Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No. 155 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang 110001, China.
The Endocrine Institute and the Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Endocrine Diseases, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No. 155 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang 110001, China.
J Diabetes Res. 2018 Jan 17;2018:9713259. doi: 10.1155/2018/9713259. eCollection 2018.
Beige adipocytes in white adipose tissue (WAT) have received considerable recognition because of their potential protective effect against obesity. Pycnogenol (PYC), extracted from French maritime pine bark, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and can improve lipid profiles. However, the effect of PYC on obesity has never been explored. In this study, we investigated the effects of PYC on obesity and WAT browning in apolipoprotein E- (ApoE-) deficient mice. The results showed that PYC treatment clearly reversed body weight and the mass of eWAT gain resulting from a high-cholesterol and high-fat diet (HCD), but no difference in food intake. The morphology results showed that the size of the adipocytes in the PYC-treated mice was obviously smaller than that in the HCD-fed mice. Next, we found that PYC upregulated the expression of genes related to lipolysis (ATGL and HSL), while it decreased the mRNA level of PLIN1. PYC significantly increased the expression of UCP1 and other genes related to beige adipogenesis. Additionally, PYC increased the expression of proteins related to the protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway. The findings suggested that PYC decreased obesity by promoting lipolysis and WAT browning. Thus, PYC may be a novel therapeutic target for obesity.
白色脂肪组织（WAT）中的米色脂肪细胞因其对肥胖的潜在保护作用而受到广泛关注。碧萝芷（PYC）是从法国沿海松树皮中提取的，具有抗炎和抗氧化特性，可以改善脂质谱。然而，PYC 对肥胖的影响从未被探索过。在这项研究中，我们研究了 PYC 对载脂蛋白 E 缺陷（ApoE-）小鼠肥胖和 WAT 褐变的影响。结果表明，PYC 治疗明显逆转了由高胆固醇和高脂肪饮食（HCD）引起的体重和 eWAT 增加，但食物摄入量没有差异。形态学结果表明，PYC 处理组小鼠的脂肪细胞大小明显小于 HCD 喂养组小鼠。接下来，我们发现 PYC 上调了与脂肪分解（ATGL 和 HSL）相关的基因的表达，同时降低了 PLIN1 的 mRNA 水平。PYC 显著增加了与米色脂肪生成相关的 UCP1 和其他基因的表达。此外，PYC 增加了与蛋白激酶 A（PKA）信号通路相关的蛋白的表达。这些发现表明，PYC 通过促进脂肪分解和 WAT 褐变来减轻肥胖。因此，PYC 可能成为肥胖的一种新的治疗靶点。
