Biomedical Research Center in Network for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases (CIBER-DEM) and the Institute for Biomedical Research of the Sant Pau Hospital of Barcelona (IIB-Sant Pau) have identified the mechanism by which hepatic lipase enzyme associated with the presence of metabolic disorders, obesity and the development of hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), causes the accumulation of hepatic lipids and development of adiposity.
In their tests the team of researchers, led by Joan Carles Escolà-Gil and Francisco Blanco-Vaca (IIB-Sant Pau/CIBER-DEM), used a transgenic mouse model expressing human hepatic lipase in the liver. The results showed that expression of the enzyme promotes hepatic lipogenesis in vivo through the induction of a transcription factor (SREBF1), which controls the expression of key genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis. The results were recently published in Plos One.
Lídia Cedó, CIBER-DEM researcher at the IIB-Sant Pau and first author of the work, explains that “this study has successfully demonstrated the key role of hepatic lipase in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism and the accumulation of adipose tissue.”
Additionally, The researchers were able to verify that the expression of this enzyme increased the ability of adipose tissue cells to hydrolyze triglycerides by another enzyme (lipoprotein lipase) and fatty acid accumulation.
Source: SINC
