Cultured Preadipocytes Undergoing Stable Transfection with Cyclooxygenase-1 in the Antisense Direction Accelerate Adipogenesis During the Maturation Phase of Adipocytes

The arachidonate cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway is involved in the generation of several types of endogenous prostaglandins (PGs) with opposite effects on adipogenesis at different life stages of adipocytes. However, the specific role of COX isoforms, the rate-limiting enzymes for the pathway, remains elusive in the regulation of the endogenous synthesis of PGs. This study was aimed at the selective suppression of the constitutive COX-1 in cultured preadipocytes by the isolation of cloned preadipocytes transfected stably with a mammalian expression vector harboring cDNA encoding mouse COX-1 in the antisense direction. The gene expression analysis revealed that the transcript and protein levels of the constitutive COX-1 were substantially suppressed in the isolated cloned transfectants with antisense COX-1. By contrast, the expression of the inducible COX-2 was not affected in the stable transfectants with antisense COX-1. All of the cloned stable transfectants with antisense COX-1 exhibited a significant reduction in the immediate synthesis of PGE(2) serving as an anti-adipogenic factor. The sustained expression of COX-1 in the antisense direction induced the appreciable stimulation of fat storage in adipocytes during the maturation phase, which was associated with the higher expression levels of adipocyte-specific genes, indicating the positive regulation of adipogenesis program. Moreover, the up-regulation of adipogenesis is accompanied by a higher production of J(2) series PGs including 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-PGJ(2) and Delta(12)-PGJ(2), known as pro-adipogenic factors by the transfectants with antisense COX-1. The results suggest that the inducible COX-2 can contribute to the endogenous synthesis of PGJ(2) derivatives acting as autocrine mediators to simulate adipogenesis during the maturation phase by way of compensation for the suppressed expression of the constitutive COX-1.