Knockdown of long non‐coding RNA Gm10804 suppresses disorders of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetes with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease

Deregulated glucose and lipid metabolism are the primary underlying manifestations associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aims to investigate the role of Gm10804, a novel long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA), in regulating hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in DM complicated with NAFLD (DM‐NAFLD). Mouse primary hepatocytes exposed to high glucose (HG) were used as a cell model. A mouse DM‐NAFLD model was established by high‐energy feeding combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The results showed that Gm10804 expression was upregulated in HG‐treated hepatocytes and livers from DM‐NAFLD mice. Results in hepatocytes in vitro demonstrated that Gm10804 overexpression aggravated, whereas Gm10804 silencing abrogated HG‐induced increase in intracellular triglyceride (TG) content, lipid accumulation and expression of hepatic lipogenic proteins (sterol regulatory element‐binding proteins 1‐c [SREBP‐1c] and fatty acid synthase [FAS]) and enzymes for gluconeogenesis (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase [PEPCK] and glucose‐6‐phosphatase [G6Pase]). Further in vivo assays showed that lentivirus‐mediated hepatic knockdown of Gm10804 alleviated hepatic steatosis and lipid accumulation, and decreased expression of hepatic PEPCK, G6Pase, SREBP‐1c and FAS in DM‐NAFLD mice. In summary, Gm10804 knockdown attenuates hepatic lipid accumulation by ameliorating disorders of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in DM‐NAFLD. Significance of the study We first discovered that Gm10804 knockdown attenuated hepatic lipid accumulation by ameliorating disorders of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism in DM‐NAFLD. These results help to understand the pathogenesis and development of DM‐NAFLD and provide some clues for further understanding the regulation of lncRNAs in glucose and lipid metabolism.