Sucralose and fat cell development in lab tests
What it found
In human fat precursor cells grown in the lab, sucralose increased the activity of genes linked to fat cell development and changed the release of several signalling proteins.
These were lab tests, not studies in people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Fat cell genes
At 96 hours, the lower sucralose concentration (25 ng/µL) increased the activity of the white fat cell marker CEBP-α by about 30 times compared with the control, and increased the lipogenesis gene ACC by about 1.8 times. At 48 hours, these genes were not increased.
Brown fat markers
Markers for brown fat cells, EBF-2 and UCP-1, also rose at 96 hours with the lower sucralose concentration, but the authors say the rise was not as large as for CEBP-α. They suggest sucralose might encourage white fat cells to take on some brown fat features, but say this is not yet known.
Adiponectin and leptin
At 48 hours, the lower sucralose concentration reduced adiponectin levels from 2558.13 pg/mL in controls to 1277.18 pg/mL, and reduced leptin levels from 633.86 pg/mL to 446.97 pg/mL. By 96 hours, there were no significant differences between treatments for either protein.
Other adipokines
At 96 hours, the higher sucralose concentration (100 ng/µL) raised adipsin to 18,780.4 pg/mL compared with 6308.3 pg/mL in controls. The lower concentration raised RBP4 to 17,360 pg/mL at 96 hours. Resistin fell at 48 hours with both sucralose concentrations.
Inflammatory cytokines
Sucralose changed levels of several cytokines. The lower concentration reduced IL-6 by 85% at 96 hours, reduced TNF-α by 70% at 96 hours, and reduced IL-10 by about 52% at 96 hours. IL-8 fell 7-fold at 96 hours with the lower concentration.
MCP-1 chemokine
In controls, MCP-1 rose from 875 pg/mL at 48 hours to 2497 pg/mL at 96 hours. At 96 hours, both sucralose concentrations reduced MCP-1 by about 80% compared with controls.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, the nonnutritive sweetener sucralose has been found to impact adipocyte differentiation in the early stages of the process.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that sucralose affects fat cell development in its early stages, shown by increased activity of CEBP-α and ACC, both related to fat storage.
- They say sucralose also changes the release of inflammatory adipokines and cytokines, including lower adiponectin and MCP-1, which may disrupt normal fat cell function.
- They call for further investigations to fully understand these effects, noting that the impact on mature fat cells is yet to be determined.
How it was done
Sucralose is widely used in sugar-free products, but its effects on metabolism, weight gain and gut bacteria are debated. The authors wanted to see whether sucralose could encourage fat cells to develop.
They grew a human preadipocyte cell line (PCS 210 010) and started the fat cell development process with sucralose at 25 or 100 ng/µL, or no sweetener, for 48 and 96 hours. They measured gene activity for fat cell markers and lipogenesis, and measured a panel of adipokines and cytokines released into the culture fluid.
What it can’t tell you
- These were lab tests on a single human fat precursor cell line, so they cannot show what happens in people eating sucralose.
- The study only followed the first 96 hours of fat cell development, so it cannot show effects on mature fat cells or on whole-body metabolism.
- The sucralose concentrations used in the lab may not match the levels that reach fat tissue in the body.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Laboratorio Universitario de Análisis Clínicos e Investigación, Mexico
The paper
- Title
- Sucralose-Enhanced Adipogenesis on Preadipocyte Human Cell Line During Differentiation Process
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Magaña-Gómez JA, González-Ochoa G, Rosas-Rodríguez JA, Stephens-Camacho NA, Flores-Mendoza LK (2024). Sucralose-Enhanced Adipogenesis on Preadipocyte Human Cell Line During Differentiation Process. International journal of molecular sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms252413635Free full textPubMed 39769396DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error