title: Antidiabetes and antiobesity effect of cryptotanshinone via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase.
abstract: Metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes and obesity, represent major health risks in industrialized countries. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has become the focus of a great deal of attention as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of metabolic syndromes, because AMPK has been demonstrated to mediate, at least in part, the effects of a number of physiological and pharmacological factors that exert beneficial effects on these disorders. Thus, the identification of a compound that activates the AMPK pathway would contribute significantly to the treatment and management of such syndromes. In service of this goal, we have screened a variety of naturally occurring compounds and have identified one compound, cryptotanshinone, as a novel AMPK pathway activator. Cryptotanshinone was originally isolated from the dried roots of Salvia militorrhiza, an herb that is used extensively in Asian medicine and that is known to exert beneficial effects on the circulatory system. For the first time, in the present study, we have described the potent antidiabetic and antiobesity effects of cryptotanshinone, both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that the activation of the AMPK pathway might contribute to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical Research Center for Bioreaction to Reactive Oxygen Species, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Ju
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung-Nam
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kun Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Sung Ran
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae Youl
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Myoung Gyu
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: In Gun
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Jong Guk
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Wonchae
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: Sung-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joohun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ha
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D000818:Animals; D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000502:physiology*; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011924:Rats, Zucker
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D001786:Blood Glucose; D005227:Fatty Acids; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D010616:Phenanthrenes; C037886:cryptotanshinone; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D005947:Glucose