Description
SMRT (silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors) is recruited by numerous transcription factors to mediate lineage and signal dependent transcriptional repression. We generated a knock-in mutation in the receptor interaction domain (RID) of SMRT (SMRTmRID) that solely disrupts its interaction with nuclear hormone receptors. SMRTmRID-derived 3T3-MEFs display a dramatically increased adipogenic capacity and accelerated differentiation rate. We measured global gene expression in wild-type versus SMRTmRID-derived 3T3-MEFs in the undifferentiated state to examine which pathways were altered. Our results demonstrate that SMRT-RID dependent repression is a key determinant of the adipogenic set point.