Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside Regulates the Expression of Ucp1 in Brown Adipose Tissue by Activating Prdm16 Gene

Abstract

(1) Background: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) burns energy to produce heat. Cyanidin-3-<i>O</i>-glucoside (C3G) can then enhance the thermogenic ability of BAT in vivo. However, the mechanism by which C3G regulates Ucp1 protein expression remains unclear. (2) Methods: In this study, C3H10T12 brown adipose cells and db/db mice and mice with high-fat, high-fructose, diet-induced obesity were used as the model to explore the effect of C3G on the expression of the <i>Ucp1</i> gene. Furthermore, the 293T cell line was used for an in vitro cell transgene, a double luciferase reporting system, and yeast single hybridization to explore the mechanism of C3G in regulating Ucp1 protein. (3) Results: we identified that, under the influence of C3G, Prdm16 directly binds to the -500 to -150 bp promoter region of <i>Ucp1</i> to activate its transcription and, thus, facilitate BAT programming. (4) Conclusions: This study clarified the mechanism by which C3G regulates the expression of the <i>Ucp1</i> gene of brown fat to a certain extent.