Updated project metadata.
Excessive glucose production in the liver is a key factor in the hyperglycemia observed in diabetes mellitus type 2. It is generally agreed to result from an increase in hepatic gluconeogenesis. Considerable attention has been devoted to the transcriptional regulation of key gluconeogenic enzymes, but much less is known about the regulation of amino-acid catabolism, which generates gluconeogenic substrates. Here, we highlight a novel role of LKB1 in this regulation. We show that mice with a hepatocyte-specific deletion of Lkb1 have higher levels of hepatic amino acid catabolism, driving gluconeogenesis. This effect was observed during both fasting and the postprandial period, identifying Lkb1 as a critical suppressor of postprandial hepatic gluconeogenesis. Hepatic Lkb1 deletion was associated with major changes in whole-body metabolism, leading to a lower lean body mass and, in the longer term, sarcopenia and cachexia, as a consequence of the diversion of amino acids to liver metabolism at the expense of muscle. Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, we identified the aminotransferases and specifically, Agxt as effectors of the suppressor function of Lkb1 in amino acid-driven gluconeogenesis. The present dataset is from the phosphoproteomic analysis of the refed mice in a study where a global quantitative analysis ( PXD013478 ) is also described in the same publication.