The Emerging Role of Zfp217 in Adipogenesis.

Zinc finger protein 217 (Zfp217), a member of the krüppel-type zinc finger protein family, plays diverse roles in cell differentiation and development of mammals. Despite extensive research on the functions of in cancer, pluripotency and reprogramming, its physiological roles in adipogenesis remain unknown. Our previous RNA sequencing data suggest the involvement of in adipogenesis. In this study, the potential function of in adipogenesis was investigated through bioinformatics analysis and a series of experiments. The expression of was found to be gradually upregulated during the adipogenic differentiation in C3H10T1/2 cells, which was consistent with that of the adipogenic marker gene . Furthermore, there was a positive, significant relationship between expression and adipocyte differentiation. It was also observed that could not only trigger proliferative defect in C3H10T1/2 cells, but also interact with and suppress the downstream target genes of . Besides, three microRNAs (miR-503-5p, miR-135a-5p and miR-19a-3p) which target were found to suppress the process of adipogenesis. This is the first report showing that has the capacity to regulate adipogenesis.