雷公藤红素：一种潜在的治疗肥胖症的新药物

Celastrol ： a potential and novel drug for obesity

雷公藤红素是存在于传统中药雷公藤根部的一种苯醌甲基三萜系化合物。近几年的研究发现，雷公藤红素能够减少摄食量、增加能量消耗，从而发挥强效的减重作用。其作用机制包括激活瘦素受体-信号转导与转录激活因子3信号通路和减轻下丘脑内质网应激，从而加强瘦素的作用；通过激活热休克因子1-过氧化物酶体增殖物活化受体1协同刺激因子1α（HSF1-PGC1α）轴，促进能量代谢；通过抑制核因子-κB信号通路，改善胰岛素抵抗。雷公藤红素的上述作用使其有望成为未来治疗肥胖症的一种新药物。

Celastrol is a pentacyclic triterpene extracted from the roots of the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium Wilfordi （thunder god vine） plant. Recent studies demonstrated that celastrol could suppress food intake and increase energy expenditure thus playing a powerful role in losing weight. The detailed mechanisms included activating the leptin receptor-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signal pathway and reducing hypothalamic endoplasmic reticulum stress to potentiate leptin＇s effect, activating heat shock factor 1-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α axis to promote energy metabolism and inhibiting nuclear factor κB signal pathway to improve insulin resistance. All of these findings make celastrol as a potential novel drug to treat obesity in the future.