title: Berberine activates thermogenesis in white and brown adipose tissue.
abstract: Obesity develops when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. Promoting brown adipose tissue formation and function increases energy expenditure and hence may counteract obesity. Berberine (BBR) is a compound derived from the Chinese medicinal plant Coptis chinensis. Here we show that BBR increases energy expenditure, limits weight gain, improves cold tolerance and enhances brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity in obese db/db mice. BBR markedly induces the development of brown-like adipocytes in inguinal, but not epididymal adipose depots. BBR also increases expression of UCP1 and other thermogenic genes in white and BAT and primary adipocytes via a mechanism involving AMPK and PGC-1α. BBR treatment also inhibits AMPK activity in the hypothalamus, but genetic activation of AMPK in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus does not prevent BBR-induced weight loss and activation of the thermogenic programme. Our findings establish a role for BBR in regulating organismal energy balance, which may have potential therapeutic implications for the treatment of obesity.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Zhiguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Huizhi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1] Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China [2] Department of Endocrinology, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui province 241000, China.
authors.forename: Xiangjian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Jiqiu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Yifei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Shuangshuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Qinyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Weiqing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ning
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001599:Berberine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D001599:Berberine