Hepatic extracellular ATP/adenosine dynamics in zebrafish models of alcoholic and metabolic steatotic liver disease

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 7813
• Main Authors: Tokumaru, Tomoko, Apolinario, Magdeline E. Carrasco, Shimizu, Nobuyuki, Umeda, Ryohei, Honda, Koichi, Shikano, Kenshiro, Teranishi, Hitoshi, Hikida, Takatoshi, Hanada, Toshikatsu, Ohta, Keisuke, Li, Yulong, Murakami, Kazunari, Hanada, Reiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.04.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/4020/4021/1607/2750; 692/4020/4021/1607/2751; Adenosine; ATP; Bisphosphonates; Cirrhosis; Clodronic acid; Danio rerio; Fibrosis; G protein-coupled receptors; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Humanities and Social Sciences; Liver; Liver cirrhosis; Liver diseases; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Pathogenesis; Phenotypes; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58043-5

Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a burgeoning health problem predominantly associated with excessive alcohol consumption, which causes alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), and high caloric intake, which results in metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD (MASLD). The pathogenesis of ALD and MASLD, which can progress from steatohepatitis to more severe conditions such as liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, is complicated by several factors. Recently, extracellular ATP and adenosine (Ado), as damage-associated molecular patterns, were reported to promote inflammation and liver fibrosis, contributing to SLD pathogenesis. Here, we explored the in vivo dynamics of hepatic extracellular ATP and Ado during the progression of steatohepatitis using a genetically encoded GPCR-activation-based sensor (GRAB) in zebrafish models. We established hepatocyte-specific GRAB ATP and GRAB Ado in zebrafish and investigated the changes in in vivo hepatic extracellular ATP and Ado levels under ALD or MASLD conditions. Disease-specific changes in hepatocyte extracellular ATP and Ado levels were observed, clearly indicating a correlation between hepatocyte extracellular ATP/Ado dynamics and disease progression. Furthermore, clodronate, a vesicular nucleotide transporter inhibitor, alleviated the MASLD phenotype by reducing the hepatic extracellular ATP and Ado content. These findings provide deep insights into extracellular ATP/Ado dynamics in disease progression, suggesting therapeutic potential for ALD and MASLD.