The nuclear bile acid receptor, Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR), is an important transcriptional regulator of liver metabolism. Despite recent advances in understanding its functions, how FXR regulates genomic targets and whether the transcriptional regulation by FXR is altered in obesity remain largely unknown. Here, we analyzed hepatic genome-wide binding sites of FXR in normal and dietary obese mice by chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis. A total of 15,263 and 5,272 FXR binding sites were identified in livers of normal and obese mice, respectively, after a short one hour treatment with the synthetic FXR agonist, GW4064. Of these sites, 7,440 and 2,344 were detected uniquely in normal and obese mice. FXR binding sites were localized mostly in intergenic and intron regions at an IR1 motif in both groups, but also clustered within 1 kb of transcription start sites. FXR binding sites were detected near previously unknown target genes with novel functions, including diverse cellular signaling pathways, apoptosis, autophagy, hypoxia, inflammation, RNA processing, metabolism of amino acids, and transcriptional regulators. Further analyses of randomly selected genes from both normal and obese mice suggested more FXR binding sites are likely functionally inactive in obesity. Surprisingly, occupancies of FXR, RXRα, RNA polymerase II, and epigenetic gene activation and repression histone marks, and mRNA levels of genes examined, suggested that direct gene repression by agonist-activated FXR is common. Comparison of genomic FXR binding sites in normal and obese mice further suggested that FXR transcriptional signaling is altered in dietary obese mice, which may underlie aberrant metabolism and liver function in obesity.

No abstract

Small heterodimer partner (SHP) plays important roles in diverse biological processes by directly interacting with transcription factors and inhibiting their activities. SHP has been designated an orphan nuclear receptor, but whether its activity can be modulated by ligands has been a long-standing question. Recently, retinoid-related molecules, including 4-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-3-chlorocinnamic acid (3Cl-AHPC), were shown to bind to SHP and enhance apoptosis. We have examined whether 3Cl-AHPC acts as an agonist and increases SHP activity in the repression of bile acid biosynthetic CYP7A1 and CYP8B1 genes and delineated the underlying mechanisms. Contrary to this expectation, micromolar concentrations of 3Cl-AHPC increased CYP7A1 expression but indirectly via p38 kinase signaling. Nanomolar concentrations, however, repressed CYP7A1 expression and decreased bile acid levels in HepG2 cells, and little repression was observed when SHP was down-regulated by small hairpin RNA. Mechanistic studies revealed that 3Cl-AHPC bound to SHP, increased the interaction of SHP with liver receptor homologue (LRH)-1, a hepatic activator for CYP7A1 and CYP8B1 genes, and with repressive cofactors, Brahma, mammalian Sin3a, and histone deacetylase-1, and, subsequently, increased the occupancy of SHP and these cofactors at the promoters. Mutation of Leu-100, predicted to contact 3Cl-AHPC within the SHP ligand binding pocket by molecular modeling, severely impaired the increased interaction with LRH-1, and repression of LRH-1 activity mediated by 3Cl-AHPC. 3Cl-AHPC repressed SHP metabolic target genes in a gene-specific manner in human primary hepatocytes and HepG2 cells. These data suggest that SHP may act as a ligand-regulated receptor in metabolic pathways. Modulation of SHP activity by synthetic ligands may be a useful therapeutic strategy.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), a glycolytic intermediate, has neuroprotective effects in various brain injury models. However, its effects on blood-brain barrier (BBB) are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of FBP on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BBB dysfunction in in vitro BBB model comprising co-culture of mouse brain endothelial cell line, bEnd.3 and mouse primary astrocyte and explored its action mechanism therein involved. LPS induced the impairment of endothelial permeability and transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). The functional changes were confirmed by alterations in immunostaining for junctional proteins occludin, ZO-1 and VE-cadherin, such as the loss of cortical staining pattern and appearance of intercellular gaps in endothelial cells. Co-administration of FBP alleviated the deleterious effects of LPS on BBB permeability and TEER in a dose dependent manner. And also FBP inhibited the LPS-induced changes in the distribution of endothelial junctional proteins, resulting in the better preservation of monolayer integrity. FBP suppressed the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) but did not affect cyclooxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin E₂ production in endothelial cells stimulated with LPS. Taken together, these data suggest that FBP could ameliorate LPS-induced BBB dysfunction through the maintenance of junctional integrity, which might be mediated by downregulation of ROS production.

No abstract