- Cao, Yang;
- Tang, Lingyi;
- Du, Kang;
- Paraiso, Kitt;
- Sun, Qiushi;
- Liu, Zhengxia;
- Ye, Xiaolong;
- Fang, Yuan;
- Yuan, Fang;
- Chen, Yu-Han;
- Chen, Yumay;
- Wang, Xiaorong;
- Yu, Clinton;
- Blitz, Ira L;
- Wang, Ping H;
- Huang, Lan;
- Cheng, Haibo;
- Lu, Xiang;
- Cho, Ken WY;
- Seldin, Marcus;
- Fang, Zhuyuan;
- Yang, Qin
Mitochondrial biogenesis and function are controlled by anterograde regulatory pathways involving more than 1000 nuclear-encoded proteins. Transcriptional networks controlling the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we show that histone demethylase LSD1 KO from adult mouse liver (LSD1-LKO) reduces the expression of one-third of all nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes and decreases mitochondrial biogenesis and function. LSD1-modulated histone methylation epigenetically regulates nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. Furthermore, LSD1 regulates gene expression and protein methylation of nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 1 (NMNAT1), which controls the final step of NAD+ synthesis and limits NAD+ availability in the nucleus. Lsd1 KO reduces NAD+-dependent SIRT1 and SIRT7 deacetylase activity, leading to hyperacetylation and hypofunctioning of GABPβ and PGC-1α, the major transcriptional factor/cofactor for nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. Despite the reduced mitochondrial function in the liver, LSD1-LKO mice are protected from diet-induced hepatic steatosis and glucose intolerance, partially due to induction of hepatokine FGF21. Thus, LSD1 orchestrates a core regulatory network involving epigenetic modifications and NAD+ synthesis to control mitochondrial function and hepatokine production.