The Total Saponins from Panax japonicus Promote Lipolysis in Senescent Adipocytes via the ALK7-SMADs Pathway

Abstract

Aging is a growing trend in modern societies, and the incidence of aging-related obesity has been on a steady rise. The key cause of obesity of older adults is identified as the decreased lipolysis of adipocytes, which in turn can be attributed to the decreased expression of key lipases in senescent adipocytes, but effective clinical measures to enhance the lipase expression are currently lacking. In this work, we studied the influence of the total saponins from Panax japonicus (TSPJs) on the expression of key lipases in senescent adipocytes, which can provide an experimental basis for potentially using TSPJs to address aging-related obesity. We found that TSPJs could regulate lipase expression through the ALK7-SMADs signaling pathway, to restore the lipase expression in senescent adipocytes and thus improve lipolysis.

Keywords

• Total saponins
• Panax japonicus
• Aging
• Adipocytes
• ALK7
• SMADs