Endothelin-1 suppression of rat adipocyte precursor cell differentiation in serum-free culture

The effect of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on differentiation of rat adipocyte precursor cells in serum-free culture and of the adipogenic fibroblast cell line TA1 was studied. ET-1 inhibited differentiation of rat adipocyte precursor cells into adipocytes in a dose-dependent fashion, while the peptide exerted no effect on TA1 cells. Rat adipose precursor cells possessed a single class of high affinity ET-1 receptor with a Kd of 0.71 nM and a binding capacity of 47,000 sites/cell. Affinity cross-linking of [125I]ET-1 showed two bands with molecular masses of 86 and 50 kilodaltons in rat adipose precursor cells and a single broad band with a molecular mass of 55-60 kilodaltons in TA1 cells. Pertussis toxin and the protein kinase-C inhibitors, H-7 and staurosporine, all of which enhanced adipocyte differentiation of rat adipose precursor cells, partially reversed ET-1 inhibition. These results showed the divergent effect of ET-1 on adipocyte conversion and indicated the possible involvement of a pertussis toxin-sensitive pathway and protein kinase-C at least in part in the inhibitory action of ET-1 on adipocyte differentiation.