Ochratoxin A Induces Steatosis via PPARγ-CD36 Axis

• DOI: 10.3390/toxins13110802
• Publication Date: 2021-11-15T01:52:28Z
• Authors: Qian-Wen Zheng; Xu-Fen Ding; Hui-Jun Cao; Qian-Zhi Ni; Bing Zhu; Ning Ma; Feng-Kun Zhang; Yi-Kang Wang; Sheng Xu; Tian-Wei Chen; Ji Xia; Xiao-Song Qiu; Dian-Zhen Yu; Dong Xie; Jing-Jing Li
• Keywords: CD36 Antigens; Male; 0301 basic medicine; R; Hep G2 Cells; Lipid Metabolism; PPAR; Ochratoxins; Article; 3. Good health; Mice, Inbred C57BL; PPAR gamma; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; lipid metabolism; OTA; Hepatocytes; fatty liver disease; Medicine; Animals; Humans; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury

Ochratoxin A(OTA) is considered to be one of the most important contaminants of food and feed worldwide. The liver is one of key target organs for OTA to exert its toxic effects. Due to current lifestyle and diet, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been the most common liver disease. To examine the potential effect of OTA on hepatic lipid metabolism and NAFLD, C57BL/6 male mice received 1 mg/kg OTA by gavage daily. Compared with controls, OTA increased lipid deposition and TG accumulation in mouse livers. In vitro OTA treatment also promoted lipid droplets accumulation in primary hepatocytes and HepG2 cells. Mechanistically, OTA prevented PPARγ degradation by reducing the interaction between PPARγ and its E3 ligase SIAH2, which led to activation of PPARγ signaling pathway. Furthermore, downregulation or inhibition of CD36, a known of PPARγ, alleviated OTA-induced lipid droplets deposition and TG accumulation. Therefore, OTA induces hepatic steatosis via PPARγ-CD36 axis, suggesting that OTA has an impact on liver lipid metabolism and may contribute to the development of metabolic diseases.