Su Mingli, Wang Ying, Yan Zheng, Luo Jia, Yang Jie, Ye Hua, Liu Aiming, Yang Julin
Department of Basic Nutrition, Ningbo College of Health Sciences, Ningbo, China.
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
Korean J Intern Med. 2025 Jan;40(1):92-102. doi: 10.3904/kjim.2024.022. Epub 2025 Jan 1.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Dexamethasone (DEX) is a widely used exogenous therapeutic glucocorticoid in clinical settings. Its long-term use leads to many side effects. However, its effect on metabolic disorders in individuals on a high-fat diet (HFD) remains poorly understood.
In this study, HFD-fed mice were intraperitoneally injected with DEX 2.5 mg/kg/day for 30 days. Lipid metabolism, adipocyte proliferation, and inflammation were assayed using typical approaches.
DEX increased the epididymal fat index and epididymal adipocyte size in HFD-fed mice. The number of epididymal adipocytes with diameters > 70 μm accounted for 0.5% of the cells in the control group, 30% of the cells in the DEX group, 19% of the cells in the HFD group, and 38% of all the cells in the D+H group. Adipocyte proliferation in the D+H group was inhibited by DEX treatment. Adipocyte enlargement in the D+H group was associated with increased the lipid accumulation but not the adipocyte proliferation. In contrast, the liver triglyceride and total cholesterol levels and their metabolism were downregulated by the same treatment, indicating the therapeutic potential of DEX for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
DEX synergizes with HFD to promote lipid deposition in adipose tissues. A high risk of obesity development in patients receiving HFD and DEX treatment is suggested.
背景/目的：地塞米松（DEX）是临床广泛使用的外源性治疗性糖皮质激素。其长期使用会导致多种副作用。然而，其对高脂饮食（HFD）个体代谢紊乱的影响仍知之甚少。
在本研究中，给高脂饮食喂养的小鼠腹腔注射DEX，剂量为2.5 mg/kg/天，持续30天。采用典型方法检测脂质代谢、脂肪细胞增殖和炎症。
DEX增加了高脂饮食喂养小鼠的附睾脂肪指数和附睾脂肪细胞大小。直径>70μm的附睾脂肪细胞数量在对照组细胞中占0.5%，在DEX组细胞中占30%，在HFD组细胞中占19%，在D+H组所有细胞中占38%。DEX处理抑制了D+H组的脂肪细胞增殖。D+H组脂肪细胞增大与脂质积累增加有关，而非脂肪细胞增殖。相反，相同处理下调了肝脏甘油三酯和总胆固醇水平及其代谢，表明DEX对非酒精性脂肪性肝病具有治疗潜力。
DEX与HFD协同作用，促进脂肪组织中的脂质沉积。提示接受HFD和DEX治疗的患者肥胖发生风险较高。
