Inhibitory Effects and Molecular Mechanism of Adipocyte Differentiation by Rosae laevigata Fructus Ethanol Extracs

Obesity is caused by excess accumulation of body fat and contributes to various pathological disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of a 30% ethanol extract of Fructus Rosae laevigata (RLE) on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, measured by triglyceride accumulation and expression of adipogenesis-related transcription factors during differentiation of pre-adipocytes into adipocytes. RLE decreased the intracellular triglyceride contents (assessed by Oil Red-O staining) in a dose-dependent manner. It also downregulated the expression of adipogenic transcription factors and inhibited cell proliferation during the mitotic clonal expansion phase of adipocyte differentiation by inducing G1 phase arrest. We investigated the alterations in the levels of G1 phase arrest–related proteins. The expression of p21 protein significantly increased, while the levels of Cyclin E, Cdk2, and phospho-Rb decreased in a dose-dependent manner in 3T3-L1 cells treated with RLE. These results suggest that RLE inhibits the differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes by suppressing the expression of adipogenic transcription factors and inducing G1 phase arrest in the early stages of adipocyte differentiation. KCI Citation Count: 0