title: Global changes in gene regulation demonstrate that unconjugated bilirubin is able to upregulate and activate select components of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response pathway.
abstract: Elevated concentrations of unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) are responsible for neonatal jaundice and can eventually lead to kernicterus or death. The molecular mechanism of UCB toxicity is incompletely elucidated. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in gene regulation mediated by UCB to determine novel pathways that contribute to UCB-mediated toxicity. We employed microarray analysis to determine changes in gene regulation mediated by UCB at both pro- (50 microM) and antioxidant (70 nM) concentrations in Hepa 1c1c7 cells at 1 and 6 h. The changes observed in select genes were validated with qPCR. Using immunoblot analysis, we validated these changes at the protein level for select genes and documented the activation of two proteins involved in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway, eIF2 alpha and PERK. Following treatment with 50 microM UCB, microarray analysis revealed the upregulation of many genes involved in ER stress (ATF3, BiP, CHOP, Dnajb1, and Herp). We demonstrate that upregulation of the proapoptotic transcription factor CHOP results in increased intracellular protein content. It was determined that activation of proteins involved in ER stress was an early event in UCB toxicity as eIF2 alpha and PERK were both phosphorylated and activated by 1 h posttreatment. We also demonstrate that procaspase-12 content, a proposed initiator caspase in ER stress-mediated apoptosis, is decreased by 4 h posttreatment. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that elevated concentrations of UCB (50 microM) are able to activate select components of the ER stress pathway in Hepa 1c1c7 cells, which may contribute to UCB-mediated apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Siebens-Drake Medical Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1400 Western Road, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Garth H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Oakes
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bend
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D053454:Caspase 12 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D015852:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016877:Oxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D051742:Transcription Factor CHOP / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001663:Bilirubin; D053454:Caspase 12; D015852:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2; D016877:Oxidants; D051742:Transcription Factor CHOP; D019892:eIF-2 Kinase