Apigenin reduces the excessive accumulation of lipids induced by palmitic acid via the AMPK signaling pathway in HepG2 cells

Lu,Jing; Meng,Zhuoqun; Cheng,Bijun; Liu,Meitong; Tao,Siyu; Guan,Shuang

doi:10.3892/etm.2019.7905

Apigenin reduces the excessive accumulation of lipids induced by palmitic acid via the AMPK signaling pathway in HepG2 cells

Authors:
- Jing Lu
- Zhuoqun Meng
- Bijun Cheng
- Meitong Liu
- Siyu Tao
- Shuang Guan
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Affiliations: Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130062, P.R. China, Department of Pharmacology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China
Published online on: August 16, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.7905
Pages: 2965-2971
Copyright: © Lu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to diseases caused by excessive accumulation of lipids in the liver with therapeutic agents derived from natural products offering an alternative treatment to conventional therapies. Among these therapeutic agents, apigenin, a natural flavonoid, has been proven to exert various beneficial biological effects. In the present study, the antiadipogenic effects of apigenin in HepG2 cells was investigated. It was demonstrated that the treatment of cells with different concentrations of apigenin for 24 h significantly decreased the palmitic acid‑induced increases in total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels as well as intracellular lipid accumulation. In addition, apigenin increased the phosphorylated‑AMP‑activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels but decreased the expression levels of 3‑hydroxy‑3‑methylglutaryl CoA reductase, sterol regulatory element‑binding protein (SREBP)‑1, fatty acid synthase, and SREBP‑2 in a concentration‑dependent manner. The present findings suggested that apigenin might improve lipid metabolism by activating the AMPK/SREBP pathway to reduce lipid accumulation in the liver.

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