title: Interleukin-15 increases calcineurin expression in 3T3-L1 cells: possible involvement on in vivo adipocyte differentiation.
abstract: Different studies have revealed that the Ca2+-dependent serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin is involved in the regulation of adipocyte differentiation. Calcineurin acts as a Ca2+-dependent molecular switch that negatively regulates the ability of 3T3-L1 cells to undergo adipocyte differentiation by preventing the expression of critical proadipogenic transcription factors. In this study we investigated the role of interleukin-15 (IL-15), a cytokine previously known to be involved in the control of fat accretion by adipose cells, in the differentiation of the 3T3-L1 preadipose cell line. We found that IL-15 is able to increase alpha-calcineurin mRNA content in white adipose tissue of rats chronically treated with the cytokine and also in the 3T3-L1 preadipose cell line. Moreover, IL-15 promoted a decrease in both leptin mRNA expression and lipid accumulation, as estimated by Red Oil O staining. Cotreatment with IL-15 and FK506 (a calcineurin inhibitor) resulted in no changes in lipid content compared with the non-treated group. These data suggest that IL-15 directly inhibits adipogenesis, possibly by upregulating alpha-calcineurin and preventing the induction of adipocyte differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Almendro
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fuster
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ametller
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costelli
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pilla
authors.forename: Sílvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Busquets
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Figueras
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Argilés
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: López-Soriano
mesh_terms: D041721:3T3-L1 Cells; D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D065095:Calcineurin Inhibitors; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000235:genetics; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D065095:Calcineurin Inhibitors; D019409:Interleukin-15; D020738:Leptin; D019703:Calcineurin; D016559:Tacrolimus