Description
During adipocyte differentiation, significant alternative splicing changes occur in association with the adipogenic process. However, little is known about roles played by splicing factors in this process. We observed that mice deficient for the splicing factor SRSF10 exhibit severely impaired development of subcutaneous white adipose tissue as a result of defects in adipogenic differentiation. To identify splicing events responsible for this, RNA-seq analysis was performed using embryonic fibroblast cells. Several SRSF10-affected splicing events that are implicated in adipogenesis have been identified. Skipping of lipin1 exon 7 is controlled by SRSF10-regulated cis-element located in the constitutive exon 8. The activity of this element depends on the binding of SRSF10 and correlates with the relative abundance of lipin1a mRNA. A series of experiments demonstrated that SRSF10 controls the production of lipin1a and thus promotes adipocyte differentiation. Indeed, lipin1a expression could rescue SRSF10-mediated adipogenic defects. Taken together, our results identify SRSF10 as an essential regulator for adipocyte differentiation and also provide new insights into splicing control by SRSF10 in lipin1 pre-mRNA splicing. Overall design: RNA-seq for wide type (WT) and SRSF10-deficient (KO) mouse MEF cells