Background/objectives: Methyltransferase EZH2-mediated H3K27me3 is involved in liver inflammation and fibrosis, but its role in hepatic metabolic derangements is not yet clearly defined. We investigated if a high-fat diet (HFD) induced early changes in EZH2 expression and H3K27 me3 in the liver of mice.
Methods: Five-week-old mice were fed an HFD or a low-fat diet (Control) for 2 weeks (2 W) or 8 weeks (8 W). Body weight was recorded weekly. Glycemia and oral glucose tolerance were assessed at baseline and after 2 W-8 W. Finally, livers were collected for further analysis.
Results: As expected, mice that received 8 W HFD showed an increase in body weight, glycemia, and liver steatosis and an impairment in glucose tolerance; no alterations were observed in 2 W HFD mice. Eight weeks of HFD caused hepatic EZH2 nuclear localization and increased H3 K27me3; surprisingly, the same alterations occurred in 2 W HFD mice livers, even before overweight onset. We demonstrated that selective EZH2 inhibition reduced H3K27me3 and counteracted lipid accumulation in HUH-7 cells upon palmitic acid treatment.
Conclusions: In conclusion, we point to EZH2/H3K27me3 as an early epigenetic event occurring in fatty-acid-challenged livers both in vivo and in vitro, thus establishing EZH2 as a potential pharmacological target for metabolic derangements.
Keywords: H3K27 trimethylation; high-fat diet; methyltransferase EZH2.