LZP is required for hepatic triacylglycerol transportation through maintaining apolipoprotein B stability

PLoS Genet. 2021 Feb 16;17(2):e1009357. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009357. eCollection 2021 Feb.

Abstract

The conserved zona pellucida (ZP) domain is found in hundreds of extracellular proteins that are expressed in various organs and play a variety of roles as structural components, receptors and tumor suppressors. A liver-specific zona pellucida domain-containing protein (LZP), also named OIT3, has been shown to be mainly expressed in human and mouse hepatocytes; however, the physiological function of LZP in the liver remains unclear. Here, we show that Lzp deletion inhibited very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion, leading to hepatic TG accumulation and lower serum TG levels in mice. The apolipoprotein B (apoB) levels were significantly decreased in the liver, serum, and VLDL particles of LZP-deficient mice. In the presence of LZP, which is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus, the ER-associated degradation (ERAD) of apoB was attenuated; in contrast, in the absence of LZP, apoB was ubiquitinated by AMFR, a known E3 ubiquitin ligase specific for apoB, and was subsequently degraded, leading to lower hepatic apoB levels and inhibited VLDL secretion. Interestingly, hepatic LZP levels were elevated in mice challenged with a high-fat diet and humans with simple hepatic steatosis, suggesting that LZP contributes to the physiological regulation of hepatic TG homeostasis. In general, our data establish an essential role for LZP in hepatic TG transportation and VLDL secretion by preventing the AMFR-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of apoB and therefore provide insight into the molecular function of LZP in hepatic lipid metabolism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apolipoproteins B / metabolism*
  • Diet, High-Fat / adverse effects
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / metabolism
  • Golgi Apparatus / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lipid Metabolism / genetics
  • Lipoproteins, VLDL / blood
  • Lipoproteins, VLDL / metabolism*
  • Liver / metabolism*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics*
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Obesity / blood
  • Obesity / etiology
  • Obesity / metabolism
  • Triglycerides / blood
  • Triglycerides / metabolism*
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
  • Ubiquitination

Substances

  • Apolipoproteins B
  • LZP protein, mouse
  • Lipoproteins, VLDL
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Triglycerides
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases

Grants and funding

This project was supported by the China National Science and Technology Major Project for Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases grant 2017ZX10203207 to ZGH (NMP, http://www.nmp.gov.cn/gzxgz/crb/), the National Nature Science Foundation of China grant 81272271 and 81672772 to ZGH (NSFC, http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/), and the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation for experimental animal grant 19140902500 to ZGH (STCSM, http://stcsm.sh.gov.cn/index.htm). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.