The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Retinol-Binding Protein 4 Inhibits Insulin Signaling in Adipocytes by Inducing Proinflammatory Cytokines in Macrophages through a c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase- and Toll-Like Receptor 4-Dependent and Retinol-Independent Mechanism
Open accessAbstract
Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), the sole retinol transporter in blood, is secreted from adipocytes and liver. Serum RBP4 levels correlate highly with insulin resistance, other metabolic syndrome factors, and cardiovascular disease. Elevated serum RBP4 causes insulin resistance, but the molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here we show that RBP4 induces expression of proinflammatory cytokines in mouse and human macrophages and thereby indirectly inhibits insulin signaling in cocultured adipocytes. This occurs through activation of c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathways independent of the RBP4 receptor, STRA6. RBP4 effects are markedly attenuated in JNK1-/- JNK2-/- macrophages and TLR4-/- macrophages. Because RBP4 is a retinol-binding protein, we investigated whether these effects are retinol dependent. Unexpectedly, retinol-free RBP4 (apo-RBP4) is as potent as retinol-bound RBP4 (holo-RBP4) in inducing proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages. Apo-RBP4 is likely to be physiologically significant since RBP4/retinol ratios are increased in serum of lean and obese insulin-resistant humans compared to ratios in insulin-sensitive humans, indicating that higher apo-RBP4 is associated with insulin resistance independent of obesity. Thus, RBP4 may cause insulin resistance by contributing to the development of an inflammatory state in adipose tissue through activation of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages. This process reveals a novel JNK- and TLR4-dependent and retinol- and STRA6-independent mechanism of action for RBP4.
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The Liver as an Endocrine Organ—Linking NAFLD and Insulin Resistance
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Adipokines: A link between obesity and cardiovascular disease
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Metadata
- Authors
- Norseen, J., Hosooka, T., Hammarstedt, A., Yore, M. M., Kant, S., Aryal, P., Kiernan, U. A., Phillips, D. A., Maruyama, H., Kraus, B. J., Usheva, A., Davis, R. J., Smith, U., & Kahn, B. B.
- Venue
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2012-05-01
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 2010-2019
- ISSN
- 0270-7306 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-5549
- OpenAlex
- W2140199830
- Cited by
- 276
- References
- 13
- FWCI
- 14.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Retinol-Binding Protein 4 Inhibits Insulin Signaling in Adipocytes by Inducing Proinflammatory Cytokines in Macrophages through a c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase- and Toll-Like Receptor 4-Dependent and Retinol-Independent Mechanism. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1128/mcb.06193-11
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- Norseen, J., Hosooka, T., Hammarstedt, A., Yore, M. M., Kant, S., Aryal, P., Kiernan, U. A., Phillips, D. A., Maruyama, H., Kraus, B. J., Usheva, A., Davis, R. J., Smith, U., & Kahn, B. B. (2012). Retinol-Binding Protein 4 Inhibits Insulin Signaling in Adipocytes by Inducing Proinflammatory Cytokines in Macrophages through a c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase- and Toll-Like Receptor 4-Dependent and Retinol-Independent Mechanism. Molecular and Cellular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1128/mcb.06193-11
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Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.