Polysome profiling in liver identifies dynamic regulation of endoplasmic reticulum translatome by obesity and fasting.

Obesity-associated metabolic complications are generally considered to emerge from abnormalities in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, whereas the status of protein metabolism is not well studied. Here, we performed comparative polysome and associated transcriptional profiling analyses to study the dynamics and functional implications of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein synthesis in the mouse liver under conditions of obesity and nutrient deprivation. We discovered that ER from livers of obese mice exhibits a general reduction in protein synthesis, and comprehensive analysis of polysome-bound transcripts revealed extensive down-regulation of protein synthesis machinery, mitochondrial components, and bile acid metabolism in the obese translatome.