Trilobatin is associated with reduced lipid accumulation in multiple biological models: insights from transcriptomics, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations.

Abstract

Trilobatin (TLB), a natural dihydrochalcone abundant in Lithocarpus litseifolius (Hance) Chun, was the focus of this study, which sought to explore its regulatory role in lipid accumulation and the associated potential molecular mechanisms, aiming to provide preliminary theoretical support for its subsequent development and application. In free fatty acid (FFA)-induced HepG2 cells, TLB was found to reduce intracellular TC and TG levels and mitigate lipid accumulation. In high-glucose-induced C. elegans, TLB lowered glucose, TC, and TG levels, prolonged the lifespan of C. elegans, and alleviated glucotoxicity-induced oxidative stress to some extent. In high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mice, 100 mg/kg TLB decreased body weight by 10.32%, reduced the liver index to 3.2%, ameliorated hepatic pathological damage, lowered serum TC, TG and LDL-C levels, and elevated HDL-C levels. Transcriptomic enrichment analysis suggested a potential association between the AMPK signaling pathway and the lipid-lowering effects of TLB. Molecular docking and 100-ns molecular dynamics simulations indicated that TLB has compatible binding with AMPK, ACC1, SREBP1, and FASN, suggesting potential protein-ligand interactions. RT-qPCR and Western blot analyses showed that TLB treatment was correlated with increased phosphorylation levels of AMPK and ACC1, as well as downregulated protein expression of lipogenic factors SREBP1 and FASN. Collectively, these findings imply that TLB may exert a certain regulatory effect on lipid accumulation by modulating the AMPK-ACC1 signaling pathway and the SREBP1-FASN axis, and thus has potential value as a nutritional health supplement and food-medicine dual-use product for the prevention of hyperlipidemia.