Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatment in vitro inhibits adipogenesis in human omental but not subcutaneous adipose tissue

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a precursor sex steroid, circulates in sulphated form (DHEAS). Serum DHEAS concentrations are inversely correlated with metabolic syndrome components and in vivo/in vitro studies suggest a role in modulating adipose mass. To investigate further, we assessed the in vitro biological effect of DHEA in white (3T3-L1) and brown (PAZ6) preadipocyte cell lines and human primary preadipocytes.DHEA (from 10−8 M) caused concentration-dependent proliferation inhibition of 3T3-L1 and PAZ6 preadipocytes. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated unaltered apoptosis but indicated blockade at G1/S or G2/M in 3T3-L1 and PAZ6, respectively. Preadipocyte cell-line adipogenesis was not affected.In human primary subcutaneous and omental preadipocytes, DHEA significantly inhibited proliferation from 10−8 M. DHEA 10−7 M had opposing effects on adipogenesis in the two fat depots. Subcutaneous preadipocyte differentiation was unaffected or increased whereas omental preadipocytes showed significantly reduced adipogenesis.We conclude that DHEA exerts fat depot-specific differences which modulate body composition by limiting omental fat production.