Local Administration of Lipid-Silica Nanohybrid-Carried Forskolin Modulates Thermogenesis in Human Adipocytes and Impedes Weight Gain in Mice

Abstract

Despite encouraging outcomes of the eight FDA approved drugs in lessening obesity burden, they have been associated with side effects caused by the lack of direct action on the adipose tissue. Therefore, a nanomedicine is reported that promotes the transformation of local fat-storage white adipocytes, associated with obesity, into thermogenic adipocytes, indicative of enhanced metabolism, to both human cells and mice. This nanomedicine consisting of a lipid-silica nanohybrid that allows accommodation of the natural supplement forskolin has resulted in successful browning of mature human adipocytes in vitro through upregulating thermogenesis biomarkers on mature human adipocytes and in vivo in mice tissue (achieving 400- and 80-fold increases in UCP1 and Cox7A1, respectively), while significantly enhancing glucose uptake and lipolysis in an acute fashion and significantly preventing weight gain in high fat diet (60% HFD) mice compared to other treatments including liposomal medicine.