First Author | Lopez-Pastor AR | Year | 2019 |
Journal | Dis Model Mech | Volume | 12 |
Issue | 2 | PubMed ID | 30642871 |
Mgi Jnum | J:272909 | Mgi Id | MGI:6280776 |
Doi | 10.1242/dmm.036186 | Citation | Lopez-Pastor AR, et al. (2019) Liver-specific insulin receptor isoform A expression enhances hepatic glucose uptake and ameliorates liver steatosis in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Dis Model Mech 12(2):dmm036186 |
abstractText | Among the main complications associated with obesity are insulin resistance and altered glucose and lipid metabolism within the liver. It has previously been described that insulin receptor isoform A (IRA) favors glucose uptake and glycogen storage in hepatocytes compared with isoform B (IRB), improving glucose homeostasis in mice lacking liver insulin receptor. Thus, we hypothesized that IRA could also improve glucose and lipid metabolism in a mouse model of high-fat-diet-induced obesity. We addressed the role of insulin receptor isoforms in glucose and lipid metabolism in vivo We expressed IRA or IRB specifically in the liver by using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) in a mouse model of diet-induced insulin resistance and obesity. IRA, but not IRB, expression induced increased glucose uptake in the liver and muscle, improving insulin tolerance. Regarding lipid metabolism, we found that AAV-mediated IRA expression also ameliorated hepatic steatosis by decreasing the expression of Fasn, Pgc1a, Acaca and Dgat2 and increasing Scd-1 expression. Taken together, our results further unravel the role of insulin receptor isoforms in hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in an insulin-resistant scenario. Our data strongly suggest that IRA is more efficient than IRB at favoring hepatic glucose uptake, improving insulin tolerance and ameliorating hepatic steatosis. Therefore, we conclude that a gene therapy approach for hepatic IRA expression could be a safe and promising tool for the regulation of hepatic glucose consumption and lipid metabolism, two key processes in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with obesity.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. |