Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31197160›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2019

Berberine promotes the recruitment and activation of brown adipose tissue in mice and humans.

Lingyan Wu, Mingfeng Xia, Yanan Duan, Lina Zhang, Haowen Jiang, Xiaobei Hu, Hongmei Yan, Yiqiu Zhang, Yushen Gu, Hongcheng Shi and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
75citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
6.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

75 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. New Mediators in the Crosstalk between Different Adipose Tissues.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Advances in research on thermogenic substances.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2026
    Review
  11. Adipocyte Browning: A Promising Avenue in Anti-Obesity Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  12. Berberine: A Negentropic Modulator for Multi-System Coordination.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Epigenetics of Childhood Obesity.Hormone research in paediatrics · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Lingyan WuState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Mingfeng XiaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Yanan DuanState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Lina ZhangState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Haowen JiangState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Xiaobei HuState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Hongmei YanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Yiqiu ZhangDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Yushen GuDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Hongcheng ShiDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Jia LiState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China. jli@simm.ac.cn.
Xin GaoDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China. happy20061208@126.com.
Jingya LiState Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China. jyli@simm.ac.cn.
Chinese Academy of Sciences · CNFudan University · CNShanghai Institute of Materia Medica · CNZhongshan Hospital · CNUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates metabolic energy and mediates non-shivering thermogenesis, thereby boosting energy expenditure. Increasing BAT mass and activity is expected to be a promising strategy for combating obesity; however, few medications effectively and safely recruit and activate BAT in humans. Berberine (BBR), a natural compound, is commonly used as a nonprescription drug to treat diarrhea. Here, we reported that 1-month BBR intervention increased BAT mass and activity, reduced body weight, and improved insulin sensitivity in mildly overweight patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Chronic BBR treatment promoted BAT development by stimulating the expression of brown adipogenic genes, enhanced BAT thermogenesis, and global energy expenditure in diet-induced obese mice and chow-fed lean mice, Consistently, BBR facilitated brown adipocyte differentiation in both mouse and human primary brown preadipocytes. We further found that BBR increased the transcription of PRDM16, a master regulator of brown/beige adipogenesis, by inducing the active DNA demethylation of PRDM16 promoter, which might be driven by the activation of AMPK and production of its downstream tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate α-Ketoglutarate. Moreover, chronic BBR administration had no impact on the BAT thermogenesis in adipose-specific AMPKa1 and AMPKa2 knockout mice. In summary, we found that BBR intervention promoted recruitment and activation of BAT and AMPK-PRDM16 axis was indispensable for the pro-BAT and pro-energy expenditure properties of BBR. Our findings suggest that BBR may be a promising drug for obesity and related metabolic disorders in humans partially through activating BAT.

Indexed as

AdipocytesAdipose Tissue, BrownAdultAMP-Activated Protein KinasesAnimalsAnti-Obesity AgentsBerberineBody WeightCell DifferentiationDNA-Binding ProteinsDNA MethylationEnergy MetabolismHumansInsulin ResistanceKetoglutaric AcidsMaleAMP-Activated Protein KinasesAnti-Obesity AgentsBerberineDNA-Binding ProteinsKetoglutaric AcidsPrdm16 protein, mousePrkaa1 protein, mousePrkaa2 protein, mouseTranscription Factors

Identifiers

PMID31197160
PMCPMC6565685
OpenAlexW2950749159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.