Transcriptome analysis of diet-induced metabolic syndrome rats treated with ellagitannin geraniin

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of interconnected risk factors including obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure. Desirably, an effective pharmacotherapy for the medical condition should be able to target multiple risk factors concurrently. Based on our literature review and preliminary studies, ellagitannin geraniin, which is a polyphenolic compound, can confer many health benefits related to metabolic syndrome, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Thus, we aim to explore the molecular pathways of the natural product using transcriptomic analysis. As for the experimental design, Sprague Dawley rats were given starch-based control diet (CD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks to induce metabolic syndrome. Then, some of the rats from HFD group were treated with ellagitannin gerannin (25 mg/kg/day) via oral gavage for 4 weeks. Other rats from the CD and HFD groups were treated with vehicle (10% w/v glucose solution) via the same approach. At the end of the experiment, total RNA was isolated from the liver for sequencing to compare the transcriptomes between groups.

15