Hepatic CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha mediates induction of lipogenesis and regulation of glucose homeostasis in leptin-deficient mice

CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBP alpha) is a critical factor in glucose metabolism in the neonate as revealed by conventional C/EBP alpha-null mice that do not survive beyond the first day after birth because of severe hypoglycemia and a deficiency in hepatic glycogen accumulation. To elucidate the function of C/EBP alpha in leptin-deficient mouse (ob/ob) liver, a C/EBP alpha-liver null mouse on an ob/ob background (ob/ob-C/EBP alpha/Cre(+)) was produced using a floxed C/EBP alpha allele and Cre recombinase under control of the albumin promoter (AlbCre). The C/EBP alpha-deficient liver in ob/ob mice had significantly decreased triglyceride content compared with equivalent mice lacking the AlbCre transgene (ob/ob-C/EBP alpha/Cre(-)). Expression of genes involved in lipogenesis including fatty acid synthase, acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 and ATP-citrate lyase dramatically decreased in ob/ob-C/EBP alpha/Cre(+) mouse liver. Induction of these lipogenic genes by a high-carbohydrate diet caused an exacerbation in the development of fatty liver and an increase in liver size, hepatic triglyceride, and cholesterol contents in ob/ob-C/EBP alpha/Cre(-) mice but not in ob/ob-C/EBP alpha/Cre(+) mice. Deficiency in hepatic C/EBP alpha expression caused an exacerbation of hyperglycemia because of decreased insulin secretion. Taken together, these results indicate that hepatic C/EBP alpha plays a critical role in the acceleration of lipogenesis in ob/ob mice and in glucose homeostasis by the indirect regulation of insulin secretion.