Isorhamnetin (3-
O
-methylquercetin), a flavonol found in dill weed, sea buckthorn berries, kale and onions, has been suggested to have anti-obesity effects, but there is limited evidence of its mechanisms of action on lipid metabolism. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of isorhamnetin on lipid metabolism using
Caenorhabditis elegans
as an animal model. Isorhamnetin reduced fat accumulation without affecting food intake or energy expenditure in
C. elegans
. The isorhamnetin's fat-lowering effects were dependent on
nhr-49
, a homolog of the human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). Isorhamnetin upregulated an enoyl-CoA hydratase (
ech-1.1
, involved in fatty acid β-oxidation) and adipose triglyceride lipase (
atgl-1
, involved in lipolysis) via NHR-49-dependent pathway at transcriptional levels. Isorhamnetin also upregulated the
C. elegans
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) subunits homologs (
aak-1
and
aak-2
), involved in energy homeostasis. These results suggest that isorhamnetin reduces body fat by increasing fat oxidation in part via NHR-49/PPARα-dependent pathway.
Recent studies have reported the positive association between exposure to insecticides and increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are closely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, it is not known if insecticide exposure can contribute to NAFLD. Thus, the goal of the current study was to determine if insecticide exposures can exacerbate the physiological conditions of NAFLD by modulating hepatic lipid metabolism. The effects of 12 insecticides on triglycerides (TG) accumulation were tested using palmitic acid (PA)induced HepG2 hepatoma steatosis model. Results showed that among tested insecticides, permethrin and ivermectin significant interacted with palmitic acid to potentiate (permethrin) or decrease (ivermectin) TG accumulation. Further study showed that permethrin significantly promoted fatty acid synthesis, while suppressed lipid oxidation-related genes only under steatosis conditions. In comparison, ivermectin inhibited lipogenesis-related genes and promoted farnesoid X receptor, which upregulates fatty acid oxidation. Results in this study suggested that hepatic lipid metabolism may be more susceptible to insecticide exposure in the presence of excessive fatty acids, which can be associated with the development of NAFLD.
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