Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2012; 120 - A1
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1330795

Role of p38MAPK in adipocyte

E Bernardo 1, N Matesanz 1, LG Leiva 1, G Sabio 1
  • 1Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Vascular Biology and Inflammation Department. Madrid, Spain

Adipocytes play a vital role in energy homeostasis and process the largest energy reserve as triglycerol in the body of animals. While a excess of triglicerides acumulation in adipocytes induce insulin resistance due to inflammation lack of capacity to acumulated this triglicerides in the adipocytes could cause dislipidemia and insulin reistance. For this reason the dynamic state of triglycerides in the adypocite is highly regulated by counter regulatory hormones to which these cells are very sensitive through several signaling pathways.

The Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) superfamily involves 3 different groups, p38, JNK and ERK and all of them modulate cellular responses.

p38MAPK are activated by different environmental stresses such as UV radiation and oxidative stress among others and have been postulated to play a role in adipocyte differentiation.

MAP Kinase Kinase (MKK) 3 or 6, are the main activator of p38MAPK and lack of these kinases have been shown to highly reduces p38 activity. Then we decided to use mice lacking these kinases to study the role of p38MAPK in adipogenesis.