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Hepatic NIK Protects Against Ethanol-Induced Steatosis by Stabilizing INPP5B to Suppress PI3K/AKT/ACLY Lipogenesis

ABSTRACT: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) imposes a major global health burden, yet lacks FDA-approved targeted therapies. While NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) is recognized for its dual roles in hepatic inflammation and lipid metabolism, its specific function in ALD pathogenesis remained incompletely defined. Contrary to its established protective role against high-fat diet-induced steatosis, this study reveals a paradoxical protective function of hepatic NIK in chronic ethanol-induced steatosis. We demonstrate that liver-specific NIK deficiency unexpectedly exacerbates hepatic steatosis in chronic ethanol-fed mice. This aggravation occurs via activation of the PI3K/AKT-ATP Citrate Lyase (ACLY) signaling pathway, promoting lipogenesis. Importantly, NIK overexpression reversed steatosis in deficient mice, independent of the non-canonical NF-κB effector p52. Mechanistically, proteomics and functional studies identified Inositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase b (INPP5B), a negative PI3K/AKT regulator, as a key downstream target. NIK stabilizes INPP5B by suppressing its ubiquitination and enhancing its interaction with Adaptor protein APPL1, thereby inhibiting PI3K/AKT/ACLY signaling. These findings unveil a novel, kinase/scaffold-dependent role for NIK in mitigating ethanol-induced steatosis through INPP5B stabilization and highlight its context-dependent, double-sided effects in ALD progression, offering new insights for therapeutic strategies.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE303667 | GEO | 2026/02/02

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: Exposure to pollutants including the ubiquitous ‘forever chemical’, Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has increasingly been associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Recent epidemiological evidence has identified associations between Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and increased liver injury in alcohol consumers, suggesting potential interactions between these exposures. However, the intersection of pollutant exposures and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is not well studied. We hypothesize that pollutants may disrupt hepatic metabolism to modify ALD severity. Recently, we developed a two-hit (ethanol plus pollutant) mouse model, enabling testing of this hypothesis. Here, we elucidate the metabolic and disease-modifying effects of PFOS in this model. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed isocaloric control or 5% Ethanol (EtOH) Lieber-DeCarli diet for 15 days. From day 6 of feeding, mice were concurrently gavaged with 1 mg/kg PFOS or 2% tween-80 vehicle for 10 days, followed by a 5 g/kg EtOH binge dose and euthanized 5-6 hours later. Results: Approximately 60% of the administered PFOS dose accumulated in liver. PFOS exacerbated EtOH-induced hepatic steatosis and was associated by higher levels of plasma very low-density lipoprotein (vLDL) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). PFOS upregulated hepatic ethanol-metabolizing enzymes and lowered blood alcohol levels. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) Top Toxicity Functions/Lists associated with hepatic gene expression following PFOS co-exposure in EtOH-fed mice included: fatty acid metabolism and liver steatosis; nuclear receptor activation, cytochrome P450, and reactive oxygen species (ROS); apoptosis; liver fibrosis; and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). GO/KEGG analyses similarly revealed enrichment in fatty acid, xenobiotic, alcohol, or glutathione metabolic processes; and Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling. PFOS upregulated hepatic expression of several nuclear receptors (e.g., Pparα, Car, and Pxr) and their P450 target genes (e.g., Cyp4a10, Cyp2b10, and Cyp3a11) by RT-PCR or Western blot, confirming key IPA predictions. Conclusions: PFOS is a metabolism disrupting chemical that worsened ALD severity. PFOS activated hepatic nuclear receptors and enriched hepatic transcriptional pathways associated with steatosis, xenobiotic metabolism, oxidative stress, cell death, fibrosis, and HCC. These data demonstrate a novel mechanism whereby PFOS exacerbates ALD through coordinated dysregulation of lipid homeostasis and liver injury, potentially mediated by nuclear receptor activation. The identification of PFOS as an ALD risk modifier highlight the critical need to evaluate environmental pollutants as potential contributors to liver disease progression in vulnerable populations. More data are required on environmental pollution as a disease modifying factor in ALD.

Project description:The NF-κB pathway is a master regulator of inflammatory processes and is implicated in insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction in the metabolic syndrome. While canonical NF-κB signaling is well studied, there is little information on the divergent non-canonical NF-κB pathway in the context of pancreatic islet dysfunction in diabetes. Here, we demonstrate that pharmacological activation of the non-canonical NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK) disrupts glucose homeostasis in zebrafish in vivo. Further, we identify NIK as a critical negative regulator of beta cell function as pharmacological NIK activation results in impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mouse and human islets. NIK levels are elevated in pancreatic islets isolated from diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, which exhibit increased processing of non-canonical NF-κB components p100 to p52, and accumulation of RelB. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), two ligands associated with diabetes, induce NIK in islets. Mice with constitutive beta cell intrinsic NIK activation present impaired insulin secretion with DIO. NIK activation triggers the non-canonical NF-κB transcriptional network to induce genes identified in human type 2 diabetes genome-wide association studies linked to beta cell failure. These studies reveal that NIK contributes a central mechanism for beta cell failure in diet-induced obesity. We identify a role for Nuclear Factor inducing κB (NIK) in pancreatic beta cell failure. NIK activation disrupts glucose homeostasis in zebrafish in vivo and impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mouse and human islets in vitro. NIK activation also perturbs beta cell insulin secretion in a diet-induced obesity mouse model. These studies reveal that NIK contributes a central mechanism for beta cell failure in obesity. To uncover the role of NIK in pancreatic beta cells, we performed a gene expression microarray analysis comparing pancreatic islets with constitutive beta cell intrinsicNIK activation from the 16 week old mice (beta cell specific TRAF2 and TRAF2 knockout mice) to their controls (n=3 per group).

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Hepatic NIK Protects Against Ethanol-Induced Steatosis by Stabilizing INPP5B to Suppress PI3K/AKT/ACLY Lipogenesis

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