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Freeburg SH, Shwartz A, Kemény LV, Smith CJ, Weeks O, Miller BM, PenkoffLidbeck N, Fisher DE, Evason KJ, Goessling W. Hepatocyte vitamin D receptor functions as a nutrient sensor that regulates energy storage and tissue growth in zebrafish. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114393. [PMID: 38944835 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been implicated in fatty liver pathogenesis, but its role in the regulation of organismal energy usage remains unclear. Here, we illuminate the evolutionary function of VDR by demonstrating that zebrafish Vdr coordinates hepatic and organismal energy homeostasis through antagonistic regulation of nutrient storage and tissue growth. Hepatocyte-specific Vdr impairment increases hepatic lipid storage, partially through acsl4a induction, while simultaneously diminishing fatty acid oxidation and liver growth. Importantly, Vdr impairment exacerbates the starvation-induced hepatic storage of systemic fatty acids, indicating that loss of Vdr signaling elicits hepatocellular energy deficiency. Strikingly, hepatocyte Vdr impairment diminishes diet-induced systemic growth while increasing hepatic and visceral fat in adult fish, revealing that hepatic Vdr signaling is required for complete adaptation to food availability. These data establish hepatocyte Vdr as a regulator of organismal energy expenditure and define an evolutionary function for VDR as a transcriptional effector of environmental nutrient supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott H Freeburg
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Arkadi Shwartz
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lajos V Kemény
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; HCEMM-SU Translational Dermatology Research Group, Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University, 1085 Budapest Hungary; Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Dermatooncology, Semmelweis University, 1085 Budapest Hungary
| | - Colton J Smith
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Olivia Weeks
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bess M Miller
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Nadia PenkoffLidbeck
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - David E Fisher
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Kimberley J Evason
- Huntsman Cancer Institute and Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Wolfram Goessling
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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Sinha RA. Targeting nuclear receptors for NASH/MASH: From bench to bedside. LIVER RESEARCH 2024; 8:34-45. [PMID: 38544909 PMCID: PMC7615772 DOI: 10.1016/j.livres.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
The onset of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) represents a tipping point leading to liver injury and subsequent hepatic complications in the natural progression of what is now termed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver diseases (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). With no pharmacological treatment currently available for MASH/NASH, the race is on to develop drugs targeting multiple facets of hepatic metabolism, inflammation, and pro-fibrotic events, which are major drivers of MASH. Nuclear receptors (NRs) regulate genomic transcription upon binding to lipophilic ligands and govern multiple aspects of liver metabolism and inflammation. Ligands of NRs may include hormones, lipids, bile acids, and synthetic ligands, which upon binding to NRs regulate the transcriptional activities of target genes. NR ligands are presently the most promising drug candidates expected to receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration as a pharmacological treatment for MASH. This review aims to cover the current understanding of NRs, including nuclear hormone receptors, non-steroid hormone receptors, circadian NRs, and orphan NRs, which are currently undergoing clinical trials for MASH treatment, along with NRs that have shown promising results in preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit A Sinha
- Department of Endocrinology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India
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Liu K, Chen Y, Chen J, Chen W, Sun X, Mao Y, Ye D. Genetically determined circulating micronutrients and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1105. [PMID: 38212362 PMCID: PMC10784479 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51609-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Evidence from epidemiological literature on the association of circulating micronutrients with risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is inconsistent. We aimed to elucidate the causal relationships using Mendelian randomization (MR). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with 14 circulating micronutrients (β-carotene, calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B6, B12, C, D, K1 and zinc) were employed as instrumental variables. Summary level data for NAFLD were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of 8434 cases and 770,180 controls (discovery stage) and another two datasets including 1483 NAFLD cases and 17,781 controls (replication stage 1) and 2134 NAFLD cases and 33,433 controls (replication stage 2). Inverse variance-weighted method (IVW) was used as primary analysis, supplemented with a series of sensitivity analysis. Genetically predicted higher β‑carotene levels were suggestively associated with reduced NAFLD risk [odds ratio (OR) 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-0.99; P = 0.047], whereas the association did not survive the false discovery rates (FDR) correction (PFDR = 0.164). Genetically predicted circulating iron (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.05-1.29; P = 0.006, PFDR = 0.028), selenium (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03-1.20; P = 0.005, PFDR = 0.028) and vitamin B12 (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13; P = 0.002, PFDR = 0.028) were significantly associated with increased risk of NAFLD. Moreover, the findings were consistent in individual datasets (Pheterogeneity > 0.05) and confirmed in sensitivity analysis. Our study provided evidence that circulating iron, selenium and vitamin B12 might be causally linked to the risk of NAFLD, which deserves further exploration of the potential biological mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Liu
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ying Chen
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jiaxin Chen
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Weiwei Chen
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaohui Sun
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yingying Mao
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ding Ye
- School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China.
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Abdelrahman BA, El-Khatib AS, Attia YM. Insights into the role of vitamin D in targeting the culprits of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Life Sci 2023; 332:122124. [PMID: 37742738 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Vitamin D (VD) is a secosteroid hormone that is renowned for its crucial role in phospho-calcium homeostasis upon binding to the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR). Over and above, the pleiotropic immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic roles VD plays in different disease settings started to surface in the past few decades. On the other hand, a growing body of evidence suggests a correlation between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its progressive inflammatory form non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) owing to the former's ingrained link with obesity and metabolic syndrome. Accordingly, a better understanding of the contribution of disrupted VDR signalling to NAFLD incidence and progression would provide further insights into its diagnosis, treatment modalities, and prognosis. This is especially significant as, hitherto, no drug for NAFLD has been approved. This review, therefore, sought to set forth the likely contribution of VDR signalling in NAFLD and how it might influence its multiple drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basma A Abdelrahman
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt; The Center for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Aiman S El-Khatib
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Yasmeen M Attia
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt; The Center for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Faculty of Pharmacy, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
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Du T, Xiang L, Zhang J, Yang C, Zhao W, Li J, Zhou Y, Ma L. Vitamin D improves hepatic steatosis in NAFLD via regulation of fatty acid uptake and β-oxidation. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1138078. [PMID: 37033263 PMCID: PMC10074590 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1138078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The study aimed to explore the association of serum 25(OH)D3 and hepatic steatosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients and to determine whether the effect of vitamin D (VD) is mediated by activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) pathway. METHODS The study contained a case-control study, in vivo and in vitro experiments. A case-control study was conducted to compare serum parameters between NAFLD patients and controls and to evaluate the association of 25(OH)D3 and NAFLD. In vivo study, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control and model groups, fed a standard chow diet and a high-fat diet (HFD), respectively, for 7 weeks to generate an NAFLD model. Then, the rats were treated with VD and a PPARα antagonist (MK886) for 7 weeks. Tissue and serum were collected and assessed by biochemical assays, morphological analysis, histological analysis, and western blot analysis. In vitro, HepG2 cells were incubated with oleic acid (OA) to induce steatosis, which was evaluated by staining. HepG2 cells were pretreated with MK886 followed by calcitriol treatment, and differences in lipid metabolism-related proteins were detected by western blot. RESULTS NAFLD patients were characterized by impaired liver function, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Serum 25(OH)D3 was negatively associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in NAFLD. VD deficiency was a risk factor for patients with no advanced fibrosis. Adequate VD status (25(OH)D3 >20 ng/mL) had a protective effect in patients after adjustment for confounding variables. NAFLD rats showed hyperlipidemia with severe hepatic steatosis, systematic inflammation, and lower serum 25(OH)D3. VD treatment ameliorated hepatic steatosis both in NAFLD rats and OA-induced HepG2 cells. Further, MK886 inhibited the anti-steatosis effect of VD. CONCLUSION The study revealed that an adequate VD level may act as a protective factor in NAFLD and that VD may alleviate hepatic steatosis via the PPARα signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingwan Du
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Lian Xiang
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jingjing Zhang
- Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Chunmei Yang
- Health Management Center, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Wenxin Zhao
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jialu Li
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Yong Zhou
- Department of Medical Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Science, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Yong Zhou, ; Ling Ma,
| | - Ling Ma
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Yong Zhou, ; Ling Ma,
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