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Alpha-Lipoic Acid Alleviates Acute Inflammation and Promotes Lipid Mobilization During the Inflammatory Response in White Adipose Tissue of Mice

  • Original Article
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Lipids

Abstract

Recently, white adipose tissue has been shown to exhibit immunological activity, and may play an important role in host defense and protection against bacterial infection. Αlpha-lipoic acid (α-LA) has been demonstrated to function as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent. However, its influence on the inflammatory response and metabolic changes in white adipose tissue remains unknown. We used male C57BL/6 mice as models to study the effect of α-LA on the inflammatory response and metabolic changes in white adipose tissue after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The non-esterified fatty acid content was measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression of inflammation-, lipid- and energy metabolism-related genes and proteins was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The results indicated that α-LA significantly decreased the epididymis fat weight index and the non-esterified fatty acid content in plasma compared with the control group. LPS significantly increased the expression of inflammation genes and α-LA reduced their expression. The LPS-induced expression of nuclear factor-κB protein was decreased by α-LA. Regarding lipid metabolism, α-LA significantly counteracted the inhibitory effects of LPS on the expression of hormone-sensitive lipase gene and protein. α-LA evidently increased the gene expression of fatty acid transport protein 1 and cluster of differentiation 36. Regarding energy metabolism, α-LA significantly increased the expression of most of mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes compared with the control and LPS group. Accordingly, α-LA can alleviate acute inflammatory response and this action may be related with the promotion of lipid mobilization in white adipose tissue.

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Abbreviations

α-LA:

Αlpha-lipoic acid

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

WAT:

White adipose tissue

NF-κB:

Nuclear factor-κB

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

TLR4:

Toll-like receptor 4

CON:

Control

NEFA:

Non-esterified fatty acid

PPIA:

Peptidylprolyl isomerase A

HSL:

Hormone-sensitive lipase

ATGL:

Adipose triglyceride lipase

COX1:

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1

IL-1α:

Interleukin-1α

PPARγ:

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ

C/EBPβ:

CAAT/enhancer-binding protein β

SREBP1:

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1

ACACA:

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1

FASN:

Fatty acid synthase

SCD1:

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1

FATP1:

Fatty acid transport protein 1

CD36:

Cluster of differentiation 36

CPT-1a:

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1a

ND1:

NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1

ATF6:

ATP synthase F0 subunit 6

CYTB:

Cytochrome b

mtDNA:

Mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572482), the National Basic Science Research Program (973 program) of China (2015CB150300), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0889), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Guo, Shixing Gao, Zhiqing Liu, Ruqian Zhao & Xiaojing Yang

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  1. Jun Guo
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  2. Shixing Gao
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  3. Zhiqing Liu
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  4. Ruqian Zhao
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Correspondence to Xiaojing Yang.

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Guo, J., Gao, S., Liu, Z. et al. Alpha-Lipoic Acid Alleviates Acute Inflammation and Promotes Lipid Mobilization During the Inflammatory Response in White Adipose Tissue of Mice. Lipids 51, 1145–1152 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-016-4185-2

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