Regioselective C-H bond transformations are potentially the most efficient method for the synthesis of organic molecules. However, the presence of many C-H bonds in organic molecules and the high activation barrier for these reactions make these transformations difficult. Directing groups in the reaction substrate are often used to control regioselectivity, which has been especially successful for the ortho-selective functionalization of aromatic substrates. Here, we describe an iridium-catalysed meta-selective C-H borylation of aromatic compounds using a newly designed catalytic system. The bipyridine-derived ligand that binds iridium contains a pendant urea moiety. A secondary interaction between this urea and a hydrogen-bond acceptor in the substrate places the iridium in close proximity to the meta-C-H bond and thus controls the regioselectivity. (1)H NMR studies and control experiments support the participation of hydrogen bonds in inducing regioselectivity. Reversible direction of the catalyst through hydrogen bonds is a versatile concept for regioselective C-H transformations.

Unstable lipid-rich plaques in atherosclerosis are characterized by the accumulation of macrophage foam cells loaded with cholesterol ester (CE). Although hormone-sensitive lipase and cholesteryl ester hydrolase (CEH) have been proposed to mediate the hydrolysis of CE in macrophages, circumstantial evidence suggests the presence of other enzymes with neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase (nCEH) activity. Here we show that the murine orthologue of KIAA1363, designated as neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase (NCEH), is a microsomal nCEH with high expression in murine and human macrophages. The effect of various concentrations of NaCl on its nCEH activity resembles that on endogenous nCEH activity of macrophages. RNA silencing of NCEH decreases nCEH activity at least by 50%; conversely, its overexpression inhibits the CE formation in macrophages. Immunohistochemistry reveals that NCEH is expressed in macrophage foam cells in atherosclerotic lesions. These data indicate that NCEH is responsible for a major part of nCEH activity in macrophages and may be a potential therapeutic target for the prevention of atherosclerosis.Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality in industrialized countries, despite advances in the management of coronary risk factors. Heart attacks arise from thrombotic occlusion of coronary arteries following the rupture of plaques. Lipid-rich plaques, which are characterized by a plethora of CE 3 -laden macrophage foam cells, are prone to rupture (1). Thus, it is important to clarify the mechanism that eliminates CE from macrophage-derived foam cells. Foam cells are generated by the unlimited uptake of modified lipoproteins through scavenger receptors (2). Cholesterol in the lipoproteins is stored in lipid droplets as CE after re-esterification by acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) (3). Hydrolysis of CE is the initial step toward elimination of cholesterol from foam cells (4). Free cholesterol thus generated is re-esterified or is released from the cells primarily through ATP-binding cassette transporters (5). Thus, the balance between synthesis and hydrolysis of CE conceivably governs the level of CE in macrophages.Hydrolysis of CE in macrophages has been known for over 40 years (6). However, its molecular mechanism has yet to be fully understood. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the hydrolysis of CE in foam cell macrophages is mediated by hormonesensitive lipase (HSL), a multifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of triacylglyerol (TG), diacylglycerol, CE, and retinyl ester in various organs such as adipose tissue, muscle, and testis (7,8). This belief is supported by the following facts. First, it has been demonstrated that various lines of macrophages express HSL (9 -12). Second, HSL expression is regulated coordinately with nCEH activity in murine macrophages (13). Third, we (14) and others (15) demonstrated that overexpression of HSL is associated with increased hydrolysis of CE stores in THP-1 and RAW264.7 macrophages.However, recent ...

Cholesterol ester (CE)-laden macrophage foam cells are the hallmark of atherosclerosis, and the hydrolysis of intracellular CE is one of the key steps in foam cell formation. Although hormone-sensitive lipase (LIPE) and cholesterol ester hydrolase (CEH), which is identical to carboxylsterase 1 (CES1, hCE1), were proposed to mediate the neutral CE hydrolase (nCEH) activity in macrophages, recent evidences have suggested the involvement of other enzymes. We have recently reported the identification of a candidate, neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase 1(Nceh1). Here we demonstrate that genetic ablation of Nceh1 promotes foam cell formation and the development of atherosclerosis in mice. We further demonstrate that Nceh1 and Lipe mediate a comparable degree of nCEH activity in macrophages and together account for most of the activity. Mice lacking both Nceh1 and Lipe aggravated atherosclerosis in an additive manner. Thus, Nceh1 is a promising target for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1 is a key transcription factor for the regulation of lipogenic enzyme genes in the liver. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) selectively suppress hepatic SREBP-1, but molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. To gain insight into this regulation, we established in vivo reporter assays to assess the activities of Srebf1c transcription and proteolytic processing. Using these in vivo reporter assays, we showed that the primary mechanism for PUFA suppression of SREBP-1 is at the proteolytic processing level and that this suppression in turn decreases the mRNA transcription through lowering SREBP-1 binding to the SREBPbinding element on the promoter ("autoloop regulatory circuit"), although liver X receptor, an activator for Srebf1c transcription, is not involved in this regulation by PUFA. The mechanisms for PUFA suppression of SREBP-1 confirm that the autoloop regulation for transcription is crucial for the nutritional regulation of triglyceride synthesis. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)3 have been well established as negative regulators of hepatic lipogenesis (reviewed in Ref. 1). Allmann and Gibson (2) discovered that adding 2% linoleate to a high carbohydrate fat-free diet suppressed the rate of hepatic fatty acid biosynthesis and the activities of fatty-acid synthase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by nearly 70% in mice. In contrast, supplementing the high carbohydrate diet with palmitate, oleate, or cholesterol had no effect on hepatic lipogenesis or the activity of lipogenic enzymes. Since then, a number of investigators have demonstrated that dietary PUFA of the n-6 and n-3 families suppress hepatic lipogenesis. This anti-lipogenic action of PUFA reflects decreases in mRNA levels of hepatic enzymes, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty-acid synthase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase.The fatty acid biosynthetic pathway, composed of some 25 enzymes, has been elucidated in detail (3). For the de novo synthesis of long chain saturated fatty acids, fatty-acid synthase, the main synthetic enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-CoA to produce the 16-carbon saturated fatty acid palmitate, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which synthesizes malonyl-CoA from acetyl-CoA, are of particular importance. The regulation of these lipogenic enzymes has been revealed to be primarily controlled by a transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c (4, 5).SREBPs are transcription factors that belong to the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper family and are considered to be profoundly involved in the transcriptional regulation of cholesterogenic and lipogenic enzymes (6, 7). Unlike other members of the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper family, SREBPs are synthesized as precursors bound to the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope. Upon activation, SREBPs are cleaved, and the N-terminal parts are released from the membrane into the nucleus as mature protein by a sequential two-step proteolytic processing. To date, three SREBP isof...

SUMMARY Hepatic lipogenesis is nutritionally regulated, i.e., downregulated during fasting and upregulated during the postprandial state, as an adaptation to the nutritional environment. While alterations in the expression level of the transcription factor SREBP-1c are known to be critical for nutritionally-regulated lipogenesis, upstream mechanisms governing Srebf1 gene expression remain unclear. Here we show that the fasting-induced transcription factor KLF15, a key regulator of gluconeogenesis, forms a complex with LXR/RXR, specifically on the Srebf1 promoter. This complex recruits the corepressor RIP140 instead of the coactivator SRC1, resulting in reduced Srebf1 and thus downstream lipogenic enzyme expression during the early and euglycemic period of fasting prior to hypoglycemia and PKA activation. Through this mechanism, KLF15 overexpression specifically ameliorates hypertriglyceridemia without affecting LXR-mediated cholesterol metabolism. These findings reveal a key molecular link between glucose and lipid metabolism with therapeutic implications for the treatment of hyperlipidemia.