Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Effects of Fucoxanthin on Intestinal Glucose Transport

Fucoxanthin, one of carotenoid pigments from plants and algae, is known to regulate blood glucose and insulin levels. The mechanism of its hypoglycemic activity has drawn a lot of scientific interest in recent years. In this study, we investigated the effects of fucoxanthin on intestinal glucose transport using a murine model. Our data demonstrated that fucoxanthin was able to decrease blood glucose level and alleviate insulin resistance significantly. The results from RNA-seq based transcriptomic analysis, suggested that fucoxanthin acted as key regulators in Insulin/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and PKA/AMPK/mTOR signaling pathways. Moreover, fucoxanthin ingestion resulted in a significant reduction in the protein expression of intestinal glucose transporters, such as SGLT-1, and led to the translocation of GLUT-2, which contributed to the regulation of blood glucose level. Together, our findings provided a mechanistic insight into the regulatory effect of fucoxanthin on blood glucose.岩藻黄质（Fucoxanthin）是一类源自植物与藻类的类胡萝卜素色素，其具备调节血糖与胰岛素水平的生理功能，近年来其降糖活性的分子机制受到了科学界的广泛关注。本研究采用小鼠模型，探究了岩藻黄质对肠道葡萄糖转运过程的影响。研究数据表明，岩藻黄质可显著降低血糖水平并有效改善胰岛素抵抗。基于RNA测序（RNA-seq）的转录组分析结果显示，岩藻黄质可作为关键调控因子参与胰岛素/PI3K/AKT/mTOR信号通路与PKA/AMPK/mTOR信号通路的调控。此外，岩藻黄质摄入可显著下调SGLT-1等肠道葡萄糖转运蛋白的蛋白表达水平，并引发GLUT-2的转位，这一过程参与了血糖水平的调控。综上，本研究的发现为岩藻黄质的血糖调控效应提供了机制层面的科学见解。