title: Chronic Glutathione Depletion Confers Protection against Alcohol-induced Steatosis: Implication for Redox Activation of AMP-activated Protein Kinase Pathway.
abstract: The pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is not well established. However, oxidative stress and associated decreases in levels of glutathione (GSH) are known to play a central role in ALD. The present study examines the effect of GSH deficiency on alcohol-induced liver steatosis in Gclm knockout (KO) mice that constitutively have ≈15% normal hepatic levels of GSH. Following chronic (6 week) feeding with an ethanol-containing liquid diet, the Gclm KO mice were unexpectedly found to be protected against steatosis despite showing increased oxidative stress (as reflected in elevated levels of CYP2E1 and protein carbonyls). Gclm KO mice also exhibit constitutive activation of liver AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 target genes, and show enhanced ethanol clearance, altered hepatic lipid profiles in favor of increased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and concordant changes in expression of genes associated with lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. In summary, our data implicate a novel mechanism protecting against liver steatosis via an oxidative stress adaptive response that activates the AMPK pathway. We propose redox activation of the AMPK may represent a new therapeutic strategy for preventing ALD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Surendra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Saga University School of Medicine, Saga, 849-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Soumen K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Manna
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abdelmegeed
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Srujana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golla
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado AMC, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Byoung-Joon
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metabolism, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado AMC, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vasiliou
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005235:Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D005978:Glutathione