Reduction of serum free fatty acids and triglycerides by liver-targeted expression of long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 3.

ACSL3 is a member of the long chain acyl-CoA synthetase (ACSL) family that consists of 5 isozymes responsible for cellular fatty acid metabolism in various tissues in an isozyme-specific manner. Our previous studies have demonstrated that expression of ACSL3 mRNA and protein in liver was specifically increased after feeding hamsters with a fat- and cholesterol-enriched diet, providing the first in vivo evidence for the regulated expression of ACSL3 in liver tissue. The aim of the current study was to further investigate the role of ACSL3 in regulating hepatic lipid metabolism in vitro and in vivo. We utilized an adenoviral-mediated gene delivery approach to exogenously express hamster ACSL3 in hamster liver as well as in HepG2 cells. Transduction of HepG2 cells with Ad-hamACSL3 adenovirus elevated total cellular ACSL enzyme activity, which was accompanied by a significant reduction of cellular contents of triglycerides and total phospholipids. Immunostaining and confocal microscopy studies revealed that ACSL3 was localized to endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. In vivo, infection of hamsters with Ad-hamACSL3 led to sustained expression of ACSL3 mRNA and protein in liver two weeks after infection. Importantly, compared with Ad-GFP control virus infected hamsters, we observed significantly lower free fatty acids and triglycerides plus modest reduction of phospholipids in the serum of Ad-hamACSL3 infected animals. Furthermore, triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in Ad-hamACSL3 infected hamster liver. Altogether, these results provide important and physiologically relevant evidence that strengthens the link between ACSL3 expression and hepatic reduction of triglycerides and fatty acids.