Research Article Details
Article ID: | A49802 |
PMID: | 35633911 |
Source: | World J Gastroenterol |
Title: | Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha activation and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition target dysbiosis to treat fatty liver in obese mice. |
Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Obesity and comorbidities onset encompass gut dysbiosis, altered intestinal permeability, and endotoxemia. Treatments that target gut dysbiosis can cope with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) management. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-alpha activation and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibition alleviate NAFLD, but the mechanism may involve gut microbiota modulation and merits further investigation. AIM: To address the effects of PPAR-alpha activation and DPP-4 inhibition (isolated or combined) upon the gut-liver axis, emphasizing inflammatory pathways in NAFLD management in high-fat-fed C57BL/6J mice. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a control diet (C, 10% of energy as lipids) or a high-fat diet (HFD, 50% of energy as lipids) for 12 wk, when treatments started, forming the groups: C, HF, HFA (HFD + PPAR-alpha agonist WY14643, 2.5 mg/kg body mass), HFL (HFD + DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin, 15 mg/kg body mass), and HFC (HFD + the combination of WY14643 and linagliptin). RESULTS: The HFD was obesogenic compared to the C diet. All treatments elicited significant body mass loss, and the HFC group showed similar body mass to the C group. All treatments tackled oral glucose intolerance and raised plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 concentrations. These metabolic benefits restored Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, resulting in increased goblet cells per area of the large intestine and reduced lipopolysaccharides concentrations in treated groups. At the gene level, treated groups showed higher intestinal Mucin 2, Occludin, and Zo-1 expression than the HFD group. The reduced endotoxemia suppressed inflammasome and macrophage gene expression in the liver of treated animals. These observations complied with the mitigation of liver steatosis and reduced hepatic triacylglycerol, reassuring the role of the proposed treatments on NAFLD mitigation. CONCLUSION: PPAR alpha activation and DPP-4 inhibition (isolated or combined) tackled NAFLD in diet-induced obese mice by restoration of gut-liver axis. The reestablishment of the intestinal barrier and the rescued phylogenetic gut bacteria distribution mitigated liver steatosis through anti-inflammatory signals. These results can cope with NAFLD management by providing pre-clinical evidence that drugs used to treat obesity comorbidities can help to alleviate this silent and harmful liver disease. |
DOI: | 10.3748/wjg.v28.i17.1814 |

Strategy ID | Therapy Strategy | Synonyms | Therapy Targets | Therapy Drugs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
S02 | Enhance lipid metabolism | triglyceride-lowering; lipid tolerance; lipid metabolism | 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) inhibitor; Decreases intestinal cholesterol absorption; FXR agonist; ACC inhibitor; FAS inhibitor; DGAT2 inhibitor; SCD-1 inhibitor | Atorvastatin; Ezetimibe; Obeticholic Acid; GS-9674; GS-0976; TVB-2640; IONIS-DGAT2rx; Aramchol; | Details |
S05 | Anti-inflammatory | inflammatory | Bile acid; TNF-a inhibitor; Dual PPAR-α and -δ agonists; Toll-Like Receptor; (TLR)-4 antagonist; Caspase inhibitor; ASK-1 inhibitor | Ursodeoxycholic Acid; Pentoxifylline; Elafibranor; JKB-121; Emricasan; Selonsertib; | Details |
S06 | Regulating intestinal flora | intestine gut microbiota; gut microbiota | farnesoid X receptor (FXR); fibroblast growth factor-19 (FGF19) | Probiotics; Prebiotics; Rifaximin; Yaq-001; Cilofexor; EDP-305; EYP001a; INT-767 | Details |
Target ID | Target Name | GENE | Action | Class | UniProtKB ID | Entry Name | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T18 | Acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 | ACACA | inhibitor | Enzyme | Q13085 | ACACA_HUMAN | Details |
T10 | Caspase-1 | CASP1 | inhibitor | Enzyme | P29466 | CASP1_HUMAN | Details |
T03 | Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha | PPARA | agonist | Nuclear hormone receptor | Q07869 | PPARA_HUMAN | Details |
T07 | Bile acid receptor | NR1H4 | agonist | Nuclear hormone receptor | Q96RI1 | NR1H4_HUMAN | Details |
Diseases ID | DO ID | Disease Name | Definition | Class | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I14 | 9970 | Obesity | An overnutrition that is characterized by excess body fat, traditionally defined as an elevated ratio of weight to height (specifically 30 kilograms per meter squared), has_material_basis_in a multifactorial etiology related to excess nutrition intake, decreased caloric utilization, and genetic susceptibility, and possibly medications and certain disorders of metabolism, endocrine function, and mental illness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity | disease of metabolism/acquired metabolic disease/ nutrition disease/overnutrition | Details |
Drug ID | Drug Name | Type | DrugBank ID | Targets | Category | Latest Progress | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D579 | Emfilermin | Miscellany | -- | adipocytes | Enhance lipid metabolism | Under investigation | Details |
D328 | Serine | Chemical drug | DB00133 | SRR | Improve insulin resistance | Under clinical trials | Details |
D010 | Amoxicillin | Chemical drug | DB01060 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D205 | Linagliptin | Chemical drug | DB08882 | DPP4 inhibitor | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D080 | Citrulline | Chemical drug | DB00155 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D155 | Glucagon | Biological drug | DB00040 | GCGR agonist | Antidiabetic drug | Under clinical trials | Details |
D094 | Cysteamine | Chemical drug | DB00847 | GSS stimulant | Renal drug | Under clinical trials | Details |
D095 | Cysteamine bitartrate | Chemical drug | DB00847 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |