Ameliorative Effect of Wortmannin and Rapamycin Treatment on Obesity Markers in High Fat Diet Feed Rats

Abstract

Obesity is a metabolic disorder, characterized by a chronic excess of energy intake over expenditure, leading to the accumulation of that excess as fat. Obesity is associated with adipocyte hypertrophy and adipocyte hyperplasia. PI3K and mTOR, both key signaling molecules critically regulating the adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation. Thus, the present study investigates the efficacy of wortmannin, a PI3K inhibitor and rapamycin, a mTOR inhibitor on the anthropometrical parameters (body weight, Body Mass Index, Lee index, feed intake), and fat depots in High Fat Diet (HFD)-Induced obesity. The obesity in rats was produced by feeding HFD for a period of 8 weeks. The study explored the effect of wortmannin (100μg/kg/day i.p) and rapamycin (0.75mg/kg/day i.p) on abnormal anthropometrical parameters, fat pads weight and liver weight/ body weight ratio (%) resulted from HFD in rats. The present study findings indicated that treatment with wortmannin and rapamycin significantly (p<0.05) reversed the abnormal effect of HFD on anthropometrical parameters, different fat pads weight and liver weight/ body weight ratio (%) as compared to Normal diet. Therefore Wortmannin & Rapamycin may serve as the potential candidates for the treatment of obesity.