Benzyl isothiocyanate ameliorates lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes during adipocyte differentiation

Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) is an organosulfur compound derived from cruciferous vegetables and papaya seeds. In this study, we investigated the effect of BITC on the lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes during adipocyte differentiation. The treatment of BITC during the differentiation-inducing stage significantly ameliorated the lipid accumulation, whereas it had no inhibitory effect during the differentiation-maintaining stage. BITC also significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of the adipocyte-specific markers, such as CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. BITC significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation, whereas it enhanced that of AMP-activated protein kinase. Furthermore, BITC significantly suppressed the intracellular 2-deoxyglucose uptake as well as glucose transporter 4 expression. These results suggest that inhibition of the adipocyte differentiation and glucose uptake may mainly contribute to the inhibitory effect of BITC on the lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.