Molecular Pathogenesis of Hyperlipidemia
Hyperlipidemia is asserted in two significant types: familial or primary and acquired or secondary [
1], based on environmental or genetic factors [
21]. The most important clinical feature of hyperlipidemia is LDL level elevation [
21,
22,
23] and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) [
24,
25]. So, LDL reduction is a common approach in hyperlipidemia which mainly occur by hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors [
26,
27,
28,
29,
30], which reduce the hepatic endogenous synthesis of cholesterol and decrease the LDL receptors expression [
4,
31,
32,
33,
34] and increases baroreflex sensitivity [
35]. It was also demonstrated that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors have anti-oxidative effects [
36] and anti-platelet aggregation effects [
37].
HMG-CoA reductase, in combination with lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT), cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), and acyl CoA: cholesterol acetyltransferase (ACAT) plays a crucial role in lipids metabolisms [
28,
38,
39,
40,
41]. Although HMG-CoA in hyperlipidemia incidence enrolls as the core enzyme, two other hepatic enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), also gather with this disorder [
42,
43,
44].
Abnormal HMG-CoA regulation down-regulates a ubiquitin ligase called neural precursor cell expressed down-regulated 4 (NEDD4) and other less critical ubiquitin proteasome cascade proteins, including BIRC3, USP6, and UBE2D1 [
45,
46] developmentally. These pathway targets are variable, but oxidative stress (OS) -related condition proteins are mainly targeted by this cascade [
47,
48].
OS is a well-known mechanism of cellular change. Research indicates that an essential molecular system, reactive oxygen species (ROS), overshoots during hyperlipidemia [
49,
50,
51,
52,
53,
54]. The head enzymes of ROS-induced OS are NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase, superoxidase dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), which lead to more lipid peroxidation [
49,
55,
56,
57,
58,
59,
60].
Some theoretical relation between ROS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway-related hyperlipidemic states had been determined [
61,
62,
63], in which lipid homeostasis deregulated [
64]. Also, an immune biomarker for hyperlipidemia, neopterin, is recognized as an OS-mediated molecule [
65].
In addition to this mechanism, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is another cellular stress condition combined with ubiquitin-proteasome-based lipid dysfunction disorders [
66,
67]. ER stress induces NEDD4 expression via E3 ubiquitin ligase [
49,
68], tightly in combination with HRD1 or SYVN1 [
69]. Furthermore, NADPH oxidase, OS-related enzyme, Mdm2-p53 pathway, and glutamate receptor subunit 1 (GluA1) are related to ER stress-induced NEDD4 expression [
70,
71,
72,
73,
74,
75] and HMG-CoA reductase down-regulation [
68]. NEDD4 indirectly down-regulates phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K) [
76] but especially targets phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) [
45] and is activated via LDL receptors [
77].
PTEN, a phosphatase, down-regulates the PI3K/AKT-mTORC1 pathway [
78,
79]. This pathway plays a role in cell proliferation, metabolism, and migration [
80,
81]. PI3K/AKT-mTOR pathway, which regulates apoproteins secretion [
82], is also directly induced through the Mdm2-p53 pathway [
70,
71,
75]. PI3K, as the AKT activator, in combination with mTORC1, is engaged with a Cullin-RING finger E3 ligases, CRC7 [
76], which on by own regulated through neddylation, NEDD8 attachment [
83]. However, neddylation is a critical mechanism in PI3K/AKT-mTOR direct regulation, and it may down-regulate this pathway indirectly via glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) [
84,
85,
86]. The activation of GSK-3 also may lead to more nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) phosphorylation [
87,
88] involving PI3K/AKT signaling pathway [
89,
90,
91].
Many studies firmly confirmed the NF-κB pathway role in obesity and OS-mediated disorders such as hyperlipidemia [
92,
93,
94], in which Maf A [
95] and apoprotein synthesis regulate [
82].
This cascade prescribed not only the role of NF-κB induced cellular stress but also the combination of the Nrf2 signaling pathway with this disorder [
93,
96,
97]. Phosphorylation, as the main component of this pathway [
98], affects 26S proteasomal degeneration and NF-κB translocation [
99]. NF-κB then binds to a specific genome region which promotes OS head enzymes via an anti-oxidant response element (ARE) [
100,
101]. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) can inactivate NF-κB [
102] and enhance Nrf2-ARE mediated phase II detoxifying enzymes [
103], e.g., heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) [
104].
Nrf2 ubiquitination and degeneration based on cullin3/Rbx 1 complex link this molecule to Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Kap1) [
90,
105]; then, sirt1/Nrf2 pathway inhibition, activates P38/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway accelerates the hepatic changes in hyperlipidemia [
106].
Thus, the P38/MAPK signaling pathway is composed via the microRNA1- myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) pathway and LDL oxidation [
107]. In addition, some other microRNAs, including microRNA144, emerged during hyperlipidemic states through the liver x receptor (LXR) signaling pathway [
108].
LXR signaling cascade is also combined with peroxisome proliferation-activated receptors (PPARs) [
109], which are responsible for lipid metabolism regulation [
51,
110]. Although PPARs overshooting may lead to liver damage [
111], proper regulation has anti-inflammatory and lipid regulatory effects [
112]. Also, the LXR/PPARs pathway is directly controlled by a cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) [
113].
CD36 expression on monocytes and platelet surface increased during free fatty acid (FFA) elevation [
110,
114,
115]. CD36/CD36 receptor interaction up-regulates platelet activity during hyperlipidemia [
115]. In monocyte differentiation, when CD36 appears on the cell surface, the NF-κB transcription factor activates. This pathway is inhibited when sirt1 is expressed in the cell [
116]. CD36/sirt1 pathway affects fatty acid metabolism [
117]. Moreover, sirt1 indirectly phosphorylates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) [
118]. This promotion of AMPK then leads to PPARγ co-activator 1α deacetylation, which up-regulates PPARα expression in the nucleus and interacts with CD36.
Further, AMPK activation conducts mTOR inhibition [
119], which regulates Nrf2 [
106]. Decreased AMPK levels and increased SREBP1 induce hyperlipidemic conditions [
120,
121]. Moreover, AMPK activation inhibits de novo lipogenesis [
122], which increases the 5-lipoxygenase substrate [
123].
So, AMPK phosphorylation increases the fluidity of the FFA oxidation pathway [
124].
AMPK
AMPK, a serine-threonine kinase and a vital energy balance regulator in mammalian eukaryotic cell roles first identified in 1973 [
125,
126,
127,
128]. AMPK is rule outs as a heterodimeric substance with α catalytic, γ regulatory, and β scaffolding subunits [
125,
129,
130].
Low energy conditions induced, with a high AMP/ATP ratio, AMPK activation increases adenosine triphosphate (ATP) de novo production [
131,
132,
133] due to protein and lipid synthesis down-regulation [
134]. It was also identified in such metabolic stresses that protein kinase A activation overshoots [
135]. So, AMPK phosphorylation on threonine 172 regulates fatty acid oxidative pathways [
136]; through acetyl CoA carboxylase [
137], glycolysis [
138], and ER stress [
139]. The protease phosphate pathway also induces ROS, where AMPK inhibits and, as a result, ACC-related lipogenesis may be affected [
140]. Threonine 172 phosphorylation linkage with liver kinase B1 (LKB1), also named serine/threonine kinase II (STK II), is well-identified; however, this effect exegesis is still unclear [
125,
141,
142,
143].
In 2003, LKB1 was recognized as the significant AMPK activator kinase [
144,
145], which phosphorylates downstream molecules by itself [
146,
147], mentioned further. It is also a target of metformin, an anti-diabetic drug [
148]. LKB1 regulates AMPK activation in almost all tissues [
149,
150], such as the atrium [
151] and in the liver, which leads to hepatic fibrosis [
150]. In addition, two other AMPK upstream kinases were recognized; calmodulin-dependent protein kinase β (Cankkβ), which is based on Ca
2+ homeostasis, and TGF β activated kinase 1 (TAK1) (
Figure 1) [
143,
152,
153,
154].
An extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) leads to LKB1 phosphorylation on serine 248, which interrupts the AMPK/LKB1 cascade [
155] and p53/AMPK pathway [
152]. Moreover, the adiponectin-mediated apoptotic cascade is AMPK/ERK pathway-dependent [
156], and ERK inhibits via AMPK-derived ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) overexpression [
157]. Furthermore, the LKB1/AMPK pathway affected during metabolic stress can regulate autophagy and apoptosis [
158] and enhance adipogenesis [
159] at the lysosome surface [
160]. Also, LKB1 promoters E-box may affect by DEC1, and LKB1 activity level is reduced, which is related to circadian rhythm. This occurrence leads to AMPK activity depression [
142]. Notch1 also results in specific tissues, such as the heart [
161], or specific cell lines, e.g., T cells [
162,
163].
AMPK-induced lipid metabolism regulation is also supervised by PPARs and SREBP, which are impressed in adipogenesis in adipocytes [
164,
165]. SREBP1 is associated with triglyceride production, whereas SREBP2 is linked to cholesterol synthesis [
166], which regulates LDL receptor genes [
167]. PPARγ activation caused weight gain and some other side effects [
168]. PPAR reduction, at the gene level, is associated with advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) [
169] and plays a critical role in hepatic stellate cell inactivation, which is combined with hepatic fibrosis [
170].
The β oxidation and cholesterol synthesis primary regulator genes, PPAR [
171,
172], indirectly, through AMPK, is combined with mitochondrial biogenesis [
173]. PPARγ co-activator 1α (PGC1α) during the mitochondrial biogenesis up-regulates the expression of nuclear respiratory factor (NRF), a transcription factor [
174], resulting in energy imbalance and thereby AMPK pathway activation [
175,
176], related to NF-κB [
177]. In addition to all these pathways, AMPK suppresses PPARγ to inhibit the differentiation of pre-adipocytes [
178]; and the PGC1α level rising is assumed to promote hypo-methylation [
179]. Adaption to mitochondrial dysfunction is not related to PGC1α and sirt1; however, it is AMPK phosphorylation-related [
175]. PGC1α phosphorylation and PGC1α and PGC1α deacetylation through sirt1 regulate mitochondrial biogenetic activity [
180,
181,
182] and anti-inflammatory features [
183].
Novel researches indicate sirt1 mitochondrial anti-oxidant features [
184,
185]; however, it may reduce the up-regulation of SREBP1 if over-expressed [
186]. SREBP1 regulates PCSK9, LDL receptor, and angiopoietin-like 4, controlling cholesterolemia [
187,
188,
189,
190,
191]. This NAD
+-dependent relation with the sirt1/AMPK pathway regulates the lipid metabolism network [
192,
193].
Although NFR and PPARs induced sirt1 activation firmly depend on some promoting proteins, for instance, MFN1/2 [
194]; moreover, the α subunit of AMPK activity is sirt3 mediated [
195], and PGC1α mediated Pdk4 up-regulation in lipid metabolism involves AMPK/sirt1/PGC1α pathway in combination with forkhead box O3 (FoxO3) (
Figure 2) [
196].
Sirt1 level reduction indicates increased energy prevention related tightly to the mTOR pathway [
197,
198] and AMPK/glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) [
199,
200]. This sirt1 level reduction down-regulates the NF-κB p65 subunit acetylation and phosphorylation, thereby, nuclear translocation [
201,
202]. So, sirt1 and NF-κB pathways show antagonistic features [
203]. NF-κB activated when IκB-α degradation and ubiquitination occur, which is a result of IκB-α phosphorylation. Then NF-κB acts as an intra-nuclear transcription factor [
204], which increases Bcl-2 after AMPK activation [
205]. Besides, AMPK induced ACC activation contact with the NF-κB pathway [
206]. However, NF-κB inhibition enhances monocyte cholesterol efflux [
207].
Multiple cytokines, such as IL1β, TNFα also regulates NF-κB activation directly [
208,
209] and indirectly lead to pro-inflammatory molecules activation, e.g., COX2 [
210]. AMPK activation is also related to TNFα-regulated NF-κB nuclear translocation [
211]. Likewise, AMPK activation inhibits the mTOR signaling pathway [
210], which leads to UNC51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) activation via dephosphorylation at serine 757; however, AMPK directly enhances ULK1 activation [
211,
212,
213].
AMPK activation leads to tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) threonine 1227 and serine 1345 phosphorylation [
159,
160] and then mTORC1 inactivation and lipogenesis suppression, an antagonistic effect [
212,
214,
215,
216,
217]. In addition, rapamycin, the mTOR inhibitor, down-regulates mTORC2, and PPARγ, leading to the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation [
218]. All this pathway may be a result of ROS [
219]. The mTORC2 subunits, which regulate glucocorticoid inducible kinase1/2, SAPK-interacting protein (SIN1), and rapamycin-insensitive companion of mTOR (RAPTOR), and its substrates, such as AKT and autophagy-related proteins, are also undergrowth factors regulation [
220,
221,
222]. However, protein phosphatase 3A activation and AMPK inhibition affect this regulatory pathway [
223].
Nevertheless, mTORC1 regulates via amino acids linked to the lysosome and is needed for AMPK activation [
224]. Activated AMPK upgrade glucose uptake via glucose transporter 4 (GLuT4) during mTOR-related PI3K/AKT pathway activating [
225,
226,
227,
228], which persists on OS [
129] and regulates by IGF-1 [
221], and down-regulates glycolysis (Warburg effect) [
229]. If this activation becomes chronic, PGC1α-dependent angiotensin II reduction decreases endothelial dysfunction [
230,
231]; and lipid homeostatic unremarkable un-enrollment [
232]. However, mitochondrial AMPK activation and mTOR/AKT inhibition may not remain long, especially in hepatocytes [
233,
234,
235]. This AMPK activation and mTOR inhibition indirectly link Nrf2 to this pathway as an upstream regulatory molecule [
236].
Moreover, PI3K inhibits VLDL production, based on insulin effects [
234], and augments apoprotein A1 in adipocytes [
237]. So, AMPK related PI3K/mTOR/ULK1signaling pathway causes insulin resistance [
238], which targets vascular sorting protein 34 (Vps34) and Vps15/PI3K/ULK1 pathway too [
239], by which mitochondrial endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) is regulated (240–244], broadcasts cytotoxicity effects [
245] and as a small GTPases family member stimulates angiogenesis on partnership with MAPK/ERK pathway [
246]. With all this, hepatocyte activation could be inhibited explicitly via an AMPK-specific inhibitor; however, PI3K/AKT inhibitors do not act like that [
247,
248,
249]. However, AKT and AMPK are tightly linked [
250,
251], and sticking out on microRNA 41 inhibition in FFA-related inflammatory states [
252], regularize Ca
2+ homeostasis [
253], microtubule transportation system organizing [
252], amplifying insulin sensitivity through protein kinase B in some unique cell lines [
254,
255], and rolling as anti-oxidative conditions in cooperation with Nrf2 [
256,
257], and NF-κB [
258].
The AKT/PI3K pathway activation by PDGF up-regulates S phase kinase-associated protein 2 (SKP2) [
259], and leads to LKB1/AMPK activation [
260], which by its own regulates PTEN, inhibits mTOR/S6 kinase 1 [
261,
262] and enhance ULK1 phosphorylated form [
263], which is associated predominantly with autophagy cascade, and may directly activate by AMPK [
264], within hepatocytes in addition to mTORC1 induction [
265]. ULK1, which is needed for the autophagosome constitution, has two closely near phosphorylation sites modified by AMPK and mTOR, which interact with the lysosomal autophagic regulator, transcription factor EB (TFEB) [
266].
Moreover, ER stress and activated unfolded protein proteasomal response and autophagy are AMPK mediated [
267,
268,
269]. ER stress is the initial OS condition key [
270,
271,
272]. Some studies importune on ER stress-dependent JNK-mediated hyperglycemic induced apoptosis, which is related to AMPK also [
272]. Moreover, apoptosis is induced via activated AMPK/JNK stimulation in some types of cells [
273]. JNK and NF-κB are two necessary inflammatory molecular signals [
274]. It should be noticed here that although JNK/NF-κB molecular cascade provides the initial part of autophagy, AMPK phosphorylates TSC2 and inhibit mTORC1 and perform an impressive impact on autophagy [
261].
Figure 3 shows a brief review of AMPK cascades.
Role of AMPK in Hyperlipidemia
AMPK, as the primary molecule in energy versus nutrient supply homeostasis, acts incorrectly during chronic disorders occurrence [
275,
276], such as obesity [
277], and regulates some cellular conditions, e.g., oxidative stress [
278].
Activated AMPK inhibited fatty acid synthesis via HMG-CoA reductase inactivation [
279] and up-regulated PI3K pathway, leading to glucose over-uptake through insulin stimulation [
280].
AMPK activation by intracellular Ca
2+ level changes [
281] and ER stress inhibits NADPH oxidase-induced OS and approves PPARs expression regulation [
120,
282], and governs GSK 3β [
283]. However, fatty acid changes may reduce PPAR and improve SREBP1 in hepatocytes [
124] during lipogenesis [
284]. AMPK directly acts as the SREBP2 phosphorylase and, via this mechanism, blocks HMG-CoA reductase expression and activity [
285,
286] and up-regulates GLuT4 transcription [
277]. In this protein synthesis, the mTOR system is the crucial point under the AMPK regulatory mechanism [
287]. Otherwise, SREBP inhibits through activated AMPK. SREBP is a significant factor in fatty acid synthesis [
288]. Also, de novo cholesterol production is controlled by AMPK/SREBP pathway [
289].
PI3K/AMPK pathway uses ARE-mediated gene regulation and cooperates with the Nrf2 molecular system [
278]. Here it should be noticed that PI3K/AKT-mTORC2/S6K is negatively regulated by PTEN [
80,
81], which is induced via Mdm2 [
70,
75]. However, Nrf2/ARE regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway is more prior [
93]. PI3K pathway affects eNOS, which is indirectly enhanced through AMPK. AMPK also down-regulates lipogenesis and cholesterol synthesis [
229,
240]; Through PPAR [
51] and HMG-CoA reductase [
285], expressed previously.
Although AMPK phosphorylation through AKT is essential, diacylglycerol, induced during hyperlipidemia, blocks AMPK activity via protein kinase C [
276]. Moreover, AMPK promotes GLuT4 activity on the adipocyte cell membrane, reducing lipid agglomeration [
277].
Alongside all these pathways, AMPK inhibits adipogenesis through growth factor independence 1 (Gif1)/Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2)/PPARγ related pathway. In this case, AMPK up-regulates osteopontin (OPN) when adipogenesis tees off and decreases PPAR; however, Gif1 pickle on OPN promoter reduces AMPK effects [
290]. Nonetheless, PPAR regulation via AMPK plays a pivotal role in lipid metabolism in which SREBP1 enlisted a therapeutic target for the lipid-based disorder [
291].
AMPK and Polyphenols
Polyphenols are formed a widespread phytochemical unnecessary dietary nucleophilic group of plant-based compounds [
292,
293,
294]. Too many polyphenols are classified into sub-classes such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins [
294,
295]. Nowadays, 8000 backbone molecules and 25000 polyphenols are determined [
295,
296]. Polyphenols’ pharmacological activities, including gene regulation and signal conduction, have been widely explained during past decades [
292,
293].
As a diet-based gathering, polyphenols, health-beneficial nutrients [
297], have medicinal and therapeutic effects in some diseases [
298,
299], as they relieve non-desired cellular conditions, including OS [
300], in cooperation with Nrf2/, ARE signaling pathway [
297]. While it involves PGC1α [
301], it is followed by high glucose disclosing [
302] in the presence of Quercetin, a polyphenol that up-regulates Nrf2 [
303]. It also had been investigated that, Nrf2 indirectly related to sirt1 through FoxO3 [
304]. On the other hand, Nrf2-linked pathways break out via polyphenol-induced situations, such as PI3K/AKT pathway [
305].
The current pathway is occupied in insulin signaling [
306] and GSK3β inhibition [
307] and is affected during some polyphenols impression cascades, such as curcumin anti-apoptotic effect [
308] and mitogenic stress concerning JNK signals inhibition [
305,
309]. The PI3K/AKT pathway inactivates YSC1, which is inhibited by AMPK/LKB1 on the other side [
310]. Also, TSC1 indirectly regulates the mTORC1 pathway (
Figure 4) [
311]. mTOR suppresses the FoxO pathway, which may also be inactivated during ROS-induced PTEN and sirt1 inhibition [
312,
313]. Not only ROS medicated indirect mTOR effect, but also energy stress leads to mTOR activation; with the co-molecule diversity, the AMPK [
314,
315], which together are polyphenols proven targets in some disorders [
316,
317], such as breast cancer [
318], and IBD [
319].
AMPK/mTOR pathway affects Ca
2+ concentration, whether it affects PI3K/AKT pathway [
320], linked to NF-κB and MAPK/P38 pathway [
321], and TGFβ activated kinase 1 [
322], changing autophagic states [
323,
324], OS [
325], and mitochondrial dysfunction [
326,
327]. Likewise, mTOR natural polyphenol-induced inhibition may start an autophagic cascade. Some polyphenols such as resveratrol blurt this non-ideal result [
328], despite the fact they relieve inflammatory conditions influencing AMPK/sirt1/Nrf2 pathway [
329,
330], PGC1α molecular signals [
331], and TSC2 [
332], protecting cells during UV exposure [
332], and induce AMPK within the heart [
334].
Other polyphenols, e.g., Epigallocatechin 3 Gallate (EGCG), Glabridin, and Quercetin, impress the AMPK/Ca
2+ pathway, so decrease hepatic gluconeogenesis [
335,
336,
337]. It also may impel cells to express GLuT4 [
338,
339,
340]. Furthermore, naringenin, another polyphenol, enhance muscular and neuronal glucose uptake through PI3K/AMPK/Ca
2+ pathway [
341,
342,
343].
In addition, Quercetin improves eNOS synthesis through the AMPK-mediated pathway [
344,
345]. As well as, both resveratrol and EGCG activate PGC1α/sirt1/AMPK pathway to ameliorate severe mitochondrial disturbances [
346], and AMPK-related berberine, polyphenolic compound effects reduce mitochondrial OS upheaval so that lipid-based disorders may be adjusted through that [
347].
Targeting AMPK by Polyphenols: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Hyperlipidemia
Nowadays, routine statins are already used to reduce hyperlipidemic states [
348], including LDL overshot level [
21,
22], as the primary approach in hyperlipidemia progression [
23].
As we discussed previously, HMG-CoA may be a target for therapeutic agents during hyperlipidemia management [
36,
45], which is tightly linked to NEDD4, PTEN, and PI3K/AKT pathway [
45,
79]. Moreover, PI3K is related to mTOR and AMPK [
78,
82].
AMPK, a cellular energy balance modifier [
125], regulates some cellular conditions as a checkpoint, including AMP/ATP ratio imbalance [
349]. During hyperlipidemic situations, FFAs released into the circulation, PPARs act here, and adipocyte inferred peroxisome, indirectly connecting to AMPK/NF-κB pathway [
350,
351], and polyphenols target them [
352]. AMPK, during this FFA exposure, down-regulates novel lipid molecules generation [
122,
353] and interlocks mTOR, Nrf2, GLuT4, and PI3K to this mechanism [
209,
228,
252,
354,
355], and GSK3β to mitochondrial dysfunction [
356], a momentous event when hyperlipidemia engender [
61,
63]. Moreover, if the AMPK/mTOR pathway malfunction is prolonged, the hyperlipidemic conditions may be explicit [
313], which are activated by natural herbal mediators, polyphenols [
357,
358], and dietary anti-oxidant [
359].
Polyphenols target AMPK, activate the AMPK signaling pathway, and influence lipid metabolism [
360] and ROS-mediated energy stress [
361,
362]. Indeed, polyphenolic AMPK activation results in lipogenesis inhibition and lipophagy [
363] through SREBP1/PPAR/AMPK pathway [
364], JAK2 [
365,
366], sirt1 [
367]. In addition, polyphenols in mid-white adipose tissue prevent lipotoxicity [
368]. In addition, cholesterol efflux mediated polyphenols lipid-lowering effects, consulting LXR pathway [
369]. LXR cumulates hepatic lipids and reacts to cholesterol at the extreme upper level through SREBP1 [
370].
All these pathways accede to AMPK eventually [
186], which may directly or indirectly inhibit via polyphenolic compounds [
371]. AMPK also inhibits SREBP1, which reduces hepatic lipogenesis [
372], and triglyceride [
332], regulating PI3K/AKT pathway [
373], induces sirt1, which progresses PGC1α deacetylation and regulates mitochondrial biogenesis [
374]. All these clues persist on direct or indirect AMPK-mediated polyphenolic anti-hyperlipidemic effects [
375], resulting in a new hyperlipidemia therapeutic approach.