Recently, a research team led by Professor Li Yixing from theSchoolof Animal Science and Technologyhasachievednewprogress in lipid metabolismresearch. Their findings, titled"HLF and PPARαaxis regulates metabolic-associated fatty liver disease through extracellular vesicles derived from the intestinal microbiota",were published in the internationally renowned journaliMeta. The first author of the paper is Yang Xingzhen, a master's student from theschool. The corresponding authors are Professor Li Yixingand Professor Zhou Lei.Professor Zhou Leiisfrom thePeople’s Hospital ofGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi AcademyofMedical Sciences).GXUis the primary affiliation for this research, with Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences serving as a collaborative partner.

In animal husbandry production,metabolic disorders such as obesity and fatty liver, driven by lipid metabolism disorders, severely impact livestock and poultry health, particularly in pregnant livestock and laying hens.Fatty liver causes hepatocyte damage and even hemorrhagic necrosis, compromising animal health and productivity.The intestine is the main site for the digestion and absorption of exogenous fat,and thegut-liver axis plays an important role in the balance of body fat metabolism.Theintestinal microbiota is the key to thegut-liver interactions. Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota is closely linked to fatty liver development in livestock and poultry.Regulating it through biotechnological meanscan beeffectivefor the prevention and treatment of fatty liver. However, themechanisms underlying gut-liver axis regulation ofliverlipid metabolismstill require further exploration.

The teamreported, for the first time, the molecular mechanism by which the hepatic leukemia factor (HLF) in the intestine regulates liver lipid metabolism. Their study demonstrated thattheHLF/PPARαaxismodulates the gut-liver axisand inhibits ferroptosis of liver cellsthrough extracellular vesicles(fEVs)derived from the intestinal microbiota,thus reducing liver fat accumulation and alleviating fatty liver.Notably,taurochenodeoxycholic acid(TCDCA), aconjugated bile acid,is the key molecule for fEVs to playaroleinreducing fat. These findings reveal a new mechanism by which HLF regulates the gut-liver axis and affects lipid metabolism, providing alow-cost, safe,and efficienttherapeutic strategyfor related diseases.The research also offers theoretical support forthe precise regulation of nutrient metabolism in livestock and poultry and the development of new feed additives.

The Influence of Intestinal-Specific Knockout of HLF on Lipid Metabolism

The research team acknowledged funding support fromthe National Key Research and Development Program,theNational Natural Science Foundation of China,the GuangxiKey Research and Development Program, andthe GuangxiNatural Science Foundation. In recent years, the team led by ProfessorLi Yixing has been committed to the research onlipidmetabolism and its regulation, and a series of research findings have been published in internationally renowned journals such asiMeta,Microbiome, andRedox Biology.