The liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is an orphan nuclear receptor believed to play a key role in bile acid metabolism, cholesterol homeostasis, and intestinal cell crypt renewal. LRH-1 has recently been reported to negatively regulate the hepatic acute phase response by antagonizing, at least in part, the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein signaling pathway. The liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1 2 ; NR5A2) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily (1). Nuclear receptors have central roles in nearly every aspect of development and adult physiology. LRH-1 is the mammalian homolog of the Drosophila Fushi Tarazu F1 receptor (FTZ-F1; NR5A3) and, similar to FTZ-F1, binds its cognate target sequence (5Ј-(Py)CAAGG(Py)-C(Pu)-3Ј) as a monomer (2). It is highly expressed in the ovary, liver, intestine, and pancreas (2-4). Several groups have recently shown by x-ray crystallography that the human LRH-1 ligand binding pocket can bind various phospholipids, including phosphoinositides and phosphatidylethanolamine, linking phospholipid metabolism to gene transcription (5-8). LRH-1 is involved in the regulation of the expression of transcription factors implicated in embryonic development, such as Oct4 and the hepatic nuclear factors HNF-3, HNF4␣, and HNF1␣ (9, 10). Recently, LRH-1 was shown to regulate estrogen production through the control of aromatase (CYP19) gene transcription in ovarian and adipose tissue (10, 11) and adiponectin in adipocytes (12). Furthermore, LRH-1 has recently been reported to be involved in intestinal crypt cell renewal by coactivating -catenin on the cyclin D1 promoter (13). In addition, LRH-1 is believed to be a key player in cholesterol homeostasis (1). LRH-1 is known to play a pivotal role in the transcriptional regulation of CYP7A1, the rate-limiting enzyme of the bile acid biosynthetic pathway (3) and CYP8B1, the oxysterol 12␣-hydroxylase required for cholic acid production (14). Moreover, LRH-1 has been reported to regulate the expression of APO A1 (15), ABCG5/ABCG8 (16), CETP (17), SR-B1 (4), and the carboxyl ester lipase (18), thereby implicating this receptor in high density lipoprotein remodeling and cholesterol transport.Recently, we have been shown that LRH-1 is a negative regulator of the hepatic acute phase response (APR) (19). Ectopic expression of LRH-1 using adenovirus resulted in the inhibition of IL-1-and IL-6-mediated induction of acute phase gene expression, such as haptoglobin (HP), serum amyloid A, and C-reactive protein in cultured hepatocytes. In addition, LRH-1 partial deficiency led to an exacerbated inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo, indicating that LRH-1 is a physiological modulator of hepatic APR. Moreover, molecular studies revealed that LRH-1 negatively interferes with the development of the APR by, at least in part, antagonizing C/EBP transcriptional activity (19).To better understand the role of LRH-1 in the control of APR, we compared LRH-1-mediated APR gene regulation in HepG2 cells after a short or prolonged cytokine exposure. We found that the inter...