Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) Regulates Hepatic Lipid and Glycogen Metabolism in .

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) plays important roles in angiogenesis, inflammatory response as well as energy metabolism in mammals. However, its effect on glycolipid metabolism in fish has not been reported. In this study, we cloned and characterized the gene of . expression was significantly higher in liver and muscle than that in other tissues. Then, the VEGFA recombinant protein was expressed in and obtained after purification. VEGFA i.p. injection significantly increased the serum glucose and TG content compared with the control group. Moreover, VEGFA protein aggravated the glycogen and lipid deposition in the liver of . In addition, we found that VEGFA treatment increased hepatocyte glycogen and lipid droplet content and increased the levels of pAMPKα (T172). Furthermore, AMPKα inhibition attenuated the ability of VEGFA to induce TG and glycogen accumulation. These results demonstrate that VEGFA regulates hepatic lipid and glycogen metabolism through AMPKα in , which may contribute to a better understanding of VEGFA functions in the glycolipid metabolism of fish.