Functional evaluation of marine-derived tocopherol, a minor homolog of vitamin E, on adipocyte differentiation and inflammation using 3T3-L1 and RAW264.7 cells

Marine-derived tocopherol (MDT), which is typically found in marine organisms that inhabit cold water, is a monounsaturated tocol having vitamin E (VE) activity. To evaluate the functionality of this minor VE homolog, we have studied the influence of MDT on adipocyte differentiation and the production of inflammatory factors in mouse cell line 3T3-L1 adipocytes and mouse monocyte/macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cells. Treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with 10 and 20 mu M MDT during differentiation enhanced lipid accumulation and concurrently upregulated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein expression. Compared to the control adipocytes, MDT treatment also increased the secretion and gene expression of adiponectin, while it decreased the secretion and gene expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Treatment with MDT resulted in higher adipogenesis activity and higher regulation of inflammatory factors than did treatment with alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, the predominant homologous series of VE. MDT-treated RAW264.7 cells showed significantly decreased lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha secretion compared to the control RAW264.7 cells. These results suggest that MDT could have a potential role for preventing obesity-related inflammation progressing to metabolic disorders.