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Treatment with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine inhibited differentiation
Fig. 2.
Effect of 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine on differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. (A) Morphology of 3T3-L1 PR-171 in mature adipocyte (day 6). The cells were cultured in the presence or absence of 5-aza-dC during the period from days ?2 to 0 (early), days 0 to 2 (late), or days ?2 to 6 (continuous). The day 6 cells were stained using oil-red-O. (B) Quantification of adipocyte differentiation in oil-red-O-stained 3T3-L1 cells. Quantities of oil-red-O are denoted as the percentage of that of non-treated differentiated cells. The percentage was calculated as the mean of two experiments.
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These results suggest that DNA methylation is involved in the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells into adipocytes. Intriguingly, the continuous presence of 5-aza-dC was less effective at preventing differentiation compared to treatment restricted to the early phase, implying that the epigenetic mechanism underneath differentiation is more complex than had been thought previously.