scholarly journals From overnutrition to liver injury: AMP-activated protein kinase in nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (34) ◽  
pp. 12279-12289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Zhao ◽  
Alan R. Saltiel

Nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLDs), especially nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), have become a major cause of liver transplant and liver-associated death. However, the pathogenesis of NASH is still unclear. Currently, there is no FDA-approved medication to treat this devastating disease. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) senses energy status and regulates metabolic processes to maintain homeostasis. The activity of AMPK is regulated by the availability of nutrients, such as carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids. AMPK activity is increased by nutrient deprivation and inhibited by overnutrition, inflammation, and hypersecretion of certain anabolic hormones, such as insulin, during obesity. The repression of hepatic AMPK activity permits the transition from simple steatosis to hepatocellular death; thus, activation might ameliorate multiple aspects of NASH. Here we review the pathogenesis of NAFLD and the impact of AMPK activity state on hepatic steatosis, inflammation, liver injury, and fibrosis during the transition of NAFL to NASH and liver failure.

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1076
Author(s):  
Guoyi Tang ◽  
Yu Xu ◽  
Cheng Zhang ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Huabin Li ◽  
...  

Nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) represent a set of liver disorders progressing from steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, which induce huge burden to human health. Many pathophysiological factors are considered to influence NAFLD in a parallel pattern, involving insulin resistance, oxidative stress, lipotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammatory cascades, fibrogenic reaction, etc. However, the underlying mechanisms, including those that induce NAFLD development, have not been fully understood. Specifically, oxidative stress, mainly mediated by excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species, has participated in the multiple NAFLD-related signaling by serving as an accelerator. Ameliorating oxidative stress and maintaining redox homeostasis may be a promising approach for the management of NAFLD. Green tea is one of the most important dietary resources of natural antioxidants, above which epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) notably contributes to its antioxidative action. Accumulative evidence from randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis has revealed the beneficial functions of green tea and EGCG in preventing and managing NAFLD, with acceptable safety in the patients. Abundant animal and cellular studies have demonstrated that green tea and EGCG may protect against NAFLD initiation and development by alleviating oxidative stress and the related metabolism dysfunction, inflammation, fibrosis, and tumorigenesis. The targeted signaling pathways may include, but are not limited to, NRF2, AMPK, SIRT1, NF-κB, TLR4/MYD88, TGF-β/SMAD, and PI3K/Akt/FoxO1, etc. In this review, we thoroughly discuss the oxidative stress-related mechanisms involved in NAFLD development, as well as summarize the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of green tea and EGCG against NAFLD.


2007 ◽  
Vol 192 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Cai ◽  
Armen V Gyulkhandanyan ◽  
Michael B Wheeler ◽  
Denise D Belsham

The mammalian hypothalamus comprises an array of phenotypically distinct cell types that interpret peripheral signals of energy status and, in turn, elicits an appropriate response to maintain energy homeostasis. We used a clonal representative hypothalamic cell model expressing proopiomelanocortin (POMC; N-43/5) to study changes in AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and glucose responsiveness. We have demonstrated the presence of cellular machinery responsible for glucose sensing in the cell line, including glucokinase, glucose transporters, and appropriate ion channels. ATP-sensitive potassium channels were functional and responded to glucose. The N-43/5 POMC neurons may therefore be an appropriate cell model to study glucose-sensing mechanisms in the hypothalamus. In N-43/5 POMC neurons, increasing glucose concentrations decreased phospho-AMPK activity. As a relevant downstream effect, we found that POMC transcription increased with 2.8 and 16.7 mM glucose. Upon addition of leptin, with either no glucose or with 5 mM glucose, we found that leptin decreased AMPK activity in N-43/5 POMC neurons, but had no significant effect at 25 mM glucose, whereas insulin decreased AMPK activity at only 5 mM glucose. These results demonstrate that individual hypothalamic neuronal cell types, such as the POMC neuron, can have distinct responses to peripheral signals that relay energy status to the brain, and will therefore be activated uniquely to control neuroendocrine function.


2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Ebrahimzadeh Leylabadlo ◽  
Hossein Samadi Kafil ◽  
Safar Farajnia ◽  
Dariush Shanehbandi ◽  
Seyed Yaghoub Moaddab ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Navekar ◽  
Maryam Rafraf ◽  
Aida Ghaffari ◽  
Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi ◽  
Manouchehr Khoshbaten

2003 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimin Xu ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Hussila Keshaw ◽  
Lance Yi Xu ◽  
Karen S.L. Lam ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Admin ◽  
Chenghui Yan ◽  
Xiaoxiang Tian ◽  
Jiayin Li ◽  
Dan Liu ◽  
...  

Exosomes are important for intercellular communication, but the role of exosomes in the communication between adipose tissue (<a>AT</a>) and the liver remains unknown. The aim of this study is to determine the contribution of AT-derived exosomes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (<a>NAFLD</a>). Exosome components, liver fat content, and liver function were monitored in AT in mice fed a <a>high-fat diet </a>(<a>HFD</a>) or treated with metformin- or GW4869 and with AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPKα1)<i> </i>floxed<i> (Prkaα1</i><sup>fl/fl</sup>/WT), <a><i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup></a>, liver tissue-specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup>, or AT-specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> modification. In cultured adipocytes and white adipose tissue (WAT), the absence of <a><i>AMPKα1</i></a> increased exosome release and exosomal proteins by elevating <a>tumor susceptibility gene 101 (<i>TSG101</i></a>)-mediated exosome biogenesis. In adipocytes treated with palmitic acid, TSG101 facilitated scavenger receptor class B (CD36) sorting into exosomes. CD36-containing exosomes were then endocytosed by hepatocytes to induce lipid accumulation and inflammation. Consistently, an HFD induced more severe lipid accumulation and cell death in <a><i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> </a>and adipose tissue-specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> mice than in WT and liver-specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> mice. AMPK activation by metformin reduced adipocyte-mediated exosome release and mitigated fatty liver development in WT and liver specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> mice. Moreover, administration of the exosome inhibitor GW4869 blocked exosome secretion and alleviated HFD-induced fatty livers in <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> and adipocyte-specific <i>Prkaα1</i><sup>-/-</sup> mice. We conclude that HFD-mediated AMPKα1 inhibition promotes NAFLD by increasing numbers of AT C<a>D36</a>-containing exosomes.


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