Expression of the human cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase gene in transgenic mice

Cytochrome P450 and xenobiotic receptor humanized mice

Most xenobiotics that enter the body are subjected to metabolism that functions primarily to facilitate their elimination. Metabolism of certain xenobiotics can also result in the production of electrophilic derivatives that can cause cell toxicity and transformation. Many xenobiotics can also activate receptors that in turn induce the expression of genes encoding xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes and xenobiotic transporters. However, there are marked species differences in the way mammals respond to xenobiotics, which are due in large part to molecular differences in receptors and xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes. This presents a problem in extrapolating data obtained with rodent model systems to humans. There are also polymorphisms in xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes that can impact drug therapy and cancer susceptibility. In an effort to generate more reliable in vivo systems to study and predict human response to xenobiotics, humanized mice are under development.

The enzymes, regulation, and genetics of bile acid synthesis

The synthesis and excretion of bile acids comprise the major pathway of cholesterol catabolism in mammals. Synthesis provides a direct means of converting cholesterol, which is both hydrophobic and insoluble, into a water-soluble and readily excreted molecule, the bile acid. The biosynthetic steps that accomplish this transformation also confer detergent properties to the bile acid, which are exploited by the body to facilitate the secretion of cholesterol from the liver. This role in the elimination of cholesterol is counterbalanced by the ability of bile acids to solubilize dietary cholesterol and essential nutrients and to promote their delivery to the liver. The synthesis of a full complement of bile acids requires 17 enzymes. The expression of selected enzymes in the pathway is tightly regulated by nuclear hormone receptors and other transcription factors, which ensure a constant supply of bile acids in an ever changing metabolic environment. Inherited mutations that impair bile acid synthesis cause a spectrum of human disease; this ranges from liver failure in early childhood to progressive neuropathy in adults.

Mice expressing the human CYP7A1 gene in the mouse CYP7A1 knock-out background lack induction of CYP7A1 expression by cholesterol feeding and have increased hypercholesterolemia when fed a high fat diet

Cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the pathway responsible for the formation of the majority of bile acids. Transcription of the gene is regulated by the size of the bile acid pool and dietary and hormonal factors. The farnesoid X receptor and the liver X receptor (LXR) are responsible for regulation by bile acids and cholesterol, respectively. To study the effects of dietary cholesterol and fat upon expression of the human CYP7A1 gene, mice were generated by crossing transgenic mice carrying the human CYP7A1 gene with mice that were homozygous knock-outs (CYP7A1(-/-)). The mice (mCYP7A1(-/-)/hCYP7A1) expressed the human gene at much higher levels than did the transgenics bred in the wild-type background. A diet containing 1% cholic acid reduced the expression of the human gene in mCYP7A1(-/-)/hCYP7A1 mice to undetectable levels. Cholestyramine (5%) increased the level of expression of the human gene and the mouse gene. Thus, farnesoid X receptor-mediated regulation was preserved. A diet containing 2% cholesterol increased expression of the mouse gene in wild-type mice, but it did not affect expression of the human gene in mCYP7A1(-/-)/hCYP7A1 mice. None of the diets altered the serum cholesterol or triglyceride levels in these mice; 1% cholic acid caused a redistribution of cholesterol from the high density lipoprotein to the low density lipoprotein density in the humanized mice but not in wild-type mice. A diet containing 30% saturated fat and 2% cholesterol caused a decrease in CYP7A1 levels in mCYP7A1(-/-)/hCYP7A1 mice. The serum cholesterol levels rose in all mice fed this diet. The increase was greater in the mCYP7A1(-/-)/hCYP7A1 mice. Together, these data suggest that the lack of an LXR element in the region from -56 to -49 of the human CYP7A1 promoter may account for some of the differences in response to diets between humans and rodents.

Dietary cholesterol fails to stimulate the human cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase gene (CYP7A1) in transgenic mice

Dietary cholesterol has been shown to have a stimulatory effect on the murine cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase gene (Cyp7a1), but its effect on human cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase gene (CYP7A1) expression in vivo is not known. A transgenic mouse strain harboring the human CYP7A1 gene and homozygous for the disrupted murine Cyp7a1 gene was created. Cholesterol feeding increased the expression of the endogenous modified Cyp7a1 allele but failed to stimulate the human CYP7A1 transgene. In transfected hepatoma cells, 25-hydroxycholesterol increased murine Cyp7a1 gene promoter activity, whereas the human CYP7A1 gene promoter was unresponsive. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated the interaction of the liver X receptor alpha (LXRalpha): retinoid X receptor (RXR) heterodimer, a transcription factor complex that is activated by oxysterols, with the murine Cyp7a1 gene promoter, whereas no binding to the human CYP7A1 gene promoter was detected. The results demonstrate that the human CYP7A1 gene is not stimulated by dietary cholesterol in the intact animal, and this is attributable to the inability of the CYP7A1 gene promoter to interact with LXRalpha:RXR.

Size matters: use of YACs, BACs and PACs in transgenic animals

In 1993, several groups, working independently, reported the successful generation of transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) using standard techniques. The transfer of these large fragments of cloned genomic DNA correlated with optimal expression levels of the transgenes, irrespective of their location in the host genome. Thereafter, other groups confirmed the advantages of YAC transgenesis and position-independent and copy number-dependent transgene expression were demonstrated in most cases. The transfer of YACs to the germ line of mice has become popular in many transgenic facilities to guarantee faithful expression of transgenes. This technique was rapidly exported to livestock and soon transgenic rabbits, pigs and other mammals were produced with YACs. Transgenic animals were also produced with bacterial or P1-derived artificial chromosomes (BACs/PACs) with similar success. The use of YACs, BACs and PACs in transgenesis has allowed the discovery of new genes by complementation of mutations, the identification of key regulatory sequences within genomic loci that are crucial for the proper expression of genes and the design of improved animal models of human genetic diseases. Transgenesis with artificial chromosomes has proven useful in a variety of biological, medical and biotechnological applications and is considered a major breakthrough in the generation of transgenic animals. In this report, we will review the recent history of YAC/BAC/PAC-transgenic animals indicating their benefits and the potential problems associated with them. In this new era of genomics, the generation and analysis of transgenic animals carrying artificial chromosome-type transgenes will be fundamental to functionally identify and understand the role of new genes, included within large pieces of genomes, by direct complementation of mutations or by observation of their phenotypic consequences.

The nuclear matrix protein CDP represses hepatic transcription of the human cholesterol-7alpha hydroxylase gene

To date, the molecular mechanisms that govern hepatic-specific transcription of the human cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) gene are poorly understood. We recently reported that the region extending from -1888 to +46, which includes the promoter, is not capable of conferring expression to human CYP7A1 promoter lacZ transgenes in the livers of mice, but that expression is observed with transgenes containing the entire structural gene. To locate liver-specific elements in other segments of the human gene, DNase I hypersensitivity studies were performed with transcriptionally active, liver-derived HepG2 cells and with transcriptionally inactive HeLa cells. Three DNase I hypersensitivity sites were detected within the first intron of the human CYP7A1 gene, but only in HepG2 cells. Transient transfection experiments with HepG2 cells revealed a transcriptional repressor within intron 1. Five binding sites for the CAAT displacement protein (CDP) were detected within intron 1. Since CDP is a nuclear matrix protein, two methods were employed to localize nuclear matrix attachment sites within intron 1 of the human CYP7A1 gene. A matrix attachment site was found throughout the entirety of intron 1. Gel retardation experiments and cell transfection studies provided evidence for the repression mechanism. Repression is achieved by displacement by CDP of two hepatic activators, namely HNF-1alpha and C/EBPalpha, that bind to three different sites within intron 1. Additionally, CDP represses transactivation mediated by these two activators.