FEBS Lett.: auth.: group Fajas and co-auth.: group Lopez-Mejia

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FEBS Lett. 2022 Mar 16. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.14335. Online ahead of print.

Adipocyte-Specific CDK7 Ablation Leads to Progressive Loss of Adipose Tissue and Metabolic Dysfunction

Yizhe Chen 1 2, Eric Aria Fernandez 1, Catherine Roger 1, Isabel C Lopez-Mejia 1, Lluis Fajas Coll 1 3, Honglei Ji 1 4

Abstract

Adipose tissue regulates whole-body energy homeostasis. Both lipodystrophy and obesity, the extreme and opposite aspects of adipose tissue dysfunction, result in metabolic disorders: insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) have been reported to be involved in adipose tissue development and functions. Using adipose tissue-specific knockout mice, here we demonstrate that the deletion of CDK7 in adipose tissue results in progressive lipodystrophy, insulin resistance, impaired adipokine secretion and down-regulation of fat-specific genes, which are aggravated on high-fat diet and during aging. Our studies suggest that CDK7 is a key regulatory component of adipose tissue maintenance and systemic energy homeostasis.

Keywords: Adipose tissue; Cyclin-dependent kinase 7; Lipid metabolism; Lipodystrophy.