The prevalence of obesity has led to a surge of interest in understanding the 
detailed mechanisms underlying adipocyte development. Many protein-coding genes, 
mRNAs, and microRNAs have been implicated in adipocyte development, but the 
global expression patterns and functional contributions of long noncoding RNA 
(lncRNA) during adipogenesis have not been explored. Here we profiled the 
transcriptome of primary brown and white adipocytes, preadipocytes, and cultured 
adipocytes and identified 175 lncRNAs that are specifically regulated during 
adipogenesis. Many lncRNAs are adipose-enriched, strongly induced during 
adipogenesis, and bound at their promoters by key transcription factors such as 
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding 
protein α (CEBPα). RNAi-mediated loss of function screens identified functional 
lncRNAs with varying impact on adipogenesis. Collectively, we have identified 
numerous lncRNAs that are functionally required for proper adipogenesis.