Objective
States of insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hepatic steatosis are associated with increased secretion of triglycerides (TG) and apolipoprotein B (apoB), even though insulin targets apoB for degradation. We used hepatic-specific (h) Pten knockout (ko) mice, with increased hepatic insulin signaling, to determine the relative roles of insulin signaling and hepatic TG in regulating apoB secretion.
Results/Methods
TG and apoB secretion were elevated in hPten-ko mice. When hepatic TG was reduced by inhibition of DGAT1/DGAT2 or SREBP-1c, both TG and apoB secretion fell without changes in hepatic insulin signaling. Acute reconstitution of hPten reduced hepatic TG content and both TG and apoB secretion fell within 4 days despite decreased hepatic insulin signaling. Acute depletion of hepatic Pten by adenoviral introduction of Cre into Pten Floxed mice caused steatosis within 4 days, and secretion of TG and apoB both increased despite increased hepatic insulin signaling. Even when steatosis after acute Pten depletion was prevented by pre-treatment with SREBP-1c ASO, apoB secretion was not reduced after 4 days. Ex vivo results were in primary hepatocytes were similar.
Conclusion
Either hepatic TG is the dominant regulator of apoB secretion or any inhibitory effects of hepatic insulin signaling on apoB secretion is very short-lived.