Exploring the mechanism of Morchella esculenta polysaccharides ameliorating liver lipid metabolism in high-fat diet mice by transcriptomics.

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Citation abstract

This study isolated a high-molecular-weight Morchella esculenta polysaccharide (MEP-1), mainly composed of glucose with a triple-helix structure. MEP-1 alleviated high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic lipid metabolic disorders and inflammation by significantly reducing the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, especially at the high dose. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that arginine biosynthesis was the most significantly enriched pathway after MEP-1 intervention. Specifically, MEP-1 upregulated Ass1 and Cps1 expression to promote L-arginine biosynthesis, which subsequently activated the AMPK/Sirt1/PGC-1α signaling axis, thereby enhancing fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and ameliorating lipid metabolism disorders. This study further delineates a novel protective mechanism for MEP-1 ameliorating HFD-induced lipid metabolism disorders and providing a theoretical foundation for its application in functional food.