Ablation of dual specificity phosphatase 6 protects against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via CYP4A and MAPK

Dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) is a specific phosphatase for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). In this study, we used a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced murine non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) model to investigate the role of DUSP6 in this disease. Wild-type (WT) and Dusp6-haploinsufficient (HI) mice developed severe obesity and liver pathology consistent with NAFLD when exposed to HFD. In contrast, Dusp6-knockout (KO) mice completely eliminated these phenotypes. Furthermore, primary hepatocytes isolated from WT mice exposed to palmitic and oleic acids exhibited abundant intracellular lipid accumulation, while hepatocytes from Dusp6-KO mice showed minimal lipid accumulation. Transcriptome analysis revealed significant downregulation of genes encoding cytochrome P450 4A (CYP4A), known to promote ?-hydroxylation of fatty acids and hepatic steatosis, in Dusp6-KO hepatocytes compared with WT hepatocytes. Diminished CYP4A expression was observed in the liver of Dusp6-KO mice compared to WT and Dusp6-HI mice. Knockdown of DUSP6 in HepG2, a human liver-lineage cell line, also promoted a reduction of lipid accumulation, downregulation of CYP4A, and upregulation of phosphorylated/activated MAPK. Furthermore, inhibition of MAPK activity promoted lipid accumulation in DUSP6-knockdown HepG2 cells without affecting CYP4A expression, indicating that CYP4A expression is independent of MAPK activation. These findings highlight the significant role of DUSP6 in HFD-induced steatohepatitis through two distinct pathways involving CYP4A and MAPK. Overall design: Transcriptome sequence analysis used RNA extracted from primary mouse hepatocytes that were treated or not with a mixture of palmitic and oleic acids.