Inversely related expression of epidermal- and heart-type fatty acid binding proteins during myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts

Functional analysis of peroxisome-proliferator-responsive element motifs in genes of fatty acid-binding proteins

Retinoic acids and long-chain fatty acids are lipophilic agonists of nuclear receptors such as RXRs (retinoic X receptors) and PPARs (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors) respectively. These agonists are also ligands of intracellular lipid-binding proteins, which include FABPs (fatty acid-binding proteins). We reported previously that L (liver-type)-FABP targets fatty acids to the nucleus of hepatocytes and affects PPARalpha activation, which binds together with an RXR subtype to a PPRE (peroxisome-proliferator-responsive element). In the present study, we first determined the optimal combination of murine PPAR/RXR subtypes for binding to known murine FABP-PPREs and to those found by computer search and then tested their in vitro functionality. We show that all PPARs bind to L-FABP-PPRE, PPARalpha, PPARgamma1 and PPARgamma2 to A (adipocyte-type)-FABP-PPRE. All PPAR/RXR heterodimers transactivate L-FABP-PPRE, best are combinations of PPARalpha with RXRalpha or RXRgamma. In contrast, PPARalpha heterodimers do not transactivate A-FABP-PPRE, best combinations are of PPARgamma1 with RXRalpha and RXRgamma, and of PPARgamma2 with all RXR subtypes. We found that the predicted E (epidermal-type)- and H (heart-type)-FABP-PPREs are not activated by any PPAR/RXR combination without or with the PPAR pan-agonist bezafibrate. In the same way, C2C12 myoblasts transfected with promoter fragments of E-FABP and H-FABP genes containing putative PPREs are also not activated through stimulation of PPARs with bezafibrate applied to the cells. These results demonstrate that only PPREs of L- and A-FABP promoters are functional, and that binding of PPAR/RXR heterodimers to a PPRE in vitro does not necessarily predict transactivation.

Fatty acid-binding proteins--insights from genetic manipulations

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) belong to the conserved multigene family of the intracellular lipid-binding proteins (iLBPs). These proteins are ubiquitously expressed in vertebrate tissues, with distinct expression patterns for the individual FABPs. Various functions have been proposed for these proteins, including the promotion of cellular uptake and transport of fatty acids, the targeting of fatty acids to specific metabolic pathways, and the participation in the regulation of gene expression and cell growth. Novel genetic tools that have become available in recent years, such as transgenic cell lines, animals, and knock-out mice, have provided the opportunity to test these concepts in physiological settings. Such studies have helped to define essential cellular functions of individual FABP-types or of combinations of several different FABPs. The deletion of particular FABP genes, however, has not led to gross phenotypical changes, most likely because of compensatory overexpression of other members of the iLBP gene family, or even of unrelated fatty acid transport proteins. This review summarizes the properties of the various FABPs expressed in mammalian tissues, and discusses the transgenic and ablation studies carried out to date in a functional context.