Figure 5.

The effects of the berberine on ER stress and insulin resistance. The ER stress in the hepatocyte cells was induced with Tu. The activity of JNK was elevated and expression ORP150 were up regulated, at the same time, phosphorylation of PERK and eIF2α were enhanced, serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 was increased while tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 was inhibited, phosphorylation of AKT was decreased too. All these changes lead to an increase in insulin resistance and glucose production was enhanced. Treated with berberine reversed these changes and enhances insulin signaling which leads to a decrease of glucose production in cells stimulated with insulin.