title: The autonomic nervous system regulates postprandial hepatic lipid metabolism.
abstract: The liver is a key organ in controlling glucose and lipid metabolism during feeding and fasting. In addition to hormones and nutrients, inputs from the autonomic nervous system are also involved in fine-tuning hepatic metabolic regulation. Previously, we have shown in rats that during fasting an intact sympathetic innervation of the liver is essential to maintain the secretion of triglycerides by the liver. In the current study, we hypothesized that in the postprandial condition the parasympathetic input to the liver inhibits hepatic VLDL-TG secretion. To test our hypothesis, we determined the effect of selective surgical hepatic denervations on triglyceride metabolism after a meal in male Wistar rats. We report that postprandial plasma triglyceride concentrations were significantly elevated in parasympathetically denervated rats compared with control rats (P = 0.008), and VLDL-TG production tended to be increased (P = 0.066). Sympathetically denervated rats also showed a small rise in postprandial triglyceride concentrations (P = 0.045). On the other hand, in rats fed on a six-meals-a-day schedule for several weeks, a parasympathetic denervation resulted in >70% higher plasma triglycerides during the day (P = 0.001), whereas a sympathetic denervation had no effect. Our results show that abolishing the parasympathetic input to the liver results in increased plasma triglyceride levels during postprandial conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e.bruinstroop@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: Eveline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bruinstroop
authors.forename: Susanne E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: la Fleur
authors.forename: Mariette T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ackermans
authors.forename: Ewout
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Foppen
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wortel
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kooijman
authors.forename: Jimmy F P
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Berbée
authors.forename: Patrick C N
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Rensen
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fliers
authors.forename: Andries
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalsbeek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017763:Autonomic Denervation / Q000379:methods; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D016014:Linear Models; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000294:innervation / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D019518:Postprandial Period; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D012313:RNA
keywords: denervation; feeding; liver; parasympathetic; triglycerides