Targeting Circulating FABP4 Ameliorates Obesity-Associated Hepatic Steatosis
Hepatocytic accumulation of extrinsic FABP4 links adiposity to liver lipid deposition.Specific deletion of FABP4 in adipocytes prevents hepatic steatosis without affecting systemic lipid levels or obesity.Circulating FABP4 derived from adipocytes directly binds hepatocytes to facilitate free fatty acid transfer.Blocking circulating FABP4 with a high-affinity anti-FABP4 monoclonal antibody inhibits hepatocyte lipid uptake and attenuates steatosis in multiple obese mouse models.
Authors
- Anthony M. Avellino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9072-9660)
- Nicholas Schnicker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5189-4943)
- Bhagirath Chaurasia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7998-9290)
- Sonia L. Sugg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7530-8526)
- Jiaqing Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2834-7255)
- Xingshan Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1590-6794)
- Jonathan Shilyansky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2155-0011)
- Zhaohua Wang
- Jianyu Yu
- Xiaochun Han
- Shanshan Liu
- Zhen Xu
- Bing Li
Institutions
- University of Iowa (US)
- Fraternal Order of Eagles (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-01-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.24.701451
- Primary Topic
- Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00