earticle

영어

Cathepsin S is a cysteine protease that affects extracellular matrix remodeling. Recently, several studies havereported that cathepsin S is involved in obesity. Both mouse and human adipose cells produce this enzyme in the early phaseof adipocyte differentiation, where it degrades fibronectin. Cathepsin S gene expression is elevated in the adipose tissue ofobese mice as compared to that of lean mice. Paecilomyces tenuipes water extracts (PTW) are shown to have an inhibitoryeffect on cathepsin S activity. In this study, Z-Val-Val-Arg-MCA was used as a cathepsin S-specific substrate in order toexamine inhibitory effect of PTW. Supplementing 3T3-L1 cell media with PTW clearly reduced lipid droplet accumulationand cathepsin S-induced adipogenesis. Furthermore, PTW decreased weight gain, subcutaneous adipose tissue growth, thelevel of serum triglyceride, and total cholesterol in mice fed a high-fat diet. These data suggest that PTW work against adiposecathepsin S and presumably contribute to anti-obese activities.