Cadmium induces triglyceride levels via microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) accumulation caused by lysosomal deacidification regulated by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca homeostasis.

Cadmium (Cd) exposure induced lipid metabolic disorder with changes in lipid composition, as well as triglyceride (TG) levels. Liver is the main organ maintaining body TG level and previous studies suggested that Cd exposure might increase TG synthesis but reduce TG uptake in liver. However, the effects of Cd exposure on TG secretion from liver and underlying mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, the data revealed that Cd exposure increased TG levels in the HepG2 cells and the cultured medium by increasing the expression of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP), which was abrogated by siRNA knockdown of MTTP. MTTP was synergistically accumulated after Cd exposure or treated with proteasome inhibitor MG132 and lysosome inhibitor chloroquine (CQ), which suggested the Cd increased MTTP protein stability by inhibiting both the proteasome and the lysosomal protein degradation pathways. In addition, our results demonstrated that Cd exposure inhibited the lysosomal acidic degradation pathway through disrupting endoplastic reticulum (ER) Ca homeostasis. Cd-induced MTTP protein and TG levels were significantly reduced by pretreatments of BAPTA/AM chelation of intracellular Ca, 2-APB inhibition of ER Ca release channel inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) and CDN1163 activation of ER Ca reuptake pump sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase (SERCA). These results suggest that Cd-induced ER Ca release impaired the lysosomal acidity, which associated with MTTP protein accumulation and contributed to increased TG levels.