Figure 7.

Effect of AMPK knockdown on the expression of lipogenesis-associated genes. 3T3-L1 cells were transfected with 12.5, 25, 50, or 75 nM AMPKα1 siRNA, or 50 or 75 nM control siRNA at one day prior to induction of differentiation. Cells were treated with 20 µM BBR from days 2–7 of differentiation, and were harvested on day 7 for analysis. The mRNA level of (A) FAS, (B) LPL, (C) SREBP-1c, (D) PPARγ, (E) C/EBPα and (F) ACC-1 were measured by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Different letters indicate significant differences between groups (P<0.05). AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinase; siRNA, small-interfering RNA; BBR, berberine; FAS, fatty acid synthase; LPL, lipoprotein lipase; SREBP1-c, sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c; PPARγ, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ; C/EBPα, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α; ACC-1, acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1.