N-acetylcysteine inhibits lipids production in mature adipocytes through the inhibition of peroxisome proliferator - activated receptor gamma

MARTINI C; VILA MC; SOTO D; MONTALDO L; GUERRA LN; FRONTERA E; CALVO JC

International Journal of Biochemistry Research & Review

SCIENCEDOMAIN International

Año: 2020 vol. 29 p. 17 - 29

2231-086X

Aims: Reports regarding the effects of antioxidants in obesity have been contradictory. Antioxidant N-acetylcysteine is usually considered a nutritional supplement. Our aim is to evaluate bioactivity of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on mature adipocytes, which is a close model to in vivo condition.Study design: In vitro study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Basic Science (Universidad Nacional de Lujan), Department of Chemical Biology (Universidad de Buenos Aires), CONICET ? INEDES and CONICET ? IQUIBICEN, between March 2017 and June 2019.Methodology: We evaluated the bioactivity of different concentrations of NAC for 5 days (0.01 mM to 5 mM) on fully differentiated 3T3-L1 cells (mature adipocytes).Results: We demonstrated that NAC treatment was not toxic to mature adipocytes. Only 5mM NAC inhibited reactive oxygen species production. 5 mM NAC treatment resulted in a 60% decrease in cellular triglycerides content and inhibited 70% cholesterol accumulation. We also determined the mRNA and protein expression levels of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor , as well as, mRNA levels of lipid protein Perilipin in NAC treated adipocytes; we observed that 5mM NAC treatment caused nearly 30% decrease in the expression of these parameters. Conclusion: These results suggest that NAC could avoid lipid accumulation in mature adipocytes; the antioxidant NAC could be beneficial in obesity treatment.