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Retinoid X Receptor (RXR) Agonist-induced Antagonism of Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) Activity due to Absence of Coactivator Recruitment and Decreased DNA Binding

2003; Elsevier BV; Volume: 278; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1074/jbc.m208312200

1083-351X

Altaf Kassam, Bowman Miao, Peter R. Young, Ranjan Mukherjee,

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors

The bile salt export pump (BSEP) plays an integral role in lipid homeostasis by regulating the canalicular excretion of bile acids. Induction of BSEP gene expression is mediated by the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which binds as a heterodimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR) to the FXR response element (FXRE) located upstream of the BSEP gene. RXR ligands mimic several partner ligands and show additive effects upon coadministration. Using real-time quantitative PCR and cotransfection reporter assays, we demonstrate that the RXR agonist LG100268 antagonizes induction of BSEP expression mediated by endogenous and synthetic FXR ligands, CDCA and GW4064, respectively. Moreover, this antagonism is a general feature of RXR agonists and is attributed to a decrease in binding of FXR/RXR heterodimers to the BSEP-FXRE coupled with the inability of RXR agonists to recruit coactivators to FXR/RXR. Our data suggest that FXR/RXR is a conditionally permissive heterodimer and is the first example of RXR ligand-mediated antagonism of FXR activity. Because FXR agonists lower triglyceride levels, our results suggest a novel role for RXR-mediated antagonism of FXR activity in the development of hypertriglyceridemia observed with RXR agonists in rodents and humans. The bile salt export pump (BSEP) plays an integral role in lipid homeostasis by regulating the canalicular excretion of bile acids. Induction of BSEP gene expression is mediated by the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which binds as a heterodimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR) to the FXR response element (FXRE) located upstream of the BSEP gene. RXR ligands mimic several partner ligands and show additive effects upon coadministration. Using real-time quantitative PCR and cotransfection reporter assays, we demonstrate that the RXR agonist LG100268 antagonizes induction of BSEP expression mediated by endogenous and synthetic FXR ligands, CDCA and GW4064, respectively. Moreover, this antagonism is a general feature of RXR agonists and is attributed to a decrease in binding of FXR/RXR heterodimers to the BSEP-FXRE coupled with the inability of RXR agonists to recruit coactivators to FXR/RXR. Our data suggest that FXR/RXR is a conditionally permissive heterodimer and is the first example of RXR ligand-mediated antagonism of FXR activity. Because FXR agonists lower triglyceride levels, our results suggest a novel role for RXR-mediated antagonism of FXR activity in the development of hypertriglyceridemia observed with RXR agonists in rodents and humans. retinoid X receptor farnesoid X receptor farnesoid X receptor response element retinoic acid receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor bile salt export pump chenodeoxycholic acid fluorescence resonance energy transfer The retinoid X receptor (RXR),1 a member of the intracellular receptor superfamily, is the common heterodimeric partner for many receptors, including the thyroid hormone receptor (1Yu V.C. Delsert C. Andersen B. Holloway J.M. Devary O.V. Naar A.M. Kim S.Y. Boutin J.M. Glass C.K. Rosenfeld M.G. Cell. 1991; 67: 1251-1266Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1053) Google Scholar), retinoic acid receptor (RAR) (2Zhang X.K. Hoffmann B. Tran P.B. Graupner G. Pfahl M. Nature. 1992; 355: 441-446Crossref PubMed Scopus (790) Google Scholar), vitamin D receptor (3Leid M. Kastner P. Lyons R. Nakshatri H. Saunders M. Zacharewski T. Chen J.Y. Staub A. Garnier J.M. Mader S. Chambon P. Cell. 1992; 68: 377-395Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1018) Google Scholar), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) (4Kliewer S.A. Umesono K. Noonan D.J. Heyman R.A. Evans R.M. Nature. 1992; 358: 771-774Crossref PubMed Scopus (1516) Google Scholar, 5Mukherjee R. Jow L. Croston G.E. Paterniti Jr., J.R. J. Biol. Chem. 1997; 272: 8071-8076Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (401) Google Scholar), liver X receptor (6Willy P.J. Umesono K. Ong E.S. Evans R.M. Heyman R.A. Mangelsdorf D.J. Genes Dev. 1995; 9: 1033-1045Crossref PubMed Scopus (912) Google Scholar), and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) (7Forman B.M. Goode E. Chen J. Oro A.E. Bradley D.J. Perlmann T. Noonan D.J. Burka L.T. McMorris T. Lamph W.W. Evans R.M. Weinberger C. Cell. 1995; 81: 687-693Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (957) Google Scholar). RXR is activated by its natural ligand 9-cis retinoic acid (8Heyman R.A. Mangelsdorf D.J. Dyck J.A. Stein R.B. Eichele G. Evans R.M. Thaller C. Cell. 1992; 68: 397-406Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1563) Google Scholar), however, additional high affinity ligands such as LGD1069 and LG100268 have been synthesized and shown to be RXR agonists (9Boehm M.F. Zhang L. Badea B.A. White S.K. Mais D.E. Berger E. Suto C.M. Goldman M.E. Heyman R.A. Nadzan A.M. J. Med. Chem. 1994; 37: 2930-2941Crossref PubMed Scopus (380) Google Scholar, 10Boehm M.F. Zhang L. Zhi L. McClurg M.R. Berger E. Wagoner M. Mais D.E. Suto C.M. Davies J.A. Heyman R.A. et al.J. Med. Chem. 1995; 38: 3146-3155Crossref PubMed Scopus (299) Google Scholar). Collectively, these ligands also activate the PPAR/RXR and liver X receptor/RXR heterodimers, (4Kliewer S.A. Umesono K. Noonan D.J. Heyman R.A. Evans R.M. Nature. 1992; 358: 771-774Crossref PubMed Scopus (1516) Google Scholar, 6Willy P.J. Umesono K. Ong E.S. Evans R.M. Heyman R.A. Mangelsdorf D.J. Genes Dev. 1995; 9: 1033-1045Crossref PubMed Scopus (912) Google Scholar) referred to as permissive heterodimers. In contrast, RXR agonists fail to activate the thyroid hormone receptor/RXR and RAR/RXR heterodimers in transfection assays (11Forman B.M. Umesono K. Chen J. Evans R.M. Cell. 1995; 81: 541-550Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (566) Google Scholar, 12Mukherjee R. Davies P.J. Crombie D.L. Bischoff E.D. Cesario R.M. Jow L. Hamann L.G. Boehm M.F. Mondon C.E. Nadzan A.M. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Heyman R.A. Nature. 1997; 386: 407-410Crossref PubMed Scopus (572) Google Scholar) and are therefore known as nonpermissive heterodimers. Although RXR ligands alone do not activate RAR/RXR, the combination of RAR and RXR ligands results in activity greater than that seen with RAR ligand alone (11Forman B.M. Umesono K. Chen J. Evans R.M. Cell. 1995; 81: 541-550Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (566) Google Scholar). Synergistic activation is also observed with PPAR and RXR ligands (4Kliewer S.A. Umesono K. Noonan D.J. Heyman R.A. Evans R.M. Nature. 1992; 358: 771-774Crossref PubMed Scopus (1516) Google Scholar, 12Mukherjee R. Davies P.J. Crombie D.L. Bischoff E.D. Cesario R.M. Jow L. Hamann L.G. Boehm M.F. Mondon C.E. Nadzan A.M. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Heyman R.A. Nature. 1997; 386: 407-410Crossref PubMed Scopus (572) Google Scholar). Therefore, the pleiotropic in vivo activity of RXR agonists should be evaluated in the presence of the partner's ligand. Bile acids serve as natural ligands for FXR (7Forman B.M. Goode E. Chen J. Oro A.E. Bradley D.J. Perlmann T. Noonan D.J. Burka L.T. McMorris T. Lamph W.W. Evans R.M. Weinberger C. Cell. 1995; 81: 687-693Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (957) Google Scholar, 13Parks D.J. Blanchard S.G. Bledsoe R.K. Chandra G. Consler T.G. Kliewer S.A. Stimmel J.B. Willson T.M. Zavacki A.M. Moore D.D. Lehmann J.M. Science. 1999; 284: 1365-1368Crossref PubMed Scopus (1809) Google Scholar, 14Makishima M. Okamoto A.Y. Repa J.J. Tu H. Learned R.M. Luk A. Hull M.V. Lustig K.D. Mangelsdorf D.J. Shan B. Science. 1999; 284: 1362-1365Crossref PubMed Scopus (2119) Google Scholar), which control many aspects of bile acid synthesis and transport. The FXR/RXR heterodimer binds to farnesoid X receptor response elements (FXREs) or bile acid response elements found in the promoter of FXR-responsive genes such as the bile-salt export pump (BSEP), which controls the excretion of bile acids from hepatocytes. The BSEP gene promoter is stimulated by bile acid-bound FXR, and transactivation by FXR/RXR is lost when this FXRE is mutated (15Ananthanarayanan M. Balasubramanian N. Makishima M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Suchy F.J. J. Biol. Chem. 2001; 276: 28857-28865Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (645) Google Scholar). More recently, we and others have shown that CDCA induces BSEP mRNA in HepG2 cells (16Huber R.M. Murphy K. Miao B. Link J.R. Cunningham M.R. Rupar M.J. Gunyuzlu P.L. Haws T.F. Kassam A. Powell F. Hollis G.F. Young P.R. Mukherjee R. Burn T.C. Gene. 2002; 290: 35-43Crossref PubMed Scopus (161) Google Scholar,17Yu J. Lo J.-L. Huang L. Zhao A. Metzger E. Adams A. Meinke P.T. Wright S.D. Cui J. J. Biol. Chem. 2002; 277: 31441-31447Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (153) Google Scholar). Because RXR is the heterodimeric partner of FXR, we tested whether LG100268, a high affinity, selective RXR agonist (rexinoid) (Refs. 10Boehm M.F. Zhang L. Zhi L. McClurg M.R. Berger E. Wagoner M. Mais D.E. Suto C.M. Davies J.A. Heyman R.A. et al.J. Med. Chem. 1995; 38: 3146-3155Crossref PubMed Scopus (299) Google Scholar,12Mukherjee R. Davies P.J. Crombie D.L. Bischoff E.D. Cesario R.M. Jow L. Hamann L.G. Boehm M.F. Mondon C.E. Nadzan A.M. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Heyman R.A. Nature. 1997; 386: 407-410Crossref PubMed Scopus (572) Google Scholar, and data not shown), would also induce BSEP expression. We demonstrate that RXR agonists alone do not induce BSEP expression, but antagonize ligand-bound FXR-induced expression of BSEP. Furthermore, RXR agonists fail to recruit certain coactivator peptides to FXR/RXR heterodimers. Hence, we propose that FXR/RXR heterodimers function as conditionally permissive heterodimers. Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) and 9-cis retinoic acid were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). GW4064, LG100268, and LG100641 (18Mukherjee R. Hoener P.A. Jow L. Bilakovics J. Klausing K. Mais D.E. Faulkner A. Croston G.E. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Mol. Endocrinol. 2000; 14: 1425-1433Crossref PubMed Google Scholar) were synthesized at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Total RNA was prepared from cultured HepG2 cells (ATCC) using the RNeasy purification system according to the manufacturer's instructions (Qiagen). cDNA synthesis was performed using the Advantage RT-PCR system according to the manufacturer's instructions (Clontech). Real-time quantitative PCR was performed essentially as described (16Huber R.M. Murphy K. Miao B. Link J.R. Cunningham M.R. Rupar M.J. Gunyuzlu P.L. Haws T.F. Kassam A. Powell F. Hollis G.F. Young P.R. Mukherjee R. Burn T.C. Gene. 2002; 290: 35-43Crossref PubMed Scopus (161) Google Scholar, 19Gibson U.E. Heid C.A. Williams P.M. Genome Res. 1996; 6: 995-1001Crossref PubMed Scopus (1771) Google Scholar). Briefly, 1 μg of total RNA was DNaseI-treated and reverse transcribed using random hexamers and Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase. Twenty five ng of each cDNA was added to the Taqman Universal PCR Master Mix along with 900 nm each primer and 200 nm probe according to the manufacturer's instructions (Applied Biosystems). Real-time fluorescence monitoring was performed with the Applied Biosystem 7700. Relative expression levels of the various transcripts were determined essentially as described (19Gibson U.E. Heid C.A. Williams P.M. Genome Res. 1996; 6: 995-1001Crossref PubMed Scopus (1771) Google Scholar). Values were normalized to 18S rRNA and expressed relative to Me2SO (taken as 1) and represent the average of three determinants carried out in duplicate ± S.D. Probes for BSEP were modified at the 5′ end with 6-carboxyfluorescein (6-FAM) and at the 3′ end with 6-carboxytetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) (Biosearch Technologies, Novato, CA); the 18S rRNA probe was modified at the 5′ end with VIC and the 3′ end with TAMRA. Primer and probe sequences were designed using Primer Express (Applied Biosystems) and are as follows: BSEP primer, 5′-GGTGAGAAAAGAGAGGTTGAAAGG, 5′-CCACACGAATCCAGTAAAGAATCC; BSEP probe, 5′-CCAACGCTGGGCGAACACAAGATTT; 18S rRNA primer, 5′-CGGCTACCACATCCAAGGAA, 5′-GCTGGAATTACCGCGGCT; 18S rRNA probe, 5′-TGCTGGCACCAGACTTGCCCTC. Cloning of the 1.5-kb human BSEP promoter by PCR has been described previously (15Ananthanarayanan M. Balasubramanian N. Makishima M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Suchy F.J. J. Biol. Chem. 2001; 276: 28857-28865Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (645) Google Scholar). Briefly, the forward primer (ccaagcttCCCTTTGACTGCTGTCAATAAC) and the reverse primer (ccaagcttGAGGAAGCCAGAGGAAATAATGG) were used to amplify the 1.5 kb (−1445 to +86) human BSEP promoter and cloned into pGL3-Basic Vector (Promega) to give BSEP-LUC. The reporter plasmid BSEP-3xFXRE-pTA-LUC was constructed by subcloning three copies for the FXRE identified in the BSEP promoter (15Ananthanarayanan M. Balasubramanian N. Makishima M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Suchy F.J. J. Biol. Chem. 2001; 276: 28857-28865Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (645) Google Scholar) into the pTA-luc vector (Clontech). Complementary oligonucleotides containing the FXRE sequences were synthesized and cloned into the BglII site upstream of the TATA box using flanking BamHI and BglII sequences engineered in the oligonucleotides. The full-length open reading frame of the human FXR was amplified by PCR using the published sequence (accession number U68233) and cloned into pCDNA3.1/TOPO (Invitrogen). HepG2 cells were transfected in 24-well plates with FuGENE reagent according to the manufacturer's instruction (Roche Molecular Biochemicals). For each well, transfection mixes contained 0.25 μg of FXRE-pTA-luc report plasmid, 0.05 μg of human FXR, 0.05 μg of human RXRα expression vectors, and 0.25 μg of pSV β-galactodidase control plasmid (Promega). Twenty-four h later, FXR and RXR ligands or vehicle (Me2SO, 0.1% final concentration) were added to cells at the concentration indicated in the figures. After 24 h, cells were lysed and analyzed for luciferase and β-galactosidase activities as recommended by the manufacturer (Promega, Madison, WI and Stratagene, La Jolla, CA, respectively). Human FXR (amino acids 222–472) or PPARα (amino acids 196–468) with an N-terminal His tag and RXR (amino acids 225–462, untagged) were expressed in Escherichia coli. The cells were disrupted by sonication and FXR and RXR or PPARα and RXR pastes mixed and the heterodimers formed purified by nickel column chromatography. Amino acid analysis indicated the complexes were a 1:1 heterodimer of FXR/RXR or PPARα/RXR. The FRET assay (20Zhou G. Cummings R. Li Y. Mitra S. Wilkinson H.A. Elbrecht A. Hermes J.D. Schaeffer J.M. Smith R.G. Moller D.E. Mol. Endocrinol. 1998; 12: 1594-1604Crossref PubMed Scopus (160) Google Scholar) was performed by incubating 7.5 nm FXR/RXR with 0.84 nmEuropium-labeled anti-His antibody, 0.055 μmstreptavidin-conjugated allophycocyanin, and 100 nmbiotinylated-SRC1 or CBP peptide (SynPEP) in 50 mm Tris (pH 8.0), 50 μm KCl, 0.15 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 10 μm EDTA, and 1 mm dithiothretiol, in the presence of ligands (as indicated in the figure legends) for 4 h at room temperature. Data are expressed as the ratio of the emission intensity at 665 nm to that at 620 nm. The FRET method for PPARα and the sequences for the coactivator peptides have been published (21Mukherjee R. Sun S. Santomenna L. Miao B. Walton H. Liao B. Locke K. Zhang J. Nguyen S. Zhang L. Murphy K. Ross H. Xia M. Teleha C. Chen S. Selling B. Wynn R. Burn T. Young P. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2002; 81: 217Crossref PubMed Scopus (38) Google Scholar). In vitro-translated FXR and RXR were made using the TNT Quick Coupled transcription/translation system (Promega). Electromobility-shift assay was performed as described (22Mukherjee R. Jow L. Noonan D. McDonnell D.P. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 1994; 51: 157-166Crossref PubMed Scopus (262) Google Scholar) with in vitro-translated FXR, RXR, or the combination (0.3 μl of each per reaction) as indicated. Total lysate was kept constant by the addition of unprogrammed reticulocyte lysate. Ligands were added from 100× stock solutions in Me2SO and incubated for 10 min on ice.32P-labeled probe was then added and incubated at room temperature for 20 min and the complex resolved on 6% polyacrylamide gels. The sequence of the oligonucleotide used is 5′-GATCCTGCCCTTAGGGACATTGATCCTTAGGCAAAA. The intensities of the protein-DNA complexes were quantitated using a PhosphorImager (Molecular Dynamics). Because RXR is the heterodimeric partner of FXR, we investigated whether the selective RXR agonist, LG100268, (10Boehm M.F. Zhang L. Zhi L. McClurg M.R. Berger E. Wagoner M. Mais D.E. Suto C.M. Davies J.A. Heyman R.A. et al.J. Med. Chem. 1995; 38: 3146-3155Crossref PubMed Scopus (299) Google Scholar, 12Mukherjee R. Davies P.J. Crombie D.L. Bischoff E.D. Cesario R.M. Jow L. Hamann L.G. Boehm M.F. Mondon C.E. Nadzan A.M. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Heyman R.A. Nature. 1997; 386: 407-410Crossref PubMed Scopus (572) Google Scholar) would induce BSEP mRNA. HepG2 cells were treated with CDCA, GW4064, and LG100268 alone or in combination, and BSEP mRNA levels were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR. Robust induction of BSEP mRNA was observed in HepG2 cells by CDCA, a natural bile acid ligand and GW4064, a synthetic, high affinity ligand for FXR (30-fold and 80-fold, respectively) (23Maloney P.R. Parks D.J. Haffner C.D. Fivush A.M. Chandra G. Plunket K.D. Creech K.L. Moore L.B. Wilson J.G. Lewis M.C. Jones S.A. Willson T.M. J. Med. Chem. 2000; 43: 2971-2974Crossref PubMed Scopus (456) Google Scholar) (Fig. 1 A). Treatment with LG100268 induced BSEP mRNA very poorly (2-fold), but surprisingly, strongly inhibited CDCA- and GW4064-mediated induction by 80% (p < 0.0005) and 83% (p < 0.00005), respectively. Time course analysis of LG100268-mediated antagonism of FXR activity shows a significant effect (p < 0.05) as soon as 8 h after treatment, suggesting an immediate transcriptional effect (Fig.1 B). To determine whether this antagonism is a general property of RXR ligands we tested 9-cis retinoic acid, a natural ligand for RXR (8Heyman R.A. Mangelsdorf D.J. Dyck J.A. Stein R.B. Eichele G. Evans R.M. Thaller C. Cell. 1992; 68: 397-406Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1563) Google Scholar). In addition, to address ligand selectivity of this effect, we utilized another synthetic ligand, LG100641 (LG641), which although structurally similar to LG268, binds very poorly to RXR (18Mukherjee R. Hoener P.A. Jow L. Bilakovics J. Klausing K. Mais D.E. Faulkner A. Croston G.E. Paterniti Jr., J.R. Mol. Endocrinol. 2000; 14: 1425-1433Crossref PubMed Google Scholar). As with LG268, very poor induction of BSEP mRNA (less than 2-fold) was observed with 9-cis retinoic acid and LG641 (Fig.1 C). However, both LG268 and 9-cis retinoic acid antagonized GW4064-mediated induction. (82 and 65%, respectively) whereas LG641 inhibited weakly (32%) (Fig. 1 C). This is the first example of RXR ligand-mediated antagonism of FXR activity. To determine whether RXR agonists also antagonized FXR activation of the natural BSEP promoter, we cloned a 1445-base pair fragment of the BSEP promoter into a luciferase reporter. HepG2 cells were transfected with this reporter and treated with different ligands (Fig.2 A). In the presence of GW4064. we observed 5-fold induction from the BSEP promoter, but no effect with LG100268, 9-cis retinoic acid, or LG641. Coadministration of LG100268 or 9-cis retinoic acid with GW4064 antagonized FXR-mediated activation by 67% and 63%, respectively (p < 0.05, Fig. 2 A) whereas LG641 antagonized less than 10%. Hence, RXR agonist-mediated antagonism of FXR-induced BSEP promoter activity is observed with endogenous levels of FXR/RXR heterodimers corroborating our real-time PCR data (Fig. 1). An inverted repeat (IR-1) element has been identified in the BSEP promoter and shown to be a functional FXRE (15Ananthanarayanan M. Balasubramanian N. Makishima M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Suchy F.J. J. Biol. Chem. 2001; 276: 28857-28865Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (645) Google Scholar). In a cotransfection assay with expression plasmids for FXR, RXRα, and a reporter containing three tandem copies of the FXRE from the BSEP gene promoter, CDCA and GW4064 induced FXR/RXR-mediated transcription from the BSEP-FXRE (9-fold and 28-fold, respectively) (Fig. 2 B). In contrast, LG100268 weakly activated FXR/RXR (2-fold) and antagonized activation by CDCA and GW4064. LG100268 and 9-cis retinoic acid antagonized FXR-mediated activation in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 6 nm and 300 nm, respectively (Fig.2 C). FXR-mediated induction was also antagonized by LGD1069 (9Boehm M.F. Zhang L. Badea B.A. White S.K. Mais D.E. Berger E. Suto C.M. Goldman M.E. Heyman R.A. Nadzan A.M. J. Med. Chem. 1994; 37: 2930-2941Crossref PubMed Scopus (380) Google Scholar), another synthetic high affinity RXR ligand (data not shown). No antagonism was observed with LG641 (Fig. 2 C). These data indicate that antagonism by RXR ligands is mediated via FXR/RXR through the FXR response element in the BSEP promoter and is not observed with ligands that do not bind to RXR. We next determined whether LG100268-mediated antagonism was caused by limiting amounts of RXR in HepG2 cells. Transient transfections were performed by increasing the ratio of RXRα to FXR expression plasmid from 1 to 5. This caused a slight increase in the signal observed with both ligands compared with GW4064 alone (Fig.2 D). However, even a 5-fold increase in RXR plasmid did not overcome LG100268-mediated antagonism. To explain the lack of transcriptional activity of FXR/RXR with LG100268, we determined whether LG100268-liganded FXR/RXR recruits coactivators. In a FRET assay, GW4064 induced recruitment of a peptide identical to the receptor-interacting domain of SRC-1 and CBP (Fig.3 A) to the heterodimer but not LG100268. This implies that RXR agonists do not recruit these coactivators to the FXR/RXR heterodimer. To rationalize the mechanism of LG100268-mediated antagonism of FXR activity, we speculated that LG100268 may function as an FXR ligand, displacing GW4064 from the FXR ligand-binding pocket, thereby decreasing coactivator recruitment and activity of FXR. To test this, we coadministered increasing concentrations of LG100268 with a fixed concentration of GW4064 in the presence of FXR/RXR. LG100268 did not alter the signal observed with GW4064 (Fig. 3 B). This suggests that LG100268, by binding to RXR, does not induce an allosteric conformation that reduces coactivator recruitment to FXR/RXR. A similar result was also observed with FXR alone (data not shown), indicating that LG100268 is not a ligand for FXR. These results are in stark contrast to those observed with PPARα/RXR (Fig. 3 C) where LG100268 induced SRC-1 recruitment similar to that seen with GW9578 (24Brown P.J. Winegar D.A. Plunket K.D. Moore L.B. Lewis M.C. Wilson J.G. Sundseth S.S. Koble C.S. Wu Z. Chapman J.M. Lehmann J.M. Kliewer S.A. Willson T.M. J. Med. Chem. 1999; 42: 3785-3788Crossref PubMed Scopus (135) Google Scholar), a potent and selective PPARα agonist. Furthermore, a decrease in the EC50 and increase in the maximum signal was observed when LG100268 was added in the presence of a fixed concentration of the PPARα agonist. These results suggest that the RXR ligand-binding and coactivator recruitment properties of FXR/RXR are distinct from that of PPARα/RXR, a well characterized permissive heterodimer. Previous reports have demonstrated that FXR/RXR heterodimers bind to the BSEP-FXRE in vitro (15Ananthanarayanan M. Balasubramanian N. Makishima M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Suchy F.J. J. Biol. Chem. 2001; 276: 28857-28865Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (645) Google Scholar). To determine whether LG100268 modulated FXR/RXR binding to DNA, we performed an electromobility-shift assay with in vitro-translated FXR and RXR protein and a radiolabeled oligonucleotide containing the FXRE sequence from the BSEP gene. No protein-DNA complex was observed with FXR or RXR alone in the presence or absence of their respective ligands, (Fig.4 A, lanes 1–4). However, a distinct complex was seen with the FXR and RXR in the same reaction (lane 5). This DNA-protein complex formation is enhanced in the presence of GW4064 (lane 6) but not with LG100268 (lane 7). When both ligands are present, LG100268 decreased the ability of GW4064 to enhance binding to the FXRE by 47% (p < 0.05, Figs.4 A, lane 8 and 4 B). Both LG268 and 9-cis retinoic acid decreased GW4064-bound FXR/RXR complexes to the BSEP-response element (Fig. 5) in a dose-dependent manner. This effect was much reduced with LG641. Therefore, RXR ligands decrease the binding of FXR ligand-bound FXR/RXR heterodimers to the BSEP-FXRE.Figure 5RXR ligands inhibit binding of FXR/RXR to the BSEP-FXRE in a dose-dependant manner. Electromobility-shift assays were performed as in Fig. 4 with GW4064 (1 μm) in all lanes and increasing amounts of LG268 (A), 9-cisretinoic acid (9-cis RA; B), or LG641 (C). The concentration of these three compounds are:lanes 2, 1 nm; lanes 3, 10 nm; lanes 4, 100 nm; lanes 5, 1 μm; and lanes 6; 10 μm.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload (PPT) An important means by which the body eliminates excess dietary cholesterol is through the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids. Recently, the nuclear hormone receptors, FXR and RXR and their putative ligands have been implicated as key regulators in cholesterol/bile acid metabolism. In this report, we have demonstrated RXR ligand-mediated antagonism in a gene- and response element-specific manner. This antagonism in not observed with related compounds that do not bind to RXR. In contrast to our data involving antagonism of BSEP gene expression via the BSEP-FXRE, LG100268-mediated activation has been observed with the FXRE from the ultraspiracle(usp) gene (7Forman B.M. Goode E. Chen J. Oro A.E. Bradley D.J. Perlmann T. Noonan D.J. Burka L.T. McMorris T. Lamph W.W. Evans R.M. Weinberger C. Cell. 1995; 81: 687-693Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (957) Google Scholar, 25Cesario R.M. Klausing K. Razzaghi H. Crombie D. Rungta D. Heyman R.A. Lala D.S. Mol. Endocrinol. 2001; 15: 1360-1369Crossref PubMed Scopus (82) Google Scholar) which was additive to an FXR agonist. Whether this translates to induction of usp mRNA is not known. These contrasting results may be due in part to sequence-specific differences between the BSEP and usp FXRE. Hence, the same ligand and receptor may induce one gene while repressing another, a phenomenon reported with another RXR partner, the vitamin D receptor. RXR ligands have been shown to activate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-24-hydroxylase promoter and to synergize with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (26Zou A. Elgort M.G. Allegretto E.A. J. Biol. Chem. 1997; 272: 19027-19034Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (78) Google Scholar), whereas RXR ligands inhibit 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-dependent induction of the rat osteocalcin gene (27MacDonald P.N. Dowd D.R. Nakajima S. Galligan M.A. Reeder M.C. Haussler C.A. Ozato K. Haussler M.R. Mol. Cell. Biol. 1993; 13: 5907-5917Crossref PubMed Scopus (233) Google Scholar). We now demonstrate the complexity underlying RXR-permissiveness extends to the FXR/RXR heterodimer which, to date, has been described as a permissive heterodimer (28Repa J.J. Turley S.D. Lobaccaro J.A. Medina J. Li L. Lustig K. Shan B. Heyman R.A. Dietschy J.M. Mangelsdorf D.J. 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Oncol. 1997; 15: 790-795Crossref PubMed Scopus (186) Google Scholar) which is postulated to occur by a mechanism involving RXR-mediated activation of liver X receptor and induction of SREBP1-c (38Repa J.J. Liang G. Ou J. Bashmakov Y. Lobaccaro J.M. Shimomura I. Shan B. Brown M.S. Goldstein J.L. Mangelsdorf D.J. Genes Dev. 2000; 14: 2819-2830Crossref PubMed Scopus (1407) Google Scholar, 39Schultz J.R. Tu H. Luk A. Repa J.J. Medina J.C. Li L. Schwendner S. Wang S. Thoolen M. Mangelsdorf D.J. Lustig K.D. Shan B. Genes Dev. 2000; 14: 2831-2838Crossref PubMed Scopus (1384) Google Scholar). Our data suggest that LG100268-mediated antagonism of FXR may also contribute to the hypertriglyceridemia induced by RXR agonists. This report is the first example of RXR-mediated antagonism of FXR activity by decreasing DNA binding coupled with the inability of RXR agonists to recruit coactivators to the FXR/RXR heterodimer. FXR/RXR thus falls into a distinct category as a conditionally permissive heterodimer. We thank Jodi Muckelbauer and Haiying Chen for the FXR, RXR, and PPARα proteins, Bruce Spiegelman for the pSV-SPORT-RXRα expression plasmid, and Drs. Jim Trzaskos, Leonard Freedman, and Richard Heyman for critically reading the manuscript.