RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Antidiabetes and Antiobesity Effect of Cryptotanshinone via Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase
JF Molecular Pharmacology
JO Mol Pharmacol
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 62
OP 72
DO 10.1124/mol.107.034447
VO 72
IS 1
A1 Eun Ju Kim
A1 Seung-Nam Jung
A1 Kun Ho Son
A1 Sung Ran Kim
A1 Tae Youl Ha
A1 Myoung Gyu Park
A1 In Gun Jo
A1 Jong Guk Park
A1 Wonchae Choe
A1 Sung-Soo Kim
A1 Joohun Ha
YR 2007
UL http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/72/1/62.abstract
AB 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. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics