SUMMARY Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor (HNF)4α is a central regulator of gene expression in cell types that play a critical role in metabolic homeostasis, including hepatocytes, enterocytes, and pancreatic β-cells. Although fatty acids were found to occupy the HNF4α ligand-binding pocket and proposed to act as ligands, there is controversy about both the nature of HNF4α ligands as well as the physiological role of the binding. Here, we report the discovery of potent synthetic HNF4α antagonists through a high-throughput screen for effectors of the human insulin promoter. These molecules bound to HNF4α with high affinity and modulated the expression of known HNF4α target genes. Notably, they were found to be selectively cytotoxic to cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo, although in vivo potency was limited by suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties. The discovery of bioactive modulators for HNF4α raises the possibility that diseases involving HNF4α, such as diabetes and cancer, might be amenable to pharmacologic intervention by modulation of HNF4α activity.

- Circulating tumor cells can be identified and characterized under a variety of collection, handling, and processing conditions, but the highest quality can be achieved with optimized conditions. We quantified performance differences of the HD-SCA for specific preanalytic variables that may be used as a guide to develop best practices for implementation into patient care and/or research biorepository processes.

Objective-To study the distribution of group V secretory phospholipase A 2 (sPLA 2 ) in human and mouse lesions and compare its expression by human vascular cells, its activity toward lipoproteins, and the interaction with arterial proteoglycans (proteoglycans) with those of sPLA 2 -IIA. In addition, we also investigated the effect of a Western diet and lipopolysaccharide challenge on the aortic expression of these enzymes in mouse models. Methods and Results-Immunohistochemistry showed sPLA 2 -V in human and mouse lesions to be associated with smooth muscle cells and also surrounding foam cells in lipid core areas. mRNA of the enzyme was expressed in human lesions and human vascular cells, supporting the immunohistochemistry data. sPLA 2 -V but not sPLA 2 -IIA was active on lipoproteins in human serum. The association with proteoglycans enhanced 2-to 3-fold sPLA 2 -V activity toward low-density lipoproteins but not that of the group IIA enzyme. Experiments in mouse models showed that treatment with a Western diet induced expression of sPLA 2 -V but not that of sPLA 2 -IIA in aorta. On the other hand, lipopolysaccharide-induced acute inflammation augmented the expression of sPLA 2 -IIA but not that of sPLA 2 -V. Key Words: phospholipase Ⅲ atherogenesis Ⅲ inflammation Ⅲ lipoprotein-retention Ⅲ proteoglycans D uring atherosclerosis development, there is a progressive decrease of the lesion phospholipid content and enrichment in cholesterol. 1 Furthermore, apolipoprotein B (apoB) lipoproteins isolated from human and rabbit lesions contain less phosphatidylcholine (PC) and more sphingomyelin than circulating lipoproteins. 2,3 Therefore, lipoproteins trapped in the intima appear to be hydrolyzed by secretory phospholipases. 4 These enzymes may contribute to atherosclerosis by hydrolysis of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) phospholipids that induce fusion and increase binding of cholesterol-rich particles to intima proteoglycans, triggering further modifications. [5][6][7][8] In addition, phospholipase(s) A 2 contribute to local release of lyso-phospholipids and nonesterified fatty acids, which have proinflammatory properties in arterial cells. 9 -12 Conclusions-These See page 1421Secretory phospholipase A 2 (sPLA 2 ) group IIA is present in human atherosclerotic lesions, and experimental and clinical evidence suggest its involvement in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. 13-17 sPLA 2 -IIA and the more recently cloned sPLA 2 -V are members of a family of enzymes that hydrolyze the fatty acids at the sn-2 position of glycerophospholipids. Both enzymes have low molecular weight (14 kDa), are histidine and calcium dependent, rich in disulfide bonds, are basic, and share structure similarities. 18 Several of these properties stabilize and enhance their activity in the extracellular milieu. The genes of sPLA 2 -IIA and sPLA 2 -V enzymes are located at close positions in homologous regions in mouse chromosome 4 and human chromosome 1 and share the same promoter. 19 This region was identified as an atherosclerosis ...

Overexposure to fatty acids can contribute to generate a remnant-rich dyslipidemia and to precondition the arterial intima for lipoprotein deposition via changes in expression of matrix proteoglycans. Normalizing fatty acid should be a key target in treatment of the atherogenic dyslipidemia of insulin resistance.