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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

An Adipocyte Cell Culture Model to Study the Impact of Protein and Micro-RNA Modulation on Adipocyte Function
Published on: May 4, 2021
Andrographolide suppresses preadipocytes proliferation through glutathione antioxidant systems abrogation
Wei Chen1, Hongming Su1, Lina Feng1
1Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Aims:
Oxidative stress is considered to play a profound role in lipid storage and whole-body energy homeostasis. Inhibition of preadipocytes proliferation by natural products is one of the strategies to prevent obesity. Andrographolide, a small molecule, has been reported to possess versatile bioactivities. However, molecular mechanism underlying the potential effect of andrographolide on preadipocytes proliferation remains obscure.
Main Methods:
In the present study, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were employed to determine whether andrographolide could affect the proliferation of preadipocytes.
Key Findings:
Our results demonstrated andrographolide suppressed 3T3-L1 preadipocytes proliferation. The casual relationship analysis indicated that andrographolide (10 and 20μg/ml) appeared to exert the proliferation inhibitory effect through suppression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) activity and depleting GSH by promoting its efflux in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, which subsequently resulted in 2.06-2.41 fold increase in ROS accumulation. Excessive ROS eruption could account for oxidative damage to mitochondrial membranes as well as ultimately inhibition of cell proliferation.
Significance:
Taken together, our study reveals that suppression of GPX1 and GSH depletion by andrographolide seems to play a critical role in the inhibition of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes proliferation, which might have implication for obesity prevention and treatment.
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