PPARα agonist WY-14,643 induces the PLA2/COX-2/ACOX1 pathway to enhance peroxisomal lipid metabolism and ameliorate alcoholic fatty liver in mice.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) regulates fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Usually, very-long chain fatty acids are first activated by acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) to generate acyl-CoA for oxidation by acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX) in peroxisomes, and the resultant shorter chain fatty acids will be further oxidized in mitochondria. ACS long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) preferentially uses arachidonic acid (AA) as substrates to synthesize arachidonoyl-CoA. Arachidonoyl-CoA is usually esterified into phospholipids. When AA is released by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from phospholipids, it will be used for prostaglandin synthesis by cyclooxygenases (COX). In this study, when PPARα agonist WY-14,643 was mixed in liquid Lieber-DeCarli ethanol or control diets and fed to mice, liver PLA2, COX-2, and ACOX1 were induced but ACSL4 was inhibited, suggesting that AA released by PLA2 from phospholipid will be metabolized to prostaglandin via COX-2 instead of being synthesized into acyl-CoA by ACSL4. However, liver prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a major component of prostaglandin, was not increased with the induced COX-2 but decreased by WY-14,643. ACOX1 specific inhibitor mixed in the liquid diets restored both the WY-14,643-suppressed liver TG and PGE2, but COX-2 specific inhibitor celecoxib mixed in the liquid diets reversed the WY-14,643-suppressed liver TG but not liver PGE2 contents. These results suggest that induction of PLA2, COX-2 and ACOX1 orchestrates to increase oxidation of AA/PGE2, which constitutes one new mechanism by which PPARα induces peroxisomal FAO and inhibits ethanol-induced liver fat accumulation.