Effect of Vitamin B12 and Nutrients on Adipogenesis‐adipogenic Markers in 3T3 Cells

Abstract

Studies have shown that there is a deficiency of folate and vitamin B12 in obese individuals compared with normal BMI controls. Folic acid reduces oxidative stress while vitamin B12 protects against superoxide injuries in endothelial cells. We examined the hypothesis that folic acid and vitamin B12 on 3T3‐mediated adipogenesis by up‐regulating Wnt10b and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), thereby promoting the growth of small healthy adipocytes and reducing the large inflamed adipocytes. 3T3 cells were treated with either vehicle or one of four concentrations (0.1 to 100 μM) of either folic acid or vitamin B12 and effect on adipogenesis and adipogenic markers were studied. There was a decrease in adipocytes in a concentration‐dependent manner with an optimal level of 10 μM (p<0.05) in both folic acid and vitamin B12 treatment. Treatment of folic acid (10 μM) and vitamin B12 (10 μM) resulted in a decrease in the number of large, unhealthy adipocytes (p<0.05). The beneficial effects of folic acid and vitamin B12 were reversed when cells were treated with siRNA Wnt10b (p<0.05).These novel results demonstrate that increased levels of both folic acid and vitamin B12 attenuate adipogenesis via significant increases in Wnt10b and related proteins. Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation is deemed viable in the prevention and treatment of obesity and obesity‐associated diseases. Support NIH, HL‐55601, HL34300 (N.G.A.)