J Lipid Res

Phytanic acid and pristanic acid are oxidized by sequential peroxisomal and mitochondrial reactions in cultured fibroblasts.

Verhoeven NM. Roe DS. Kok RM. Wanders RJ. Jakobs C. Roe CR.
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The relationship between peroxisomal and mitochondrial oxidation of the methyl branched fatty acids, phytanic acid and pristanic acid, was studied in normal and mutant human skin fibroblasts with established enzyme deficiencies. Tandem mass spectrometry was used for analysis of the acylcarnitine intermediates. In normal cells, 4,8-dimethylnonanoylcarnitine (C11:0) and 2,6-dimethylheptanoylcarnitine (C9:0) accumulated after incubation with either phytanic acid or pristanic acid. These intermediates were not observed when peroxisome-deficient cells from Zellweger patients were incubated with the same compounds, pointing to the involvement of peroxisomes in the formation of these acylcarnitine intermediates. Similar experiments with fibroblasts deficient in carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase or carnitine palmitoyltransferase II revealed that mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase I is not required for the oxidation of phytanic acid or pristanic acid, whereas both carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase II are necessary. These studies demonstrate that both phytanic acid and pristanic acid are initially oxidized in peroxisomes to 4,8-dimethylnonanoyl-CoA, which is converted to the corresponding acylcarnitine (presumably by peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase), and exported to the mitochondrion. After transport across the mitochondrial membrane and transfer of the acylgroup to coenzyme A, further oxidation to 2,6-dimethylheptanoyl-CoA occurs.

Interleukin-1beta and interleukin-6 increase levels of apolipoprotein B mRNA and decrease accumulation of its protein in culture medium of HepG2 cells.

Yokoyama K. Ishibashi T. Yi-qiang L. Nagayoshi A. Teramoto T. Maruyama Y.
First Department of Internal Medicine, Fukushima Medical College, Hikarigaoka, Japan.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the regulation of levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB) mRNA and its protein by cytokines in HepG2 cells. A dose-dependent increase in apoB mRNA levels was observed in the presence of either interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) or IL-6 alone. This increase occurred as early as 1 h after IL-1beta or IL-6 stimulation. Exogenous addition of IL-1beta (5 ng/ml) and IL-6 (50 ng/ml) induced 2.8- and 2.1-fold increases as a result of 18 h of culture, respectively. Co-stimulation with IL-1beta and IL-6 significantly enhanced the increase in apoB mRNA levels stimulated with either cytokine alone. Treatment with cycloheximide prevented the induction of apoB mRNA by IL-1beta, but not by IL-6. These findings suggest that enhancement of apoB mRNA levels by these cytokines is mediated through different pathways. Conversely, IL-1beta and IL-6 lowered the accumulation of apoB protein levels in the culture medium. The pulse-chase study showed that addition of N-acetyl leucyl leucyl norleucinal to the medium induced a decrease in newly synthesized apoB in the cell lysate in response to IL-1beta (P < 0.05) or IL-6 (not to a significant extent) compared with control. These findings demonstrated that the lower level of apoB in the medium was caused by the enhanced intracellular degradation. In addition, IL-1beta increased LDL receptor mRNA levels as well as protein activity, although IL-6 did not, suggesting that the more marked decrease in apoB accumulation in the medium induced by IL-1beta compared with that induced by IL-6 may reflect an increased uptake of apoB from the medium by IL-1beta. The present study demonstrates that a cytokine network may be involved in the metabolism of apoB under certain conditions such as inflammation.

Human S mu binding protein-2 binds to the drug response element and transactivates the human apoA-I promoter: role of gemfibrozil.

Year 1998
Mohan WS. Chen ZQ. Zhang X. Khalili K. Honjo T. Deeley RG. Tam SP.
Department of Biochemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Previously, we demonstrated that protein-DNA interactions at the drug response element (DRE) in the human apoA-I promoter were important for the induction of apoA-I gene expression by gemfibrozil. We now report the cloning and characterization of a DRE transactivating factor. The cloned protein is identical to the putative helicase and potential transcription factor human S mu binding protein-2 (HSmuBP2). It is also related to glial factor-1 (GF1), an incomplete version of HSmuBP2 lacking the first 494 and the last 128 amino acids. Gel mobility shift assays demonstrated that HSmuBP2 binds apoA-I DRE oligomers and forms a specific protein-DNA complex. Northern blot analysis showed that HSmuBP2 mRNA is expressed at various levels in a wide range of human tissues. Transient cotransfection experiments performed in HepG2 cells demonstrated that overexpression of HSmuBP2 or GF1 induced apoA-I proximal promoter activity by 3-fold and that the apoA-I DRE was necessary for transactivation. Additionally, we demonstrated that transactivation was increased a further 2- to 3-fold by exposing the cells to gemfibrozil. Together these observations indicate that HSmuBP2 acts as a transcription factor that regulates apoA-I gene expression in hepatoma cells and whose activity may be stimulated by gemfibrozil treatment.

Quantitation of cholesterol-carrying particles in human gallbladder bile.

Year 1998
Eckhardt ER. van de Heijning BJ. van Erpecum KJ. Renooij W. VanBerge-Henegouwen GP.
Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
The inter-mixed micellar/vesicular (non-phospholipid-associated) bile salt concentration (IMC) can be rapidly measured in model biles by centrifugal ultrafiltration, thus allowing reliable separation of vesicular and micellar cholesterol carriers by gel filtration with an elution buffer containing bile salts at the correct IMC (Donovan, J. M., and A. A. Jackson. 1993. J. Lipid Res. 34: 1121-1129). We adapted this method to the more complex human gallbladder bile and examined the relationship between cholesterol solubilization and crystallization in gallbladder biles from 10 cholesterol gallstone patients. The IMC (mean +/- SEM) was 9.67 +/- 1.97 (range 3.56-35.02) mM with significant enrichment with hydrophilic bile salt species. Upon gel filtration of these biles with an eluant buffer containing 10 major bile salts at concentrations according to their IMC, cholesterol was found to be solubilized mainly in mixed micelles. Vesicles were detected in all 10 biles after separation by KBr density gradient ultracentrifugation but in only 5 of these biles with the IMC method. Biles without vesicles had a lower CSI (1.15 +/- 0.12 vs. 1.90 +/- 0.28, P < 0.05), a higher total lipid concentration (11.9 +/- 2.3 vs. 5.9 +/- 1.1, P < 0.05), and a higher bile salt/ (bile salt + phospholipid) ratio (0.83 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.74 +/- 0.04, P = 0.07). For both IMC and ultracentrifugation methods, vesicular cholesterol concentration showed a negative correlation with crystal observation time and a positive correlation with cumulative crystal score during 21 days. Our data indicate that methods such as density gradient ultracentrifugation overestimate vesicular cholesterol solubilization in human biles.