Abstract
Our previous work demonstrated that berberine (BBR) increases insulin receptor (InsR)
expression and improves glucose utility both in vitro and in animal models. Here,
we study the InsR–up-regulating and glucose-lowering activities of BBR in humans.
Our results showed that BBR increased InsR messenger RNA and protein expression in
a variety of human cell lines, including CEM, HCT-116, SW1990, HT1080, 293T, and hepatitis
B virus–transfected human liver cells. Accordingly, insulin-stimulated phosphorylations
of InsR β-subunit and Akt were increased after BBR treatment in cultured cells. In the clinical
study, BBR significantly lowered fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c, triglyceride, and insulin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
The FBG- and hemoglobin A1c–lowering efficacies of BBR were similar to those of metformin and rosiglitazone.
In the BBR-treated patients, the percentages of peripheral blood lymphocytes that
express InsR were significantly elevated after therapy. Berberine also lowered FBG
effectively in chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients with T2DM or impaired
fasting glucose. Liver function was improved greatly in these patients by showing
reduction of liver enzymes. Our results confirmed the activity of BBR on InsR in humans
and its relationship with the glucose-lowering effect. Together with our previous
report, we strongly suggest BBR as an ideal medicine for T2DM with a mechanism different
from metformin and rosiglitazone.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 05, 2009
Accepted:
July 28,
2009
Received:
March 23,
2009
Footnotes
There is no conflict of interest in this work.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
