Angiopoietin-like protein 8 (betatrophin) is a stress-response protein that down-regulates expression of adipocyte triglyceride lipase.

AIM

Atypical angiopoietin-like 8 (ANGPTL8), also known as betatrophin, is known to regulate lipid metabolism. However, its mechanism of action remains elusive.

METHODS

HepG2, 3T3-L1, and NIT-1 cells were cultured in amino acid-complete MEM or histidine-free MEM to detect ANGPTL8 expression. The three cell types were treated with or without recombinant ANGPTL8 to investigate its role in lipid metabolism. Hydrodynamic tail vein gene delivery was also used to examine the role of ANGPTL8 in mice.

RESULTS

ANGPTL8 is significantly up-regulated in amino acid-deprived cultured cells in vitro. The activation of ANGPTL8 gene transcription was mediated through the RAS/c-RAF/MAPK signaling pathway rather than the general GCN2/ATF4 pathways. ANGPTL8 activated the ERK signal transduction pathway in hepatocytes, adipocytes, and pancreatic β-cells, up-regulating early growth response transcription factor (Egr1) and down-regulating adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL).

CONCLUSION

ANGPTL8 is a stress-response protein that regulates fat metabolism by suppressing ATGL expression, revealing a mechanistic connection between ANGPTL8 and lipid homeostasis in mammalian cells.