Starvation-resistant cavefish reveal conserved mechanisms of starvation-induced hepatic lipotoxicity.

ABSTRACT: Starvation causes the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver, a somewhat counterintuitive phenomenon that is nevertheless conserved from flies to humans. Much like fatty liver resulting from overfeeding, hepatic lipid accumulation (steatosis) during undernourishment can lead to lipotoxicity and atrophy of the liver. Here, we found that although surface populations of Astyanax mexicanus undergo this evolutionarily conserved response to starvation, the starvation-resistant cavefish larvae of the same species do not display an accumulation of lipid droplets upon starvation. Moreover, cavefish are resistant to liver atrophy during starvation, providing a unique system to explore strategies for liver protection. Using comparative transcriptomics between zebrafish, surface fish, and

SUBMITTER: Pozo-Morales M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10927358 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature