Rab2A regulates the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease downstream of AMPK-TBC1D1 axis by stabilizing PPARγ

PLoS Biol. 2022 Jan 21;20(1):e3001522. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001522. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects approximately a quarter of the population worldwide, and persistent overnutrition is one of the major causes. However, the underlying molecular basis has not been fully elucidated, and no specific drug has been approved for this disease. Here, we identify a regulatory mechanism that reveals a novel function of Rab2A in the progression of NAFLD based on energy status and PPARγ. The mechanistic analysis shows that nutrition repletion suppresses the phosphorylation of AMPK-TBC1D1 signaling, augments the level of GTP-bound Rab2A, and then increases the protein stability of PPARγ, which ultimately promotes the hepatic accumulation of lipids in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we found that blocking the AMPK-TBC1D1 pathway in TBC1D1S231A-knock-in (KI) mice led to a markedly increased GTP-bound Rab2A and subsequent fatty liver in aged mice. Our studies also showed that inhibition of Rab2A expression alleviated hepatic lipid deposition in western diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice by reducing the protein level of PPARγ and the expression of PPARγ target genes. Our findings not only reveal a new molecular mechanism regulating the progression of NAFLD during persistent overnutrition but also have potential implications for drug discovery to combat this disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism*
  • Aging
  • Animals
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Knock-In Techniques
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lipid Metabolism / physiology
  • Mice
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / metabolism
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / pathology*
  • PPAR gamma / genetics
  • PPAR gamma / metabolism
  • rab GTP-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • rab GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • GTPase-Activating Proteins
  • PPAR gamma
  • Tbc1d1 protein, mouse
  • AMP-Activated Protein Kinases
  • Rab2a protein, mouse
  • rab GTP-Binding Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82000549 to L.C. and 32025019 to S.C), the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (2008085MC67 to L.C.), the Doctoral Start-up Foundation of Anhui Medical University (0810013101 to L.C.) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018YFA0801104 to H.Y.W. and 2018YFA0801102 to S.C.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.