Genome-wide survey identifies TNNI2 as a target of KLF7 that inhibits chicken adipogenesis via downregulating FABP4

Krüppel-like factor 7 (KLF7) negatively regulates adipocyte differentiation; however, the mechanism underlying its activity in mammals and birds remains poorly understood. To identify genome-wide KLF7-binding motifs in preadipocytes, we conducted a chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing analysis of immortalized chicken preadipocytes (ICP2), which revealed 11,063 specific binding sites. Intergenic binding site analysis showed that KLF7 regulates several novel factors whose functions in chicken and mammal adipogenesis are underexplored. We identified a novel regulator, troponin I2 (TNNI2), which is positively regulated by KLF7. TNNI2 is downregulated during preadipocyte differentiation and acts as an adipogenic repressor at least in part by repressing FABP4 promoter activity. In conclusion, we demonstrated that KLF7 functions through cis-regulation of TNNI2, which inhibits adipogenesis. Our findings not only provide the first genome-wide picture of KLF7 associations in preadipocytes but also identify a novel function of TNNI2.