This proposal is in response to the Request for Applications (RFA) from NIAAA entitled Alcohol-Induced Metabolic and Hepatic Injury (AIMHI). The goal of this multiple-PI application is to examine how ethanol exposure can lead to impaired membrane trafficking events in the liver hepatocyte that results in increased fat accumulation due to altered dynamics of large fat storage organelles termed lipid droplets (LDs). During alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), almost all heavy drinkers develop fatty liver, which is marked by the aberrant and significant accumulation of intrahepatocellular fatty acids in the form of LDs. The cellular processes contributing to this marked increase in the number and size of these organelles is considered a prime target for therapeutic intervention to block further progression as it is an initial stage of the injury, and thus reversible. It appears that the cyclical formation, accumulation and subsequent metabolism of LDs are dependent on an intricate trafficking process in the hepatocyte that share marked similarities with the endocytic and secretory trafficking pathways. We have found that central to LD dynamics in hepatocytes are several GTPases (dynamins and rabs in particular) that can act as molecular switches to regulate membrane traffic. In preliminary data obtained by Drs. Casey and McNiven in a recently funded Challenge Grant it was shown that disruption of these GTPases (by ethanol or by experimental manipulation) could dramatically increase accumulation of LDs in the liver cell. These findings support our central hypothesis that ethanol exposure leads to an impairment of the membrane trafficking machinery in the hepatocyte that attenuates LD disassembly resulting in hepatic steatosis. The two principal investigators involved in this proposed project have complementary strengths; one is an expert in alcoholic-induced liver damage (Casey), and the other in hepatocyte membrane-cytoskeleton dynamics (McNiven). We will utilize a variety of state-of-the art membrane trafficking and imaging technologies that are novel to this area of research in our investigations of how LD formation and utilization is affected by ethanol in hepatocytes. Novel and innovative biological concepts pursued in this proposal include: one, ETOH disrupts vesiculation of LDs normally used to aid in lipolysis, two, the hepatocyte endocytic machinery is utilized in this LD vesiculation process and compromised by ETOH exposure, three, ubiquitinylation of LD proteins is markedly attenuated by ETOH and aids in targeting of the LDs to the lysosome for subsequent degradation. Successful completion of these studies will provide new technologies and insights as to how ethanol affects LD dynamics in the liver, and provide information which could lead to therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing the severity of steatosis and blocking the further progression to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Public Health Relevance

The goal of this proposal is to examine how alcohol exposure can lead to impaired membrane trafficking events in the liver which would eventually result in increased fat due to altered dynamics of the large fat storage organelles, lipid droplets (LDs). We hypothesize that ethanol exposure leads to hepatic steatosis as a result of attenuated LD vesiculation and subsequent trafficking to lysosomes. This leads to altered LD disassembly which then contributes to hepatic steatosis. Successful completion of these studies will provide novel insights as to how ethanol affects LD dynamics in the liver cells, and provide information which could lead to therapeutic strategies that might reduce the severity of steatosis and block the further progression to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01AA020735-04S1
Application #
9072017
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAA1-JJ (01))
Program Officer
Radaeva, Svetlana
Project Start
2011-08-10
Project End
2016-07-31
Budget Start
2015-06-15
Budget End
2015-07-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$75,600
Indirect Cost
$15,600
Name
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
168559177
City
Omaha
State
NE
Country
United States
Zip Code
68198
Schulze, Ryan J; McNiven, Mark A (2018) Fasting Inhibits the Recruitment of Kinesin-1 to Lipid Droplets and Stalls Hepatic Triglyceride Secretion. Hepatology :
Schulze, Ryan J; Rasineni, Karuna; Weller, Shaun G et al. (2017) Ethanol exposure inhibits hepatocyte lipophagy by inactivating the small guanosine triphosphatase Rab7. Hepatol Commun 1:140-152
Schulze, Ryan J; Drižyt?, Kristina; Casey, Carol A et al. (2017) Hepatic Lipophagy: New Insights into Autophagic Catabolism of Lipid Droplets in the Liver. Hepatol Commun 1:359-369
Natarajan, Sathish Kumar; Rasineni, Karuna; Ganesan, Murali et al. (2017) Structure, Function and Metabolism of Hepatic and Adipose Tissue Lipid Droplets: Implications in Alcoholic Liver Disease. Curr Mol Pharmacol 10:237-248
Schott, Micah B; Rasineni, Karuna; Weller, Shaun G et al. (2017) ?-Adrenergic induction of lipolysis in hepatocytes is inhibited by ethanol exposure. J Biol Chem 292:11815-11828
Rasineni, Karuna; Donohue Jr, Terrence M; Thomes, Paul G et al. (2017) Ethanol-induced steatosis involves impairment of lipophagy, associated with reduced Dynamin2 activity. Hepatol Commun 1:501-512
Li, Zhipeng; Schulze, Ryan J; Weller, Shaun G et al. (2016) A novel Rab10-EHBP1-EHD2 complex essential for the autophagic engulfment of lipid droplets. Sci Adv 2:e1601470
Rasineni, Karuna; Penrice, Daniel D; Natarajan, Sathish Kumar et al. (2016) Alcoholic vs non-alcoholic fatty liver in rats: distinct differences in endocytosis and vesicle trafficking despite similar pathology. BMC Gastroenterol 16:27
Schroeder, Barbara; Schulze, Ryan J; Weller, Shaun G et al. (2015) The small GTPase Rab7 as a central regulator of hepatocellular lipophagy. Hepatology 61:1896-907
Rasineni, Karuna; McVicker, Benita L; Tuma, Dean J et al. (2014) Rab GTPases associate with isolated lipid droplets (LDs) and show altered content after ethanol administration: potential role in alcohol-impaired LD metabolism. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:327-35

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