Ascorbic acid is a dose-dependent inhibitor of adipocyte differentiation, probably by reducing cAMP pool

Fryad Rahman (1) , Fadi Al Frouh (1) , Benoit Bordignon (1, 2, 3) , Marc Fraterno (4) , Jean-Francois Landrier (1) , Franck Peiretti (1) , Michel Fontes (1, 2, 3)

1 NORT - Nutrition, obésité et risque thrombotique
2 INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
3 AMU - Aix Marseille Université
4 Service de microscopie électronique

Ascorbic acid (AA) is the active component of vitamin C and antioxidant activity was long considered to be the primary molecular mechanism underlying the physiological actions of AA. We recently demonstrated that AA is a competitive inhibitor of adenylate cyclase, acting as a global regulator of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels. Our study, therefore, aimed to determine new targets of AA that would account for its potential effect on signal transduction, particularly during cell differentiation. We demonstrated that AA is an inhibitor of pre-adipocyte cell line differentiation, with a dose-dependent effect. Additionally, we describe the impact of AA on the expression of genes involved in adipogenesis and/or the adipocyte phenotype. Moreover, our data suggest that treatment with AA partially reverses lipid accumulation in mature adipocytes. These properties likely reflect the function of AA as a global regulator of the cAMP pool, since an analog of AA without any antioxidant properties elicited the same effect. Additionally, we demonstrated that AA inhibits adipogenesis in OP9 mesenchymal cell line and drives the differentiation of this line toward osteogenesis. Finally, our data suggest that the intracellular transporter SVCT2 is involved in these processes and may act as a receptor for AA.

Mots clés: adipocytes; ascorbic acid; cell differentiation; cyclic AMP; vitamin; cyclic amp; transducer; lipocytes

Mots clés: acide ascorbique; différenciation cellulaire; adénosine monophosphate cyclique; transducteur; adipocyte

Domaines: Alimentation et Nutrition

Fryad Rahman, Fadi Al Frouh, Benoit Bordignon, Marc Fraterno, Jean-Francois Landrier, et al.. Ascorbic acid is a dose-dependent inhibitor of adipocyte differentiation, probably by reducing cAMP pool. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2014, 2, ⟨10.3389/fcell.2014.00029⟩. ⟨hal-01594290⟩