The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been proposed as a promising target against obesity due to its increased capacity for thermogenesis. In this study, we explored the effect of β -Lapachone ( β L), a compound obtained from the bark of the lapacho tree, against obesity. In vivo administration of β L into either high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL6 mice and genetically obese Lepr -∕- mice prevented body weight gain, which was associated with tissue weight loss of white adipose tissue (WAT). ⋯ Taken together, β L exerts anti-obese effects by inducing thermogenesis mediated by AMPK signaling pathway, suggesting that β L may have a potential therapeutic implication of obesity. Taken together, β L exerts anti-obese effects by not only inducing thermogenesis on brown adipocytes but also inducing the browning of white adipocytes. The anti-obese effect of β L is mediated by AMPK signaling pathway, suggesting that β L may have potential therapeutic implication of obesity.
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Parkinson's disease (PD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease, is caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). It is characterized by the formation of intracytoplasmic Lewy bodies that are primarily composed of the protein alpha-synuclein ( α -syn) along with dystrophic neurites. Acupuncture stimulation results in an enhanced survival of dopaminergic neurons in the SN in parkinsonism animal models. ⋯ We identified that serum- and glucocorticoid-dependent kinase 1 (SGK1) is evidently downregulated in chronic MPTP-intoxication and acupuncture stimulation maintained SGK1 expression at levels similar to the control group. For an examination of the expression correlation between SGK1 and α -syn, SH-SY5Y cells were knocked down with SGK1 siRNA then, the downregulation of dopaminergic cells and the increase in the expression of α -syn were observed. Our findings indicate that the acupuncture-mediated inhibition in the α -syn increase induced by MPTP may be responsible for modulating SGK1 expression.