title: Foxc2 enhances proliferation and inhibits apoptosis through activating Akt/mTORC1 signaling pathway in mouse preadipocytes.
abstract: Forkhead box C2 (Foxc2) protein is a transcription factor in regulation of development, metabolism, and immunology. However, the regulatory mechanisms of Foxc2 on proliferation and apoptosis of preadipocytes are unclear. In this study, we found that high-fat-diet-induced obesity elevated the expression of Foxc2 and cyclin E after 6 weeks. Additionally, Foxc2 suppressed preadipocyte differentiation, increased cell counts and augmented G1-S transition of preadipocytes, along with the elevation of cyclin E expression and the reduction levels of p27 and p53. Furthermore, Foxc2 knockdown reduced early apoptotic cells with accompanying reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased fragmentation of genomic DNA. We show that Foxc2 reduces the expression of Bax, caspase-9, and caspase-3 in both serum-starved and palmitic acid-induced cell apoptotic models, which confirms the anti-apoptotic role of Foxc2. Moreover, the protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)C1 signaling pathway and the ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathway were activated along with preadipocyte proliferation in response to Foxc2 overexpression, whereas apoptosis marker genes were downregulated during this process. Those effects were blocked by the interference of Foxc2 or signal pathways specific inhibitors. These data collectively reveal that Foxc2 enhances proliferation of preadipocytes and inhibits apoptosis of preadipocytes by activating the Akt/mTORC1 and ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Zhenjiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Zhongjie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002452:Cell Count; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D000076222:Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1; D051379:Mice; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010168:Palmitates / Q000494:pharmacology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D010168:Palmitates; C082078:mesenchyme fork head 1 protein; D000076222:Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: cell death; cell signaling; fat; forkhead box C2; protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin C1 signaling pathway; transcription factor