ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effects of berberine (BBR) on the gene mRNA expression of fat-specific protein 27 (FSP27) and PR domain containing 16 (PRDM16) signal pathway in visceral white adipose tissues (VWAT) from type 2 dia? betic (T2DM) Chinese hamsters, and explore the related mechanisms. Methods The obese insulin-resistant (OIR) hamster model was induced by high-fat diet, and T2DM hamster model was created by OIR hamster model injected with low-dose streptozotocin. The control group was fed with standard laboratory chow. After the induction, the hamsters were randomly di?vided into control, OIR, obese T2DM and BBR-treated T2DM groups. After nine-week BBR treatment, real-time quantita?tive PCR was used to measure the gene mRNA expression changes of VWAT FSP27 and PRDM16 signal pathway and their target genes from different groups. Results Compared with control group, the gene mRNA expressions of PRDM16, CtBP-1, CtBP-2, C/EBPβ, PPARγ, PGC1α, PGC-1β and brown adipose tissue-specific genes such as UCP-1, Cidea, Elovl3, PPARα, and Acox, Cpt1 and Acadm were decreased and that of FSP27 and white adipose tissue-specific genes including Resistin, MEST and Serpina3k were increased in VWAT in OIR and obese T2DM groups. BBR treatment down-regulated FSP27 expression, enhanced PRDM16 signal pathway, and induced the gene mRNA expression of brown adipose tissue-spe?cific genes in VWAT of obese T2DM group to develop browning gene phenotype of VWAT, and then improved fat-induced insulin resistance. Conclusion The decreased FSP27 expression and increased PRDM16 expression are involved in the molecular mechanisms of browning of visceral white adipose tissues induced by BBR, and which contributes to improve ab?normal lipids metabolism and fat-induced insulin resistance in VWAT by enhancing consumption of energy as heat to re?store VWAT function.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the Fsp27 gene's influence on the regulation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in vitro.Methods HSCs were isolated from rat liver,the Fsp27 gene was detected in primary HSCs,and activated HSCs were detected by RT-qPCR.After 72 h of Fsp27 transduction through a lentivirus expressing Fsp27 (pLV-Fsp27),the proliferation of HSCs was tested by the CCK-8 test kit,smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA) expression of HSCs was tested by Western blot,and the fibrosis-related genes were tested by RT-qPCR.Results The HSCs were isolated and cultured successfully,and the Fsp27 genetic difference between primary and activated HSCs was significant (P＜0.01).After coculture for 72 h,Fsp27 inhibited the proliferation and activation of HSCs (P＜0.05).Fsp27 can enhance expression of the MMP-2 gene and down-regulate expression of the TIMP-1 and TGF-β1 gene in activated HSCs (P＜0.05).Conclusion The Fsp27 gene can inhibit the proliferation and activation of HSCs,regulate the expression of fibrosis-related genes,and may play an important role in maintaining the quiescent phenotype of HSCs.