title: Both retinoic-acid-receptor- and retinoid-X-receptor-dependent signalling pathways mediate the induction of the brown-adipose-tissue-uncoupling-protein-1 gene by retinoids.
abstract: The intracellular pathways and receptors mediating the effects of retinoic acid (RA) on the brown-fat-uncoupling-protein-1 gene (ucp-1) have been analysed. RA activates transcription of ucp-1 and the RA receptor (RAR) is known to be involved in this effect. However, co-transfection of an expression vector for retinoid-X receptor (RXR) increases the action of 9-cis RA but not the effects of all-trans RA on the ucp-1 promoter in brown adipocytes. Either RAR-specific ¿p-[(E)-2-(5,6,7,8,-tetrahydro-5,5,8, 8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-1-propenyl]benzoic acid¿ or RXR-specific [isopropyl-(E,E)-(R,S)-11-methoxy-3,7, 11-trimethyldodeca-2,4-dienoate, or methoprene] synthetic compounds increase the expression of UCP-1 mRNA and the activity of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression vectors driven by the ucp-1 promoter. The RXR-mediated action of 9-cis RA requires the upstream enhancer region at -2469/-2318 in ucp-1. During brown-adipocyte differentiation RXRalpha and RXRgamma mRNA expression is induced in parallel with UCP-1 mRNA, whereas the mRNA for the three RAR subtypes, alpha, beta and gamma, decreases. Co-transfection of murine expression vectors for the different RAR and RXR subtypes indicates that RARalpha and RARbeta as well as RXRalpha are the major retinoid-receptor subtypes capable of mediating the responsiveness of ucp-1 to retinoids. It is concluded that the effects of retinoids on ucp-1 transcription involve both RAR- and RXR-dependent signalling pathways. The responsiveness of brown adipose tissue to retinoids in vivo relies on a complex combination of the capacity of RAR and RXR subtypes to mediate ucp-1 induction and their distinct expression in the differentiated brown adipocyte.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 645, 08028-Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Checa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Viñas
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mampel
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iglesias
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giralt
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villarroya
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001565:Benzoates / Q000494:pharmacology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D012176:Retinoids / Q000494:pharmacology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014475:Uncoupling Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1
chemical_list: D001565:Benzoates; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D012176:Retinoids; D014157:Transcription Factors; C000604372:Ucp1 protein, mouse; D014475:Uncoupling Agents; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1; D014212:Tretinoin; C038864:4-(2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-1-propenyl)benzoic acid