HIGH FRUCTOSE INDUCED ADIPOGENESIS AND INHIBITORY POTENTIAL OF TRIGONELLINE ON MURINE MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS: A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY

Regular intake of carbohydrate diet containing high fructose or sucrose increases adipogenesis resulting in conditions like weight gain, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose levels, insulin resistance, raised triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, with metabolic syndrome as a leading consequence. Since intricacies of adipogenesis are of major relevance to human health; present study aimed to evaluate the morphological effects of trigonelline on mesenchymal stem cells, C₃H₁₀T_1/2 treated with high fructose (equal to that in high fructose corn syrup) in comparison to the adipogenic cocktail. In this regard, cells were given trigonelline alone as well as in combination with an adipogenic cocktail or high fructose to evaluate its potential to affect adipogenesis morphologically. The cells of positive control (containing only adipogenic differentiation media) depicted morphological changes towards spherical structure, a feature definite of adipocytes. Similar observations were seen in cells treated with high fructose (1 mM and 30 mM) but not in cells treated with trigonelline alone (75 μM and 100 μM). However, the cells treated with high fructose along with trigonelline or adipogenic cocktail with trigonelline depicted less change in morphology, as it was more like fibroblast than globular. The morphological changes were observed in a dose-dependent manner. Morphological assessment of scratch assay revealed trigonelline did not alter cellular proliferation alone or in combination with high fructose. Moreover, oil red O staining of trigonelline treated cells showed less adipocytic like cells suggesting its ability to interfere with adipocytic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.