Journal of Nutrition and Health

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
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Effects of quercetin on the improvement of lipid metabolism through regulating hepatic AMPK and microRNA-21 in high cholesterol diet-fed mice

고콜레스테롤 식이 섭취 쥐에서 quercetin의 간 AMPK 및 microRNA-21 조절을 통한 지질대사 개선 효과

  • Lee, Mak-Soon (Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University) ;
  • Kim, Yangha (Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University)
  • 이막순 (이화여자대학교 식품영양학과) ;
  • 김양하 (이화여자대학교 식품영양학과)
  • Received : 2021.09.10
  • Accepted : 2021.10.20
  • Published : 2022.02.28
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Abstract

Purpose: Quercetin is a polyphenolic flavonoid abundant in many fruits and vegetables. It has potential health-beneficial properties, such as antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the lipid metabolism improvement effect of quercetin affected the regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and microRNA (miR)-21 expression in the liver of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with normal diet, quercetin-free diet and diets containing 0.05% or 0.1% quercetin for six weeks. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by adding 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid to all diets. Serum and liver triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations were analyzed using a commercial enzymatic colorimetric kit. AMPK activity was quantified using an AMPK kinase assay kit. The levels of miR-21 and genes involved in lipid metabolism were measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Supplementation of quercetin reduced serum and hepatic TG and TC levels without changing body weight and food intake. Dietary quercetin significantly inhibited the mRNA levels of hepatic sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1c, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 and fatty acid synthesis, which are involved in hepatic lipogenesis. Dietary quercetin enhanced AMPK activity and suppressed miR-21 expression, promoting hepatic lipid accumulation. Conclusion: These results suggest that the lipid-lowering effect of quercetin on the serum and liver of mice may be partially mediated by the regulation of lipogenic gene expression, AMPK activity and miR-21 expression in the liver of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet.

Quercetin의 지질대사 개선 효과에 대한 작용기전을 확인하기 위해 C57BL/6J mouse를 사용하여 실험을 수행하였다. 고콜레스테롤혈증을 유도하기 위해 6주간 1% 콜레스테롤과 0.5% cholic acid를 함유하는 고콜레스테롤 식이를 급여하였으며, quercetin은 0.05%와 0.1%의 수준으로 고콜레스테롤 식이에 추가하여 같은 기간 동안 제공하였다. Quercetin은 혈청과 간의 중성지방 및 콜레스테롤 수준을 용량 의존적으로 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 고콜레스테롤 식이를 섭취한 쥐의 간에서 지방 합성을 촉진하는 SREBP-1c, ACC1 및 FAS 유전자 발현이 quercetin 섭취에 의해 억제되는 것을 확인하였다. Quercetin은 간세포 내에서 에너지 대사를 조절하는 AMPK 활성을 증가시켰다. 이에 반해 암세포 증식을 촉진하고 지방간에서 높게 발현되는 miR-21 발현은 quercetin 섭취에 의해 감소되었다. 본 연구의 결과는 quercetin이 고콜레스테롤 식이 섭취 쥐에서 혈청과 간의 지질 수준을 낮추는 지질대사 개선 효과가 있으며, 이러한 효과의 일부는 간 내 지방합성 유전자 (SREBP-1c, ACC1 및 FAS) 발현, AMPK 활성 및 miR-21 조절을 통해 매개된다는 것을 시사한다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (No. 2019R1A2C1002861).

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