Novel Insights into Adipogenesis from the Perspective of Transcriptional and RNA N6-Methyladenosine-Mediated Post-Transcriptional Regulation

Obesity is a critical risk factor causing the development of metabolic diseases and cancers. Its increasing prevalence worldwide has aroused great concerns of the researchers on adipose development and metabolic function. During adipose expansion, adipogenesis is a way to store lipids as well as to avoid lipotoxicity in other tissues, and may be an approach to offset the negative metabolic effects of obesity. In this Review, the transcriptional regulation of adipogenesis is outlined to characterize numerous biological processes in research on the determination of adipocyte fate and regulation of adipogenic differentiation. Notably, one of the post-transcriptional modifications of mRNA, namely, N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A), has been recently found to play a role in adipogenesis. Here, the roles of m(6)A-related enzymes and proteins in adipogenesis, with a particular focus on how these m(6)A-related proteins function at different stages of adipogenesis, are mainly discussed. The Review also highlights the coordination role of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional (RNA m(6)A methylation) regulation in adipogenesis and related biological processes. In this context, a better understanding of adipogenesis at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels may facilitate the development of novel strategies to improve metabolic health in obesity.