title: Protocol for effective differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells to adipocytes.
abstract: In this note, we present a detailed procedure for highly effective and reproducible 3T3-L1 cell differentiation. Due to their potential to differentiate from fibroblasts to adipocytes, 3T3-L1 cells are widely used for studying adipogenesis and the biochemistry of adipocytes. However, using different kits and protocols published so far, we were not able to obtain full differentiation of the currently available American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 3T3-L1 cell lots. Using rosiglitazone (2 μM) as an additional prodifferentiative agent, we achieved apparently complete differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells within 10 to 12 days that persisted for at least up to cell culture passage 10.
authors.affiliation: Biozentrum, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Saale, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zebisch
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wabitsch
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brandsch
mesh_terms: D041721:3T3-L1 Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D000077154:Rosiglitazone; D045162:Thiazolidinediones / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D045162:Thiazolidinediones; D000077154:Rosiglitazone