Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive lipid accumulation in the liver. Various mechanisms such as an increased uptake in fatty acids or de novo synthesis contribute to the development of steatosis and progression to more severe stages. Furthermore, it has been shown that impaired lipophagy, the degradation of lipids by autophagic processes, contributes to NAFLD. Through an unbiased lipidome analysis of mouse livers in a genetic model of impaired lipophagy, we aimed to determine the resulting alterations in the lipidome. Observed changes overlap with those of the human disease. Overall, the entire lipid content and in particular the triacylglycerol concentration increased under conditions of impaired lipophagy. In addition, we detected a reduction in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and an increased ratio of n-6 PUFAs to n-3 PUFAs, which was due to the depletion of n-3 PUFAs. Although the abundance of major phospholipid classes was reduced, the ratio of phosphatidylcholines to phosphatidylethanolamines was not affected. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that impaired lipophagy contributes to the pathology of NAFLD and is associated with an altered lipid profile. However, the lipid pattern does not appear to be specific for lipophagic alterations, as it resembles mainly that described in relation to fatty liver disease.
Keywords: fatty acid profile; lipidomics; lipophagy; long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.