Native polypeptide vglycin prevents nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice by activating the AMPK pathway

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver diseases worldwide, and it has no effective treatment. We previously reported that the native polypeptide vglycin (purified from soybean) has a beneficial role in regulating glucose homeostasis in diabetic rats. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of vglycin and possible mechanisms of action in hepatic steatosis using a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mouse model. The results revealed that vglycin decreased the body weight, liver weight, Lee’s index, and plasma triglyceride level in HFD-fed C57BL/6J mice. Furthermore, it prevented liver injury, inflammation and insulin resistance by inhibiting fat accumulation in liver. These beneficial effects of vglycin are probably attributable to the activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway and the down-regulation of fatty acid synthase (FAS). Therefore, vglycin holds promise as an oral drug for the prevention of NAFLD.

Keywords

• Vglycin
• NAFLD
• Obesity
• Insulin resistance
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
• AMPK