Inhibition of metabotropic glutamate receptor-5 alleviates hepatic steatosis by enhancing autophagy via activation of the AMPK signaling pathway

Figure 2 Inhibition of metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 improves lipid accumulation by increasing autophagy in free fatty acids-stimulated HepG2 cells. A and B: HepG2 cells were stimulated with 0.5 mmol/L free fatty acids (FFAs) for 24 hours and then treated with MPEP (10 μM) or CHPG (500 μM) for another 24 hours. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of LC3 and p62 in the cells; C and D: HepG2 cells were stimulated with 0.5 mmol/L FFAs for 24 hours and then treated with MPEP (10 μM) or MPEP (10 μM) +chloroquine (20 μM) for another 24 hours. The cells were stained with Oil Red O, and the intracellular triglyceride concentration was quantitatively determined. ^aP < 0.05 vs free fatty acids; ^bP < 0.01 vs free fatty acids; ^cP < 0.001 vs bovine serum albumin; ^dP < 0.001 vs MPEP; ^eP < 0.05 vs bovine serum albumin. The data are presented as the mean ± SE. All cell experiments were repeated three times. FFAs: Free fatty acids; BSA: Bovine serum albumin; CQ: Chloroquine.