Bee Venom Suppresses the Differentiation of Preadipocytes and High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity by Inhibiting Adipogenesis

• Published in: Toxins Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 9
• Main Authors: Cheon, Se-Yun, Chung, Kyung-Sook, Roh, Seong-Soo, Cha, Yun-Yeop, An, Hyo-Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24.12.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: 3T3-L1 Cells; Acetyl-CoA carboxylase; Adipocytes - drug effects; Adipogenesis; Adipogenesis - drug effects; AMP; AMPK; Animals; Anti-Obesity Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Obesity Agents - therapeutic use; Bee venom; Bee Venoms - pharmacology; Bee Venoms - therapeutic use; Body weight; Body weight gain; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cytotoxicity; Diet; Diet, High-Fat; Differentiation; High fat diet; Inflammatory diseases; Kinases; Lipid Metabolism - drug effects; Male; MAPK; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Obesity; Obesity - drug therapy; Oils & fats; Pain; Phosphorylation; PPARγ; Preadipocytes; Proteins; Rodents; Toxicity; Transcription factors; Venom; Weight reduction; Western blotting; AMPK; adipogenesis; MAPK; Bee venom; PPARγ
• ISSN: 2072-6651; 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010009

Bee venom (BV) has been widely used in the treatment of certain immune-related diseases. It has been used for pain relief and in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Despite its extensive use, there is little documented evidence to demonstrate its medicinal utility against obesity. In this study, we demonstrated the inhibitory effects of BV on adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells and on a high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mouse model through the inhibition of adipogenesis. BV inhibited lipid accumulation, visualized by Oil Red O staining, without cytotoxicity in the 3T3-L1 cells. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed either a HFD or a control diet for 8 weeks, and BV (0.1 mg/kg or 1 mg/kg) or saline was injected during the last 4 weeks. BV-treated mice showed a reduced body weight gain. BV was shown to inhibit adipogenesis by downregulating the expression of the transcription factors CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), using RT-qPCR and Western blotting. BV induced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in the cell line and in obese mice. These findings demonstrate that BV mediates anti-obesity/differentiation effects by suppressing obesity-related transcription factors.