Genes expressed within 6 hours after the initiation of differentiation from adipocyte precursors into adipocytes with showing a peak 3 hours thereafter are found out. A polynucleotide containing a base sequence which is the same as a base sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:3 or has a homology of at least 80% therewith, or a polynucleotide complementary to the above polynucleotide; and a protein encoded by a polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:3 and containing an amino acid sequence which is the same as a protein represented by SEQ ID NO:2 or SEQ ID NO:4 over the full length or has a homology of at least 80% therewith.
ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION-ASSOCIATED GENES AND PROTEINS