BACKGROUND

Naringenin and its glycoside naringin are well known citrus flavonoids with several therapeutic benefits. Although the anti-adipogenic effects of naringenin and naringin have been reported previously, the detailed mechanism underlying their anti-adipogenesis effects is poorly understood.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the anti-adipogenic effects of naringenin and naringin by determining differential gene expression patterns in these flavonoids-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

METHODS

Lipid accumulation and triglyceride (TG) content were determined by Oil red O staining and TG assay. Glucose uptake was measured using a 2-[N-(7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]-2-deoxy-d-glucose fluorescent d-glucose analog. The phosphorylation levels of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl Co-A carboxylase (ACC) were observed via Western blot analysis. Differential gene expressions in 3T3-L1 adipocytes were evaluated via RNA sequencing analysis.

RESULTS

Naringenin and naringin inhibited both lipid accumulation and TG content, increased phosphorylation levels of both AMPK and ACC and decreased the expression level of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGCR) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that 32 up-regulated (> 2-fold) and 17 down-regulated (< 0.6-fold) genes related to lipid metabolism, including , , , , , , , and , were normalized to the control level in naringenin-treated adipocytes. In addition, 25 up-regulated (> 2-fold) and 25 down-regulated (< 0.6-fold) genes related to lipid metabolism, including , , , , , , , , and , were normalized to the control level by naringin.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that naringenin and naringin have anti-adipogenic potentials that are achieved by normalizing the expression levels of lipid metabolism-related genes that were perturbed in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells.