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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #350581
Research Project: Molecular Approaches to Control Intestinal Parasites that Affect the Microbiome in Swine and Small Ruminants

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: Transcriptome analysis revealed anti-obesity effects of the alginate polysaccharide in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Author
item WANG, XIONG - Ocean University Of China
item LIU, FANG - Ocean University Of China
item YUAN, GAO - Ocean University Of China
item XUE, CHANG-HU - Ocean University Of China
item Li, Robert
item TANG, QING-JUAN - Ocean University Of China

Submitted to: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/9/2018
Publication Date: 4/10/2018
Citation: Wang, X., Liu, F., Yuan, G., Xue, C., Li, R.W., Tang, Q. 2018. Transcriptome analysis revealed anti-obesity effects of the alginate polysaccharide in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 115:861-870.

Interpretive Summary: Alginate is a natural anionic polysaccharide typically extracted from brown algae. It is considered a bioactive compound with favorable biophysical properties, such as broad biocompatibility, low toxicity, and easy gelation, and has broad application potential in biomedicine and engineering. In this study, we investigated the possible effect of alginate in obesity prevention using RNAseq based transcriptome analysis. Our findings show that dietary supplement with alginate significantly reduced high-fat diet induced weight gain and total fat, resulting in a decrease in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in mice. The transcriptome analysis identified several key genes implicated in intestinal inflammation and the metabolic syndrome. The results will facilitate the development of alginate as a bioactive natural product to enhance host immunity and prevent diet-induced obesity.

Technical Abstract: The polysaccharide alginate (Alg) extracted from brown seaweeds possesses numerous bioactivities. We hypothesized that Alg intake may alleviate high-fat diet (HFD)- induced obesity and chronic metabolism symptoms by strengthening the bio-functionality of the intestine, especially in the colon. A total number of twenty-four C57BL/6J male mice were randomly assigned into three groups: low fat diet (LFD), HFD, and HFD supplemented with Alg (HFD+Alg) at a daily dose of 50mg/kg (body weight) for 4 weeks. Compared to HFD, the mice in the HFD+Alg group lost more weight and accumulated less fat. In addition, the mice in the Alg treated group had a decreased concentration of total cholesterol and triglyceride in the serum. Furthermore, glucose intolerance induced by HFD was significantly improved by Alg. Alginate treatment also decreased blood lipopolysaccharide levels, ameliorated local inflammation, and increased fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The transcriptome analysis of the colonic tissue using RNAseq identified significant changes in the expression of several genes linked to metabolism diseases and inflammation. Together, these results suggest that Alg as supplement can effectively improve obesity and obesity-related metabolic syndromes, such as hyperlipidemia and glucose intolerance.