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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Obesity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1392866
This article is part of the Research Topic Mechanistic insight and therapeutic potential for the management of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) View all 5 articles

Genistein mitigates diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunctions in gonadectomized mice with some sex-differential effects

Provisionally accepted
Weerapat Kositanurit Weerapat Kositanurit 1Natakorn Siritaweechai Natakorn Siritaweechai 1Pachara Varachotisate Pachara Varachotisate 1Chuti Burana Chuti Burana 1Narittee Sukswai Narittee Sukswai 2Jerasit Surintrspanont Jerasit Surintrspanont 3Prasong Siriviriyakul Prasong Siriviriyakul 1,4Kasiphak Kaikaew Kasiphak Kaikaew 1,4*Duangporn Werawatganon Duangporn Werawatganon 1,4
  • 1 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 2 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 3 Department of Pathology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, The Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 4 Center of Excellence in Alternative and Complementary Medicine of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Obesity is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic dysfunctionassociated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Genistein, an isoflavone, is a promising natural compound for preventing and treating obesity and metabolic dysfunctions. We aimed to investigate the sex-specific protective effects of genistein on obesity, IR, and MASLD in a murine model of sex hormone deprivation with diet-induced obesity (DIO), mimicking postmenopausal women or aging men with metabolic syndrome. Methods: Gonadectomized and sham-operated C57BL/6NJcl mice were fed a high-fat high-sucrose diet for 4 weeks to induce obesity (7 mice per group). In gonadectomized mice, genistein (16 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide) was orally administered for 45 days. We assessed glucose homeostasis parameters, hepatic histopathology, and hepatic gene expression to investigate the effects of gonadectomy and genistein treatment. Results: Gonadectomy exacerbated adiposity in both sexes. Ovariectomy diminished the protective effects of female gonadal hormones on the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), serum alanine transaminase levels, hepatic steatosis score, and the expression of hepatic genes associated with MASLD progression and IR, such as Fasn, Srebf1, Saa1, Cd36, Col1a1, Pck1, and Ppargc1a. Genistein treatment in gonadectomized mice significantly reduced body weight gain and the hepatic steatosis score in both sexes. However, genistein treatment significantly attenuated HOMA-IR and the expression of the hepatic genes only in female mice. Conclusion: Genistein treatment mitigates DIO-related MASLD in both male and female gonadectomized mice. Regarding hepatic gene expression associated with MASLD and IR, the beneficial effect of genistein was significantly evident only in female mice. This study suggests a potential alternative application of genistein in individuals with obesity and sex hormone deprivation, yet pending clinical trials.

    Keywords: High-fat high-sucrose diet, Insulin Resistance, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), Phytoestrogen, sex difference

    Received: 28 Feb 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kositanurit, Siritaweechai, Varachotisate, Burana, Sukswai, Surintrspanont, Siriviriyakul, Kaikaew and Werawatganon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kasiphak Kaikaew, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.