| Gene expression during adipocyte differentiation is known to be regulated by transcriptional and post-transcriptional events. Few studies have examined the roles of RNA metabolism or posttranscriptional regulation during adipogenesis. Sam68, the Src associated substrate during mitosis of 68kDa, has been shown to be involved in several aspects of RNA metabolism. The Richard lab has generated Sam68-/- mice, which were observed to be leaner than their wildtype counterparts, and are protected from dietary induced obesity. In addition, pre-adipocyte 3T3-L1 cells depleted of Sam68 also exhibited impaired differentiation. Using a microarray approach, a gene expression profile was obtained from Sam68-depleted 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes during differentiation, giving insight into which key players may be affected by Sam68. In addition, using a splicing sensitive exon array, I identified a number of potential alternative splicing gene targets which may be regulated by Sam68 during differentiation. Together these findings shed light on possible roles played by Sam68 during adipogenesis. |
