A large body of evidence has linked
retinol-
binding protein 4 (RBP4) to systemic
insulin resistance, but little is known about its function in fat deposition. This study aimed to confirm the involvement of RBP4 in inguinal fat deposition and
insulin by
intraperitoneal injection of
adenovirus-mediated RBP4 to
mice.
Intraperitoneal injection of adenoviral vectors was validated as an efficient
gene manipulation tool for over-expressing
recombinant proteins in vivo.
Ectopic expression of RBP4 decelerated inguinal fat deposition by decreasing the size of
adipocytes. Moreover, the introduction of exogenous RBP4 blunted the response of inguinal
adipocytes to
insulin signals. These findings suggest that RBP4 impaired in vivo
adipogenesis, partly through the
repression of the
insulin pathway