Development of a cell-based high-throughput peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) screening model and its application for evaluation of the extracts from Rhizoma Coptis

To date, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are becoming the new therapeutic targets for the treatment of metabolic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In this study, a cell-based high-throughput PPARs (PPAR//) model was developed for the screening of PPARs agonists. The screening conditions were evaluated through analyzing the expression value of luciferase. Finally, 24h of drug acting time, 5 times of the dilution factor of luciferase zymolyte, and about 2x10(4) cells/ well on HeLa cells in 96-well plates were used, respectively. Furthermore, the quality of high-throughput screening (HTS) in stability and reliability was evaluated by the Z-factor. Additionally, different extracts of Rhizoma Coptis and berberine were tested by the developed method. The results suggested that both the EtOAc extract and berberine were able to activate PPAR//, and Rhizoma Coptis contains potential natural agonists of PPARs besides berberine. In conclusion, the developed HTS assay is a simple, rapid, stable, and specific method for the screening of PPARs natural agonists.