Department of Microbiology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Phytother Res. 2013 Jun;27(6):937-43. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4918. Epub 2012 Dec 27.
Adipogenesis is a differentiation process from preadipocytes to adipocytes, accompanied by the inductions of adipogenic transcription factors and lipid metabolizing enzymes. Among cellular pathways regulating adipogenesis, the WNT/β-catenin pathway is well-known as a suppressor of adipogenesis. Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid component of the medicinal plants including Coptis chinensis and Coptis japonica with diverse biological activities. This study was conducted to elucidate whether the anti-adipogenic effect of BBR is mediated by the WNT/β-catenin pathway. The results of the present study confirmed that BBR efficiently inhibited adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells. However, the anti-adipogenic effects of BBR were not accompanied by the modulations of the WNT/β-catenin pathway members including WNT10B, LRP6, DVL2, GSK3β and β-catenin. When β-catenin was knocked down by its siRNA transfection, the anti-adipogenic effects of BBR including the expression of adipogenic transcription factors and lipid metabolizing enzymes as well as the intracellular fat accumulation were not affected at all. The results of this study showed that the anti-adipogenic effect of BBR is not mediated by the WNT/β-catenin pathway.
脂肪生成是前体脂肪细胞向脂肪细胞分化的过程，伴随着脂肪生成转录因子和脂质代谢酶的诱导。在调节脂肪生成的细胞途径中，WNT/β-catenin 途径是众所周知的脂肪生成抑制剂。小檗碱（BBR）是黄连和日本黄连等药用植物中的异喹啉生物碱成分，具有多种生物学活性。本研究旨在阐明 BBR 的抗脂肪生成作用是否通过 WNT/β-catenin 途径介导。本研究结果证实，BBR 能有效抑制 3T3-L1 细胞的脂肪生成。然而，BBR 的抗脂肪生成作用并不伴随着 WNT/β-catenin 途径成员的调节，包括 WNT10B、LRP6、DVL2、GSK3β 和 β-catenin。当用其 siRNA 转染敲低 β-catenin 时，BBR 的抗脂肪生成作用，包括脂肪生成转录因子和脂质代谢酶的表达以及细胞内脂肪积累，都没有受到影响。本研究结果表明，BBR 的抗脂肪生成作用不通过 WNT/β-catenin 途径介导。
