AIMP1 negatively regulates PPARgamma: Implication in adipogenesis

The regulation mechanism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g (PPARg) known as key determinant in adipogenesis is important for understanding the cause of lipid metabolic disorders and glucose metabolic syndromes. In a recent paper published in Journal of Cell Science, we demonstrated that aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein 1 (AIMP1) is a novel negative regulator of PPARg. Although AIMP1 is originally found as a factor associated with multi-tRNA synthetase complex for translation, it has been shown to play regulatory roles in diverse cellular processes. Now AIMP1 is shown to negatively regulates PPARg-mediated transcription through direct interaction with DNA-binding domain of PPARg and inhibits adipogenesis. These results suggest that AIMP1 functions as a novel inhibitor of PPARg, raising the possible linkage between translation and adipogenesis.