scholarly journals Protein or amino acid deprivation differentially regulates the hepatic forkhead box protein A (FOXA) genes through an activating transcription factor-4-independent pathway

Hepatology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Su ◽  
Michelle M. Thiaville ◽  
Keytam Awad ◽  
Altin Gjymishka ◽  
Jason O. Brant ◽  
...  
2012 ◽  
Vol 443 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Luísa De Sousa-Coelho ◽  
Pedro F. Marrero ◽  
Diego Haro

Nutrient deprivation or starvation frequently correlates with amino acid limitation. Amino acid starvation initiates a signal transduction cascade starting with the activation of the kinase GCN2 (general control non-derepressible 2) phosphorylation of eIF2 (eukaryotic initiation factor 2), global protein synthesis reduction and increased ATF4 (activating transcription factor 4). ATF4 modulates a wide spectrum of genes involved in the adaptation to dietary stress. The hormone FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) is induced during fasting in liver and its expression induces a metabolic state that mimics long-term fasting. Thus FGF21 is critical for the induction of hepatic fat oxidation, ketogenesis and gluconeogenesis, metabolic processes which are essential for the adaptive metabolic response to starvation. In the present study, we have shown that FGF21 is induced by amino acid deprivation in both mouse liver and cultured HepG2 cells. We have identified the human FGF21 gene as a target gene for ATF4 and we have localized two conserved ATF4-binding sequences in the 5′ regulatory region of the human FGF21 gene, which are responsible for the ATF4-dependent transcriptional activation of this gene. These results add FGF21 gene induction to the transcriptional programme initiated by increased levels of ATF4 and offer a new mechanism for the induction of the FGF21 gene expression under nutrient deprivation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Wang ◽  
Gabriel J. Wilson ◽  
Dan Zhou ◽  
Stéphane Lezmi ◽  
Xiuwen Chen ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanistic basis of protein deficiency during pregnancy in mother that is transduced to offspring. To this end, timed-pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were fed either a control (20 % of energy from protein) or low-protein (LP, 8 % of energy from protein) diet during gestation. Tissues were collected after delivery from rat dams, and skeletal muscle was collected at postnatal day 38 from the offspring. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were performed to determine mRNA and protein levels. Histological analysis was performed to evaluate myofibre size. LP dams gained significantly less weight during pregnancy, developed muscle atrophy, and had significantly lower circulating threonine and histidine levels than control dams. The mRNA expression of the well-known amino acid response (AAR) pathway-related target genes was increased only in the skeletal muscle of LP dams, as well as the protein expression levels of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and phosphorylated eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α). The mRNA expression of autophagy-related genes was significantly increased in the skeletal muscle of LP dams. Moreover, the mRNA expression of genes involved in both AAR and autophagy pathways remained elevated and was memorised in the muscle of LP offspring that consumed a post-weaning control diet. Additionally, the LP diet increased an autophagy marker, microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B) protein expression in the skeletal muscle of rat dams, consistent with the initiation of autophagy. The LP diet further increased ATF4 binding at the predicted regions of AAR and autophagy pathway-related genes. Increased binding of ATF4 unveils the crucial role of ATF4 in the activation of autophagy in response to protein restriction. Our data suggest that molecular changes in maternal muscle are memorised in the offspring long after gestational protein restriction, reinforcing the role of maternal signalling in programming offspring health.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana J. T. Al-Baghdadi ◽  
Inna A. Nikonorova ◽  
Emily T. Mirek ◽  
Yongping Wang ◽  
Jinhee Park ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (17) ◽  
pp. 7469-7482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime D. Blais ◽  
Vasilisa Filipenko ◽  
Meixia Bi ◽  
Heather P. Harding ◽  
David Ron ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Hypoxic stress results in a rapid and sustained inhibition of protein synthesis that is at least partially mediated by eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) phosphorylation by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase PERK. Here we show through microarray analysis of polysome-bound RNA in aerobic and hypoxic HeLa cells that a subset of transcripts are preferentially translated during hypoxia, including activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), an important mediator of the unfolded protein response. Changes in mRNA translation during the unfolded protein response are mediated by PERK phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2α at Ser-51. Similarly, PERK is activated and is responsible for translational regulation under hypoxic conditions, while inducing the translation of ATF4. The overexpression of a C-terminal fragment of GADD34 that constitutively dephosphorylates eIF2α was able to attenuate the phosphorylation of eIF2α and severely inhibit the induction of ATF4 in response to hypoxic stress. These studies demonstrate the essential role of ATF4 in the response to hypoxic stress, define the pathway for its induction, and reveal that GADD34, a target of ATF4 activation, negatively regulates the eIF2α-mediated inhibition of translation. Taken with the concomitant induction of additional ER-resident proteins identified by our microarray analysis, this study suggests an important integrated response between ER signaling and the cellular adaptation to hypoxic stress.


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