QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: mol.107.034447v1 72/1/62    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, E. J. Articles by Ha, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, E. J. Articles by Ha, J.

Antidiabetes and Antiobesity Effect of Cryptotanshinone via Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical Research Center for Bioreaction to Reactive Oxygen Species, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (E.J.K., S.-N.J., W.C., S.-S.K., J.H.); Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Andong National University, Andong, Korea (K.H.S.); Food Function Research Division, Korea Food Research Institute, Sungnam, Korea (S.R.K., T.Y.H.); and New Drug Research Division, MD Bioalpha Co., Ltd., Sungnam, Korea (M.G.P., I.G.J., J.G.P.)

Metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes and obesity, represent major health risks in industrialized countries. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has become the focus of a great deal of attention as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of metabolic syndromes, because AMPK has been demonstrated to mediate, at least in part, the effects of a number of physiological and pharmacological factors that exert beneficial effects on these disorders. Thus, the identification of a compound that activates the AMPK pathway would contribute significantly to the treatment and management of such syndromes. In service of this goal, we have screened a variety of naturally occurring compounds and have identified one compound, cryptotanshinone, as a novel AMPK pathway activator. Cryptotanshinone was originally isolated from the dried roots of Salvia militorrhiza, an herb that is used extensively in Asian medicine and that is known to exert beneficial effects on the circulatory system. For the first time, in the present study, we have described the potent antidiabetic and antiobesity effects of cryptotanshinone, both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that the activation of the AMPK pathway might contribute to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Joohun Ha, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Tongdaemun-gu, Hoegi-dong 1, Seoul 130-701, Korea. E-mail: hajh{at}khu.ac.kr

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. M. Horvath, L. Tackett, A. M. McCarthy, P. Raman, J. T. Brozinick, and J. S. Elmendorf Antidiabetogenic Effects of Chromium Mitigate Hyperinsulinemia-Induced Cellular Insulin Resistance via Correction of Plasma Membrane Cholesterol Imbalance Mol. Endocrinol., April 1, 2008; 22(4): 937 - 950. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]