TY - JOUR
T1 - Multi-tissue network analysis reveals the effect of JNK inhibition on dietary sucrose-induced metabolic dysfunction in rats
AU - Yang, Hong
AU - Zhang, Cheng
AU - Kim, Woonghee
AU - Shi, Mengnan
AU - Kiliclioglu, Metin
AU - Bayram, Cemil
AU - Bolar, Ismail
AU - Tozlu, Özlem Özdemir
AU - Baba, Cem
AU - Yuksel, Nursena
AU - Yildirim, Serkan
AU - Iqbal, Shazia
AU - Sebhaoui, Jihad
AU - Hacımuftuoglu, Ahmet
AU - Uhlen, Matthias
AU - Boren, Jan
AU - Turkez, Hasan
AU - Mardinoglu, Adil
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Yang et al.
PY - 2025/2/11
Y1 - 2025/2/11
N2 - Excessive consumption of sucrose, in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and other related metabolic syndromes. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway plays a crucial role in response to dietary stressors, and it was demonstrated that the inhibition of the JNK pathway could potentially be used in the treatment of MAFLD. However, the intricate mechanisms underlying these interventions remain incompletely understood given their multifaceted effects across multiple tissues. In this study, we challenged rats with sucrose-sweetened water and investigated the potential effects of JNK inhibition by employing network analysis based on the transcriptome profiling obtained from hepatic and extrahepatic tissues, including visceral white adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and brain. Our data demonstrate that JNK inhibition by JNK-IN-5A effectively reduces the circulating triglyceride accumulation and inflammation in rats subjected to sucrose consumption. Coexpression analysis and genome-scale metabolic modeling reveal that sucrose overconsumption primarily induces transcriptional dysfunction related to fatty acid and oxidative metabolism in the liver and adipose tissues, which are largely rectified after JNK inhibition at a clinically relevant dose. Skeletal muscle exhibited minimal transcriptional changes to sucrose overconsumption but underwent substantial metabolic adaptation following the JNK inhibition. Overall, our data provides novel insights into the molecular basis by which JNK inhibition exerts its metabolic effect in the metabolically active tissues. Furthermore, our findings underpin the critical role of extrahepatic metabolism in the development of diet-induced steatosis, offering valuable guidance for future studies focused on JNK-targeting for effective treatment of MAFLD.
AB - Excessive consumption of sucrose, in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and other related metabolic syndromes. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway plays a crucial role in response to dietary stressors, and it was demonstrated that the inhibition of the JNK pathway could potentially be used in the treatment of MAFLD. However, the intricate mechanisms underlying these interventions remain incompletely understood given their multifaceted effects across multiple tissues. In this study, we challenged rats with sucrose-sweetened water and investigated the potential effects of JNK inhibition by employing network analysis based on the transcriptome profiling obtained from hepatic and extrahepatic tissues, including visceral white adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and brain. Our data demonstrate that JNK inhibition by JNK-IN-5A effectively reduces the circulating triglyceride accumulation and inflammation in rats subjected to sucrose consumption. Coexpression analysis and genome-scale metabolic modeling reveal that sucrose overconsumption primarily induces transcriptional dysfunction related to fatty acid and oxidative metabolism in the liver and adipose tissues, which are largely rectified after JNK inhibition at a clinically relevant dose. Skeletal muscle exhibited minimal transcriptional changes to sucrose overconsumption but underwent substantial metabolic adaptation following the JNK inhibition. Overall, our data provides novel insights into the molecular basis by which JNK inhibition exerts its metabolic effect in the metabolically active tissues. Furthermore, our findings underpin the critical role of extrahepatic metabolism in the development of diet-induced steatosis, offering valuable guidance for future studies focused on JNK-targeting for effective treatment of MAFLD.
KW - Animals
KW - Dietary Sucrose/adverse effects
KW - Rats
KW - Male
KW - Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism
KW - Gene Expression Profiling
KW - Liver/metabolism
KW - JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism
KW - Rats, Sprague-Dawley
KW - Metabolic Diseases/metabolism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85218435359&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7554/eLife.98427
DO - 10.7554/eLife.98427
M3 - Article
C2 - 39932177
AN - SCOPUS:85218435359
SN - 2050-084X
VL - 13
JO - eLife
JF - eLife
ER -