Verbascoside promotes lipolysis in 3T3-L1 hypertrophic cells through alteration in the expression of lipolysis-related genes

Purpose: Recent studies have shown promising outcomes in the utilization of natural, non-toxic polyphenols with fat-burning properties to combat obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the gene expression profile of hypertrophic 3T3-L1 adipocytes in response to Verbascoside (VB) treatment and the mRNA levels of 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and lipid droplet-associated protein (perilipin1, PLIN1), which play an important role in fat metabolism. Materials and methods: For this purpose, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated and hypertrophied. Triglyceride accumulation in the cells was evaluated using Oil Red O staining. The hypertrophic 3T3-L1 cells were incubated with VB for 48 h. Results: Microarray analysis at the end of this period showed that VB increased the mRNA levels of many proteins involved in lipolysis processes, but did not change the expression of PPARγ, AMPK, HSL and PLIN1. Therefore, we confirmed by RT-PCR that PPARγ, AMPK, HSL, and PLIN1 expression levels were altered by VB treatment. Our results showed that VB treatment caused a significant increase in the expression of genes involved in lipolytic processes compared to the control. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that VB may play an active role through important intracellular proteins involved in lipolytic processes.