Pedunculoside ameliorates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease by targeting HNRNPA1 and modulating PPARα signaling pathway to enhance Mitochondrial Fatty Acid β-Oxidation

Abstract

Background

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has emerged as a significant global health challenge, underscoring an urgent need for novel therapeutic agents that offer enhanced efficacy and improved safety. Pedunculoside (PE), a naturally occurring triterpenoid saponin, has demonstrated promising lipid-modulating properties. Nevertheless, its precise mechanisms of action in the context of MASLD remain unclear.

Purpose

To investigate the anti-MASLD effect of PE and uncover its novel mechanism via targeting heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (HNRNPA1) and regulating downstream PPARα pathway.

Method

The therapeutic potential of PE was evaluated both in primary mouse hepatocytes and in vivo using high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) and high-fat diet (HFD) induced MASLD mouse models. A multi-omics and multi-technique approach was applied, including biochemical assays, histopathology, transcriptomic and lipidomic profiling, alongside target-engagement validation via drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and HNRNPA1 knockout models.

Results

PE significantly improved key metabolic and histological features in MASLD models. Mechanistically, PE was found to directly bind HNRNPA1 (a previously unreported target in MASLD therapeutics). This interaction enhanced the mRNA stability of PPARα, leading to activation of fatty acid β-oxidation. Crucially, HNRNPA1 knockout abolished the beneficial effects of PE, confirming the functional necessity of the PE–HNRNPA1–PPARα axis in vivo.

Conclusion

Our study uncovers a novel therapeutic axis in MASLD, in which PE enhances the stability of PPARα mRNA by directly binding to HNRNPA1, and consequently upregulates fatty acid β-oxidation. These findings not only position PE as a promising therapeutic candidate for MASLD but also identify the HNRNPA1–PPARα regulatory pathway as a potential mechanistic target for treating metabolic liver diseases.