Long non-coding RNA slincRAD functions in methylation regulation during the early stage of mouse adipogenesis

Adipocyte differentiation is a coordinated cellular process, which involves a series of dynamic molecular events. Up-regulation of long noncoding RNA <i>slincRAD</i> expression was found to occur in the early differentiation stages of 3T3-L1 cell, prior to the regulation of major transcription factors. By interacting with DNMT1 in S phase, <i>slincRAD</i> guides this essentially epigenetic factor to mediate promoter methylation of a batch of cell cycle-related genes, including cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor <i>p21</i>. The regulation promotes the growth-arrested cells to re-enter into cell cycle under hormone induction and thereby advances the process of differentiation to clonal expansion stage. The abolishment of the interaction between <i>slincRAD</i> and DNMT1 by <i>slincRAD</i> knockdown results in a defective epigenetic regulation and finally compromised adipogenesis. Collectively, our study characterizes the epigenetic regulation of lncRNA involved in the early stage of adipogenesis.