Crosstalk between thyroid hormone receptor and liver X receptor in the regulation of selective Alzheimer's disease indicator-1 gene expression

PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e54901. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054901. Epub 2013 Jan 24.

Abstract

Selective Alzheimer's disease (AD) indicator 1 (Seladin-1) has been identified as a gene down-regulated in the degenerated lesions of AD brain. Up-regulation of Seladin-1 reduces the accumulation of β-amyloid and neuronal death. Thyroid hormone (TH) exerts an important effect on the development and maintenance of central nervous systems. In the current study, we demonstrated that Seladin-1 gene and protein expression in the forebrain was increased in thyrotoxic mice compared with that of euthyroid mice. However, unexpectedly, no significant decrease in the gene and protein expression was observed in hypothyroid mice. Interestingly, an agonist of liver X receptor (LXR), TO901317 (TO) administration in vivo increased Seladin-1 gene and protein expression in the mouse forebrain only in a hypothyroid state and in the presence of mutant TR-β, suggesting that LXR-α would compensate for TR-β function to maintain Seladin-1 gene expression in hypothyroidism and resistance to TH. TH activated the mouse Seladin-1 gene promoter (-1936/+21 bp) and site 2 including canonical TH response element (TRE) half-site in the region between -159 and -154 bp is responsible for the positive regulation. RXR-α/TR-β heterodimerization was identified on site 2 by gel-shift assay, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed the recruitment of TR-β to site 2 and the recruitment was increased upon TH administration. On the other hand, LXR-α utilizes a distinct region from site 2 (-120 to -102 bp) to activate the mouse Seladin-1 gene promoter. Taking these findings together, we concluded that TH up-regulates Seladin-1 gene expression at the transcriptional level and LXR-α maintains the gene expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics*
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Biomarkers / metabolism*
  • Blotting, Western
  • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
  • DNA Primers
  • Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay
  • Liver X Receptors
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Orphan Nuclear Receptors / metabolism*
  • Plasmids
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Receptor Cross-Talk*
  • Receptors, Thyroid Hormone / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • DNA Primers
  • Liver X Receptors
  • Nr1h3 protein, mouse
  • Orphan Nuclear Receptors
  • Receptors, Thyroid Hormone

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grant from Japan Intractable Disease Research Foundation to KH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.