Eliciting the mitochondrial unfolded protein response by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide repletion reverses fatty liver disease in mice.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether NAD(+) repletion via nicotinamide riboside (NR) could prevent or reverse NAFLD in mice by improving mitochondrial function and hepatic β-oxidation.
Results Summary
NR supplementation prevented and reversed NAFLD in mice by activating SIRT1- and SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial responses, enhancing β-oxidation, and improving mitochondrial content and activity. The benefits were observed in both preventive and therapeutic interventions, including in liver-specific Sirt1 knockout and Apoe-deficient mice.
Population
C57BL/6J mice, liver-specific Sirt1 knockout mice (Sirt1(hep-/-)), and apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (Apoe(-/-)).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | decrease | hepatic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) levels | C57BL/6J mice | - | lowers | #1 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | decrease | hepatic mitochondrial content | C57BL/6J mice | - | driving reductions in | #2 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | decrease | hepatic mitochondrial function | C57BL/6J mice | - | driving reductions in | #3 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | decrease | hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels | C57BL/6J mice | - | driving reductions in | #4 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | increase | hepatic weight | C57BL/6J mice | - | robust increases in | #5 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | increase | hepatic lipid content | C57BL/6J mice | - | robust increases in | #6 |
high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet | increase | hepatic peroxidation | C57BL/6J mice | - | robust increases in | #7 |
nicotinamide riboside (NR) added to the HFHS diet | decrease | NAFLD | mice | - | prevents and reverts | #8 |
nicotinamide riboside (NR) added to the HFHS diet | increase | hepatic β-oxidation | mice | - | inducing a sirtuin (SIRT)1- and SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial unfolded protein response, triggering an adaptive mitohormetic pathway to increase | #9 |
nicotinamide riboside (NR) added to the HFHS diet | increase | mitochondrial complex content | mice | - | inducing a sirtuin (SIRT)1- and SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial unfolded protein response, triggering an adaptive mitohormetic pathway to increase | #10 |
nicotinamide riboside (NR) added to the HFHS diet | increase | mitochondrial complex activity | mice | - | inducing a sirtuin (SIRT)1- and SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial unfolded protein response, triggering an adaptive mitohormetic pathway to increase | #11 |
NR treatment | neutral | - | liver-specific Sirt1 knockout mice (Sirt1(hep-/-)) | - | revealed the cell-autonomous beneficial component of | #12 |
NR | neutral | - | apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (Apoe(-/-)) challenged with a high-fat high-cholesterol diet | - | affirmed the use of | #13 |
UNLABELLED: With no approved pharmacological treatment, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the most common cause of chronic liver disease in Western countries and its worldwide prevalence continues to increase along with the growing obesity epidemic. Here, we show that a high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) diet, eliciting chronic hepatosteatosis resembling human fatty liver, lowers hepatic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+) ) levels driving reductions in hepatic mitochondrial content, function, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, in conjunction with robust increases in hepatic weight, lipid content, and peroxidation in C57BL/6J mice. To assess the effect of NAD(+) repletion on the development of steatosis in mice, nicotinamide riboside, a precursor of NAD(+) biosynthesis, was added to the HFHS diet, either as a preventive strategy or as a therapeutic intervention. We demonstrate that NR prevents and reverts NAFLD by inducing a sirtuin (SIRT)1- and SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial unfolded protein response, triggering an adaptive mitohormetic pathway to increase hepatic β-oxidation and mitochondrial complex content and activity. The cell-autonomous beneficial component of NR treatment was revealed in liver-specific Sirt1 knockout mice (Sirt1(hep-/-) ), whereas apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (Apoe(-/-) ) challenged with a high-fat high-cholesterol diet affirmed the use of NR in other independent models of NAFLD. CONCLUSION: Our data warrant the future evaluation of NAD(+) boosting strategies to manage the development or progression of NAFLD.