Alex Zaufel, Wenfei Sun, Nunzia Pastore, Ulrike Taschler, Carina Wagner, Hubert Hackl, Judith Sommer, Dagmar Silbert-Wagner, Jan G Hengstler, Brigitte Begher-Tibbe, Rudolf Stauber, Dagmar Kolb, Martin Troetzmueller, Benjamin Gottschalk, Chelsea Thorsheim, Eva-Lena Stange, Mathias W Hornef, Olga Pivovarova-Ramich, Andreas F H Pfeiffer, Kylie P Matchett, Anne Loft, Stephan Herzig, Neil C Henderson, Andrea Ballabio, Zoltan Arany, Christian Wolfrum, Peter Fickert, Tarek Moustafa
The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) integrates nutrient and hormonal cues to regulate hepatic lipid metabolism with major implications for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Here, we show that altered hepatic mTORC1-TFEB/TFE3 signaling is associated with coordinated remodeling of bile acid (BA) metabolism during metabolic adaptation. Our data support a model in which cross-talk between mTORC1 and TFEB/TFE3 is associated with divergent regulation of bile acid synthesis and transformation. Depending on the mTORC1 signaling state, changes in hepatic Cyp2c70 and Cyp8b1 expression, together with altered cholesterol trafficking, were associated with shifts toward non-12-OH or 12-OH bile acid species. These effects were attenuated or reversed by Tfe3 deletion or rapamycin treatment. Furthermore, protein restriction (which inhibits mTORC1) similarly reshaped the BA profile in mice and correlated with improved metabolic outcomes in MASLD patients. Together, these findings uncover BA homeostasis as an integral component of the metabolic adaptations orchestrated by mTORC1, underscoring a link between nutrient signaling and metabolic liver disease.