Glucagon like receptor 1/ glucagon dual agonist acutely enhanced hepatic lipid clearance and suppressed de novo lipogenesis in mice

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 24;12(10):e0186586. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186586. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Lipid lowering properties of glucagon have been reported. Blocking glucagon signaling leads to rise in plasma LDL levels. Here, we demonstrate the lipid lowering effects of acute dosing with Glp1r/Gcgr dual agonist (DualAG). All the experiments were performed in 25 week-old male diet-induced (60% kCal fat) obese mice. After 2 hrs of fasting, mice were injected subcutaneously with vehicle, liraglutide (25nmol/kg) and DualAG (25nmol/kg). De novo cholesterol and palmitate synthesis was measured by deuterium incorporation method using D2O. 13C18-oleate infusion was used for measuring fatty acid esterification. Simultaneous activation of Glp1r and Gcgr resulted in decrease in plasma triglyceride and cholesterol levels. DualAG enhanced hepatic LDLr protein levels, along with causing decrease in content of plasma ApoB48 and ApoB100. VLDL secretion, de novo palmitate synthesis and fatty acid esterification decreased with acute DualAG treatment. On the other hand, ketone levels were elevated with DualAG treatment, indicating increased fatty acid oxidation. Lipid relevant changes were absent in liraglutide treated group. In an acute treatment, DualAG demonstrated significant impact on lipid homeostasis, specifically on hepatic uptake, VLDL secretion and de novo synthesis. These effects collectively reveal that lipid lowering abilities of DualAG are primarily through glucagon signaling and are liver centric.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cholesterol / blood
  • Glucagon / agonists
  • Glucagon / physiology*
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide Receptors / agonists
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide Receptors / physiology*
  • Lipid Metabolism*
  • Lipogenesis*
  • Liver
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Triglycerides / blood

Substances

  • Glucagon-Like Peptide Receptors
  • Triglycerides
  • Glucagon
  • Cholesterol

Grants and funding

The funder (Merck & Co., Inc.) provided support in the form of salaries for all authors, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.