Calcium supplementation relieves high-fat diet-induced liver steatosis by reducing energy metabolism and promoting lipolysis.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disease affecting the health of many people worldwide. Previous studies have shown that dietary calcium supplementation may alleviate NAFLD, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. In this study investigating the effect of calcium on hepatic lipid metabolism, 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups (n = 6): (1) mice given a normal chow containing 0.5% calcium (CN0.5), (2) mice given a normal chow containing 1.2% calcium (CN1.2), (3) mice given a high-fat diet (HFD) containing 0.5% calcium (HFD0.5), and (4) mice fed a HFD containing 1.2% calcium (HFD1.2). To understand the underlying mechanism, cells were treated with oleic acid and palmitic acid to mimic the HFD conditions in vitro. The results showed that calcium alleviated the increase in triglyceride accumulation induced by oleic acid and/or palmitic acid in HepG2, AML12, and primary hepatocyte cells. Our data demonstrated that calcium supplementation alleviated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis through increased liver lipase activity, proving calcium is involved in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism. Moreover, calcium also increased the level of glycogen in the liver, and at the same time had the effect of reducing glycolysis and promoting glucose absorption. Calcium addition increased calcium levels in the mitochondria and cytoplasm. Taken together, we concluded that calcium supplementation could relieve HFD-induced hepatic steatosis by changing energy metabolism and lipase activity.

• Authors: Zhiwang Zhang, Siqi Liu, Yilin Qi, Zhier Aluo, Lifang Zhang, Lin Yu, Qiang Li, Zupeng Luo, Zheng Sun, Lei Zhou, Yixing Li
• Journal: The Journal of nutritional biochemistry (J Nutr Biochem) Vol. 94 Pg. 108645 (08 2021) ISSN: 1873-4847 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 33838230 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Ru 360
• Ruthenium Compounds
• Mitoxantrone
• Calcium

Topics

• Animals
• Calcium (administration & dosage, metabolism)
• Cell Line
• Cell Survival (drug effects)
• Diet, High-Fat (adverse effects)
• Dietary Supplements
• Energy Metabolism (drug effects)
• Fatty Liver (chemically induced, drug therapy)
• Humans
• Lipolysis
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mitochondria (drug effects, metabolism)
• Mitoxantrone (pharmacology)
• Ruthenium Compounds (pharmacology)