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-O-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 Ucp1 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 Ucp1 to activate its transcription and, thus, facilitate BAT programming. (4) Conclusions: This study clarified the mechanism by which C3G regulates the expression of the Ucp1 gene of brown fat to a certain extent.