Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Bilirubin Nanoparticles Reduce Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis, Improve Fat Utilization, And Increase Plasma Β-Hydroxybutyrate, Terry D. Hinds Jr., Justin F. Creeden, Darren M. Gordon, Donald F. Stec, Matthew C. Donald, David E. Stec

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The inverse relationship of plasma bilirubin levels with liver fat accumulation has prompted the possibility of bilirubin as a therapeutic for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Here, we used diet-induced obese mice with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease treated with pegylated bilirubin (bilirubin nanoparticles) or vehicle control to determine the impact on hepatic lipid accumulation. The bilirubin nanoparticles significantly reduced hepatic fat, triglyceride accumulation, de novo lipogenesis, and serum levels of liver dysfunction marker aspartate transaminase and ApoB100 containing very-low-density lipoprotein. The bilirubin nanoparticles improved liver function and activated the hepatic β-oxidation pathway by increasing PPARα and acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1. …