Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.

Orphan nuclear receptors have been instrumental in identifying novel signaling pathways and therapeutic targets. However, identification of ligands for these receptors has often been based on random compound screens or other biased approaches. As a result, it remains unclear in many cases if the rep...

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Main Authors: Xiaohui Yuan, Tuong Chi Ta, Min Lin, Jane R Evans, Yinchen Dong, Eugene Bolotin, Mark A Sherman, Barry M Forman, Frances M Sladek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2009-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2680617?pdf=render
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author Xiaohui Yuan
Tuong Chi Ta
Min Lin
Jane R Evans
Yinchen Dong
Eugene Bolotin
Mark A Sherman
Barry M Forman
Frances M Sladek
author_facet Xiaohui Yuan
Tuong Chi Ta
Min Lin
Jane R Evans
Yinchen Dong
Eugene Bolotin
Mark A Sherman
Barry M Forman
Frances M Sladek
author_sort Xiaohui Yuan
collection DOAJ
description Orphan nuclear receptors have been instrumental in identifying novel signaling pathways and therapeutic targets. However, identification of ligands for these receptors has often been based on random compound screens or other biased approaches. As a result, it remains unclear in many cases if the reported ligands are the true endogenous ligands,--i.e., the ligand that is bound to the receptor in an unperturbed in vivo setting. Technical limitations have limited our ability to identify ligands based on this rigorous definition. The orphan receptor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4alpha) is a key regulator of many metabolic pathways and linked to several diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, hemophilia and cancer. Here we utilize an affinity isolation/mass-spectrometry (AIMS) approach to demonstrate that HNF4alpha is selectively occupied by linoleic acid (LA, C18:2omega6) in mammalian cells and in the liver of fed mice. Receptor occupancy is dramatically reduced in the fasted state and in a receptor carrying a mutation derived from patients with Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young 1 (MODY1). Interestingly, however, ligand occupancy does not appear to have a significant effect on HNF4alpha transcriptional activity, as evidenced by genome-wide expression profiling in cells derived from human colon. We also use AIMS to show that LA binding is reversible in intact cells, indicating that HNF4alpha could be a viable drug target. This study establishes a general method to identify true endogenous ligands for nuclear receptors (and other lipid binding proteins), independent of transcriptional function, and to track in vivo receptor occupancy under physiologically relevant conditions.
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spelling doaj.art-85c48b9141a64c0e9c24ebf18328d32c2022-12-21T20:08:35ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-01-0145e560910.1371/journal.pone.0005609Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.Xiaohui YuanTuong Chi TaMin LinJane R EvansYinchen DongEugene BolotinMark A ShermanBarry M FormanFrances M SladekOrphan nuclear receptors have been instrumental in identifying novel signaling pathways and therapeutic targets. However, identification of ligands for these receptors has often been based on random compound screens or other biased approaches. As a result, it remains unclear in many cases if the reported ligands are the true endogenous ligands,--i.e., the ligand that is bound to the receptor in an unperturbed in vivo setting. Technical limitations have limited our ability to identify ligands based on this rigorous definition. The orphan receptor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4alpha) is a key regulator of many metabolic pathways and linked to several diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, hemophilia and cancer. Here we utilize an affinity isolation/mass-spectrometry (AIMS) approach to demonstrate that HNF4alpha is selectively occupied by linoleic acid (LA, C18:2omega6) in mammalian cells and in the liver of fed mice. Receptor occupancy is dramatically reduced in the fasted state and in a receptor carrying a mutation derived from patients with Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young 1 (MODY1). Interestingly, however, ligand occupancy does not appear to have a significant effect on HNF4alpha transcriptional activity, as evidenced by genome-wide expression profiling in cells derived from human colon. We also use AIMS to show that LA binding is reversible in intact cells, indicating that HNF4alpha could be a viable drug target. This study establishes a general method to identify true endogenous ligands for nuclear receptors (and other lipid binding proteins), independent of transcriptional function, and to track in vivo receptor occupancy under physiologically relevant conditions.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2680617?pdf=render
spellingShingle Xiaohui Yuan
Tuong Chi Ta
Min Lin
Jane R Evans
Yinchen Dong
Eugene Bolotin
Mark A Sherman
Barry M Forman
Frances M Sladek
Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
PLoS ONE
title Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
title_full Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
title_fullStr Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
title_full_unstemmed Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
title_short Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor.
title_sort identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2680617?pdf=render
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