Obesity results in reduced differentiation potential of adipocytes leading to 
adipose tissue insulin resistance. Elevated proinflammatory cytokines from 
adipose tissue in obesity, such as TNFα have been implicated in the reduced 
adipocyte differentiation. Other mediators of reduced adipocyte differentiation 
include TGFβ and wnt proteins. Although some overlap exists in the signaling 
cascades of the wnt and TGFβ pathways it is unknown if TGFβ or wnt proteins 
reciprocally induce the expression of each other to maximize their biological 
effects in adipocytes. Therefore, we investigated the possible involvement of 
TGFβ signaling in wnt induced gene expression and vice versa in 3T3-L1 
adipocyte. Effect of TGFβ and Wnt pathways on differentiation was studied in 
preadipocytes induced to differentiate in the presence of Wnt3a or TGFβ1 and 
their inhibitors (FZ8-CRD and SB431542, respectively). Regulation of 
intracellular signaling and gene expression was also studied in mature 
adipocytes. Our results show that both TGFβ1 and Wnt3a lead to increased 
accumulation of β-catenin, phosphorylation of AKT and p44/42 MAPK. However, 
differences were found in the pattern of gene expression induced by the two 
proteins suggesting that distinct, but complex, signaling pathways are activated 
by TGFβ and wnt proteins to independently regulate adipocyte function.