Liver-targeted CETP expression improves glucose tolerance in female mice but worsens it and drives fatty liver in males (bioRxiv 2026)

Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and associated dyslipidemia is a growing health issue that gives rise to cardiovascular risk. Men are more prone to development of MASLD than women. Understanding mechanisms underlying sex differences in MASLD may lead to improved prevention and treatment approaches. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is a lipid transfer protein that shuttles triglycerides and cholesteryl esters between blood lipoproteins and tissues. In this study investigate the impact of hepatic CETP expression on MASLD. Hepatic CETP expression (L-HuCETP) was achieved by injecting liver-targeted CETP-expressing adeno-associated virus into C57BL/6J mice. In females, L-HuCETP improved glucose tolerance, consistent with our prior clamp results in global human CETP transgenic mice. Whereas in males, L-HuCETP worsened glucose metabolism and impaired insulin signaling. Correspondingly, L-HuCETP expression reduced the expression of gluconeogenic pathway genes in females but upregulated these genes in males. In males, L-HuCETP mice exhibited increased hepatic lipid droplet accumulation, lipogenesis proteins and these changes were not observed in females. L-HuCETP expression resulted in sex-specific hepatic responses, with increased expression of inflammation and fibrosis related genes in male, but decreased expression of these genes in females. Mechanistic studies indicate that L-HuCETP had sex specific effects on transcription factors ChREBP and HNF4α, which are important for glucose and lipid metabolism. Our studies suggest that sex-specific roles of L-HuCETP with regard to liver metabolic adaptation and MASLD risk in obesity, highlighting CETP-mediated pathways as potential targets for sex-specific precision medicine approaches to improve MASLD.