# Role of CARF in Insulin Resistance and Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease NAFLD

> **NIH NIH SC2** · CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF MED & SCI · 2020 · $143,500

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Obesity is increasing in alarming rate in the USA and more than 70% of obese people suffer from non-alcoholic
fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) which turn into hepatocarcinoma (HCC). Smoking is a risk factor for NAFLD and
using diet induced obesity (DIO) mice model we demonstrated that nicotine can exacerbate obesity induced
NAFLD whose mechanisms are not understood yet. Studies showed that tumor suppressor p53 can play a role
in insulin resistance (IR) and progression to NAFLD in DIO mice. The mechanisms of p53 induced IR and NAFLD
are largely unknown. CARF (Collaborator of Alternative Reading Frame Protein) is a new member of p53
pathways and we demonstrated that its function is, at least in part, regulated by p53 and an inverse relationship
between CARF and p53 determines cellular fate responding to various stresses. Preliminary data showing
accumulative effect of nicotine and HFD on oxidative stress and apoptosis and reduction of CARF expression in
liver of HFD fed mice suggest its possible role in insulin sensitivity and lipid homeostasis and development of
NAFLD. In this study our specific aims are: 1. To show that CARF is necessary and sufficient to maintain
insulin sensitivity using in vitro and in vivo models of insulin resistance. 2. To demonstrate if CARF
inhibition by p53 causes insulin resistance in mice treated with HFD with and without nicotine. We will
create DIO mice model by feeding C57/ BL6 mice on HFD and cellular model of IR by treating HepG2 (hepatic),
liver derived hepatocytes, C2C12 (muscle) cell lines with palmitate-BSA conjugate. We will use pfithrin, an
inhibitor of p53 or p53 specific siRNA to inactivate p53 in HepG2 cells or p53 knockout mice and will investigate
its effect on CARF expression as well as genes related to lipid metabolism, apoptosis upon treated with nicotine
and HFD alone or in combination. These results will be further complemented by knocking down or over
expressing of CARF both in vivo and in vitro under IR or normal conditions to delineate CARF function in lipid
metabolism as well as in NAFLD. From this study, we expect that CARF enhances insulin sensitivity and
facilitates fatty acid metabolism and thus protects mice from NAFLD. Besides, CARF may also protect NAFLD
by inhibiting p53 -mediated apoptosis. Thus, it can be expected that by uncovering the function of CARF in IR
and associated metabolic diseases such as NAFLD this study will open new window for more extensive studies
on CARF's role in metabolic diseases. My immediate goal would be using training from SC2 grant and my prior
experiences on basic research to become independent and competent faculty at CDU. Eventually this will help
me to secure RO1, SC1 and other foundation grants to establish my own research team focusing on IR, obesity,
diabetes and NAFLD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9842671
- **Project number:** 5SC2GM125551-02
- **Recipient organization:** CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF MED & SCI
- **Principal Investigator:** Kamrul M Hasan
- **Activity code:** SC2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $143,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9842671

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9842671, Role of CARF in Insulin Resistance and Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease NAFLD (5SC2GM125551-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9842671. Licensed CC0.

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