Figure 6.

The roles of curcumin in altering the levels of intracellular glucose and G-6-P in HSCs in vitro were dependent on leptin receptor. Serum-starved HSCs from natural leptin receptor-deficient Zucker (fa/fa) rats and HSCs from lean wild-type Zucker (Fa/Fa) rats were pretreated with or without curcumin (20 µM) for 1 h prior to the addition of leptin (100 ng·mL⁻¹) for additional 30 min in serum-free DMEM. Levels of intracellular glucose and G-6-P were analysed. Values were expressed as pmol glucose or G-6-P·µg⁻¹ protein, and presented as means ± SD (n = 3). *P < 0.05 versus the untreated control cells; ‡P < 0.05 versus cells treated with leptin alone. (A) Analyses of levels of intracellular glucose. (B) Analyses of levels of intracellular G-6-P.