ArticleMolecular and cellular biology2013
Retinol-binding protein 4 and its membrane receptor STRA6 control adipogenesis by regulating cellular retinoid homeostasis and retinoic acid receptor α activity.
Article in Molecular and cellular biology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship Between Adipose Tissue and Liver Dysfunction in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Metabolic Syndrome.Metabolites · 2026Review
- Beyond a gatekeeper: the non-classical signaling role of STRA6 in driving endothelial senescence and atherosclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Data-driven inference of Boolean networks from transcriptomes to predict cellular differentiation and reprogramming.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2025Article
- The Potential Role of Retinol-Binding Protein 4 in Heart Failure: A Review.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
- Retinol binding protein 4 and type 2 diabetes: from insulin resistance to pancreatic β-cell function.Endocrine · 2024Review
- Pre-treatment plasma retinol binding protein 4 level and its change after treatments predict systemic treatment response in psoriasis patients.BMC immunology · 2024Article
- RBP4 promotes denervation-induced muscle atrophy through STRA6-dependent pathway.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Article
- Adipocyte HSL is required for maintaining circulating vitamin A and RBP4 levels during fasting.EMBO reports · 2024Article
- Adipose retinol saturase is regulated by β-adrenergic signaling and its deletion impairs lipolysis in adipocytes and acute cold tolerance in mice.Molecular metabolism · 2024Article
- Article
- Friend or foe for obesity: How hepatokines remodel adipose tissues and translational perspective.Genes & diseases · 2023Review
- The role of dietary antioxidants in type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders: An assessment of the benefit profile.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Genetic dissection in mice reveals a dynamic crosstalk between the delivery pathways of vitamin A.Journal of lipid research · 2022Article
- Significantly Reduced Retinol Binding Protein 4 (RBP4) Levels in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.Nutrients · 2022Observational
- Retinoic Acid: Sexually Dimorphic, Anti-Insulin and Concentration-Dependent Effects on Energy.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Review
- Retinoid Homeostasis and Beyond: How Retinol Binding Protein 4 Contributes to Health and Disease.Nutrients · 2022Review
- A single-cell transcriptome of mesenchymal stromal cells to fabricate bioactive hydroxyapatite materials for bone regeneration.Bioactive materials · 2022Article
- Retinol Binding Protein 7 Promotes AdipogenesisFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Article
- Regulatory network and interplay of hepatokines, stellakines, myokines and adipokines in nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Retinoids are vitamin A (retinol) derivatives and complex regulators of adipogenesis by activating specific nuclear receptors, including the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR). Circulating retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and its membrane receptor STRA6 coordinate cellular retinol uptake. It is unknown whether retinol levels and the activity of RAR and RXR in adipocyte precursors are linked via RBP4/STRA6. Here, we show that STRA6 is expressed in precursor cells and, dictated by the apo- and holo-RBP4 isoforms, mediates bidirectional retinol transport that controls RARα activity and subsequent adipocyte differentiation. Mobilization of retinoid stores in mice by inducing RBP4 secretion from the liver activated RARα signaling in the precursor cell containing the stromal-vascular fraction of adipose tissue. Retinol-loaded holo-RBP4 blocked adipocyte differentiation of cultured precursors by activating RARα. Remarkably, retinol-free apo-RBP4 triggered retinol efflux that reduced cellular retinoids, RARα activity, and target gene expression and enhanced adipogenesis synergistically with ectopic STRA6. Thus, STRA6 in adipocyte precursor cells links nuclear RARα activity to the circulating RBP4 isoforms, whose ratio in obese mice was shifted toward limiting the adipogenic potential of their precursors. This novel cross talk identifies a retinol-dependent metabolic function of RBP4 that may have important implications for the treatment of obesity.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.