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Adipocyte and Cell Biology

Calcium-dependent release of adipocyte fatty acid binding protein from human adipocytes

International Journal of Obesity volume 38, pages 1221–1227 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is a predominantly cytosolic protein of the adipocytes, but also abundantly present in human plasma; its plasma concentrations were linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Recent studies have suggested a direct extracellular effect of FABP4 in the regulation of glucose metabolism and heart function independently of its effect as a carrier protein. Interestingly, FABP4 has no secretory signal sequence; hence, the mechanisms how FABP4 is released from adipocytes are unclear.

Methods and results:

In this study we investigated the mechanisms for FABP4 secretion from human adipocytes by using isolated primary pre-adipocytes (PAs) and the human adipocyte cell strain Simpson–Golabi–Behmel syndrome. In undifferentiated PAs, FABP4 expression was barely detectable and increased continuously during differentiation. The increase in FABP4 mRNA expression was accompanied by high levels of FABP4 secretion. In differentiated human adipocytes, FABP4 secretion was not abolished by blocking the Golgi-dependent secretory pathway in vitro, supporting a non-classical secretion mechanism for FABP4. However, raising intracellular Ca2+ levels enhanced FABP4 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner.

Conclusion:

This study shows that FABP4 is actively released from human adipocytes in vitro via a non-classical, calcium-dependent mechanism.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the excellent technical support of Uta Lehnert. We thank Dr med. Holger Pult for the help in obtaining human adipose tissue. Furthermore, we thank Kathleen Eisenhofer for proofreading this paper. This study was supported by the German Competence Network for Obesity (‘Kompetenznetz Adipositas’) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Obesity, Grant 01GI1122G to VLZ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Clinic III, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany

    I Schlottmann, M Ehrhart-Bornstein, S R Bornstein & V Lamounier-Zepter

  2. Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Ulm, Germany

    M Wabitsch

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Correspondence to V Lamounier-Zepter.

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Schlottmann, I., Ehrhart-Bornstein, M., Wabitsch, M. et al. Calcium-dependent release of adipocyte fatty acid binding protein from human adipocytes. Int J Obes 38, 1221–1227 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2013.241

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