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Updated: Sep 3, 2025

An Adipocyte Cell Culture Model to Study the Impact of Protein and Micro-RNA Modulation on Adipocyte Function
Published on: May 4, 2021
Taste 2 Receptor Is Involved in Differentiation of 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes
Shunsuke Kimura1,2, Ai Tsuruma1, Eisuke Kato3
1Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan.
Abstract:
Expression of taste 2 receptor (T2R) genes, also known as bitter taste receptor genes, has been reported in a variety of tissues. The white adipose tissue of mice has been shown to express Tas2r108, Tas2r126, Tas2r135, Tas2r137, and Tas2r143, but the function of T2Rs in adipocytes remains unclear. Here, we show that fasting and stimulation by bitter compounds both increased Tas2r expression in mouse white adipose tissue, and serum starvation and stimulation by bitter compounds both increased the expression of Tas2r genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, suggesting that T2Rs have functional roles in adipocytes. RNA sequencing analysis of 3T3-L1 adipocytes stimulated by epicatechin, the ligand of Tas2r126, suggested that this receptor may play a role in the differentiation of adipocytes. Overexpression of Tas2r126 in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes decreases fat accumulation after induction of differentiation and reduces the expression of adipogenic genes. Together, these results indicate that Tas2r126 may be involved in adipocyte differentiation.
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