Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)-independent specific cytotoxicity against immature adipocytes induced by PPARγ antagonist T0070907.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) plays indispensable roles in adipogenesis, which is frequently impaired under pathological conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Thus, a potent PPARγ antagonist, T0070907 is known as a useful tool for understanding such pathological conditions, while T007097 was also suggested to have PPARγ-independent actions. In the present study, we found that T0070907 inhibited adipogenesis concomitantly with the induction of rapid apoptosis of immature adipocytes within 2 h, whereas another PPARγ antagonist, SR-202 did not show such cytotoxicity. However, T0070907 did not affect the viabilities of pre-adipocytes, mature adipocytes, and NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. The cytotoxic effect of T0070907 was not inhibited by GW1929, a PPARγ agonist, but was inhibited by α-tocopherol, which was previously shown to provide clinical benefit to NASH patients. Interestingly, treatment with high amounts of α-tocopherol alone slightly increased the cellular lipid content in mature adipocytes, but did not affect PPARγ-dependent luciferase reporter expression in COS-7 cells. Moreover, other lipophilic antioxidants, such as tocotrienols, tert-butylhydroquinone, and butylated hydroxyanisole, also inhibited T0070907-induced apoptosis like α-tocopherol. Consequently, it is suggested that T0070907 efficiently inhibits adipogenesis, not only via PPARγ-dependent manner, but also through the induction of apoptosis specifically against immature adipocytes via oxidative stress in a PPARγ-independent manner.