ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION - A TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORY CASCADE

The adipose cell is now known to play a complex role in energy homeost asis, energy storage and signaling to other tissues concerning the sta te of energy balance. The past few years have seen an explosive increa se in our knowledge of the transcriptional basis of adipocyte differen tiation. Factors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ga mma, the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein family members, and adipocyte determination- and differentiation-dependent factor 1 play important r egulatory roles in this process. Furthermore, these factors provide a focus for beginning to understand how various hormones and metabolites influence the development oi adipose tissue in vivo.