum 1 ( Zic1) is known to regulate neurogenesis and myogenesis in the developmental stage and widely used as one of the brown adipocyte-specific markers. In this study, we examined the effect of Zic1 on brown adipogenesis. Overexpression of Zic1 attenuated the lipid accumulation and the expressions of PPARγ2 and C/EBPα in CHT mesenchymal stem cells. The mRNA levels of BAT-specific thermogenic genes ( PRDM16, PGC-1α and UCP1) and fatty acid oxidation regulatory genes ( PPARα, CPT1α, CPT1β and COX7α1) were suppressed in Zic1-overexpressed cells. Moreover, overexpression of Zic1 reduced the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) regulatory proteins including ATP5α, UQCRC2, SDHB and NDUFB5. These results indicate a potential role of Zic1 in the regulation of brown adipogenesis via inhibiting adipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial OXPHOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]