Docosahexaenoic Acid Ameliorates Fructose-Induced Hepatic Steatosis Involving ER Stress Response in Primary Mouse Hepatocytes

Obesity and alcohol consumption are risk factors for hepatic steatosis, and both commonly coexist. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of ethanol and acetaldehyde on primary hepatocytes obtained from mice fed for two days with a high cholesterol (HC) diet. HC hepatocytes increased lipid and cholesterol content. HC diet sensitized hepatocytes to the toxic effect of ethanol and acetaldehyde. Cyp2E1 content increased with HC diet, as well as in those treated with ethanol or acetaldehyde, while the activity of this enzyme determined in microsomes increased in the HC and in all ethanol treated hepatocytes, HC and CW. Oxidized proteins were increased in the HC cultures treated or not with the toxins. Transmission electron microscopy showed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and megamitochondria in hepatocytes treated with ethanol as in HC and the ethanol HC treated hepatocytes. ER stress determined by PERK content was increased in ethanol treated hepatocytes from HC mice and CW. Nuclear translocation of ATF6 was observed in HC hepatocytes treated with ethanol, results that indicate that lipids overload and ethanol treatment favor ER stress. Oxidative stress, ER stress, and mitochondrial damage underlie potential mechanisms for increased damage in steatotic hepatocyte treated with ethanol.

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Abstract 244: The Flavonoids Naringenin and Nobiletin Stimulate the AMPKinase Pathway in Primary Mouse Hepatocytes

Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology ◽

10.1161/atvb.34.suppl_1.244 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 34 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Joshua P Samsoondar ◽

Lazar A Bojic ◽

Brian G Sutherland ◽

Gregory R Steinberg ◽

Jane Y Edwards ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Protein Kinase ◽

Hepatic Steatosis ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Ampk Activation ◽

Metabolic Dysregulation ◽

Malonyl Coa ◽

Primary Mouse Hepatocytes ◽

Primary Mouse ◽

Mouse Hepatocytes

Dyslipidemia associated with insulin resistance and obesity are core features of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, which contribute significantly to atherosclerosis. In mouse models of diet-induced metabolic dysregulation, the citrus flavonoids naringenin and nobiletin prevent obesity, hepatic steatosis, apoB100 overproduction, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. To elucidate the mechanism of action in liver we assessed flavonoid-induced activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the major regulator of cellular energy homeostasis, in primary mouse hepatocytes. Stimulated AMPK activity promotes catabolic, ATP-generating processes such as fatty acid (FA) oxidation while inhibiting anabolic processes such as FA synthesis. In primary C57BL/6 (WT) hepatocytes, naringenin and nobiletin increased phosphorylation (P) of AMPK and its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This was associated with decreased apoB100 secretion. Phosphorylation of ACC by AMPK inhibits the formation of malonyl-CoA reducing substrate for FA synthesis in the cytosol while relieving inhibition of mitochondrial FA oxidation by malonyl-CoA. Under insulin resistant conditions stimulated by high glucose media, reduced pAMPK and pACC were reversed by flavonoid treatment in WT hepatocytes, whereas these effects were lost in Ampkβ1-/- hepatocytes. Sterol receptor element binding protein-1c, which stimulates lipogenesis, was also phosphorylated (inhibited) by flavonoid-induced AMPK activation. BAPTA, a calcium chelator or STO609, an inhibitor of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase-beta (CaMKKβ), did not block flavonoid-induced pACC, suggesting that CaMKKβ is not required for AMPK activation by flavonoids. In chow-fed Ldlr-/- mice, acute i.p. injection of nobiletin following a fasting-refeeding protocol, depressed the respiratory exchange ratio indicative of a switch to FA oxidation. Freeze-clamped liver samples from these mice sacrificed 90 min. post injection showed marked induction of pAMPK and pACC. These results suggest that naringenin and nobiletin attenuate hepatic steatosis and metabolic dysregulation, in part, through activation of hepatic AMPK.

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Reducing endoplasmic reticulum stress does not improve steatohepatitis in mice fed a methionine- and choline-deficient diet

AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpgi.00052.2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 303 (1) ◽

pp. G54-G59 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Anne S. Henkel ◽

Amanda M. Dewey ◽

Kristy A. Anderson ◽

Shantel Olivares ◽

Richard M. Green

Keyword(s):

Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Stress Response ◽

Er Stress ◽

Hepatic Steatosis ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Primary Role ◽

Chemical Chaperones ◽

Er Stress Response ◽

Markers Of Inflammation

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The ER stress response is activated in the livers of mice fed a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet, yet the role of ER stress in the pathogenesis of MCD diet-induced steatohepatitis is unknown. Using chemical chaperones on hepatic steatosis and markers of inflammation and fibrosis in mice fed a MCD diet, we aim to determine the effects of reducing ER stress. C57BL/6J mice were fed a MCD diet with or without the ER chemical chaperones 4-phenylbutyric acid (PBA) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) for 2 wk. TUDCA and PBA effectively attenuated the ER stress response in MCD diet-fed mice, as evidenced by reduced protein levels of phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α and phosphorylated JNK and suppression of mRNA levels of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein, glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa, and X-box binding protein 1. However, PBA and TUDCA did not decrease MCD diet-induced hepatic steatosis. MCD diet-induced hepatic inflammation, as evidenced by increased plasma alanine aminotransferase and induction of hepatic TNFα expression, was also not reduced by PBA or TUDCA. PBA and TUDCA did not attenuate MCD diet-induced upregulation of the fibrosis-associated genes tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9. ER chemical chaperones reduce MCD diet-induced ER stress, yet they do not improve MCD diet-induced hepatic steatosis, inflammation, or activation of genes associated with fibrosis. These data suggest that although the ER stress response is activated by the MCD diet, it does not have a primary role in the pathogenesis of MCD diet-induced steatohepatitis.

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