Text Box: ENHANCEMENT OF ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION BY ACYLATION STIMULATION PROTEIN Wang Hongwei1, Cianflone K2 1Dept. of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China 2 Dept. of Cardiovasology, Royal Victoria Hospital, Mcgill University. Montreal, Canada Objective: Acylation stimulation protein (ASP) is an adipocyto-derived protein that has potent anabolic effects on human adipose tissue for both glucose and free fatty acid storage. It has been demonstrated that ASP is increased in plasma in human obesity both children and adults. In this study, we investigated that the effect of ASP on differentiation of 3T3-F442A preadipocyte and the expression of adipose-specific genes, to find a new direction for children obese prevention and treatment. Methods: Treatment of conflated 3T3-F442A preadipocyte culture for 7 days with ASP (5uM) and insulin (0.2uM), then, morphology was observed, and the mRNA expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and diacylacerol acyltransferase (DGAT) was examined with Northern blot. Results: >90% cells differentiated into lipid accumulating adipocytes in comparison with 61%~73% cells differentiated by treatment with either ASP or insulin. The positive expression of LPL, DGAT mRNA in ASP + insulin group were much intensely than the expression of with ASP or insulin alone. Conclusion: ASP, which is a potent adipogenic agent, enhances the expression of adipose-specific genes as well leads to the acquisition of the differentiated phenotype. ASP may play an important role in obese-genesis. 2367