O-GlcNAc transferase acts as a critical nutritional node for the control of liver homeostasis

O-GlcNAcylation is a reversible post-translational modification controlled by the activity of two enzymes, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). In the liver, O-GlcNAcylation has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism underlying normal liver physiology and metabolic disease.To address whether OGT acts as a critical hepatic nutritional node, mice with a constitutive hepatocyte-specific deletion of OGT (OGTLKO) were generated.Analyses of 4-week-old OGTLKO mice revealed significant oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, and DNA damage, together with inflammation and fibrosis, in the liver. Susceptibility to oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress- induced apoptosis was also elevated in OGTLKO hepatocytes. Although OGT expression was partially recovered in the liver of 8- week-old OGTLKO mice, hepatic injury and fibrosis were not rescued but rather worsened with time. Interestingly, weaning of OGTLKO mice on a ketogenic diet (low carbohydrate, high fat) fully prevented the hepatic alterations induced by OGT deletion, indicating that reduced carbohydrate intake protects an OGT-deficient liver. These findings pinpoint OGT as a key mediator of hepatocyte homeostasis and survival upon carbohydrate intake and validate OGTLKO mice as a valuable model for assessing therapeutical approaches of advanced liver fibrosis. We used liver from 5 mice OGTLWT or OGTLKO at 4 or 8 weeks of age