Abstract:
【Objective】 To investigate the efficacy of ureidosuccinic acid(UA)in regulating lipid and energy metabolism
in vitro and
in vivo,and to clarify its effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the potential mechanisms,which could provide theoretical basis for the application of UA in the prevention and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver di-sease. 【Method】 Using oleic acid/palmitic acid(OA/PA)-treated HepG2 cells as a cellular model,cellular oxidative stress, mitochondrial ATP levels and mitochondrial fluorescence were assessed to validate the role of UA in alleviating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at the cellular level. Additionally,C57BL/6J mice which were fed with high-fat diet(HFD) were served as the biological model. Body weight,liver weight,triglyceride(TG)content and total cholesterol(TC) content were measured,and liver tissue sections were prepared. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was employed to evaluate the expression of fatty liver related genes,further confirming the function of UA in alleviating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
in vivo. Moreover,reverse target finding and molecular docking techniques were applied to identify potential targets of UA for mitigating fatty liver. 【Result】 100 μmol/L UA effectively reduced TG accumulation in induced HepG2 cells,extremely significantly inhibited fat deposition gene(
Pparγ)expression(
P<0.01,the same below),extremely significantly reduced ROS level,extremely significantly increased CAT activity,significantly increased GSH level and SOD activity(
P<0.05,the same below),and significantly increased cellular mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) transcription levels and ATP contents. In the mouse test,100 mg/kg UA reduced the liver weight and body weight of mice fed with HFD,significantly inhibited the accumulation of TG and TC in the liver,and significantly down-regulated the expression of the
Pparγ and significantly up-regulated the expression of the mitochondrial biosynthesis promoting gene
Pgc1α. Histone lysine demethylase 4B(KDM4B) might be a potential target for UA to alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,with a binding energy of -78.2345 kJ/mol and a binding interaction energy of -77.9353 kJ/mol. 【Conclusion】 UA improves non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by HFD in mice by reducing oxidative stress related to obesity, promoting lipid catabolism and metabolism,and improving energy metabolism,as well as interacting with KDM4B protein.