Fig. 1

Screening candidate drugs in an FDA-approved library for lipid-lowering effects in hepatocytes and evaluating the therapeutic effects of honokiol in vitro. A Schematic of the screening strategy used with the FDA-approved drug library. B and C Representative image (B) and relative Alexa-488 intensity (C) of the top 10 candidates. n = 3 replicates. Student’s t-test was applied for statistical analysis. Scale bar 25 μm. D The molecular structure of honokiol. E Representative images (left) and quantification of fluorescence (right) generated by BODIPY staining of primary hepatocyte lipid droplets after treatment with different concentrations of honokiol. n = 3 replicates. Student’s t-test was applied for statistical analysis. Scale bar 10 μm. F Triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in primary hepatocytes challenged with PO stimulation for 12 h. n = 6 mice. Student’s t-test was applied for statistical analysis. G Relative cell viability of primary hepatocytes after treatment with 10μM honokiol for 24 h. n = 3 replicates. Student’s t-test was applied for statistical analysis. H GSVA enrichment of differentially regulated pathways involved in cell growth, lipid degradation, and immune responses in primary hepatocytes after treatment with PO for 12 h. K Heatmaps of gene expression associated with inflammation, and lipid degradation in primary hepatocytes after treatment with PO for 12 h