Anti-Adipogenic Activity of Ailanthoidol on 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Ju-Hyung Park; Jong-Gab Jun; Jin-Kyung Kim

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2014;20:62-69

Published online June 30, 2014

Ju-Hyung Park¹, Jong-Gab Jun² and Jin-Kyung Kim^1,†

¹Department of Biomedical Science, Catholic University of Daegu, Gyeongsan-Si 712-702, Korea,
²Department of Chemistry and Institute of Natural Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-702, Korea

Correspondence to: Jin-Kyung Kim
Department of Biomedical Science, College of Natural Science, Catholic University of Daegu, 13-13 Hayang-Ro, Gyeongsan-Si, Gyeongsangbuk-Do 712-702, Korea.
Tel: +82-53-850-3774, Fax: +82-53-850-3774
e-mail: toto0818@cu.ac.kr

Received March 25, 2014; Revised May 14, 2014; Accepted May 24, 2014.

Abstract: Previous our study demonstrated that ailanthoidol (3-deformylated 2-arylbenzo[b]furan), a neolignan from Zanthoxylum ailanthoides or Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, is a novel anti-inflammatory agent. In this investigation, we examined the anti-adipogenic effect of ailanthoidol. Our data showed that ailanthoidol suppressed lipid droplet formation and adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. Treatment of the 3T3-L1 adipocytes with ailanthoidol resulted in an attenuation of the releases of leptin and interleukin-6. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ and CCAAT/ enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)α, the central transcriptional regulators of adipogenesis, was decreased by treatment with ailanthoidol. Additionally, ailanthoidol treatment increased the phosphorylation levels of 5' adenosine monophosphateactivated protein kinase. These results suggest that ailanthoidol effectively suppresses adipogenesis and that it exerts its role mainly through the significant down-regulation of PPARγ and C/EBPα expression. Our findings provide important insights into the mechanisms underlying the anti-adipogenic activity of ailanthoidol.; Keywords : Adipogenesis, Ailanthoidol, C/EBPalpha, PPARgamma