ADD1/SREBP1c activates the PGC1-α promoter in brown adipocytes

Cold adaptation elicits a paradoxical simultaneous induction of fatty acid synthesis and β-oxidation in brown adipose tissue. We show here that cold exposure coordinately induced liver X receptor α (LXRα), adipocyte determination and differentiation-dependent factor 1 (ADD1)/sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC1α) in brown and inguinal white adipose tissues, but not in epididymal white adipose tissue. Using in vitro models of white and brown adipocytes we demonstrate that β-adrenergic stimulation induced expression of LXRα, ADD1/SREBP1c and PGC1α in cells with a brown-like adipose phenotype. We demonstrate that ADD1/SREBP1c is a powerful inducer of PGC1α expression via a conserved E box in the proximal promoter and that β-adrenergic stimulation led to recruitment of ADD1/SREBP1c to this E box. The ability of ADD1/SREBP1c to activate the PGC1α promoter exhibited a striking cell type dependency, suggesting that additional cell type-restricted factors contribute to ADD1/SREBP1c-mediated activation. In conclusion, our data demonstrate a novel role of ADD1/SREBP1c as a regulator of PGC1α expression in brown adipose tissue.     

Control of the adipsin gene in adipocyte differentiation. Identification of distinct nuclear factors binding to single- and double-stranded DNA

The mouse adipsin gene encodes a serine protease with complement factor D activity that is expressed during adipocyte differentiation and is deficient in several animal models of obesity. We have investigated the regulation of adipsin expression by transfecting preadipocytes and adipocytes with plasmids containing the 5'-flanking region of the adipsin gene linked to a reporter gene. Constructions containing a -950 to +35 segment of the adipsin promoter were preferentially expressed in adipose cells. Deletion experiments identified a region from -114 to -38 which contains a large inverted repeat sequence and negatively regulated gene expression in preadipocytes and positively regulated expression in fat cells. Exonuclease III protection and gel retardation assays indicated that this region of duplex DNA had multiple binding sites for nuclear factors, several of which were preadipose specific. In addition, we also identified two distinct factors that bound symmetrically and sequence specifically to the inverted repeat sequences only when they were in single-stranded form; one of these factors was induced during adipocyte differentiation. These results suggest that the control of the adipsin promoter in differentiation may involve an interplay of multiple regulated DNA-binding proteins, including two that have preferential affinity for single-stranded DNA.     

bHLH转录因子家族研究进展

bHLH转录因子在真核生物生长发育调控中具有重要作用, 它们组成了转录因子的一个大家族。已经有20种生物基因组中bHLH家族的成员得到鉴定, 其中动物17种、植物2种、酵母1种。动物bHLH因其调控基因表达的功能不同而被分成45个家族; 此外, 根据它们所作用DNA元件和自身结构特点又被分成6个组。A组包含22个家族, 主要调控神经细胞生成、肌细胞生成和中胚层形成; B组包含12个家族, 主要调控细胞增殖与分化、固醇代谢与脂肪细胞形成以及葡萄糖响应基因的表达; C组包含7个家族, 主要负责调控中线与气管发育和昼夜节律、激活环境毒素响应基因的转录; D组只有1个家族, 它与A组bHLH蛋白形成无活性的异源二聚体; E组有2个家族, 调控胚胎分节、体节形成与器官发生等; F组也只有1个家族, 调控头部发育、嗅觉神经元生成等。文章综述了bHLH转录因子家族分类、起源、功能方面的研究进展情况。