title: Effects of high zinc levels on the lipid synthesis in rat hepatocytes.
abstract: Zinc deficiency impairs the hepatic lipid metabolism. Previous studies were focused on the negative effects of zinc deficiency on the hepatic lipid metabolism. A few studies investigated the effects of high zinc levels on the lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. In this study, rat hepatocytes were cultured and treated with different and high concentrations of zinc to investigate the effects of high zinc levels on the lipid synthesis in hepatocytes in vitro. The levels of hepatocytes functional markers, including alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and albumin, were significantly higher in the zinc treatment groups than in the control group (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). The mRNA and protein levels of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) were significantly higher in the zinc treatment groups than in the control group (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) were significantly higher in the medium- and high-dose zinc treatment groups than in the control group (p < 0.01). The mRNA levels of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) were significantly higher in the high-dose group (p < 0.01). These results indicate that high levels of zinc increase hepatocytes activity and SREBP-1c expression, which upregulate the expression of ACC1, FAS, and SCD-1, thereby improving the lipid metabolism in the hepatocytes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun, Jilin 130062, China.
authors.forename: Xinwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yuxiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Chenggang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Guowen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D015032:Zinc / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004798:Enzymes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015032:Zinc