Medium- and long-chain triglycerides attenuate lipid accumulation and regulate the expression of proteins related to lipid metabolism in oleic acid-induced lipid deposition in human hepatic LO2 cells

This research investigated the effects of different triglycerides on lipid deposition and the underlying mechanism in oleic acid-induced human hepatic LO2 cells. Cells were treated with vehicle, oleic acid (OA), OA + coconut oil (CO), OA + rapeseed oil (RO), OA + physical mixture oil of CO and RO (CROM), OA + interesterified oil of CO and RO (CROI, rich in medium- and long-chain triglycerides (MLCTs)), OA + 1,3-di-oleic-2-medium chain triglycerides (OMO, a kind of MLCTs) and OA + 1,3-di-oleic-2-palmitic triglyceride (OPO) for 24 h. Compared with the OA group, OA + CROI and OA + OMO treatment significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the contents of total triglyceride and total cholesterol. Moreover, CROI and OMO down-regulated the protein expression of diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1), and up-regulated the protein expression of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor α (PPARα). This study showed that CROI and OMO triglycerides, abundant in MLCTs, attenuated lipid accumulation and regulated the expression of lipid metabolism-related proteins in LO2 cells induced by oleic acid.