Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Measuring the Rate of Lipolysis in Ex Vivo Murine Adipose Tissue and Primary Preadipocytes Differentiated In Vitro
Published on: March 17, 2023
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists inhibit adipocyte expression of alpha1-acid glycoprotein
Gino Castriota1, G Marie Thompson, Ying Lin
1Department of Metabolic Disorders, RY80N-C31, Merck Research Laboratories, 126 East Lincoln Avenue, P.O. Box 2000, Rahway, NJ 07065, USA.
Abstract:
alpha1-Acid glycoprotein (alpha1-AGP) is an acute phase protein that can potentiate cytokine secretion by mononuclear cells and may induce thrombosis by stabilizing the inhibitory activity of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Thus, alpha1-AGP may promote pathobiologies associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) including insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Here, we demonstrate that antidiabetic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonists inhibited expression of 3T3-L1 adipocyte alpha1-AGP in a concentration- and time-dependent manner via an apparent PPARgamma-mediated mechanism. As a result, synthesis and secretion of the glycoprotein was reduced. While PPARgamma agonist regulation of genes with functional peroxisome proliferator response elements in their promoter such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were unaffected when cellular protein synthesis was inhibited, downregulation of alpha1-AGP mRNA was ablated thereby supporting the proposition that PPARgamma activation inhibits alpha1-AGP expression indirectly. These results suggest a potential novel adipocytic mechanism by which PPARgamma agonists may ameliorate T2DM-associated insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease.
Related Concept Videos
GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity
Two...
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
Oral Hypoglycemic Agents: α-Glucosidase Inhibitors
Acarbose and miglitol are typically...
Glucagon-like Receptor Agonists
GLP-1, when administered in high doses intravenously, triggers insulin secretion, inhibits glucagon release, slows gastric emptying, reduces food intake, and restores normal insulin secretion. However, its rapid inactivation by the...
GPCR Desensitization

