Chronic inflammation has been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). High-fat diet (HFD)-derived fatty acid is associated with the activation of chronic inflammation in T2DM. PF-04620110, which is currently in phase 1 clinical trials as a selective acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT1) inhibitor, is a potent anti-diabetic agent that may be important for the regulation of chronic inflammation in T2DM. However, the mechanisms by which PF-04620110 regulates fatty acid-induced chronic inflammation remain unclear.

PF-04620110 was used in vitro and in vivo. DGAT1-targeting gRNAs were used for deletion of mouse DGAT1 via CRISPR ribonucleoprotein (RNP) system. The activation of NLRP3 inflammasome was measured by immunoblot or cytokine analysis in vitro and in vivo.

Here we show that PF-04620110 suppressed fatty acid-induced nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat-containing receptor (NLR), pyrin-domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in macrophages. In contrast, PF-04620110 did not change the activation of the NLR family, CARD-domain-containing 4 (NLRC4), or the absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasomes. Moreover, PF-04620110 inhibited K⁺ efflux and the NLRP3 inflammasome complex formation, which are required for NLRP3 inflammasome activation. PF-04620110 reduced the production of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 and blood glucose levels in the plasma of mice fed HFD. Furthermore, genetic inhibition of DGAT1 suppressed fatty acid-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Our results suggest that PF-04620110 suppresses fatty acid-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation.