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Butyrate protects against diet-induced liver fibrosis and suppresses non-canonical TGF-β signaling in human stellate cells

ABSTRACT: Background & Aims: In obesity-associated non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), persistent hepatocellular damage and inflammation are key drivers of fibrosis, the main determinant of NASH-associated mortality. The short chain fatty acid butyrate can exert metabolic improvements and anti-inflammatory activities in NASH. However, its effects on NASH-associated liver fibrosis remains unclear. Methods: Putative antifibrotic effects of butyrate were studied in Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice fed an obesogenic NASH-inducing diet (HFD) containing 2.5% (w/w) butyrate for 38 weeks and compared to an HFD control group. Antifibrotic mechanisms of butyrate were further investigated in TGF-β-stimulated primary human hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Results: HFD-fed mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, increased levels of plasma leptin, adipose tissue inflammation, gut permeability, dysbiosis and NASH-associated fibrosis. Butyrate corrected hyperinsulinemia, lowered plasma leptin levels and attenuated adipose tissue inflammation, without affecting gut permeability or microbiota composition. Butyrate lowered plasma ALT and CK-18M30 and attenuated hepatic steatosis and inflammation. Butyrate inhibited fibrosis development as demonstrated by decreased hepatic collagen content and Sirius-red-positive area. In TGF-β-stimulated HSC, butyrate dose-dependently reduced collagen deposition and decreased procollagen1α1 and PAI-1 protein expression. Transcriptomic analysis and subsequent pathway and upstream regulator analysis revealed deactivation of specific non-canonical TGF-β signaling pathways RhoA/Rock and PI3K/AKT and other important pro-fibrotic regulators (e.g. YAP/TAZ and MYC) by butyrate, providing a potential rationale for its antifibrotic effects. Conclusions: Butyrate protects against the development of obesity and insulin resistance-associated NASH and liver fibrosis. These antifibrotic effects are at least in part attributable to a direct effect on collagen production in hepatic stellate cells, as a result of inhibiting non-canonical TGF-β signaling.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE179395 | GEO | 2021/12/21

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Abstract: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with a disturbed metabolism in liver and excessive accumulation of ectopic fat. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) may beneficially modulate hepatic lipids, however it remains unclear whether individual BCAAs can attenuate already established NASH and oxidative-inflammatory stress associated with it. Therefore, mice were first put on a run-in fast food diet (FFD) for 26 weeks, these obese mice were then treated with individual BCAAs valine or isoleucine (3% of FFD) for another 12 weeks and compared to FFD controls. Valine and isoleucine treatment did not affect obesity, dyslipidemia, gut permeability or fecal fatty acid excretion, although significantly reduced hyperinsulinemia compared with FFD. Valine and isoleucine significantly reduced ALT, CK-18M30, and liver steatosis with a particularly pronounced effect on the microvesicular component (-61% by valine and -71% by isoleucine). Hepatic 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) immunoreactivity, a marker for oxidative stress-induced lipid peroxidation, was also significantly decreased. Functional genomics analysis demonstrated that valine and isoleucine upregulated BCAA metabolism, deactivated master regulators of anabolic pathways related to steatosis (e.g. SREBPF1) and activated master regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis (e.g. PPARGC1a) and lipid catabolism (e.g. ACOX1, AMPK). The correction of critical metabolic pathways by valine and isoleucine was accompanied by a significant decrease of liver inflammation, and suppression of many FFD-stimulated cytokine and chemokine pathways including IL-1β, TNFα and CCR2 signaling. In conclusion, the dietary intervention with either valine or isoleucine corrected multiple metabolic processes in liver and reduced steatosis and inflammation with profound effects on oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways. Methods: Putative antifibrotic effects of butyrate were studied in Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice fed an obesogenic NASH-inducing diet (HFD) containing 2.5% (w/w) butyrate for 38 weeks and compared to an HFD control group. Antifibrotic mechanisms of butyrate were further investigated in TGF-β-stimulated primary human hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Results: HFD-fed mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, increased levels of plasma leptin, adipose tissue inflammation, gut permeability, dysbiosis and NASH-associated fibrosis. Butyrate corrected hyperinsulinemia, lowered plasma leptin levels and attenuated adipose tissue inflammation, without affecting gut permeability or microbiota composition. Butyrate lowered plasma ALT and CK-18M30 and attenuated hepatic steatosis and inflammation. Butyrate inhibited fibrosis development as demonstrated by decreased hepatic collagen content and Sirius-red-positive area. In TGF-β-stimulated HSC, butyrate dose-dependently reduced collagen deposition and decreased procollagen1α1 and PAI-1 protein expression. Transcriptomic analysis and subsequent pathway and upstream regulator analysis revealed deactivation of specific non-canonical TGF-β signaling pathways RhoA/Rock and PI3K/AKT and other important pro-fibrotic regulators (e.g. YAP/TAZ and MYC) by butyrate, providing a potential rationale for its antifibrotic effects. Conclusions: Butyrate protects against the development of obesity and insulin resistance-associated NASH and liver fibrosis. These antifibrotic effects are at least in part attributable to a direct effect on collagen production in hepatic stellate cells, as a result of inhibiting non-canonical TGF-β signaling.

Project description:During chronic liver disease, tissue remodeling leads to dramatic changes and accumulation of matrix components. Matrix metalloproteases and their inhibitors have been involved in the regulation of matrix degradation. However, the role of other proteases remains incompletely defined. We undertook a gene-expression screen of human liver fibrosis samples using a dedicated gene array selected for relevance to protease activities, identifying the ADAMTS1 (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase [ADAM] with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 1) gene as an important node of the protease network. Up-regulation of ADAMTS1 in fibrosis was found to be associated with hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. ADAMTS1 is synthesized as 110-kDa latent forms and is processed by HSCs to accumulate as 87-kDa mature forms in fibrotic tissues. Structural evidence has suggested that the thrombospondin motif-containing domain from ADAMTS1 may be involved in interactions with, and activation of, the major fibrogenic cytokine, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). Indeed, we observed direct interactions between ADAMTS1 and latency-associated peptide-TGF-β (LAP-TGF-β). ADAMTS1 induces TGF-β activation through the interaction of the ADAMTS1 KTFR peptide with the LAP-TGF-β LKSL peptide. Down-regulation of ADAMTS1 in HSCs decreases the release of TGF-β competent for transcriptional activation, and KTFR competitor peptides directed against ADAMTS1 block the HSC-mediated release of active TGF-β. Using a mouse liver fibrosis model, we show that carbon tetrachloride treatment induces ADAMTS1 expression in parallel to that of type I collagen. Importantly, concurrent injection of the KTFR peptide prevents liver damage. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that up-regulation of ADAMTS1 in HSCs constitutes a new mechanism for control of TGF-β activation in chronic liver disease. Total RNA from 32 patients with hepatic fibrosis associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (n=15) or alcohol abuse (n=17) versus a common pooled control liver sample, inverting the cy3 and cy5 labelling for each sample.

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Butyrate protects against diet-induced liver fibrosis and suppresses non-canonical TGF-β signaling in human stellate cells

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