Gkongensin A, an HSP90β inhibitor, improves hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance

The prevalence of obesity and its primary associated comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, has reached epidemic proportions, with no successful treatment available at present. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), a crucial chaperone, plays a key role in de novo lipogenesis (DNL) by stabilizing and maintaining sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) activity. Kongensin A (KA), derived from Croton kongensis, inhibits RIP3-mediated necrosis, showing promise as an anti-necrotic and anti-inflammatory agent. It is not yet clear if KA, acting as an HSP90 inhibitor, can enhance hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance in obese individuals by controlling lipid metabolism. In this study, we first found that KA can potentially decrease lipid content at the cellular level. C57BL/6J mice were given a high-fat diet (HFD) and received KA and lovastatin through oral administration for 7 weeks. KA improved hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, and insulin resistance, as well as reduced body weight in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, with no significant alteration in food intake. In vitro, KA suppressed DNL and reduced the amounts of mSREBPs. KA promoted mSREBP degradation via the FBW7-mediated ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. KA decreased the level of p-Akt Ser308, and p-GSK3β Ser9 by inhibiting the interaction between HSP90β and Akt. Overall, KA enhanced hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance by blocking SREBP activity, thereby impacting the FBW7-controlled ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.