Isolation of ribonucleic acid from the unactivated rat liver glucocorticoid receptor

We have reported that the 7-8S form of the rat liver glucocorticoid receptor is associated with RNA. Whether the unactivated 9-10S form of the glucorticoid receptor is also associated with RNA is less clear. Here we provide evidence that the unactivated 9-10S receptor is indeed associated with RNA. Unactivated 9-10S receptor was partially purified by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose chromatography in the presence of molybdate, an activation inhibitor. This preparation was then bound to BuGR-2, a mouse monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin G (IgG)-2 class to the rat liver glucocorticoid receptor, or to nonspecific mouse IgG-2. The antibody-antigen complex was then bound to protein A sepharose and washed to remove extraneous RNA. When the receptor was dissociated from the antibody and the RNA extracted and end-labeled, a distinct band of approximately 170 nucleotide (nt) was found that was specific for the BuGR-2 purified receptor. This band could also be found in DEAE-cellulose receptor that had been isolated from sucrose gradients. The DEAE-cellulose receptor was then cross-linked with formaldehyde before mixing with BuGR-2 in order to permit more vigorous washing of the antigen-antibody complex. In addition to the 170 nt RNA band, another distinct band at approximately 400 nt was seen that was specific to the BuGR-2 derived isolate. These results provide evidence that the 9-10S form of the glucocorticoid receptor from rat liver is associated with RNA.     

Targeted disruption of the nuclear receptor FXR/BAR impairs bile acid and lipid homeostasis

Mice lacking the nuclear bile acid receptor FXR/BAR developed normally and were outwardly identical to wild-type littermates. FXR/BAR null mice were distinguished from wild-type mice by elevated serum bile acid, cholesterol, and triglycerides, increased hepatic cholesterol and triglycerides, and a proatherogenic serum lipoprotein profile. FXR/BAR null mice also had reduced bile acid pools and reduced fecal bile acid excretion due to decreased expression of the major hepatic canalicular bile acid transport protein. Bile acid repression and induction of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase and the ileal bile acid binding protein, respectively, did not occur in FXR/BAR null mice, establishing the regulatory role of FXR/BAR for the expression of these genes in vivo. These data demonstrate that FXR/BAR is critical for bile acid and lipid homeostasis by virtue of its role as an intracellular bile acid sensor.     

Modifications of rat liver glucocorticoid receptor by insulin-induced hypoglycemia

Stability-, equilibrium- and kinetic binding parameters, transformation rate and sedimentation properties of liver cytosol glucocorticoid receptor from insulin-treated rats were studied. 40% elevation of cytosolic glucocorticoid binding and a lower affinity of the receptor for ligand were observed in hypoglycemic rats as compared to the controls. A small but significant decrease of [3H]triamcinolone acetonide-receptor complexes association rate and an increase of dissociation rate were also found. The rate and the extent of activation of the complexes from insulin-treated rats were somewhat higher compared to the controls, and the complexes from both groups showed higher affinity for the nuclei isolated from insulin-treated animals. Mixing experiments suggested that insulin treatment lead to alterations at the level of both the receptor protein and the nuclear binding sites. Sedimentation properties of transformed and untransformed receptor remained unchanged upon insulin treatment. The physiological relevance of the data was confirmed by hypoglycemia-related stimulation of tyrosine aminotransferase induction by dexamethasone.     

A cell-autonomous role for the glucocorticoid receptor in skeletal muscle atrophy induced by systemic glucocorticoid exposure

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are important regulators of skeletal muscle mass, and prolonged exposure will induce significant muscle atrophy. To better understand the mechanism of skeletal muscle atrophy induced by elevated GC levels, we examined three different models: exogenous synthetic GC treatment [dexamethasone (DEX)], nutritional deprivation, and denervation. Specifically, we tested the direct contribution of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in skeletal muscle atrophy by creating a muscle-specific GR-knockout mouse line (MGR(e3)KO) using Cre-lox technology. In MGR(e3)KO mice, we found that the GR is essential for muscle atrophy in response to high-dose DEX treatment. In addition, DEX regulation of multiple genes, including two important atrophy markers, MuRF1 and MAFbx, is eliminated completely in the MGR(e3)KO mice. In a condition where endogenous GCs are elevated, such as nutritional deprivation, induction of MuRF1 and MAFbx was inhibited, but not completely blocked, in MGR(e3)KO mice. In response to sciatic nerve lesion and hindlimb muscle denervation, muscle atrophy and upregulation of MuRF1 and MAFbx occurred to the same extent in both wild-type and MGR(e3)KO mice, indicating that a functional GR is not required to induce atrophy under these conditions. Therefore, we demonstrate conclusively that the GR is an important mediator of skeletal muscle atrophy and associated gene expression in response to exogenous synthetic GCs in vivo and that the MGR(e3)KO mouse is a useful model for studying the role of the GR and its target genes in multiple skeletal muscle atrophy models.     

Molecular cloning and expression of rat liver bile acid CoA ligase

Bile acid CoA ligase (BAL) is responsible for catalyzing the first step in the conjugation of bile acids with amino acids. Sequencing of putative rat liver BAL cDNAs identified a cDNA (rBAL-1) possessing a 51 nucleotide 5'-untranslated region, an open reading frame of 2,070 bases encoding a 690 aa protein with a molecular mass of 75,960 Da, and a 138 nucleotide 3'-nontranslated region followed by a poly(A) tail. Identity of the cDNA was established by: 1) the rBAL-1 open reading frame encoded peptides obtained by chemical sequencing of the purified rBAL protein; 2) expressed rBAL-1 protein comigrated with purified rBAL during SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; and 3) rBAL-1 expressed in insect Sf9 cells had enzymatic properties that were comparable to the enzyme isolated from rat liver. Evidence for a relationship between fatty acid and bile acid metabolism is suggested by specific inhibition of rBAL-1 by cis-unsaturated fatty acids and its high homology to a human very long chain fatty acid CoA ligase. In summary, these results indicate that the cDNA for rat liver BAL has been isolated and expression of the rBAL cDNA in insect Sf9 cells results in a catalytically active enzyme capable of utilizing several different bile acids as substrates.     

Molecular regulation of sinusoidal liver bile acid transporters during cholestasis.

Impairment of the hepatic transport of bile acids and other organic anions will result in the clinically important syndrome of cholestasis. Cloning of a number of specific hepatic organic anion transporters has enabled studies of their molecular regulation during cholestasis. The best characterized transport system is a 50-51 kDa sodium-dependent taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (ntcp), which mediates the sodium-dependent uptake of conjugated bile acids at the sinusoidal plasma membrane of hepatocytes. Under physiologic conditions and after depletion of biliary constituents, ntcp remains constitutively expressed throughout the liver acinus. However, both function and expression of ntcp are rapidly down-regulated in rat liver in various models of experimental cholestasis, such as cholestasis induced by common bile duct ligation, estrogen, endotoxin or cytokine treatment. In addition to ntcp, the sinusoidal organic anion transporting polypeptide oatp-1 is also down-regulated at the protein and steady-state mRNA levels in estrogen-cholestasis, but does not affect sodium-independent uptake of taurocholate. The regulation of a recently cloned member of the organic anion transporter family (oatp-2), which is highly expressed in liver, remains to be studied under cholestatic conditions.     

Phosphorylation of rat liver glucocorticoid receptor

Rat liver glucocorticoid-receptor complex (GRc) was purified 2000-fold by a combination of methods including (NH4)2SO4-fractionation and phosphocellulose and DNA-cellulose chromatography. The purified glucocorticoid receptor preparation contained a major peptide of Mr = 90,000 and the GRc sedimented as 4 S in 5-20% sucrose gradients. An additional peptide of Mr = 45,000 (45K) was also observed. Some preparations yielded only the Mr = 90,000 (90K) peptide suggesting that the 45K peptide may be a proteolyzed portion of the 90K protein. The purified GRc was incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP in the presence of cAMP-dependent kinase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the above preparation revealed the presence of two 32P-containing bands with apparent Mr = 90,000 and 45,000. The 32P incorporation was dependent on the availability of divalent cation (Mg2+). GRc in cytosol labeled with [3H]dexamethasone mesylate and purified as above co-migrated with 32P-containing bands. GRc was also purified from cytosol obtained from livers of rats injected with [32P]orthophosphate. Both 32P and 3H bands were associated with 90K and 45K peptides. Our results indicate that rat liver glucocorticoid receptor is a phosphoprotein and that both the phosphorylated peptides 90K and 45K also contain the steroid and the DNA binding regions of the glucocorticoid receptor.     

Physical measurements of the liver glucocorticoid receptor.

Physical measurements were made on the cytosolic form of the liver [3H]dexamethasone receptor. These include a Stokes radius of 3.5 nm, determined by gel filtration, and sedimentation coefficients of 5.1 and 7-8S, by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. From these measurements, the following physical properties were calculated: apparent mol. wt. 78000 (the 5.1 S form); D app. 6.1 X 10(-7) cm2-S-1; f/fo 1.25; axial ratio 4.7; these indicate a globular protein. Measurements of sedimentation coefficient of cytosol steroid-receptor complexes previously subjected to various activating conditions gave different values and lead to the conclusion that the mechanism of activation in vitro enabling the steroid-receptor complex to bind to DNA is more complex than simple disaggregation to a uniform size.     

Activation of pregnane X receptor disrupts glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid homeostasis

The pregnane X receptor (PXR) was isolated as a xenobiotic receptor that regulates responses to various xenobiotic agents. In this study, we show that PXR plays an important endobiotic role in adrenal steroid homeostasis. Activation of PXR by genetic (transgene) or pharmacological (ligand, such as rifampicin) markedly increased plasma concentrations of corticosterone and aldosterone, the respective primary glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid in rodents. The increased levels of corticosterone and aldosterone were associated with activation of adrenal steroidogenic enzymes, including cytochrome P450 (CYP)11a1, CYP11b1, CYP11b2, and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. The PXR-activating transgenic mice also exhibited hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex, loss of glucocorticoid circadian rhythm, and lack of glucocorticoid responses to psychogenic stress. Interestingly, the transgenic mice had normal pituitary secretion of ACTH and the corticosterone-suppressing effect of dexamethasone was intact, suggesting a functional hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis despite a severe disruption of adrenal steroid homeostasis. The ACTH-independent hypercortisolism in the PXR-activating transgenic mice is reminiscent of the pseudo-Cushing's syndrome in patients. The glucocorticoid effect appears to be PXR specific, as the activation of constitutive androstane receptor in transgenic mice had little effect. We propose that PXR is a potential endocrine disrupting factor that may have broad implications in steroid homeostasis and drug-hormone interactions.     

Insulin modulates rat liver glucocorticoid receptor

This investigation used cytosol fraction of rat liver to examine the effects of insulin (INS) on functional properties of glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Male Wistar rats (220-250 g b.wt.) were injected with INS (50 microg/200 g b.wt, i.p.) and 18 h after INS administration used for experiments. INS-stimulated dissociation of G-R complexes was significantly increased by 133% compared to control level. However, INS treatment significantly stimulated stability of GR protein by 138% above control value. Furthermore, results show that INS stimulated activation of formed cytosol [3H] TA-R complexes by 143% in respect to control. [3H]TA-R complexes from INS treated animals could be activated and accumulated at higher rate in cell nuclei of control animals. The physiological relevance of the data was confirmed by INS-related stimulation of Tryptophan oxigenase (TO) activity. It was observed that INS stimulated TO activity while INS injected to adrenalectomized rats, exhibited less effects compared to control. The results indicate that a glucocorticoid hormone (CORT) enhances INS induced stimulation of TO activity, as evidenced by enhanced enzyme activity. Presented data suggest: that INS treatment leads to modifications of the GR protein and the nuclear components and that INS activates the rat liver CORT signaling pathway which mediates, in part, the activity of TO.     

Mitochondria-rough-ER contacts in the liver regulate systemic lipid homeostasis

1. Download : Download high-res image (271KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

In vitro modulation of rat liver glucocorticoid receptor by urea

We have examined the influence of urea on the properties of the rat liver glucocorticoid receptor (GR). A 1-h incubation of hepatic cytosol with 1-3 M urea at 0 or at 23 degrees C caused a progressive decrease in the steroid binding efficiency of GR. Urea treatment of cytosol incubated with 20 nM [3H]triamcinolone acetonide caused transformation of glucocorticoid-receptor complexes (GRc) and resulted in an increase in the binding of GRc to DNA-cellulose and ATP-Sepharose. The transforming effect was maximal with 2.5 M urea at 0 degrees C for 1 h, and it caused a shift in the rate of sedimentation of the 9 S untransformed GRc to a 4 S form, similar to that observed upon incubation of the cytosol GRc at 23 degrees C. This 9 to 4 S transformation could also be observed in the presence of Na2MoO4. The Stokes radii of the GRc eluted from a Bio-Gel-A-0.5m agarose column were determined to be 5.9 and 4.9 nm in the absence and presence of 2.5 M urea. The aqueous two-phase partitioning analysis revealed a significant change in surface properties of GR following urea treatment; the observed partition coefficient values (cpm upper phase/bottom phase) were 0.022, 0.208, and 0.60 for GRc, GRc + 23 degrees C, and GRc + 2.5 M urea, respectively. Furthermore, the urea treatment rendered the GRc less negatively charged, forcing their appearance in the flow-through fractions of a DEAE-Sephacel column. These results suggest that urea is a potent in vitro modulator of the physicochemical behavior of GR, influencing both the steroid binding and the process of receptor transformation.     

Modulation of DNA binding of glucocorticoid receptor by aurintricarboxylic acid

Effects of aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) were examined on the DNA binding properties of rat liver glucocorticoid-receptor complex. The DNA-cellulose binding capacity of the glucocorticoid-receptor complex was completely abolished by a pretreatment of receptor preparation with 0.1-0.5 mM ATA at 4 degrees C. The half-maximal inhibition (i.d.50) in the DNA binding of [3H]triamcinolone acetonide-receptor complex [( 3H]TARc) was observed at 130- and 40 microM ATA depending upon whether the inhibitor was added prior to or following the receptor activation. The entire DNA-cellulose bound [3H]TARc could be extracted in a concentration-dependent manner by incubation with 2-100 microns ATA. The [3H]TARc remained intact under the above conditions, the receptor in both control and ATA-treated preparations sedimented in the same region in salt-containing 5-20% sucrose gradients. The action of ATA appeared to be on the receptor and not on DNA-cellulose. The DNA-binding capacity of ATA-treated receptor preparations could be recovered upon exhaustive dialysis. The treatment with ATA did not appear to change the ionic behavior of heat activated GRc; the receptor in both control and the ATA-treated preparations showed similar elution profiles. Therefore, ATA appears to alter the binding to and dissociation of glucocorticoid-receptor complex from DNA. The use of ATA should offer a good chemical probe for analysis of the DNA binding domain(s) of the glucocorticoid receptor.     

胆汁酸受体FXR 的研究进展

法尼酯衍生物X受体(FXR)是一种胆汁酸受体,在胆汁酸代谢和胆固醇代谢中发挥重要作用,并有望成为降低胆固醇,治疗某些心血管病及肝脏疾病的治疗靶点。本文介绍了FXR的发现、FXR在调控胆汁酸和脂质代谢中的作用,以及FXR在心血管疾病治疗中的应用前景。     

The interrelationship between bile acid and vitamin A homeostasis

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin important for vision, reproduction, embryonic development, cell differentiation, epithelial barrier function and adequate immune responses. Efficient absorption of dietary vitamin A depends on the fat-solubilizing properties of bile acids. Bile acids are synthesized in the liver and maintained in an enterohepatic circulation. The liver is also the main storage site for vitamin A in the mammalian body, where an intimate collaboration between hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells leads to the accumulation of retinyl esters in large cytoplasmic lipid droplet hepatic stellate cells. Chronic liver diseases are often characterized by disturbed bile acid and vitamin A homeostasis, where bile production is impaired and hepatic stellate cells lose their vitamin A in a transdifferentiation process to myofibroblasts, cells that produce excessive extracellular matrix proteins leading to fibrosis. Chronic liver diseases thus may lead to vitamin A deficiency. Recent data reveal an intricate crosstalk between vitamin A metabolites and bile acids, in part via the Retinoic Acid Receptor (RAR), Retinoid X Receptor (RXR) and the Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR), in maintaining vitamin A and bile acid homeostasis. Here, we provide an overview of the various levels of “communication” between vitamin A metabolites and bile acids and its relevance for the treatment of chronic liver diseases.