HNF-4α (hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α) is a key regulator of liver-specific gene expression. To understand the mechanisms governing the regulation of HNF-4α function during the APR (acute-phase response), the effects of transcription co-activators, including p300, PGC-1α (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-γ co-activator-1α) and SRC (steroid receptor co-activator)-1α were investigated in an injury cell model. We have shown previously that the HNF-4α-sensitive APR genes ApoB (apolipoprotein B), TTR (transthyretin) and α1-AT (α1-antitrypsin) were regulated at the DNA binding and transcriptional levels after cytokine stimulation. We now show that co-activators have a differential impact on the transactivation of HNF-4α-sensitive genes via HNF-4α-binding sites in ApoB, TTR or α1-AT promoters. PGC-1α strongly enhances the transactivation of ApoB and α1-AT and, to a lesser extent, of TTR, whereas SRC-1α and p300 only have a weak or no effect on these three genes. More importantly, it was found that PGC-1α has a novel role in the modulation of the binding ability of HNF-4α in response to cytokine treatment. Using in vitro and in vivo approaches, electrophoretic mobility-shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we demonstrate that the reduced HNF-4α–DNA binding ability induced by cytokines is eliminated by overexpression of PGC-1α. Cytokine treatment does not significantly alter the protein levels of HNF-4α and PGC-1α, but it does reduce the recruitment of PGC-1α to HNF-4α-binding sites and thereby decreases transcriptional activity. These results establish the importance of PGC-1α for HNF-4α function and describe a new HNF-4α-dependent regulatory mechanism that is involved in the response to injury.
Zinc supplementation reverses alcohol-induced steatosis in mice through reactivating hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α