PPARA/RXRA signalling regulates the fate of hepatic non-esterified fatty acids in a sheep model of maternal undernutrition.

Maternal undernutrition during late gestation accelerates body fat mobilization to provide more energy for foetal growth and development, which unbalances metabolic homeostasis and results in serious lipid metabolism disorder. However, detailed regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, a sheep model was used to explore the regulatory role of PPARA/RXRA signalling in hepatic lipid metabolism in undernutrition based on RNA sequencing and cell experiments. KOG function classification showed that lipid transport and metabolism was markedly altered in an undernourished model. In detail, when compared with the controls, fatty acid transport and oxidation and triglyceride metabolism were up-regulated in an undernourished model, while fatty acid synthesis, steroid synthesis, and phospholipid metabolism were down-regulated. Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis demonstrated that PPARA/RXRA signalling pathway was altered. Moreover, PPARA signalling associated genes were positively correlated with hepatic non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels, while retinol metabolism associated genes were negatively correlated with blood beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) levels. Results of primary hepatocytes showed that NEFAs could activate PPARA signalling and facilitate fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and ketogenesis, while BHBA could inhibit RXRA signalling and repress FAO and ketogenesis. Excessively accumulated NEFAs in hepatocytes promoted triglyceride synthesis. Furthermore, activation of PPARA/RXRA signalling by WY14643 and 9-cis-retinoic acid could enhance FAO and ketogenesis and reduce NEFAs accumulation and esterification. Our findings elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of NEFAs and BHBA on lipid metabolism as well as the potential role of the PPARA/RXRA signalling pathway in hepatic lipid metabolism, which may contribute to exploring new strategies to maintain lipid metabolic homeostasis in human beings.