β-Lapachone Prevents Diet-Induced Obesity by Increasing Energy Expenditure and Stimulating the Browning of White Adipose Tissue via Downregulation of miR-382 Expression

There has been great interest in the browning of fat for the treatment of obesity. Although beta-lapachone (BLC) has potential therapeutic effects on obesity, the fat-browning effect and thermogenic capacity of BLC on obesity have never been demonstrated. Here, we showed that BLC stimulated the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT), increased the expression of brown adipocyte-specific genes (e.g., uncoupling protein 1 [UCP1]), decreased body weight gain, and ameliorated metabolic parameters in mice fed a high-fat diet. Consistently, BLC-treated mice showed significantly higher energy expenditure compared with control mice. In vitro, BLC increased the expression of brown adipocyte-specific genes in stromal vascular fraction-differentiated adipocytes. BLC also controlled the expression of miR-382, which led to the upregulation of its direct target, Dio2. Upregulation of miR-382 markedly inhibited the differentiation of adipocytes into beige adipocytes, whereas BLC recovered beige adipocyte differentiation and increased the expression of Dio2 and UCP1. Our findings suggest that the BLC-mediated increase in the browning of WAT and the thermogenic capacity of BAT significantly results in increases in energy expenditure. Browning of WAT by BLC was partially controlled via the regulation of miR-382 targeting Dio2 and may lead to the prevention of diet-induced obesity.