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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 35, 32852-32860, August 29, 2003
Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor
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| ABSTRACT |
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(PPAR
), which
mediates the hypolipidemic action of fibrates. Incubation of human hepatocytes
or hepatoblastoma HepG2 and Huh7 cells with synthetic PPAR
agonists,
fenofibric acid, or Wy 14643 resulted in an increase of UGT2B4 mRNA levels.
Furthermore, treatment of HepG2 cells with Wy 14643 induced the
glucuronidation of hyodeoxycholic acid, a specific bile acid UGT2B4 substrate.
Analysis of UGT2B mRNA and protein levels in PPAR
wild type and null
mice revealed that PPAR
regulates both basal and fibrate-induced
expression of these enzymes in rodents also. Finally, a PPAR response element
was identified in the UGT2B4 promoter by site-directed mutagenesis and
electromobility shift assays. These results demonstrate that PPAR
agonists may control the catabolism of cytotoxic bile acids and reinforce
recent data indicating that PPAR
, which has been largely implicated in
the control of lipid and cholesterol metabolism, is also an important
modulator of the metabolism of endobiotics and xenobiotics in human
hepatocytes. | INTRODUCTION |
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Among the UGT2B enzymes, UGT2B4 catalyzes the glucuronide conjugation of
various molecules, including BAs, 5
-reduced androgens,
catecholesterogens, and phenolic and monoterpenoid compounds
(47).
A certain degree of overlapping substrate specificity exists among the UGT2Bs,
and these compounds are also conjugated by other UGT2B isoforms. However,
various studies established the crucial role that UGT2B4 plays in hepatic BA
glucuronide conjugation. Pillot et al.
(7) carried out
immunoprecipitation studies to demonstrate the strict substrate specificity of
UGT2B4 for the 6
-hydroxylated BA hyodeoxycholic acid (HDCA) in human
liver. Furthermore, no or low glucuronidation activity of HDCA was observed in
colon where UGT2B4 is not expressed
(8,
9). Finally, a recent study
revealed that UGT2B4 expression is positively regulated by the BA sensor
farnesoid X-receptor (FXR) and suggested that UGT2B4 induction by BAs may be
part of a negative feedback mechanism by which BAs limit their biological
activity and control their intracellular levels to avoid a pathophysiological
accumulation (10).
An important consequence of BA glucuronidation is the introduction of an additional negative charge in the molecule that allows their transport by conjugate transporters such as the multidrug-resistance related proteins, MRP2 (ABCC2) and MRP3 (ABCC3), which are present in liver (11, 12), and favors their excretion in urine. Whereas BAs are biological detergents with numerous important functions, these compounds are inherently cytotoxic and perturbations in their normal synthesis, transport, or secretion can result in a variety of pathophysiological conditions including intrahepatic cholestasis (13). During their enterohepatic circulation, BAs undergo several metabolic alterations, including glucuronide conjugation at ring hydroxyl groups (7, 14). The most abundant glucuronide conjugate reported in human plasma is the primary BA chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) glucuronide followed by the secondary lithocholic acid (LCA) glucuronide (7, 15). In the urine of cholestatic patients, the proportion of BA glucuronide metabolites increases to up to 35% of total BAs (16, 17) and HDCA is exclusively found as a glucuronide derivative (18).
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) belong to the family of
nuclear receptors that are ligand-activated transcription factors. Three
distinct types of PPARs have been identified as PPAR
, PPAR
(or
PPAR
), and PPAR
. Each isotype is encoded by a distinct gene and
shows different distribution patterns
(19,
20). Upon ligand activation,
PPARs regulate gene transcription by dimerizing with the retinoid X-receptor
(RXR) and binding to PPAR response elements (PPREs) within the regulatory
regions of target genes (19).
These PPREs usually consist of a direct repeat of the hexanucleotide AGGTCA
sequence separated by one or two nucleotides (DR1 or DR2)
(19). Furthermore, PPARs can
also negatively interfere with pro-inflammatory transcription factor pathways
by a mechanism termed transrepression
(21). PPAR
is highly
expressed in various tissues such as liver, muscle, kidney, and heart where it
stimulates the
-oxidative degradation of fatty acids
(22). Natural eicosanoids
derived from arachidonic acid via the lipoxygenase pathway, such as
8-hydroxytetraenoic acid, 15-hydroxytetraenoic acid, and leukotriene B4 as
well as oxidized phospholipids, activate PPAR
(2325).
The hypolipidemic fibrates (gemfibrozil, bezafibrate, ciprofibrate, and
fenofibrate) are synthetic PPAR
ligands used in the treatment of
dyslipidemia (23).
Recent findings indicate that PPAR
also regulates BA synthesis and
transport. In cultured rat hepatocytes, PPAR
agonists decrease bile
acid synthesis and suppress the expression of two key BA-synthesizing enzymes,
the cytochrome P450 cholesterol 7
-hydroxylase (CYP)7A1 and the sterol
27-hydroxylase (CYP27), which is paralleled by a similar reduction of their
respective activities (26). By
contrast, ligand-activated PPAR
stimulates the expression and activity
of the murine sterol 12
-hydroxylase enzyme (CYP8B1), a hepatic
microsomal enzyme that acts as a branch point in the bile acid synthetic
pathway, determining the ratio of cholic acid/CDCA
(27). In human hepatoma HepG2
cells, the PPAR
ligand Wy 14643 suppresses CYP7A1 gene promoter
activity (28). Furthermore, in
mouse liver, treatment with the PPAR
agonist, ciprofibrate, results in
a decreased expression of the bile salt transporters, such as
Na+-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide 1,
Na+-independent organic anion-transporting polypeptide (Oatp1), and
the bile salt export pump
(29). By contrast,
ciprofibrate activation of PPAR
induces the promoter activity of human
apical sodium-dependent bile salt transporter (ASBT) gene in human
colon carcinoma Caco2 cells
(30). Overall, these data
suggest that PPAR
activation may result in a decreased BAs synthesis
and secretion into bile. Furthermore, several studies in both humans and
animals reported that treatment with PPAR
activators results in
enhanced glucuronidation activity and UGT expression
(31,
32). Indeed, clofibrate
induces the bilirubin-conjugating UGT1A1 protein in microsomes from rat liver
(32).
Since PPAR
is an important regulator of BAs synthesis and transport
and considering the major role that UGT2B4 plays in hepatic glucuronidation of
BAs, we investigated in the present study whether hepatic UGT2B4 expression
and activity are regulated by PPAR
. Our results demonstrate that
PPAR
activation results in the induction of UGT2B4 gene expression in
human primary hepatocytes and human hepatoblastoma HepG2 and Huh7 cells. The
induction of UGT2B4 gene expression is accompanied by an increased
glucuronidation activity of HDCA. This positive regulation occurs at the
transcriptional level via binding of PPAR
to a DR1 response element
located at 1193 bp in the promoter region of the UGT2B4
gene.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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null (/)
(n = 6) mice (34) (a
kind gift of Dr. F. Gonzalez, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, MD) were fed for 17 days with a standard mouse chow diet
containing 0.2% (wt/wt) fenofibrate or not. At the end of the treatment
period, the animals were fasted for 4 h and sacrificed and livers were removed
immediately, weighed, rinsed in 0.9% (w/v) NaCl, frozen in liquid nitrogen,
and stored at 80 °C until total RNA or microsome preparation.
MaterialsUDP-glucuronic acid (UDPGA), leupeptin, pepstatin,
phosphatidylcholine, and BAs were obtained from Sigma. Human hepatoblastoma
HepG2 cells were from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA).
Restriction enzymes and other molecular biology reagents were from New England
Biolabs (distributed by Ozyme, Saint-Quentin, France), Stratagene (La Jolla,
CA), Promega, and Roche Applied Science. Protein assay reagents were obtained
from Bio-Rad. [
-32P]dCTP, [
-32P]ATP, and
[14C]UDPGA (180mCi/mmol) were purchased from PerkinElmer Life
Sciences. Cell culture reagents were from Invitrogen. ExGen 500 was from
Euromedex (Souffelweyersheim, France). The anti-UGT2B antibody was kindly
provided by Dr. A. Bélanger (Laval University, Quebec, Canada), and the
secondary antibody against rabbit IgG was purchased from Sigma. Real-time PCR
kits were purchased from Stratagene.
Cell CultureHuman primary hepatocytes were isolated as described previously (35) and incubated for the indicated times in William's E medium containing fenofibric acid (250 µM). Human hepatoma HepG2 and Huh7 cells were grown as described previously (36, 37). For RNA analyses, 106 HepG2 or Huh7 cells were treated with Wy 14643 at the indicated concentrations in the presence or absence of 75 µM CDCA for 24 h. In all of the experiments, controls were incubated with an identical volume of Me2SO (vehicle).
RNA AnalysisTotal RNA was isolated from mice liver, primary human hepatocytes, HepG2, and Huh7 cells using TRIzol (Invitrogen). Northern blot analyses were performed as described previously (38) using human UGT2B4 and 36B4 cDNAs as probes. For quantitative RT-PCR analyses of UGT2B4 gene expression, RNA was reverse-transcribed using random hexamer primers and 200 units of Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen). Reverse-transcribed UGT2B4 and 28 S cDNAs were quantified by real-time PCR on a MX4000 apparatus (Stratagene) using specific primers for UGT2B4 and 28 S as described previously (36, 39). PCR amplifications were performed in a volume of 25 µl containing 100 nM of each primer, 4 mM MgCl2, the Brilliant Quantitative PCR Core reagent kit mixture (Stratagene), and SYBR Green 0.33X (Sigma). The conditions were 95 °C for 10 min followed by 40 cycles of 30 s at 95 °C, 30 s at 60 °C, and 30 s at 72 °C. UGT2B4 mRNA levels were normalized to 28 S mRNA (36).
Plasmid Cloning and Site-directed MutagenesisThe B4p-2400-pGL3 construct was obtained as described previously (10). The B4p-2084, B4p-1214, B4p-1149, and B4p-524 reporter constructs were generated by PCR amplification with Pfu Turbo polymerase (Stratagene) and 100 pmol of the sense oligonucleotides: B4-2084, 5'-CATCAGAGTAGTGACTGCTAGTAGTTG-3'; B4-1214, 5'-TTTAAGTTATTATCTATAGAACAG-3'; B4-1149, 5'-TATTAGGAAGCGAGTCAGAGAG-3'; and B4-524, 5'-CATTTCTGAAATATATTACATGAG-3', respectively. The reverse primer was pGL3-512, (5'-TATGCAGTTGCTCTCCAGCGGTTCCATCTTCC-3') from the pGL3 basic plasmid. PCR products were subsequently digested with NcoI, gel-purified, and cloned into a SmaI plus NcoI-digested pGL3 basic plasmid. Mutations were introduced in the PPRE using the QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) and the oligonucleotide B4-PPREmt (5'-AGTTAAGATAAAATTTAATCTGTA-3') (nucleotide in boldface indicate the mutated bases). The B4-PPREwtx6-TKpGL3 plasmid was obtained by cloning six copies of the corresponding dimerized oligonucleotides in the thymidine kinase promoter-driven luciferase reporter (TKpGL3) vector.
Transient Transfection Assays60 x 103
HepG2 or Huh7 cells were transfected with 100 ng of the indicated luciferase
reporter plasmids, 50 ng of the pCMV-
-galactosidase expression vector,
and with or without 30 ng of the pSG5-PPAR
plasmid. All of the samples
were complemented with pBS-SK+ plasmid (Stratagene) to an identical amount of
500 ng/well. Cells were transfected with ExGen reagent (Euromedex) for 6 h at
37 °C and subsequently incubated overnight with Dulbecco's modified
Eagle's medium, 0.2% fetal bovine serum and then treated for 24 h with either
Me2SO (vehicle) or Wy 14643 (50 µM) as indicated.
Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assays (EMSA)EMSA using
in vitro produced PPAR
and RXR were performed as described
previously (40) using the
radiolabeled probes B4-PPREwt,
5'-TAAGATGAACTTTAATCTTGTAAC-3';
B4-PPREmt5',
5'-TAAGATAAAATTTAATCTTGTAAC-3';
and B4-PPREmt3',
5'-TAAGATGAACTTTAAAATTGTAAC-3' (where
underlined nucleotides represent response element half-sites and
bases in boldface are mutated). For supershift experiments, 0.2 µg
of the anti-PPAR
antibody (Santa-Cruz Biotechnology) was preincubated
for 20 min in the binding buffer before the addition of PPAR
and RXR
proteins. For competition experiments, the unlabeled oligonucleotides were
included in the binding reaction at the indicated excess concentrations over
the probe just before adding the labeled oligonucleotide.
Microsome Purification and Western Blot AnalysisMicrosomal
proteins were purified from wild type or PPAR
-null mouse livers as
previously described (41).
Microsome pellets were resuspended in 300 µl of homogenization buffer, and
the protein content was determined using Bradford reagent (Bio-Rad) and bovine
serum albumin for standard curves. Samples were aliquoted and kept at
80 °C until Western blot analysis or glucuronidation assays. For
Western blot, 25 µg of microsomal proteins were separated on a 10%
SDS-polyacrylamide gel. The gel was transferred onto a nitrocellulose
membrane, which was then hybridized with the anti-UGT2B antibody (dilution,
1/2000). An anti-rabbit IgG antibody conjugated with peroxidase was used as
secondary antibody (dilution, 1/10000), and the resulting immunocomplexes were
visualized using the Western blot Chemiluminescence Reagent Plus as specified
by the manufacturer (PerkinElmer Life Sciences).
Glucuronidation AssayHepG2 cells were resuspended in Tris-buffered saline containing 0.5 mM dithiothreitol and homogenized using a Brinkman Polytron. Enzyme assays were performed as described previously (5). 100 µg of cell homogenate were incubated with 25 µM [14C]UDP-glucuronic acid, 2 mM unlabeled UDPGA, and 200 µM HDCA in a final volume of 100 µl of glucuronidation assay buffer for 8 h (5). Assays were terminated by adding 100 µl of methanol, and the samples were centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 2 min to remove the precipitated proteins. 100 µl of glucuronidation assays were applied onto a thin layer chromatography (TLC) plate (Merck) and migrated using a toluene: methanol:acetic acid (7:3:1) mixture. The extent of HDCA glucuronidation was analyzed and quantified by PhosphorImager analysis.
Statistical AnalysesA nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was
used to analyze for significant difference between the experimental groups.
Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post-hoc tests were used for analysis
of the effects of simultaneous treatment with FXR and PPAR
agonists.
| RESULTS |
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Activators Induce UGT2B4 Expression in Human
Hepatocytes
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To further characterize the PPAR
-dependent regulation of UGT2B4
expression, human hepatoma HepG2 and Huh7 cells were incubated in the presence
of increasing concentrations of the PPAR
ligand Wy 14643
(Fig. 2, a and
b). UGT2B4 mRNA levels were induced in a dose-dependent
manner to a maximum of 2.7- and 2.3-fold activation in HepG2 and Huh7 cells,
respectively (Fig. 2, a and
b).
|
PPAR
Activators Induce UGT2B4 Activity in HepG2 Cells
To determine whether PPAR
activation of UGT2B4 expression modifies
its activity, HepG2 cells were treated with Wy 14643 (75 µM) for
36 h and their glucuronidation activity was analyzed using the UGT2B4-specific
substrate HDCA (Fig.
3a). Treatment with Wy 14643 provoked a 3-fold increase
in HDCA glucuronidation (Fig.
3b), thus demonstrating that PPAR
agonists induce
UGT2B4 activity.
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PPAR
Gene Disruption Abolishes Fibrate Induction of UGT2B mRNA
and Protein Levels in Mouse Liver
The PPAR
-dependent induction of UGT2B expression was measured in
male Sv/129 homozygous wild type (+/+) and PPAR
-null (/)
mice by Northern blotting (Fig.
4a). In wild type mice, fenofibrate treatment resulted in
an
5-fold increase of UGT2B mRNA levels compared with vehicle-treated
animals. Interestingly, UGT2B transcripts were undetectable by this method in
both fenofibrate- and vehicle-treated PPAR
-null mice. As control, 36B4
mRNA levels were similar in all of the groups. These data indicate that
PPAR
is a crucial regulator of basal and fibrate-activated murine UGT2B
gene expression.
|
To determine whether PPAR
also regulates murine UGT2B protein
levels, liver microsomes from wild type and PPAR
-null mice were
subjected to Western blot analysis using an anti-UGT2B antibody. In wild type
mice, a pronounced increase in UGT2B protein levels was observed in
fenofibrate-treated compared with vehicle-treated animals
(Fig. 4b). As for
their mRNAs, UGT2B protein levels were almost undetectable in liver microsomes
from PPAR
-null mice and treatment with fenofibrate failed to increase
UGT2B protein concentration (Fig.
4b). In fact, longer exposure of the Western blot
revealed the presence of low amounts of UGT2Bs in PPAR
-null mice, which
were not affected by fenofibrate treatment (data not shown). These results
clearly demonstrate that, similar to human UGT2B4, murine UGT2B enzymes are
positively regulated PPAR
target genes.
PPAR
Activates the UGT2B4 Gene Promoter
To decipher the molecular mechanisms of human UGT2B4 induction by
PPAR
activators, a 2.4-kb fragment of the UGT2B4 gene promoter cloned
in front of the pGL3-luciferase reporter gene was transfected into HepG2 cells
in the presence or absence of a PPAR
expression plasmid. Transfected
cells were subsequently treated with the PPAR
ligand Wy 14643
(Fig. 5). Wy 14643 alone
slightly induced UGT2B4 promoter activity, whereas co-transfection of
PPAR
significantly enhanced Wy 14643-induced promoter activity to
3-fold in HepG2 cells (Fig.
5). To localize the region within the UGT2B4 promoter that confers
transcriptional responsiveness to PPAR
ligands, serial deletions from
2084 to 524 bp of the UGT2B4 promoter were also co-transfected
with or without the expression vector for PPAR
(Fig. 5). A marked increase in
reporter activities of the two larger fragments (2084 and 1214
bp) was observed in HepG2 cells treated with Wy 14643, and cotransfection of
PPAR
further increased the activities of the two constructs
(Fig. 5). Further 5'
deletion (1149 and 524 bp) constructs were no longer induced by
Wy 14643-activated PPAR
, indicating that the region between 1214
and 1149 bp mediates the effect of PPAR
ligands on the UGT2B4
promoter. Identical results were obtained when these reported constructs were
co-transfected with or without PPAR
in Huh7 cells (data not shown).
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Identification of a PPRE within the UGT2B4 Gene Promoter
Consensus DR1 sites have been previously reported to bind the
PPAR
/RXR heterodimer
(19). A computer-assisted
analysis (42) of the
1214/1149 region of the UGT2B4 promoter revealed the presence of
a degenerated DR1 sequence, TGAACTTTAATCT, at positions from
1193 to 1180. To test whether this site mediates the induction
by PPAR
, mutations were introduced in this site in the context of the
2400 bp UGT2B4 promoter constructs
(Fig. 6a). Mutation of
this site abolished the induction of UGT2B4 promoter activity by Wy
14643-activated PPAR
. Furthermore, the UGT2B4 DR1 site was cloned in
multiple copies upstream of the luciferase reporter gene driven by the
heterologous thymidine kinase promoter TKpGL3 and subsequently transfected in
the presence or absence of the pSG5-PPAR
in HepG2 cells, which were
treated or not with Wy 14643 (Fig.
6b). Reporter activity was increased upon co-transfection
of constructs containing six copies of the wild type DR1 with the PPAR
plasmid. This activity was further enhanced by the addition of the PPAR
ligand (Fig. 6b). By
contrast, no change in activity was observed when either the empty TKpGL3
vector (Fig. 6b) or
the TKpGL3 vector containing three copies of the mutated DR1 (data not shown)
was transfected. These results indicate that the 1193 to 1180
site in the UGT2B4 promoter is a positive PPRE.
|
To demonstrate that PPAR
binds to the PPRE identified in the
UGT2B4 gene promoter, EMSAs were performed using a probe spanning
nucleotides from 1199 to 1175 (B4-PPREwt) in the presence of
in vitro translated PPAR
and RXR proteins
(Fig. 7). As expected, neither
RXR nor PPAR
alone bound the probe
(Fig. 7a, lanes
2 and 3). By contrast, a clear shift was observed when this
oligonucleotide was incubated in the presence of both RXR and PPAR
(Fig. 7a, lane
4). Furthermore, this complex was supershifted by the anti-PPAR
antibody (lane 5), thus demonstrating that the PPAR
/RXR
heterodimer specifically binds the 1193 DR1 site. By contrast, no
protein-DNA complex was observed when mutated probes in the 5' and
3' half-sites (B4-PPREmt5' and B4-PPREmt3', respectively)
were tested (Fig.
7b, lanes 512). For competition
experiments, increasing amounts (1-, 10-, and 50-fold excess) of unlabeled
oligonucleotides encompassing either a consensus DR1 site (DR1cons), the
B4-PPREwt, or the B4-PPREmt5' were added to binding reactions containing
PPAR
in the presence of RXR (Fig.
7c). PPAR
binding to the B4-PPREwt was competed by
the DR1 consensus site and by the B4-PPREwt
(Fig. 7c). By
contrast, the mutated B4-PPREmt3' did not compete for PPAR
binding to the DR1. Taken together, these data demonstrate that PPAR
binds to the PPRE site at nucleotides from 1193 to 1180 in the
UGT2B4 gene promoter.
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PPAR
and FXR Activators Additively Induce UGT2B4
Expression
We previously reported that CDCA-activated FXR positively regulates the
expression of UGT2B4 in human hepatocytes and HepG2 cells
(10). To test whether
ligand-activated FXR and PPAR
can cooperate to regulate UGT2B4
expression, HepG2 cells were treated for 24 h with Wy 14643, CDCA, or both Wy
14643 and CDCA together. As expected, UGT2B4 mRNA levels were induced 2.6-fold
by Wy 14643, whereas CDCA-induced UGT2B4 gene expression was
10-fold
(Fig. 8). Interestingly, cells
treated with both PPAR
and FXR activators contained 14-fold higher
concentrations of UGT2B4 transcripts, indicating that the two receptors
coordinately regulate UGT2B4 gene expression.
|
| DISCUSSION |
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target gene. UGT2B4 induction by fibrates occurs via
PPAR
binding to a PPRE in the UGT2B4 promoter. Furthermore, we show
that fenofibrate induces hepatic UGT2B mRNA and protein levels only in Sv/129
wild type mice, whereas a drastically lowered expression of UGT2Bs is observed
in livers from PPAR
-null mice treated or not with fenofibrate. This
observation demonstrates that PPAR
is a crucial regulator of both human
UGT2B4 and murine UGT2B enzyme expression. Interestingly, PPAR
gene
disruption also critically reduced the basal expression of mitochondrial fatty
acid-metabolizing enzymes such as very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, long
chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and long chain acyl-CoA synthetase enzymes
(43). Thus, the present
findings demonstrate that in mice, PPAR
plays a crucial role in the
constitutive expression of not only mitochondrial fatty acid-metabolizing
enzymes but also microsomal UGT2B enzymes.
Considering the major role that UGT2B4 plays in BA glucuronidation, we
hypothesized that UGT2B4 induction following PPAR
activation may affect
BA glucuronidation in HepG2 cells. Indeed, we observed that Wy 14643-dependent
PPAR
activation provoked a 2-fold increase of HDCA-glucuronidation
activity. HDCA is a 6
-hydroxylated metabolite of LCA, which is
primarily excreted as a glucuronide derivative in urine
(18,
44). Because of its high
degree of lipophilicity, LCA is a potent cholestatic agent and possesses an
elevated cytotoxicity (45,
46). However, conjugation of
LCA with sulfate, a conjugation reaction catalyzed by the
dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (SULT2A1) enzyme, allows an increased
hydrosolubility of LCA and facilitates its biliary excretion
(4749).
In addition to sulfation, LCA is efficiently 6
-hydroxylated into HDCA
by the hepatic CYP3A4 enzyme, and this modification facilitates its
glucuronidation by UGT2B4 at the 6
-hydroxy position prior to renal
excretion (50). Thus,
glucuronidation of HDCA has been proposed as an alternative mechanism for
reducing the hepatic toxicity of monohydroxylated LCA
(44,
50). Recent studies indicate
that the BA sensors pregnane X-receptor (PXR) and FXR play important roles in
LCA detoxification. As such, activation of PXR induces both SULT2A1 and CYP3A4
expression, whereas BA-activated FXR stimulates SULT2A1 and UGT2B4 expression
(10,
44,
49,
51). Results from the present
study prove that PPAR
also participates in the control of LCA
detoxification in addition to PXR and FXR
(Fig. 9). Furthermore,
PPAR
, FXR, and PXR inhibit CYP7A1 expression
(26,
52,
53), thus suggesting that the
three receptors may cooperate to control BA homeostasis and detoxification by
both reducing BA synthesis and inducing their metabolism
(Fig. 9). Recently, PPAR
was identified as a FXR target gene, thus providing molecular evidence for a
cross-talk between the FXR and PPAR
transcriptional pathways in humans
(54). Considering that UGT2B4
expression is also up-regulated upon CDCA activation of FXR
(10), we investigated whether
this cross-talk between FXR and PPAR
can affect UGT2B4 expression in
HepG2 cells. We observed that upon ligand activation, PPAR
and FXR act
in concert to stimulate BA glucuronidation. Overall, these results demonstrate
that FXR and PPAR
control not only the same BA-metabolizing enzyme but
also share cooperative activity to induce BA glucuronidation catalyzed by
UGT2B4. It would be interesting to determine whether a similar cross-talk also
exists between PXR and PPAR
and/or FXR.
|
UGT2B4 is considered to be the specific BA-conjugating UGT enzyme in human
liver, although it also participates to the glucuronide conjugation of a wide
variety of endogenous or exogenous compounds. As such, various C19-steroids
such as androstane-3
,17
-diol are substrates for UGT2B4
(5,
6). In the Helsinki Heart Study
population, gemfibrozil treatment resulted in a 3-fold elevation of plasma
3
,17
-diol glucuronide levels
(31), which may reflect an
increased expression and activity of UGT2B4 in these patients. A recent study
in nonhuman primates revealed that UGT enzymes expressed in androgen target
tissues glucuronidate, preferentially C19-steroids
(55), suggesting that UGTs
participate in the control of intracellular levels of the active androgen. It
would be of interest to determine whether PPAR
activation also affects
androgen glucuronidation in a tissue such as the prostate where both
PPAR
and UGT2B4 are expressed
(5,
56). Based on the present
study, it is tempting to speculate that fibrate treatment may induce androgen
glucuronidation and that PPAR
can be a potential regulator of androgen
levels in such a tissue.
UGT2B4 is also involved in the inactivation of various xenobiotics, such as
phenolic and monoterpenoid compounds
(4,
5,
7). Interestingly, Kok et
al. (29) reported that
ciprofibrate induces the hepatic expression of the multidrug resistance (Mdr2)
gene in a PPAR
-dependent manner in mice. P-glycoprotein, the Mdr2 gene
product, is a hepatocyte transporter located on the canalicular membrane
(57), which has a broad
substrate specificity that encompasses glucuronide conjugates of a variety of
endobiotics and xenobiotics
(29,
5759).
Thus, by stimulating both glucuronidation and transport, PPAR
appears
to be a key factor for the elimination of many endogenous and exogenous
glucuronide derivatives from the liver, at least, in rodents. The role of
different nuclear receptors, such as PXR and constitutive androstane receptor,
in the control of xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme expression has been fully
characterized, whereas PPAR
received less attention regarding
xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme regulation. Nevertheless, the present findings
added to previous reports indicate that PPAR
is also an important
xenobiotic sensor that regulates both phase I (CYP1A2, 2A1, 2B1, and 2B2) and
phase II (glutathione S-transferase A1, glutathione
S-transferase M2, UGT1A9, and UGT2B4) enzymes
(6063).
In conclusion, the present study illustrates for the first time the
implication of PPAR
in the control of BA glucuronidation and more
generally reinforces the role of this nuclear receptor as a regulator of
endobiotic and xenobiotic metabolism.
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
¶ To whom correspondence should be addressed: Unité INSERM 545, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1, rue du Pr Calmette, BP 245, 59019 Lille, France. Tel.: 33-3-20-87-73-87; Fax: 33-3-20-87-71-98; E-mail: bart.staels{at}pasteur-lille.fr.
1 The abbreviations used are: BA, bile acids; UGT,
UDP-glucuronosyltransferase; HDCA, hyodeoxycholic acid; FXR, farnesoid
X-receptor; EMSA, electrophoretic mobility shift assays; CDCA,
chenodeoxycholic acid; LCA, lithocholic acid; PPAR, peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptor
; RXR, retinoid X-receptor; PPRE, PPAR
response elements; RT, reverse transcription; UDPGA, UDP-glucuronic acid; TLC,
thin layer chromatography; ANOVA, analysis of variance; PXR, pregnane
X-receptor; CMV, cytomegalovirus; CYP, cytochrome P450. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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