Berberine Ameliorates High-fat-induced Insulin Resistance in HepG2 Cells by Modulating PPARs Signaling Pathway.

Background: Berberine (BBR), also known as berberine hydrochloride, was isolated from the rhizomes of the Coptis chinensis. Studies have reported that BBR plays an important role in glycolipid metabolism, including insulin (IR). The targets, and molecular mechanisms of BBR against hyperlipid-induced IR is worthy to be further studied.

Material and methods: The related targets of BBR were identified via Pharmmapper database and relevant targets of diabetes were obtained through GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. The common targets were employed with the STRING database and visualized with the protein-protein interactions (PPI) network. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis was performed to explore the biological progress and pathways. In vitro, human hepatocellular carcinomas (HepG2) cell was used as experimental cell line, and an insulin resistant HepG2 cell model (IR-HepG2) was constructed using free fatty acid induction. After intervention with BBR, glucose consumption and uptake in HepG2 cells were observed. Molecular docking was used to test the interaction between BBR and key targets, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the regulatory effect of BBR on related targets.

Results: 262 overlapped targets were extracted from BBR and diabetes. In the KEGG enrichment analysis, the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway was included. In vitro experiments, BBR can significantly increase sugar consumption and uptake in IR HepG2 cells, while PPAR inhibitors can weaken the effect of BBR on IR-HepG2.

Conclusion: The PPAR signaling pathway is one of the important pathways for BBR to improve high-fat-induced insulin resistance in HepG2 cells.