Piperine, a Component of Black Pepper, Inhibits Adipogenesis by Antagonizing PPARγ Activity in 3T3-L1 Cells
- Ui-Hyun Park
- ,
- Hong-Suk Jeong
- ,
- Eun-Young Jo
- ,
- Taesun Park
- ,
- Seung Kew Yoon
- ,
- Eun-Joo Kim
- ,
- Ji-Cheon Jeong
- , and
- Soo-Jong Um
Abstract

This study investigated the antiadipogenic activity of black pepper extract and its constituent piperine in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. Both black pepper extract and piperine, without affecting cytotoxicity, strongly inhibited the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. The mRNA expression of the master adipogenic transcription factors, PPARγ, SREBP-1c, and C/EBPβ, was markedly decreased. Intriguingly, mRNA levels of PPARγ target genes were also down-regulated. Moreover, a luciferase reporter assay indicated that pipierine significantly represses the rosiglitazone-induced PPARγ transcriptional activity. Finally, GST-pull down assays demonstrated that piperine disrupts the rosiglitazone-dependent interaction between PPARγ and coactivator CBP. Genome-wide analysis using microarray further supports the role of piperine in regulating genes associated with lipid metabolism. Overall, these results suggest that piperine, a major component of black pepper, attenuates fat cell differentiation by down-regulating PPARγ activity as well as suppressing PPARγ expression, thus leading to potential treatment for obesity-related diseases.
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