Hepatocyte Toll-Like Receptor 4 Mediates Alcohol-Induced Insulin Resistance in Mice

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated the association between alcohol overconsumption and the development of insulin resistance. However, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. To investigate the requirement and sufficiency of hepatocyte toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in alcohol-induced insulin resistance, we used two mouse models (Tlr4(fl/fl) and Tlr4(LoxTB)) that allow ablation of TLR4 only in hepatocytes (Tlr4(LKO)) and restoration of endogenous TLR4 expression in hepatocytes on a TLR4-null background (Tlr4(LoxTB) × Alb-Cre), respectively. A Lieber-DeCarli feeding model was used to induce glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in mice. Glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test, and insulin signaling experiments were performed to examine systemic and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity. We found that alcohol-fed hepatocyte TLR4 deficient mice (Tlr4(LKO)) had lower blood glucose levels in response to intraperitoneal injection of insulin. Moreover, increased phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) was observed in the liver of Tlr4(LKO) mice after chronic alcohol intake. In contrast, when hepatic TLR4 was reactivated in mice (Tlr4(LoxTB) × Alb-Cre), alcohol feeding caused glucose intolerance in these mice compared with littermate controls (Tlr4(LoxTB)). In addition, AKT phosphorylation was dramatically reduced in the liver and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) of alcohol-fed Tlr4(LoxTB) × Alb-Cre mice, which was similar to that of mice with whole-body TLR4 reactivation (Tlr4(LoxTB) × Zp3-Cre). Collectively, these findings suggest that hepatocyte TLR4 is both required and sufficient in the development of insulin resistance induced by alcohol overconsumption.