Effects of acyl-coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP)/diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) on body mass index

Cell Death Dis. 2021 Jun 9;12(6):599. doi: 10.1038/s41419-021-03864-9.

Abstract

In mice, the plasma concentrations of the appetite-stimulatory and autophagy-inhibitory factor acyl-coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP, also called diazepam-binding inhibitor, DBI) acutely increase in response to starvation, but also do so upon chronic overnutrition leading to obesity. Here, we show that knockout of Acbp/Dbi in adipose tissue is sufficient to prevent high-fat diet-induced weight gain in mice. We investigated ACBP/DBI plasma concentrations in several patient cohorts to discover a similar dual pattern of regulation. In relatively healthy subjects, ACBP/DBI concentrations independently correlated with body mass index (BMI) and age. The association between ACBP/DBI and BMI was lost in subjects that underwent major weight gain in the subsequent 3-9 years, as well as in advanced cancer patients. Voluntary fasting, undernutrition in the context of advanced cancer, as well as chemotherapy were associated with an increase in circulating ACBP/DBI levels. Altogether, these results support the conclusion that ACBP/DBI may play an important role in body mass homeostasis as well as in its failure.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Mass Index*
  • Body Weight / drug effects*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Diazepam Binding Inhibitor / pharmacology*
  • Female
  • France
  • Germany
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Obesity / metabolism
  • Obesity / pathology

Substances

  • Diazepam Binding Inhibitor