Punica granatum extract as a regulator of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and HMG CoA reductase gene expression in hepG2-cell line / Omar Ahmed Khaled Taha Ahmed Eldahshoury ; Supervised Magda Ahmed Abdallah , Alaa Ahmed Barakat , Heba Mohamed Kamal

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Biotechnology

Objective: Pomegranate (punica granatum L., Lythraceae) peel has concentrated amounts of lipid-lowering elements that demonstrated, in various hoary and recent studies, their effects against obesity and hyperlipidemia, involving elevated rates of lipid and lipoprotein levels in blood and increases risking of cardiovascular diseases and other diseases. We aim to study expression modulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism by impact of standardized pomegranate peel extract (PPE) in a comprehensive research on human liver cells and experimental mice. Methods: Initially, after extraction process, reversed-phase HPLC was used to determine amounts of ellagic acid as a standard phytochemical. And then, using reverse-transcription real-time PCR, an in-vitro study harnessing HepG2 cell-line was conducted to determine the hyperlipidemia-related gene expression profiles and cytotoxic effects upon treatment with PPE. In another complementary in-vivo study, male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or an HFD supplemented with PPE for 14 days to define expression of lipid-metabolism related genes that control obesity. Correspondingly, DNA fragmentation effect and fatty liver proportions were also estimated after treatment. Results: Higher mRNA expression of LDL receptor (LDL-R) and down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBF-2), (SRBEP-1c), Fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxy-3- methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) upon PPE treatment in HepG2 cell-line were significantly recorded analysis.

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