The estrogen sulfotransferase SULT1E1 sulfates and inactivates estrogen, which is reactivated via desulfation by steroid sulfatase, thus regulating estrogen homeostasis. Phenobarbital (PB), a clinical sedative, activates Sult1e1 gene transcription in mouse livers. Here, the molecular mechanism by which the nuclear receptors CAR, which is targeted by PB, and RORα communicate through phosphorylation to regulate Sult1e1 activation has been studied. RORα, a basal activity repressor of the Sult1e1 promoter, becomes phosphorylated at serine 100 and converts to an activator of the Sult1e1 promoter in response to PB. CAR regulates both the RORα phosphorylation and conversion. Our findings suggest that PB signals CAR to communicate with RORα via serine 100 phosphorylation, converting RORα from transcription repressor to activator of the Sult1e1 gene and inducing SULT1E1 expression in mouse livers.

Cytochalasin B (CB) is a cell-permeable mycotoxin. It inhibits cytoplasmic division by blocking the formation of contractile microfilaments, it inhibits cell movement and induces nuclear extrusion. In the present study, we investigated the anticancer activity of CB in HeLa human cervical carcinoma cells. CB showed significant cytotoxicity, with an IC50 of 7.9 µM, in a WST-8 assay and significantly inhibited cell proliferation. Furthermore, results from Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide double-staining indicated that CB induced early apoptosis of HeLa cells in a time-dependent manner. The cells exhibited apoptotic morphology, including cell shrinkage and nuclear condensation. CB induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase. We also observed inhibition of DNA replication in a [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay. Furthermore, CB induced a time-dependent increase in reactive oxygen species and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Western blot analysis showed an increase in levels of mitochondrial factors Bax and Bcl-2, which was followed by activation of caspase-9 and -3. These results suggested that CB induced apoptosis via a mitochondrial-dependent pathway in HeLa cells.

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Estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1) inactivates estrogen and regulates its metabolic homeostats.Whereas SULT1E1 is expressed low in the liver of adult mice, it is induced by phenobarbital (PB) treatment or spontaneously in diabetic livers via nuclear receptors. Utilizing constitutive active/ androstane receptor (CAR) KO, estrogen receptor α (eRα KO, phosphorylation-blocked ERα S216A KI mice, it is now demonstrated that, after being activated by PB, CAR binds and recruits ERα onto the Sulte1 promoter for subsequent phosphorylation at Ser216. This phosphorylation tightens CAR interacting with eRα and to activates the promoter. Hepatic SULT1E1 mRNA levels are constitutively up-regulated in type 1 diabetic Akita mice; CAR spontaneously accumulates in the nucleus and activates the Sult1e1 promoter by recruiting phosphorylated ERα in the liver as observed with PB-induced livers. Thus, this CAR-phosphorylated ERα signaling enables these two nuclear receptors to communicate, activating the Sult1e1 gene in response to either PB or diabetes in mice. ERα phosphorylation may integrate CAR into estrogen actions, providing insights into understanding drug-hormone interactions in clinical therapy.Estrogens are known to regulate hepatic metabolism and metabolic syndrome besides profound actions in basic biology and disease developments 1-3 . Estrogen is inactivated by sulfation; estrogen sulfotransferase SULT1E1, a member of the cytosolic sulfotransferase superfamily, is the major enzyme that specifically and effectively sulfates estrogen 4-9 .