Hepatic lipase deficiency produces glucose intolerance, inflammation and hepatic steatosis

Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus constitute a major problem to global health, and their incidence is increasing at an alarming rate. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects up to 90% of obese people and nearly 70% of the overweight, is commonly associated with MetS characteristics such as obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia. In the present study, we demonstrate that hepatic lipase (HL)-inactivation in mice fed with a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet produced dyslipidemia including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and increased non-esterified fatty acid levels. These changes were accompanied by glucose intolerance, pancreatic and hepatic inflammation and steatosis. In addition, compared with WT mice, HL–/– mice exhibited enhanced circulating MCP1 levels, monocytosis and higher percentage of CD4+Th17+ cells. Consistent with increased inflammation, livers from HL–/– mice had augmented activation of the stress SAPK/JNK- and p38-pathways compared with the activation levels of the kinases in livers from WT mice. Analysis of HL–/– and WT mice fed regular chow diet showed dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance in HL–/– mice without any other changes in inflammation or hepatic steatosis. Altogether, these results indicate that dyslipidemia induced by HL-deficiency in combination with a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet promotes hepatic steatosis and inflammation in mice which are, at le...
Source: Journal of Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Research Source Type: research