TNFα Mediates Inflammation-Induced Effects on Splicing in Adipose Tissue and Mesenchymal Precursor Cells.

Low-grade chronic inflammation and reduced differentiation capacity are hallmarks of hypertrophic adipose tissue (AT) and key contributors of insulin resistance. We identified PPARGΔ5 as a dominant-negative splicing isoform overexpressed in the AT of obese/diabetic patients able to impair adipocyte differentiation and PPARγ activity in hypertrophic adipocytes. Herein, we investigate the impact of macrophage-secreted pro-inflammatory factors on splicing, focusing on PPARGΔ5. We report that the epididymal AT of LPS-treated mice displays increased PpargΔ5/cPparg and reduced expression of -regulated genes. Interestingly, pro-inflammatory factors secreted from murine and human pro-inflammatory macrophages enhance the PPARGΔ5/cPPARG in exposed adipogenic precursors. TNFα is identified herein as factor able to alter splicing-increasing PPARGΔ5/cPPARG -through PI3K/Akt signaling and SRp40 splicing factor. In line with in vitro data, TNFA expression is higher in the SAT of obese (vs. lean) patients and positively correlates with PPARGΔ5 levels. In conclusion, our results indicate that inflammatory factors secreted by metabolically-activated macrophages are potent that modulate the expression and splicing of . The resulting imbalance between canonical and dominant negative isoforms may crucially contribute to impair PPARγ activity in hypertrophic AT, exacerbating the defective adipogenic capacity of precursor cells.