PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Douglas P Dyer
AU  - Joan Boix Nebot
AU  - Christopher Kelly
AU  - Laura Medina-Ruiz
AU  - Fabian Schuette
AU  - Gerard J Graham
TI  - The chemokine receptor CXCR2 contributes to murine adipocyte development
AID  - 10.1101/339721
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 339721
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/05/339721.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/05/339721.full
AB  - Chemokines are members of a large family of chemotactic cytokines that signal through their receptors to mediate leukocyte recruitment during inflammation and homeostasis. The chemokine receptor CXCR2 has largely been associated with neutrophil recruitment. However, there is emerging evidence of roles for chemokines and their receptors in processes other than leukocyte migration. We have previously demonstrated that CXCR2 KO mice have thinner skin compared to wild type mice. Herein we demonstrate that this is due to a thinner subcutaneous adipose layer, as a result of fewer and smaller individual adipocytes. We observe a similar phenotype in other fat depots and present data that suggests this may be due to reduced expression of adipogenesis related genes associated with adipocyte specific CXCR2 signalling. Interestingly, this phenotype is evident in female, but not male, CXCR2 KO mice. These findings expand our understanding of non-leukocyte related chemokine receptor functions and help to explain some previously observed adipose-related phenotypes in CXCR2 KO mice.