Sitosterol prevents obesity-related chronic inflammation.

Abstract

The physiological roles of phytosterols in chronic inflammation, which are believed to be involved in the underlying mechanisms for metabolic diseases, have yet to be elucidated. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to elucidate the physiological roles of phytosterols in both clinical studies and animal experiments. We observed the existence of rather specific negative correlations between the serum sitosterol level and the serum IL-6 and the TNF-α levels in both diabetic subjects (n=46) and non-diabetic subjects (n=178). Multiple regression analyses also revealed that the serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels exhibited strong negative correlations with the serum sitosterol levels. When ABCG5/8 KO mice with markedly elevated plasma sitosterol levels and ABCG5/8 hetero mice were fed a high-fat diet, we observed that the increase in body weight, the fatty liver changes, and the expansion of perigonadal adipose tissues were suppressed in ABCG5/8 KO mice without any modulation of food intake. We also observed that the plasma IL-6 and TNF-α levels, the expressions of TNF-α and PAI-1 in the liver and the expressions of the IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1 levels in the adipose tissue were lower in ABCG5/8 KO mice. These results suggest that sitosterol might suppress obesity-related chronic inflammation and might be applicable to the treatment of metabolic diseases.

• Authors: Makoto Kurano, Koji Hasegawa, Motoei Kunimi, Masumi Hara, Yutaka Yatomi, Tamio Teramoto, Kazuhisa Tsukamoto
• Journal: Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular and cell biology of lipids (Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids) Vol. 1863 Issue 2 Pg. 191-198 (Feb 2018) ISSN: 1388-1981 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 29221711 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• ABCG5 protein, mouse
• ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 5
• IL6 protein, human
• Interleukin-6
• Lipoproteins
• Sitosterols
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• gamma-sitosterol

Topics

• ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 5 (genetics, metabolism)
• Animals
• Chronic Disease
• Female
• Humans
• Inflammation (blood, prevention & control)
• Interleukin-6 (blood)
• Lipoproteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Knockout
• Middle Aged
• Obesity (blood, drug therapy)
• Sitosterols (administration & dosage, pharmacokinetics)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (blood)