Hepatic NADH Reductive Stress Underlies Common Variation in Metabolic Traits

The cellular NADH/NAD ratio is fundamental to biochemistry, but the extent to which it reflects versus drives metabolic physiology in vivo is poorly understood. Here we report the in vivo application of Lactobacillus brevis (Lb)NOX, a bacterial water-forming NADH oxidase, to assess the metabolic consequences of directly lowering the hepatic cytosolic NADH/NAD ratio in mice. By combining this genetic tool with metabolomics, we identify circulating α-hydroxybutyrate levels as a robust marker of an elevated hepatic cytosolic NADH/NAD ratio, also known as reductive stress. In humans, elevations in circulating α-hydroxybutyrate levels have previously been associated with impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and mitochondrial disease, and are associated with a common genetic variant in GCKR, which has previously been associated with many seemingly disparate metabolic traits. Using LbNOX, we demonstrate that NADH reductive stress mediates the effects of GCKR variation on many metabolic traits, including circulating triglyceride levels, glucose tolerance and FGF21 levels. Our work identifies an elevated hepatic NADH/NAD ratio as a latent metabolic parameter that is shaped by human genetic variation and contributes causally to key metabolic traits and diseases. Moreover, it underscores the utility of genetic tools such as LbNOX to empower studies of 'causal metabolism'.