Ogyi Park

AMPK Phosphorylates and Inhibits SREBP Activity to Attenuate Hepatic Steatosis and Atherosclerosis in Diet-Induced Insulin-Resistant Mice

AMPK has emerged as a critical mechanism for salutary effects of polyphenols on lipid metabolic disorders in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Here we demonstrate that AMPK interacts with and directly phosphorylates sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP-1c and -2). Ser372 phosphorylation of SREBP-1c by AMPK is necessary for inhibition of proteolytic processing and transcriptional activity of SREBP-1c in response to polyphenols and metformin. AMPK stimulates Ser372 phosphorylation, suppresses SREBP-1c cleavage and nuclear translocation, and represses SREBP-1c target gene expression in hepatocytes exposed to high glucose, leading to reduced lipogenesis and lipid accumulation. Hepatic activation of AMPK by the synthetic polyphenol S17834 protects against hepatic steatosis, hyperlipidemia, and accelerated atherosclerosis in diet-induced insulin-resistant LDL receptor-deficient mice in part through phosphorylation of SREBP-1c Ser372 and suppression of SREBP-1c- and -2-dependent lipogenesis. AMPK-dependent phosphorylation of SREBP may offer therapeutic strategies to combat insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis.

Mammalian Mst1 and Mst2 kinases play essential roles in organ size control and tumor suppression

Control of organ size by cell proliferation and survival is a fundamental developmental process, and its deregulation leads to cancer. However, the molecular mechanism underlying organ size control remains elusive in vertebrates. In Drosophila, the Hippo (Hpo) signaling pathway controls organ size by both restricting cell growth and proliferation and promoting cell death. Here we investigated whether mammals also require the Hpo pathway to control organ size and adult tissue homeostasis. We found that Mst1 and Mst2, the two mouse homologs of the Drosophila Hpo, control the sizes of some, but not all organs, in mice, and Mst1 and Mst2 act as tumor suppressors by restricting cell proliferation and survival. We show that Mst1 and Mst2 play redundant roles, and removal of both resulted in early lethality in mouse embryos. Importantly, tumors developed in the liver with a substantial increase of the stem/progenitor cells by 6 months after removing Mst1 and Mst2 postnatally. We show that Mst1 and Mst2 were required in vivo to control Yap phosphorylation and activity. Interestingly, apoptosis induced by TNFα was blocked in the Mst1 and Mst2 double-mutant cells both in vivo and in vitro. As TNFα is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine affecting most organs by regulating cell proliferation and cell death, resistance to TNFα-induced cell death may also contribute significantly to tumor formation in the absence of Mst1 and Mst2.

Liver natural killer and natural killer T cells: immunobiology and emerging roles in liver diseases

Hepatic lymphocytes are enriched in NK and NKT cells that play important roles in antiviral and antitumor defenses and in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease. In this review, we discuss the differential distribution of NK and NKT cells in mouse, rat, and human livers, the ultrastructural similarities and differences between liver NK and NKT cells, and the regulation of liver NK and NKT cells in a variety of murine liver injury models. We also summarize recent findings about the role of NK and NKT cells in liver injury, fibrosis, and repair. In general, NK and NKT cells accelerate liver injury by producing proinflammatory cytokines and killing hepatocytes. NK cells inhibit liver fibrosis via killing early–activated and senescent–activated stellate cells and producing IFN–γ. In regulating liver fibrosis, NKT cells appear to be less important than NK cells as a result of hepatic NKT cell tolerance. NK cells inhibit liver regeneration by producing IFN–γ and killing hepatocytes; however, the role of NK cells on the proliferation of liver progenitor cells and the role of NKT cells in liver regeneration have been controversial. The emerging roles of NK/NKT cells in chronic human liver disease will also be discussed. Understanding the role of NK and NKT cells in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease may help us design better therapies to treat patients with this disease.

Hepatic-Specific Disruption of SIRT6 in Mice Results in Fatty Liver Formation Due to Enhanced Glycolysis and Triglyceride Synthesis

Under various conditions, mammals have the ability to maintain serum glucose concentration within a narrow range. SIRT1 plays an important role in regulating gluconeogenesis and fat metabolism; however, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that SIRT1 forms a complex with FOXO3a and NRF1 on the SIRT6 promoter and positively regulates expression of SIRT6, which, in turn, negatively regulates glycolysis, triglyceride synthesis, and fat metabolism by deacetylating histone H3 lysine 9 in the promoter of many genes involved in these processes. Liver-specific deletion of SIRT6 in mice causes profound alterations in gene expression, leading to increased glycolysis, triglyceride synthesis, reduced beta oxidation, and fatty liver formation. Human fatty liver samples exhibited significantly lower levels of SIRT6 than did normal controls. Thus, SIRT6 plays a critical role in fat metabolism and may serve as a therapeutic target for treating fatty liver disease, the most common cause of liver dysfunction in humans.

Paracrine Activation of Hepatic CB1 Receptors by Stellate Cell-Derived Endocannabinoids Mediates Alcoholic Fatty Liver

Alcohol-induced fatty liver, a major cause of morbidity, has been attributed to enhanced hepatic lipogenesis and decreased fat clearance of unknown mechanism. Here we report that the steatosis induced in mice by a low-fat, liquid ethanol diet is attenuated by concurrent blockade of cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Global or hepatocyte-specific CB1 knockout mice are resistant to ethanol-induced steatosis and increases in lipogenic gene expression and have increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 activity, which, unlike in controls, is not reduced by ethanol treatment. Ethanol feeding increases the hepatic expression of CB1 receptors and upregulates the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and its biosynthetic enzyme diacylglycerol lipase beta selectively in hepatic stellate cells. In control but not CB1 receptor-deficient hepatocytes, coculture with stellate cells from ethanol-fed mice results in upregulation of CB1 receptors and lipogenic gene expression. We conclude that paracrine activation of hepatic CB1 receptors by stellate cell-derived 2-AG mediates ethanol-induced steatosis through increasing lipogenesis and decreasing fatty acid oxidation.

STAT1 Inhibits Liver Fibrosis in Mice by Inhibiting Stellate Cell Proliferation and Stimulating NK Cell Cytotoxicity

Liver fibrosis, a common scarring response to chronic liver injury, is a precursor to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Here, we identified signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) as an important negative regulator in liver fibrosis. Our findings show that disruption of the STAT1 gene accelerated liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) proliferation in an in vivo model of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)‐induced liver fibrosis. In vitro treatment with IFN‐γ inhibited proliferation and activation of wild‐type HSCs, but not STAT1−/− HSCs. Moreover, compared to wild‐type cells, cellular proliferation stimulated by serum or platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) was enhanced and accelerated in STAT1−/− HSCs, which was partially mediated via elevated PDGF receptor β expression on such cells. Polyinosinic‐polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) or IFN‐γ treatment inhibited liver fibrosis in wild‐type mice but not in STAT1−/− mice. Induction of NK cell killing of activated HSCs by poly I:C was attenuated in STAT1−/− mice compared to wild‐type mice, which was likely due to reduced NKG2D and TRAIL expression on STAT1−/− NK cells. Finally, activation of TGF‐β/Smad3 signaling pathway was accelerated, whereas induction of Smad7 was diminished in the liver of STAT1−/− mice after CCl4 administration compared to wild‐type mice. In conclusion, activation of STAT1 attenuates liver fibrosis through inhibition of HSC proliferation, attenuation of TGF‐β signaling, and stimulation of NK cell killing of activated HSCs. STAT1 could be a new therapeutic target for treating liver fibrosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:1441–1451.)

Abrogation of the Antifibrotic Effects of Natural Killer Cells/Interferon-γ Contributes to Alcohol Acceleration of Liver Fibrosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic alcohol drinking accelerates liver fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis that cannot be fully explained by ethanol-enhanced liver damage. Here, we identified a novel mechanism by which alcohol accelerates liver fibrosis: inhibition of the antifibrotic effects of natural killer (NK) cells and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). METHODS Alcohol administration was achieved by feeding mice with a liquid diet containing 5% ethanol for 8 weeks. Liver fibrosis was induced by administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) for 2 weeks. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were also isolated and cultured for in vitro studies. RESULTS CCl(4) treatment induced greater fibrosis and less apoptosis of HSCs in ethanol-fed mice compared with pair-fed mice. Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) or IFN-gamma treatment inhibited liver fibrosis in pair-fed but not in ethanol-fed mice. Poly I:C activation of NK cell cytotoxicity against HSCs was attenuated in ethanol-fed mice compared with pair-fed mice, which was due to reduced natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D), tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, and IFN-gamma expression on NK cells from ethanol-fed mice. In vitro, HSCs from ethanol-fed mice were resistant to IFN-gamma-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis compared with pair-fed mice. Such resistance was due to diminished IFN-gamma activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in HSCs from ethanol-fed mice caused by the induction of suppressors of cytokine signaling proteins and the production of oxidative stress. Finally, HSCs from ethanol-fed mice were resistant to NK cell killing, which can be reversed by transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) neutralizing antibody. CONCLUSIONS Chronic ethanol consumption attenuates the antifibrotic effects of NK/IFN-gamma/STAT1 in the liver, representing new and different therapeutic targets with which to treat alcoholic liver fibrosis.

Diverse roles of invariant natural killer T cells in liver injury and fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride

Liver fibrosis is a common scarring response to all forms of chronic liver injury and is always associated with inflammation that contributes to fibrogenesis. Although a variety of cell populations infiltrate the liver during inflammation, it is generically clear that CD8 T lymphocytes promote while natural killer (NK) cells inhibit liver fibrosis. However, the role of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are abundant in the liver, in hepatic fibrogenesis, remains obscure. Here we show that iNKT‐deficient mice are more susceptible to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)‐induced acute liver injury and inflammation. The protective effect of naturally activated iNKT in this model is likely mediated via suppression of the proinflammatory effect of activated hepatic stellate cells. Interestingly, strong activation of iNKT through injection of iNKT activator α‐galactosylceramide (α‐GalCer) accelerates CCl4‐induced acute liver injury and fibrosis. In contrast, chronic CCl4 administration induces a similar degree of liver injury in iNKT‐deficient and wild‐type mice, and only a slightly higher grade of liver fibrosis in iNKT‐deficient mice than wild‐type mice 2 weeks but not 4 weeks after CCl4 injection, although iNKT cells are able to kill activated stellate cells. An insignificant role of iNKT in chronic liver injury and fibrosis may be attributable to hepatic iNKT cell depletion. Finally, chronic α‐GalCer treatment had little effect on liver injury and fibrosis, which is attributable to iNKT tolerance after α‐GalCer injection. Conclusion: Natural activation of hepatic iNKT cells inhibits, whereas strong activation of iNKT cells by α‐GalCer accelerates CCl4‐induced acute liver injury, inflammation, and fibrosis. During chronic liver injury, hepatic iNKT cells are depleted and play a role in inhibiting liver fibrosis in the early stage but not the late stage of fibrosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)

Cell Type–Dependent Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Role of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 in Alcoholic Liver Injury

BACKGROUND & AIMS Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is known to be activated in human alcoholic liver disease, but its role in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver injury remains obscure. METHODS The role of STAT3 in alcoholic liver injury was investigated in hepatocyte-specific STAT3 knockout (H-STAT3KO) mice and macrophage/neutrophil-specific STAT3 KO (M/N-STAT3KO) mice. Alcoholic liver injury was achieved by feeding mice a liquid diet containing 5% ethanol for up to 8 weeks. RESULTS Compared with wild-type mice, feeding H-STAT3KO mice with an ethanol-containing diet induced greater hepatic steatosis, hypertriglyceridemia, and hepatic expression of lipogenic genes (sterol regulatory element-binding protein, fatty acid synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1), but less inflammation and lower expression of hepatic proinflammatory cytokines. In contrast, ethanol-fed M/N-STAT3KO mice showed more hepatic inflammation, worse injury, and increased hepatic expression of proinflammatory cytokines compared with wild-type mice. Kupffer cells isolated from ethanol-fed H-STAT3KO mice produced similar amounts of reactive oxygen species and tumor necrosis factor alpha, whereas Kupffer cells from M/N-STAT3KO mice produced more reactive oxygen species and tumor necrosis factor alpha compared with wild-type controls. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that STAT3 regulates hepatic inflammation in a cell type-dependent manner during alcoholic liver injury: STAT3 in hepatocytes promotes whereas STAT3 in macrophages/Kupffer cells suppresses inflammation. In addition, activation of hepatocellular STAT3 ameliorates alcoholic fatty liver via inhibition of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c expression.

Interleukin-22 Promotes Proliferation of Liver Stem/Progenitor Cells in Mice and Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

BACKGROUND & AIMS Proliferation of liver stem/progenitor cells (LPCs), which can differentiate into hepatocytes or biliary epithelial cells, is often observed in chronically inflamed regions of liver in patients. We investigated how inflammation might promote proliferation of LPCs. METHODS We examined the role of interleukin (IL)-22, a survival factor for hepatocytes, on proliferation of LPCs in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and in mice. Proliferation of LPCs in mice was induced by feeding a diet that contained 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC). RESULTS Hepatic expression of IL-22 was increased in patients with HBV and correlated with the grade of inflammation and proliferation of LPCs. Mice on the DDC diet that overexpressed an IL-22 transgene specifically in liver (IL-22TG), or that were infected with an IL-22-expressing adenovirus, had increased proliferation of LPCs. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, a component of the IL-22 signaling pathway, was activated in LPCs isolated from DDC-fed IL-22TG mice. Deletion of STAT3 from livers of IL-22TG mice reduced proliferation of LPCs. In addition, the receptors IL-22R1 and IL-10R2 were detected on epithelial cell adhesion molecule(+)CD45(-) LPCs isolated from DDC-fed wild-type mice. Culture of these cells with IL-22 activated STAT3 and led to cell proliferation, but IL-22 had no effect on proliferation of STAT3-deficient EpCAM(+)CD45(-) LPCs. IL-22 also activated STAT3 and promoted proliferation of cultured BMOL cells (a mouse LPC line). CONCLUSIONS In livers of mice and patients with chronic HBV infection, inflammatory cells produce IL-22, which promotes proliferation of LPCs via STAT3. These findings link inflammation with proliferation of LPCs in patients with HBV infection.