The Effects of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate on Adipocyte Glucose Transport and Differentiation, and Aberrant Lipid Metabolism-related Genes Expression

Background: Green tea catechins have been shown to promote loss of body fat and to inhibit growth of many cancer cell types by inducing apoptosis. Objective: The objective was to determine if epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has ability to reduce differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and alter expression of aberrant lipid metabolism-related genes in HepG2 hepatocytes. Results: EGCG attenuated differentiation related gene expressions of adipocytes likely due to retarding glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 cells. EGCG decreased the concentration of cholesterol in HepG2 cell, resulting in the similar degree of suppression in apoB 100, and of enhancement in LDL receptor and HMG-CoA reductase mRNA levels. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that EGCG can act directly to inhibit differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and reduce abnormality in lipid metabolism-related genes in HepG2 hepatocytes, thus, could be a potent adjuvant in the treatment of obesity and metabolism