Cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector, a lipid droplet-associated protein, might be involved in the differentiation of human adipocytes

Cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector (CIDE) family proteins, including cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector A (CIDEA), cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector B (CIDEB) and cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector C (CIDEC) [fat-specific protein of 27 kDa in rodent (FSP27) in rodents], were originally identified by their sequence homology to the N-terminal region of DNA fragmentation factor DFF40/45. Recent reports have revealed that CIDE family proteins play important roles in lipid metabolism. Several studies involving knockdown mice revealed that FSP27 is a lipid droplet-targeting protein that can promote the formation of lipid droplets. However, the detailed roles of human CIDEC in the differentiation of human adipocytes remain unknown. In the present study, we found that the expression of CIDEC increased during the differentiation of fetal adipose tissues, but decreased during the de-differentiation of adipocytic tumors, suggesting that the expression of CIDEC should be positively correlated with the differentiation of adipocytes. Furthermore, we verified that human CIDEC was localized on the surface of lipid droplets. Using human primary pre-adipocytes, we confirmed that the expression of CIDEC was elevated during the differentiation of pre-adipocytes, and knockdown of CIDEC in human primary pre-adipocytes resulted in differentiation defects. These data demonstrate that CIDEC is essential for the differentiation of adipose tissue. Together with regulating adipocyte lipid metabolism, CIDEC should be a potential target for regulating adipocyte differentiation and reducing fat cell mass.