Effects of baicalein on the proliferation and differentiation of porcine preadipoctyes

To investigate the effects of Baicalein (BAI) on the proliferation and differentiation of porcine preadipocytes and to elucidate its potential mechanism, porcine primary preadipocytes were cultured in vitro. The morphologic changes of preadipocytes brought about by differentiation were observed by Oil Red O staining. The extent of cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. The degrees of adipogenesis and differentiation were measured by Oil Red O staining extraction assay. The activity of fatty acid synthase (FAS) was detected by spectrophotometry. The mRNA expression of special peroxisome proliferation activated receptor-γ2 genes (PPARγ2) was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). When preadipocytes differentiated into adipocytes, the shape of the preadipocytes changed from shuttle to oval and round, and the preadipocytes were filled with lipid droplets of different sizes. The proliferation of preadipocytes was inhibited by the treatment of 160-640 μmol/L BAI (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of PPARγ2 and FAS activity and the differentiation of preadipocytes was repressed by 40-320 μmol/L BAI treatment (P<0.05). It is concluded that the proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes are inhibited by BAI to some degree. The effect of BAI on differentiation of preadipocytes may be due to the inhibition of the mRNA expression of PPARγ2 and the reduction of the FAS activity.