Hepatic Akt Activation Induces Marked Hypoglycemia, Hepatomegaly, and Hypertriglyceridemia with Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein Involvement

Abstract

Akt is critical in insulin-induced metabolism of glucose and lipids. To investigate functions induced by hepatic Akt activation, a constitutively active Akt, NH2-terminally myristoylation signal-attached Akt (myr-Akt), was overexpressed in the liver by injecting its adenovirus into mice. Hepatic myr-Akt overexpression resulted in a markedly hypoglycemic, hypoinsulinemic, and hypertriglyceridemic phenotype with fatty liver and hepatomegaly. To elucidate the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c contribution to these phenotypic features, myr-Akt adenovirus was injected into SREBP-1 knockout mice. myr-Akt overexpression induced hypoglycemia and hepatomegaly with triglyceride accumulation in SREBP-1 knockout mice to a degree similar to that in normal mice, whereas myr-Akt-induced hypertriglyceridemia in knockout mice was milder than that in normal mice. The myr-Akt-induced changes in glucokinase, phosphofructokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and PEPCK expressions were not affected by knocking out SREBP-1, whereas stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 induction was completely inhibited in knockout mice. Constitutively active SREBP-1-overexpressing mice had fatty livers without hepatomegaly, hypoglycemia, or hypertriglyceridemia. Hepatic acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase expressions were significantly increased by overexpressing SREBP-1, whereas glucokinase, phosphofructokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and PEPCK expressions were not or only slightly affected. Thus, SREBP-1 is not absolutely necessary for the hepatic Akt-mediated hypoglycemic effect. In contrast, myr-Akt-induced hypertriglyceridemia and hepatic triglyceride accumulation are mediated by both Akt-induced SREBP-1 expression and a mechanism involving fatty acid synthesis independent of SREBP-1.