Liver-specific overexpression of lipoprotein lipase improves glucose metabolism in high-fat diet-fed mice

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 13;17(9):e0274297. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274297. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The liver is the main organ that regulates lipid and glucose metabolism. Ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver impairs insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), mainly expressed in the adipose tissue and muscle, is a key enzyme that regulates lipid metabolism via the hydrolysis of triglyceride in chylomicrons and very-low-density lipoproteins. Here, we aimed to investigate whether the suppression level of hepatic lipid accumulation via overexpression of LPL in mouse liver leads to improved metabolism. To overexpress LPL in the liver, we generated an LPL-expressing adenovirus (Ad) vector using an improved Ad vector that exhibited considerably lower hepatotoxicity (Ad-LPL). C57BL/6 mice were treated with Ad vectors and simultaneously fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Lipid droplet formation in the liver decreased in Ad-LPL-treated mice relative to that in control Ad vector-treated mice. Glucose tolerance and insulin resistance were remarkably improved in Ad-LPL-treated mice compared to those in control Ad vector-treated mice. The expression levels of fatty acid oxidation-related genes, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1, and acyl-CoA oxidase 1, were 1.7-2.0-fold higher in Ad-LPL-treated mouse livers than that in control Ad-vector-treated mouse livers. Furthermore, hepatic LPL overexpression partly maintained mitochondrial content in HFD-fed mice. These results indicate that LPL overexpression in the livers of HFD-fed mice attenuates the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver and improves glucose metabolism. These findings may enable the development of new drugs to treat metabolic syndromes such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / metabolism
  • Diet, High-Fat
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Insulin Resistance* / physiology
  • Lipoprotein Lipase / genetics
  • Lipoprotein Lipase / metabolism
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Triglycerides / metabolism

Substances

  • Triglycerides
  • Lipoprotein Lipase
  • Glucose

Grants and funding

JSPS KAKENHI grant numbers JP15K18939, JP18K14964, and JP21K06680 (KS) The Osaka Ohtani University Research Foundation (KS) The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.