Fig. 3. Hepatocyte-specific PAK4 deficiency enhances ketogenic responses.

a Gene set enrichment analysis plots of RNA-Seq data. Eight-week-old male Pak4 LKO and WT mice were fasted for 24 h, and RNA samples from liver tissues were subjected to RNA-Seq. b Representative IVIS images of in vivo luciferase activity after injection with adenovirus expressing HMGCS2-luciferase in Pak4 LKO and WT mice (n = 3 for Fed and Fast groups and n = 7 for KD group). c–g Pak4 LKO and WT mice were fed a normal chow ad libitum (Fed), fasted for 24 h (Fast), or fed a ketogenic diet (KD) for 2 weeks. Blood levels of βOHB (c, n = 5), TG levels in the liver (d, n = 5) and serum (e, n = 5), and serum levels of free fatty acid (f, n = 5) and FGF21 (g, n = 5 for Fed and Fast, n = 4 for KD) were compared. h–k Western blotting analysis of liver tissue obtained from Pak4 LKO and WT mice after fasting (h, n = 6) or KD-feeding (j, n = 6), and qPCR analysis of liver tissue after fasting (i, n = 6) or KD-feeding (k, n = 6). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Unpaired two-tailed t test was conducted for statistical analyses (b–k). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.