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Review
. 2017 Aug;74(15):2723-2733.
doi: 10.1007/s00018-017-2492-2. Epub 2017 Mar 11.

GPR120: a critical role in adipogenesis, inflammation, and energy metabolism in adipose tissue

Tongxing Song  1   2 , Yang Yang  1   2 , Yuanfei Zhou  1   2 , Hongkui Wei  3   4 , Jian Peng  5   6
Affiliations
Review

GPR120: a critical role in adipogenesis, inflammation, and energy metabolism in adipose tissue

Tongxing Song et al. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

It is well known that adipose tissue has a critical role in the development of obesity and metabolic diseases and that adipose tissue acts as an endocrine organ to regulate lipid and glucose metabolism. Accumulating in the adipose tissue, fatty acids serve as a primary source of essential nutrients and act on intracellular and cell surface receptors to regulate biological events. G protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) represents a promising target for the treatment of obesity-related metabolic disorders for its involvement in the regulation of adipogenesis, inflammation, glucose uptake, and insulin resistance. In this review, we summarize recent studies and advances regarding the systemic role of GPR120 in adipose tissue, including both white and brown adipocytes. We offer a new perspective by comparing the different roles in a variety of homeostatic processes from adipogenic development to adipocyte metabolism, and we also discuss the effects of natural and synthetic agonists that may be potential agents for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Keywords: Adipogenesis; Brown adipose tissue; Fatty acids; GPR120; Glucose uptake; Metabolic homeostasis; White adipose tissue.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic diagram of adipogenesis mediated by GPR120 activation in 3T3L1 cells. With the treatment of n-3 PUFAs or GPR120 synthetic agonist, TUG-891, GPR120 promotes adipogenesis by activating PPARγ and elevating the expression of key adipogenic gene via [Ca2+]i and ERK1/2 signal pathway in 3T3L1 cells
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic diagram of the role of GPR120 activation in adipose tissues related to the metabolic homeostasis. With the treatment of n-3 PUFAs or GPR120 synthetic agonists, GPR120 promotes adipogenesis in both white and brown preadipocytes. In white adipose tissue, GPR120 mediates anti-inflammation and insulin sensitization effects and GPR120 activation also induces the browning of white adipocytes. The pleiotropic functions of GPR120 in adipose tissue will contribute to the whole-body metabolic homeostasis
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