Role of meltrin α (ADAM12) in obesity induced by high-fat diet

Abstract

Meltrin α is a member of the metalloprotease-disintegrin (ADAM) family. In this paper we demonstrate that meltrin α is involved in the development of white adipose tissue. Compared with wild-type mice, meltrin α-/- mice displayed moderate resistance to weight gain induced by a high-fat diet, mainly because of an impaired increase in the number of adipocytes. There was no obvious difference in adipocyte size between wild-type and meltrin α-/- mice, suggesting normal maturation of adipocytes of the latter under a high-fat diet. Embryonic fibroblasts and stromal-vascular cells lacking meltrin α exhibited impaired cell proliferation upon adipogenic stimulation, which was accompanied by moderate defects in adipose differentiation. Addition of culture medium conditioned with wild-type cells in an early phase of adipose differentiation did not restore the defects in the meltrin α-/- cells. These results uncover the involvement of meltrin α in the development of obesity and in adipogenic cell proliferation. Copyright © 2005 by The Endocrine Society.