Regulatory effect of diosgenin on lipogenic genes expression in high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice

Abstract

Obesity is one of the most serious health problems in the world, increasing the risk of other chronic diseases. Alterations in fatty acid synthesis related genes are crucially involved in obesity progression. Diosgenin (DG) was one of the phytosterols compounds with vital activity against lipid disorders. Therefore, this study was intended to evaluate the protective effect of DG on lipogenesis in the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice, via investigating the expression of two of the fatty acid synthesis-involved genes; sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP-1c) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) genes. Thirty adult male mice were divided into 3 groups. Control group, fed with normal diet; HFD group, mice fed with a high-fat diet and HFD + DG group, mice fed with a high-fat diet and supplemented in parallel with DG for 6 consecutive weeks. The effect of DG on Body weights, liver enzymes, lipid profile, were evaluated. Histopathological fatty changes as well as SREBP-1c and FASN gene expression were also investigated. DG significantly alleviated body weight gain, adjusted liver enzymes, and improved lipid profile. Additionally, DG ameliorated the histopathological changes by reducing the lipid vacuoles and hence the hepatosteatosis. Accordingly, DG significantly downregulated the two-fold increase in the SREBP-1c and FASN gene expression observed in the HFD group. In conclusion, DG possesses a beneficial impact against diet-induced obesity in mice, which makes it a good candidate for NAFLD and obesity prevention.

Keywords: Diosgenin; FASN; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Obesity; SREBP-1c.

© 2020 The Author(s).

Figures

Fig. 1

Effect of Diosgenin on (i) body and (ii) liver weight. Data are represented by mean ± SD (n = 10). A significant difference is indicated as * when p-value 

Fig. 2

Effect of Diosgenin on Liver enzymes activities. Data are represented by mean ± SD (n = 10). A significant difference relative to the control group is indicated as *: p 

Fig. 3

Effect of Diosgenin on serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) in mice. Data are represented by mean ± SD (n = 10). A significant difference relative to the control group is indicated as *: p 

Fig. 4

Effects of diosgenin on the mRNA expression of SREBP-1c and FASN genes. Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6 mice from each group). * P 

Fig. 5

Histopathological observation of hepatic tissues. Control group: (i) liver showing average portal tract (black arrow), average CV (red arrow), and average hepatocytes (blue arrow) (H&E X 200)., (ii) another view showing average CV surrounded by average hepatocytes arranged in single-cell cords (red arrow) with average intervening blood sinusoids (black arrow) (H&E X 400). HFD group: (iii) liver showing average portal tract (red arrow), dilated CV and scattered vacuolated hepatocytes (black arrows) (H&E X 200); (iv) high power view showing dilated PV, average bile duct (red arrows), and hepatocytes showing micro-vesicular steatosis (black arrows) (H&E X 400). HFD + DG group: (v) liver showing portal tract with mildly dilated PV and average bile duct, (black arrow), average CV, and average surrounding hepatocytes (red arrow) (H&E X 200), (vi) liver showing markedly dilated PV with average CV (black arrow) and average surrounding hepatocytes (red arrow) (H&E X 200). CV: central vein; PV: portal vein.