REV-ERBα regulates Fgf21 expression in the liver via hepatic nuclear factor 6

Rohit Chavan; Nadia Preitner; Takashi Okabe; Laureen Mansencal Strittmatter; Cheng Xu; Jürgen A Ripperger; Nelly Pitteloud; Urs Albrecht

doi:10.1242/bio.021519

REV-ERBα regulates Fgf21 expression in the liver via hepatic nuclear factor 6

Biol Open. 2017 Jan 15;6(1):1-7. doi: 10.1242/bio.021519.

Authors

Rohit Chavan¹, Nadia Preitner², Takashi Okabe¹, Laureen Mansencal Strittmatter¹, Cheng Xu², Jürgen A Ripperger¹, Nelly Pitteloud², Urs Albrecht³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Unit of Biochemistry, University of Fribourg, Fribourg CH1700, Switzerland.
² Service of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne CH1011, Switzerland.
³ Department of Biology, Unit of Biochemistry, University of Fribourg, Fribourg CH1700, Switzerland urs.albrecht@unifr.ch.

Abstract

The circadian clock contributes to the timing of many body functions including metabolism and reproduction. The hepatokine fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a critical metabolic regulator involved in modulation of fertility. Here we show that lack of the clock component REV-ERBα elevates FGF21 levels in liver and plasma. At the molecular level, REV-ERBα modulates the expression of FGF21 via the liver-specific hepatic nuclear factor 6 (HNF6). We conclude that REV-ERBα regulates metabolism and reproduction, at least in part, via regulation of Fgf21.

Keywords: Circadian clock; Physiology; Transcription.