Rab7a-mTORC1 signaling-mediated cholesterol trafficking from the lysosome to mitochondria ameliorates hepatic lipotoxicity induced by aflatoxin B1 exposure

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common contaminant in many foodstuffs and is considered a public health concern worldwide due to its hepatotoxicity caused by lipid metabolism disorders. However, the molecular mechanism underlying AFB1-induced lipotoxicity-dependent liver injury via regulating cholesterol metabolism remains unclear. We established a cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity model with AFB1 mixture exposure in vitro (HepaRG and HepG2 cells, 1.6 μM for 36 h) and in vivo (C57BL/6 mice, 3 mg kg−1, i.g., every other day for 6 weeks). In vitro, the interaction between lysosomal Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) protein and mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) regulated lipotoxicity induced by AFB1 mixture exposure, including lysosomal membrane permeabilization and mitochondria-dependent necroptosis. Moreover, the downregulation of lysosomal Ras-associated protein 7a (Rab7a) enhanced the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-mediated disorders of cholesterol trafficking from the lysosome to mitochondria. Furthermore, cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity induced by the low-dose level of AFB1 exposure was relieved by genetic or pharmaceutic activation of Rab7a to inhibit mTORC1 in vitro and ex vivo. In vivo, mTORC1 inhibitor (Torin1, 4 mg kg−1, i.p., every other day for 3 weeks) alleviated the cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity via upregulating the molecular machinery of lysosomes and mitochondria contact mediated by NPC1 and TSPO interaction in the low dose of AFB1 exposure. Altogether, our data suggested a novel mechanism that lysosomal Rab7a-mTORC1 signaling determined the cholesterol trafficking regulated by NPC1-TSPO from the lysosome to mitochondria, which promoted hepatic lipotoxicity via lysosomal quality control and mitochondria-dependent necroptosis signaling pathways in chemical mixture exposure.