Altered glycogen metabolism causes hepatomegaly following an Atg7 deletion
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ABSTRACT: Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation process involved in the turnover of organelles or other cell constituents, in providing sources for energy production under starving conditions, and in cell metabolism. A key protein in the macroautophagic machinery is the autophagy related protein (Atg) 7. Constitutive deletion of Atg7 is lethal at birth. A conditional deletion of Atg7 in hepatocytes leads to hepatomegaly and in aged animals to liver tumors. With this study, we aimed at analyzing the hepatomegaly development more detailed. The 3- to 4-fold enlargement of the liver takes place between day 25 and 35 after birth (P25-P35) and persists at least until P90. This is accompanied by a change in the expression of enzymes involved in the glycogen/glucose metabolism. While glycogen synthesis is inhibited, glucose is preferentially kept as glucose-6-phosphate inside the cells, inducing a swelling of the cells caused by hyperosmolarity. An increase of lipogenic enzymes suggests that glucose-6-phosphate is delivered to lipogenic pathways, which is supported by the occurrence of a steatosis around P30. The development of hepatomegaly is accompanied by a polyploidisation of hepatocytes, an enhanced expression of genes related to inflammatory processes, and an infiltration of macrophages. Our data provide evidence that the attenuation of macroautophagy in hepatocytes leads to a glucose retention which causes cell swelling. The resulting hepatomegaly, which develops in a time interval of about 10 days, perturbs liver perfusion and induces an inflammatory reaction together with polyploidisation.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
SUBMITTER: Chrysanti Skevaki
PROVIDER: E-MTAB-4389 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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