Prostacyclin as a critical prostanoid in adipogenesis.

Adipose cell differentiation from adipoblasts to preadipose and to adipose cells is a multistep process. Terminal differentiation of preadipose cells expressing early markers to adipose cells expressing late and very late markers and accumulating triacylglycerol requires a combination of circulating and locally-produced hormones. Prostacyclin (PGI2), one of the major metabolites of arachidonic acid in adipose tissue, has been shown to exert autocrine and paracrine adipogenic effects in vitro. As discussed herein, multiple arguments support the proposition that PGI2 is a key prostanoid involved in adipogenesis.