Whole body MondoA deletion protects against diet-induced obesity through uncontrolled multi-organ substrate utilization and futile cycling

Objective – Delineating the nodal control points that maintain whole-body energy homeostasis is critical for understanding potential treatments of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The nutrient-sensing transcription factor MondoA is a regulator of skeletal muscle fuel storage, where muscle-specific inhibition improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. However, the role of MondoA in whole body energy metabolic homeostasis is not understood. Methods – Generalized MondoA knockout (gKO) mice were generated and assessed for glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, body composition, energy expenditure, cold tolerance, and tissue specific transcriptional changes in response to high fat diet. Complementary studies in cultured human adipocytes assessed the impact of MondoA deficiency on substrate utilization and lipolysis. Results – gKO mice are protected from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, through increased whole body energy expenditure. gKO mice exhibit reduced brown and inguinal white adipose tissue mass, without evidence of beiging. The gKO mice are hyperlactemic and isolated MondoA-deficient adipocytes have increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake and glycolytic function. Lastly, gKO mice and KO adipocytes display increased circulating glycerol relative to free fatty acids in response to adrenergic stimulus consistent with elevated re-esterification. This phenotype is not recapitulated in adipose-specific KO mice. Conclusions – MondoA deficiency alters cellular sensing of nutrient availability and storage/utilization mechanisms. In the whole-body setting, this results in increased energy expenditure, potentially related to increased glucose uptake, glycolytic flux, and glycerol synthesis to supply high rates of lipolysis and lipid re-esterification. These results suggest that MondoA functions to maintain fuel storage and when lost, inter-organ futile fuel cycling ensues.