title: The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Prunus yedoensis Bark Extract on Adipose Tissue in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.
abstract: Chronic, low-grade inflammatory responses occur in obese adipose tissue and play a crucial role in the development of insulin resistance. Macrophages exposed to high glucose upregulate the expression of SRA, a macrophage-specific scavenger receptor. The present study investigated whether Prunus yedoensis (PY) bark extract affects the inflammatory response and scavenger receptor gene expression observed in a diet-induced obesity model in vivo. Oral administration of PY extract significantly reduced fasting blood glucose levels without a change in body weight in mice fed a high fat diet for 17 weeks. PY extract significantly suppressed expression of inflammatory and macrophage genes such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and F4/80 in epididymal adipose tissue. Among scavenger receptor genes, SRA expression was significantly reduced. The inhibitory responses of PY extract and its fractions were determined through evaluation of scavenger receptor expression in THP-1 cells. PY extract and its ethyl acetate fraction decreased the levels of SRA mRNA and phospho-ERK1/2 during monocyte differentiation. Our data indicate that the anti-inflammatory effects of PY extract and its downregulation of SRA seem to account for its hypoglycemic effects.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of East-West Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of East-West Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Kyung
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of East-West Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Bo-Geun
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Herbology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee