Antidiabetes and antiobesity effect of cryptotanshinone via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase.
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.
Kim
Eun Ju
EJ
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical Research Center for Bioreaction to Reactive Oxygen Species, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jung
Seung-Nam
SN
Son
Kun Ho
KH
Kim
Sung Ran
SR
Ha
Tae Youl
TY
Park
Myoung Gyu
MG
Jo
In Gun
IG
Park
Jong Guk
JG
Choe
Wonchae
W
Kim
Sung-Soo
SS
Ha
Joohun
J
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
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