Berberine alleviates adipose tissue fibrosis by inducing AMP-Activated kinase signaling in high-fat diet-induced obese mice
Abstract
Adipose tissue fibrosis is a novel mechanism for the development of obesity related insulin resistance. Berberine (BBR) has been shown to relieve several metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, the effects of BBR on obesity related adipose fibrosis remain poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of BBR on adipose tissue fibrosis in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. The results showed that BBR reduced animal body weight and significantly improved glucose tolerance in HFD mice. In addition, BBR treatment markedly attenuated collagen deposition and reversed the up-regulation of fibrosis associated genes in the adipose tissue of HFD mice. Moreover, BBR treatment activated AMP-activated kinase signaling and reduced TGF-β1 and Smad3 phosphorylation. Of note, the inhibitory effects of BBR on adipose tissue fibrosis were significantly blocked by AMPK inhibition with compound C, an AMPK inhibitor. Macrophage infiltration and polarization induced by HFD were also reversed after BBR administration. These findings suggest that BBR displays beneficial effects in the treatment of obesity, in part via improvement of adipose tissue fibrosis.
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Several studies have confirmed that berberine possesses properties that ameliorate dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension.
“Several studies have confirmed that berberine possesses properties that ameliorate dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension (Turner et al., 2008; Xu et al., 2014; Xu et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2018; Rondanelli et al., 2023; Yan et al., 2024).”
From Efficacy and safety of berberine on the components of metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials (2025) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2018
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Insulin resistance as a predictor of age-related diseases
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The effect of Berberine on weight loss in order to prevent obesity: A systematic review
Ilyas, Z., Perna, S., Al-thawadi, S., Alalwan, T. A., Riva, A., Petrangolini, G., Gasparri, C., Infantino, V., Peroni, G., & Rondanelli, M. (2020) · Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110137 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Wang, L., Ye, X., Hua, Y., & Song, Y.
- Affiliations
- Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Song, Yingxiang
- ORCID
- Wang, Lijun
- Venue
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-09
- Volume
- 105
- Pages
- 121-129
- ISSN
- 0753-3322 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2805320526
- Cited by
- 59
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 3.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (81550002)
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ18H070004)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Berberine and alkaloids research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Keywords
- berberine, adipose tissue fibrosis, high-fat diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling, macrophage polarization, macrophage infiltration, collagen deposition, glucose tolerance, compound C
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Animals, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Berberine, Disease Models, Animal, Fibrosis, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Obesity, Signal Transduction, AMP-Activated Protein Kinases, Diet, High-Fat
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