Page 1 of 39 Diabetes Adipocyte XBP1s Promotes Adiponectin Multimerization and Systemic Glucose Homeostasis Haibo Sha,1 Liu Yang,2 Meilian Liu,3 Sheng Xia,1 Yong Liu,4 Feng Liu,3 Sander Kersten,1,5 and Ling Qi1,2 From the 1Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; the 2Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; the 3Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; the 4Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation and Metabolic Diseases, Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai, China; the 5Nutrition, Metabolism, and Genomics group, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. S.X. is currently affiliated with the Department of Immunology, School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China. Corresponding author: Ling Qi,
[email protected]. Phone: (607) 254-8857; FAX: (607) 255-6249. Running title: XBP1 IN ADIPOCYTES Word account: abstract 148, main text 4,029 Number of figures: 7 1 Diabetes Publish Ahead of Print, published online November 15, 2013 Diabetes Page 2 of 39 ABSTRACT The physiological role of the spliced form of X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP1s), a key transcription factor of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, in adipose tissue remains largely unknown. Here we show that overexpression of XBP1s promotes adiponectin multimerization in adipocytes, thereby regulating systemic glucose homeostasis. Ectopic expression of XBP1s in adipocytes improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in both lean and obese (ob/ob) mice. The beneficial effect of adipocyte XBP1s on glucose homeostasis is associated with elevated serum levels of HMW adiponectin and indeed, is adiponectin dependent.