Lipid droplets are both highly oxidized and Plin2-covered in hepatocytes of diet-induced obese mice

Abstract

Chronic high-fat diet feeding is associated with obesity and accumulation of fat in the liver, leading to the development of insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This condition is characterized by the presence of a high number of intrahepatic lipid droplets (LDs), with changes in the perilipin pattern covering them. This work aimed to describe the distribution of perilipin (Plin) 2, an LD-associated protein involved in neutral lipid storage, and Pliny, which favors lipid oxidation in LD, and to evaluate lipid peroxidation through live-cell visualization using the lipophilic fluorescent probe C11-BODIPY581/591 in fresh hepatocytes isolated from mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Male C57B1/6J adult mice were divided into control and HFD groups and fed with a control diet (10% fat, 20% protein, and 70% carbohydrates) or an HFD (60% fat, 20% protein, and 20% carbohydrates) for 8 weeks. The animals fed the HFD showed a significant increase of Plin2 in LD of hepatocytes. LD from HFD-fed mice have a stronger lipid peroxidation level than control hepatocytes. These data provide evidence that obesity status is accompanied by a higher degree of lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes, both in the cytoplasm and in the fats stored inside the LD.