Deciphering the dynamical origin of the Adipogenic commitment during stress-induced disruption of the circadian rhythm

Obesity is a major health concern worldwide and is caused by an excessive fat accumulation in the body due to adipogenesis. Recent studies suggest that excessive stress or disruption of circadian rhythms can enhance adipogenic commitment and lead to obesity. Moreover, this adipogenic commitment occurs at a specific time of day, highlighting a correlation with the circadian rhythm. However, the dynamical nature of this kind of stress-induced adipogenic differentiation remains an unresolved puzzle. Herein, we proposed a mathematical model centred on the key transcription factor PPAR{gamma}, associated with adipogenic differentiation, and demonstrated that adipogenic commitment is a bistable, irreversible differentiation process in which slow positive feedback regulation of PPAR{gamma} primarily controls the differentiation commitment threshold. The model reproduced the experimental observations regarding the extent of adipogenesis induced by constant and pulsatile stress input signals and explained the correlation between adipogenic differentiation time and circadian phase. It further predicts how to control the adipogenic commitment even under stressful conditions. Overall, our study elucidates how stress signalling dynamically governs adipogenesis.