饱和磷脂酸诱导mTORC1驱动的综合应激反应,导致肝细胞中的糖脂毒性。
Saturated phosphatidic acids induce mTORC1-driven integrated stress response contributing to glucolipotoxicity in hepatocytes.
作者信息
Guo Rui, Li Yanhui, Jiang Yuwei, Khan Md Wasim, Layden Brian T, Song Zhenyuan
机构信息
Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
出版信息
Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2025 Jun 1;328(6):G663-G676. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00027.2025. Epub 2025 Apr 17.
Hepatic glucolipotoxicity, characterized by the synergistic detrimental effects of elevated glucose levels combined with excessive lipid accumulation in hepatocytes, plays a central role in the pathogenesis of various metabolic liver diseases. Despite recent advancements, the precise mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Using cultured AML12 and HepG2 cells exposed to excess palmitate, with and without high glucose, as an in vitro model, we aimed to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying hepatic glucolipotoxicity. Our data showed that palmitate exposure induced the integrated stress response (ISR) in hepatocytes, evidenced by increased eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α) phosphorylation (serine 51) and upregulated activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) expression. Moreover, we identified mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) as a novel upstream kinase responsible for palmitate-triggered ISR induction. Furthermore, we showed that either mTORC1 inhibitors, ISRIB (an ISR inhibitor), or ATF4 knockdown abolished palmitate-induced cell death, indicating that the mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway activation plays a mechanistic role in mediating palmitate-induced hepatocyte cell death. Our continuous investigations revealed that glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT4)-mediated metabolic flux of palmitate into the glycerolipid synthesis pathway is required for palmitate-induced mTORC1 activation and subsequent ISR induction. Specifically, we uncovered that saturated phosphatidic acid production contributes to palmitate-triggered mTORC1 activation. Our study provides the first evidence that high glucose enhances palmitate-induced activation of the mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway, thereby exacerbating palmitate-induced hepatotoxicity. This effect is mediated by the increased availability of glycerol-3-phosphate, a substrate essential for phosphatidic acid synthesis. In conclusion, our study highlights that the activation of the mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway, driven by saturated phosphatidic acid overproduction, plays a mechanistic role in hepatic glucolipotoxicity. Integrated stress response (ISR) activation contributes to palmitate-induced lipotoxicity in hepatocytes. mTORC1 acts as an upstream kinase essential for palmitate-mediated ISR activation and hepatocyte death. The formation of saturated phosphatidic acid mechanistically regulates hepatic mTORC1 activation induced by palmitate. Glucose-enhanced generation of saturated phosphatidic acid amplifies palmitate-induced hepatotoxicity, contributing to glucolipotoxicity.
肝脏糖脂毒性以葡萄糖水平升高与肝细胞中脂质过度积累的协同有害作用为特征,在各种代谢性肝病的发病机制中起核心作用。尽管最近有进展,但这一过程的精确机制仍不清楚。我们以体外培养的AML12和HepG2细胞为模型,使其暴露于过量的棕榈酸酯(有无高糖环境),旨在阐明肝脏糖脂毒性的细胞和分子机制。我们的数据表明,棕榈酸酯暴露诱导肝细胞中的综合应激反应(ISR),表现为真核翻译起始因子2α(eIF2α)磷酸化(丝氨酸51)增加以及激活转录因子4(ATF4)表达上调。此外,我们确定雷帕霉素靶蛋白复合物1(mTORC1)是负责棕榈酸酯触发的ISR诱导的新型上游激酶。此外,我们表明,mTORC1抑制剂、ISRIB(一种ISR抑制剂)或ATF4敲低均可消除棕榈酸酯诱导的细胞死亡,这表明mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4途径的激活在介导棕榈酸酯诱导的肝细胞死亡中起机制性作用。我们的持续研究表明,甘油-3-磷酸酰基转移酶(GPAT4)介导的棕榈酸酯向甘油脂质合成途径的代谢通量是棕榈酸酯诱导的mTORC1激活和随后的ISR诱导所必需的。具体而言,我们发现饱和磷脂酸的产生有助于棕榈酸酯触发的mTORC1激活。我们的研究首次证明,高糖增强了棕榈酸酯诱导的mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4途径的激活,从而加剧了棕榈酸酯诱导的肝毒性。这种效应是由甘油-3-磷酸可用性增加介导的,甘油-3-磷酸是磷脂酸合成所必需的底物。总之,我们的研究强调,由饱和磷脂酸过量产生驱动的mTORC1-eIF2α-ATF4途径的激活在肝脏糖脂毒性中起机制性作用。综合应激反应(ISR)激活导致棕榈酸酯诱导的肝细胞脂毒性。mTORC1作为棕榈酸酯介导的ISR激活和肝细胞死亡所必需的上游激酶。饱和磷脂酸的形成从机制上调节棕榈酸酯诱导的肝脏mTORC1激活。葡萄糖增强的饱和磷脂酸生成放大了棕榈酸酯诱导的肝毒性,导致糖脂毒性。