Abstract
The liver is a central organ that controls systemic energy homeostasis and nutrient
metabolism. Dietary carbohydrates and lipids, and fatty acids derived from adipose
tissue are delivered to the liver, and utilized for gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis,
and ketogenesis, which are tightly regulated by hormonal and neural signals. Hepatic
lipogenesis is activated primarily by insulin that is secreted from the pancreas after
a high-carbohydrate meal. Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c)
and carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) are major transcriptional
regulators that induce key lipogenic enzymes to promote lipogenesis in the liver.
Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c is activated by insulin through complex
signaling cascades that control SREBP-1c at both transcriptional and posttranslational
levels. Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein is activated by glucose independently
of insulin. Here, the authors attempt to summarize the current understanding of the
molecular mechanism for the transcriptional regulation of hepatic lipogenesis, focusing
on recent studies that explore the signaling pathways controlling SREBPs and ChREBP.
Keywords
SREBP - ChREBP - gene expression - lipid metabolism - steatosis