Raloxifene promotes adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells

To explore the possibility that raloxifene might influence an adipocyte differentiation and lipogenesis, we studied the effects of raloxifene on the expression of adiponectin and other peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ targeting genes using the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. With standard adipogenic inducers, we added raloxifene at various doses for the adipocyte differentiation. Higher doses of raloxifene facilitated lipid accumulation of the 3T3-L1 cells. We next examined the differentiating and differentiated adipocytes and found that raloxifene augmented mRNA levels of adiponectin, adipocyte-specific fatty acid binding protein, and lipoprotein lipase dose-dependently in both. These effects were opposite those of 17β-estradiol treatment. These findings suggest that raloxifene promotes adipocyte differentiation, providing a novel insight into the treatment of postmenopausal metabolic syndrome with hypoadiponectinemia.