Effects of Dapagliflozin on Adipose and Liver Fatty Acid Composition and mRNA Expression Involved in Lipid Metabolism in High-Fat-Fed Rats

Abstract

Background: SGLT2 inhibitor enhances not only glucose excretion but also fatty acid utilization. Those facts suggest that SGLT2 inhibitor affects fat accumulation and lipid storage.

Objective: In the present study, we evaluated the effects of dapagliflozin on fatty acid composition and gene expression involved in fatty acid metabolism in rat adipose and liver tissues.

Methods: We administered 1 mg/kg/day dapagliflozin for 7 weeks to male high-fat-fed rats (DAPA group), and then weights and 22 fatty acid contents in the epididymal (EPI), mesenteric (MES), retroperitoneal (RET), and subcutaneous (SUB) adipose tissues, and the liver were compared with the vehicle-administered control group.

Results: In the EPI, RET, and SUB in the DAPA group, contents of several fatty acids were lower (P<0.05) than those in the control group, while no significant difference was detected in tissue weight. In the MES, tissue weight and a wide variety of fatty acid contents, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, were lower (P<0.05). As for the liver tissue, no significant difference was observed in fatty acid contents between the groups. mRNA expression of Srebp1c in EPI was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the DAPA group than in the control group, while Scd1 expression in the liver was lower (P<0.01).

Conclusion: These results suggest that dapagliflozin might suppress lipid accumulation especially in the MES, and could reduce contents of fatty acids not in the liver but in adipose tissues in high-fat-fed rats. In addition, dapagliflozin could influence mRNA expression involved in lipogenesis in the EPI and liver.

Keywords: SGLT2 inhibitor; adipose tissue; fatty acid composition; high-fat diet; insulin resistance; lipid metabolism; liver.