Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41528029›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology2026

Low-dose galactose rebalances HBP-mTORC1-SREBP-1c signaling to suppress hepatic lipogenesis and protect against early-stage alcohol-related liver disease.

Yanhui Li, Rui Guo, Yanyu Qian, Izabela Hawro, Jose Cordoba-Chacon, Yuwei Jiang, Zhenyuan Song

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Yanhui LiDepartment of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Rui GuoDepartment of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Yanyu QianDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Izabela HawroDepartment of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-0987-5009
Jose Cordoba-ChaconDepartment of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8787-2706
Yuwei JiangDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Zhenyuan SongDepartment of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8750-5762

Funding

Hepatic Nicotinamide N-Methyltransferase (NNMT) as a Pathogenetic Mechanism and Therapeutic Target for Alcoholic Liver DiseaseR01AA030255 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI ZHENYUAN SONG · 2022 to 2026
$2.0M
Central nervous system-adipose tissue axis in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver diseaseR01AA026603 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI SONG, ZHENYUAN · 2018 to 2022
$1.8M
HHS | NIH | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) R01AA026603NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA026603NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA030255
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Overactivation of hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) contributes to fatty liver disease. Although glucose and fructose strongly promote DNL, diary-rich galactose is only weakly lipogenic. However, whether and how it regulates hepatic DNL remains unclear. In this study, we investigated whether low-dose galactose supplementation attenuates glucose- or fructose-induced DNL activation and protects against fatty liver diseases driven by DNL overactivation, such as alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). In this study, we used integrated hepatocyte and mouse models to assess hepatic DNL and related signaling under high-glucose or high-fructose conditions, with or without low-dose galactose. Pharmacological and genetic interventions targeting the Leloir and hexosamine biosynthetic pathways (HBP) defined underlying mechanisms. For in vivo validation, male C57BL/6 mice were fed an isocaloric control or ethanol-containing diet for 4 wk. We found that glucose engages the HBP-mTORC1-SREBP-1c axis to stimulate hepatic DNL, whereas fructose acts predominantly through carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP). Low-dose galactose selectively suppressed glucose-induced hepatic fat accumulation, concomitant with the inhibition of the HBP-mTORC1-SERBP-1c pathway. These effects required an intact Leloir pathway for galactose metabolism and were not observed with fructose. In alcohol-fed mice, hepatic HBP-mTORC1-SREBP-1c signaling was markedly upregulated, contributing to steatosis and liver injury. Replacing even a small fraction of dietary glucose with galactose normalized these alterations, attenuating hepatic lipid accumulation and injury without altering systemic glucose levels. In conclusion, glucose-induced hepatic lipogenesis involves the HBP-mTORC1-SREBP-1c pathway, which is also activated during chronic alcohol exposure. Low-dose galactose, obtainable from dairy sources, attenuates this pathway, thereby limiting excessive lipogenesis and protecting against early-stage ALD.

Indexed as

GalactoseLipogenesisLiverLiver Diseases, AlcoholicMechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1AnimalsBasic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsEthanolFructoseGlucoseHepatocytesMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLSignal TransductionBasic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsEthanolFructoseGalactoseGlucoseMechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1Srebf1 protein, mouseSterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1alcohol-related liver diseasegalactosehexosamine biosynthetic pathwaylipogenesismTORC1

Identifiers

PMID41528029
PMCPMC12977332

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.