RESUMO
Tanshinone IIA (TAN2A) is a major active ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza used in traditional Chinese medicine and tanshinone 20 (TAN20) is a derivative of TAN2A. In this study, we examined the effects of TAN2A and TAN20 on adipogenesis, lipid metabolism, and thermogenesis. Our experiments showed that both TAN2A and TAN20 increased mitochondria content in adipose tissue, enhanced energy expenditure, reduced body weight, and improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis in obese and diabetic mouse models. We demonstrated that TAN20 can facilitate the transformation from white to beige adipose tissue, as well as activate brown adipose tissue. In uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) knockout mouse model, the effects of TAN2A and TAN20 on body weight and glucose tolerance were not observed, suggesting that such effects were UCP1 dependent. Furthermore, we found that TAN2A and TAN20 increased the expression of UCP1 and other thermogenic genes in adipocytes through AMPK-PGC-1α signaling pathway. Our findings indicate that TAN2A and its derivative TAN20 are potential interesting energy expenditure regulators and may be implicated in treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders.
Assuntos
Tecido Adiposo Branco , Termogênese , Abietanos , Adipócitos/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo Marrom/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo Branco/metabolismo , Animais , Metabolismo Energético , Camundongos , Termogênese/genética , Proteína Desacopladora 1/metabolismoRESUMO
Amine-containing compounds including polymers, oligomers and small molecules, without conventional fluorophores, are found to emit strong visible fluorescence after a one-step heat treatment. Furthermore, our results demonstrate for the first time that not only tertiary amine groups but also primary and secondary amine groups can act as fluorescent moieties.
Assuntos
Aminas/química , Corantes Fluorescentes/química , Corantes Fluorescentes/metabolismo , Temperatura Alta , Microscopia Confocal , Cebolas/citologia , Células Vegetais/metabolismo , Polímeros/química , Espectrometria de Fluorescência , Trientina/química , Trientina/metabolismoRESUMO
Cells have evolved multiple mechanisms to inhibit viral replication. To identify previously unknown antiviral activities, we screened mammalian complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries for genes that prevent infection by a genetically marked retrovirus. Virus-resistant cells were selected from pools of transduced clones, and an active antiviral cDNA was recovered. The gene encodes a CCCH-type zinc finger protein designated ZAP. Expression of the gene caused a profound and specific loss of viral messenger RNAs (mRNAs) from the cytoplasm without affecting the levels of nuclear mRNAs. The finding suggests the existence of a previously unknown machinery for the inhibition of virus replication, targeting a step in viral gene expression.