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. 2018 Jan 25;3(2):e96660. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.96660

Figure 12. IKKβ expression and β-catenin phosphorylation are elevated in adipose tissue of obese humans.

Figure 12

(A) s.c. adipose tissues were isolated from a cohort of nondiabetic human subjects. Correlation between adipose IKKβ mRNA levels and BMI (n = 27). The correlation was analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient. (B) IKKβ mRNA levels in adipose tissue of nonobese and obese human subjects (n = 12–15). (C and D) Immunoblotting (C) and densitometric quantification (D) of proteins in adipose tissue of nonobese and obese human subjects (n = 7). Error bars represent ± SEM. Significance was determined by Student’s t test (B and D). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. (E) Schematic representation of the mechanism through which IKKβ reciprocally regulates adipogenesis and osteogenesis in MSCs. Activation of IKKβ by stimuli such as FFAs or inflammation cytokines phosphorylates serine-33, -37, and -45 of β-catenin to prime it for β-TrCP–mediated ubiquitination and degradation, leading to increased adipogenic differentiation and reduced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs.