Abstract
Fatty liver disease has grown into a major global health burden, attributed to multi-factors including sedentary lifestyle, obesogenic diet and prevalence of metabolic disorders. The lack of robust experimental models is hampering the research and therapeutic development for fatty liver disease. This study aims to develop an organoid-based 3D culture model to recapitulate key features of fatty liver disease focusing on intracellular lipid accumulation and metabolic dysregulation. We used human liver-derived intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids and hepatocyte differentiated organoids. These organoids were exposed to lactate, pyruvate, and octanoic acid (LPO) for inducing lipid accumulation and mitochondrial impairment. Lipid accumulation resulted in alternations of gene transcription with major effects on metabolic pathways, including triglyceride and glucose level increase, which is consistent with metabolic changes in fatty liver disease patients. Interestingly, lipid accumulation affected mitochondria as shown by morphological transitions, alternations in expression of mitochondrial encoded genes, and reduction of ATP production. Meanwhile, we found treatment with obeticholic acid and metformin can alleviate fat accumulation in organoids. This study demonstrated that LPO exposure can induce lipid accumulation and associated metabolic dysregulation in human liver-derived organoids. This provides an innovative model for studying fatty liver disease and testing potential therapeutics.
Key messages
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Lactate, pyruvate, and octanoic acid induce lipid accumulation in liver organoids.
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Organoids of human compared to mouse origin are more efficient in lipid accumulation.
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Lipid accumulation dysregulates metabolic pathway and impairs mitochondrial function.
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Demonstrating a proof-of-concept for testing medications in organoids.
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Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.
Abbreviations
- NAFLD:
-
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- MAFLD:
-
Metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease
- ICOs:
-
Intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids
- LPO:
-
Lactate, pyruvate, and octanoic acid
- TMRM:
-
Tetramethylrhodamine
- PLIN 1:
-
Perilipin 1
- PLIN2:
-
Perilipin 2
- PPARα:
-
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha
- CPT1A:
-
Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A
- PCK1:
-
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1
- G6PC:
-
Glucose-6-phosphatase
- HSD17B13:
-
17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 13
- CHREBP:
-
Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein
- LXR α:
-
Liver X receptor alpha
- TGFB1:
-
Transforming growth factor beta 1
- SCL25A4:
-
Solute carrier family 25, member 4
- PGC1 α:
-
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha
- OXPHOS:
-
Oxidative phosphorylation
- ATP:
-
Adenosine triphosphate
- CK7:
-
Cytokeratin 7
- CK19:
-
Cytokeratin 19
- HNF4α:
-
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha
- OCT4:
-
Octamer-binding transcription factor 4
- LGR5:
-
Leucine-rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 5
- B2M:
-
Beta2-microglobulin
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Funding
This research is supported by a VIDI grant (No. 91719300) from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (to Q. Pan), the Dutch Cancer Society for funding a Dutch Cancer Society Young Investigator Grant (10140) to Q. Pan, and China Scholarship Council for funding PhD fellowships to L. Wang (No.201708530248), S. Shi (No.201706230252) and R. Zhang (No.201808530490).
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Ling Wang, Meng Li, Jiaye Liu, Ruiyi Zhang, and Ibrahim Ayada performed the experimental studies. Ling Wang and Meng Li analyzed the experimental data. Bingting Yu performed the bioinformatics analysis. Luc J. W. van der Laan, Monique M. A. Verstegen, and Shaojun Shi provided the organoids lines with technical support. Maikel P. Peppelenbosch, Wanlu Cao, and Qiuwei Pan contributed to study design and supervision. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ling Wang and all authors edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The experiment used of liver tissues for organoids research was approved by the Medical Ethical Council of the Erasmus MC ((MEC2006-202) and patient informed consent was given.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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Wang, L., Li, M., Yu, B. et al. Recapitulating lipid accumulation and related metabolic dysregulation in human liver-derived organoids. J Mol Med 100, 471–484 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-021-02176-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-021-02176-x