Targeted Disruption of Carcinoembryonic Antigen-Related Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 Promotes Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis and Insulin Resistance

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CC1) is a cell adhesion molecule within the Ig superfamily. The Tyr-phosphorylated isoform of CC1 (CC1-L) plays an important metabolic role in the regulation of hepatic insulin clearance. In this report, we show that CC1-deficient (Cc1−/−) mice are prone to hepatic steatosis, as revealed by significantly elevated hepatic triglyceride and both total and esterified cholesterol levels compared with age-matched wild-type controls. Cc1−/− mice were also predisposed to lipid-induced hepatic steatosis and dysfunction as indicated by their greater susceptibility to store lipids and express elevated levels of enzymatic markers of liver damage after chronic feeding of a high-fat diet. Hepatic steatosis in the Cc1−/− mice was linked to a significant increase in the expression of key lipogenic (fatty acid synthase, acetyl CoA carboxylase) and cholesterol synthetic (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase) enzymes under the control of sterol regulatory element binding proteins-1c and -2 transcription factors. Cc1−/− mice also exhibited impaired insulin clearance, glucose intolerance, liver insulin resistance, and elevated hepatic expression of the key gluconeogenic transcriptional activators peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1 and Forkhead box O1. Lack of CC1 also exacerbated both glucose intolerance and hepatic insulin resistance induced by high-fat feeding, but insulin clearance was not further deteriorated in the high-fat-fed Cc1−/− mice. In conclusion, our data indicate that CC1 is a key regulator of hepatic lipogenesis and that Cc1−/− mice are predisposed to liver steatosis, leading to hepatic insulin resistance and liver damage, particularly when chronically exposed to dietary fat.