| First Author | Li T | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Hepatology | Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 1111-21 |
| PubMed ID | 23536474 | Mgi Jnum | J:340665 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6877554 | Doi | 10.1002/hep.26427 |
| Citation | Li T, et al. (2013) Regulation of cholesterol and bile acid homeostasis by the cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase/steroid response element-binding protein 2/microRNA-33a axis in mice. Hepatology 58(3):1111-21 |
| abstractText | UNLABELLED: Bile acid synthesis not only produces physiological detergents required for intestinal nutrient absorption, but also plays a critical role in regulating hepatic and whole-body metabolic homeostasis. We recently reported that overexpression of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) in the liver resulted in improved metabolic homeostasis in Cyp7a1 transgenic (Cyp7a1-tg) mice. This study further investigated the molecular links between bile acid metabolism and lipid homeostasis. Microarray gene profiling revealed that CYP7A1 overexpression led to marked activation of the steroid response element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2)-regulated cholesterol metabolic network and absence of bile acid repression of lipogenic gene expression in livers of Cyp7a1-tg mice. Interestingly, Cyp7a1-tg mice showed significantly elevated hepatic cholesterol synthesis rates, but reduced hepatic fatty acid synthesis rates, which was accompanied by increased (14) C-glucose-derived acetyl-coenzyme A incorporation into sterols for fecal excretion. Induction of SREBP2 also coinduces intronic microRNA-33a (miR-33a) in the SREBP2 gene in Cyp7a1-tg mice. Overexpression of miR-33a in the liver resulted in decreased bile acid pool, increased hepatic cholesterol content, and lowered serum cholesterol in mice. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a CYP7A1/SREBP2/miR-33a axis plays a critical role in regulation of hepatic cholesterol, bile acid, and fatty acid synthesis. Antagonism of miR-33a may be a potential strategy to increase bile acid synthesis to maintain lipid homeostasis and prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, and obesity. |
