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Bereshchenko O, Bruscoli S, Riccardi C. Glucocorticoids, Sex Hormones, and Immunity. Front Immunol 2018; 9:1332. [PMID: 29946321 PMCID: PMC6006719 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoid hormones regulate essential body functions in mammals, control cell metabolism, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Importantly, they are potent suppressors of inflammation, and multiple immune-modulatory mechanisms involving leukocyte apoptosis, differentiation, and cytokine production have been described. Due to their potent anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressive activity, synthetic glucocorticoids (GCs) are the most prescribed drugs used for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It is long been noted that males and females exhibit differences in the prevalence in several autoimmune diseases (AD). This can be due to the role of sexual hormones in regulation of the immune responses, acting through their endogenous nuclear receptors to mediate gene expression and generate unique gender-specific cellular environments. Given the fact that GCs are the primary physiological anti-inflammatory hormones, and that sex hormones may also exert immune-modulatory functions, the link between GCs and sex hormones may exist. Understanding the nature of this possible crosstalk is important to unravel the reason of sexual disparity in AD and to carefully prescribe these drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In this review, we discuss similarities and differences between the effects of sex hormones and GCs on the immune system, to highlight possible axes of functional interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oxana Bereshchenko
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.,Department of Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Stefano Bruscoli
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Carlo Riccardi
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
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Presman DM, Alvarez LD, Levi V, Eduardo S, Digman MA, Martí MA, Veleiro AS, Burton G, Pecci A. Insights on glucocorticoid receptor activity modulation through the binding of rigid steroids. PLoS One 2010; 5:e13279. [PMID: 20949009 PMCID: PMC2952596 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2010] [Accepted: 09/16/2010] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a transcription factor that regulates gene expression in a ligand-dependent fashion. This modular protein is one of the major pharmacological targets due to its involvement in both cause and treatment of many human diseases. Intense efforts have been made to get information about the molecular basis of GR activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, the behavior of four GR-ligand complexes with different glucocorticoid and antiglucocorticoid properties were evaluated. The ability of GR-ligand complexes to oligomerize in vivo was analyzed by performing the novel Number and Brightness assay. Results showed that most of GR molecules form homodimers inside the nucleus upon ligand binding. Additionally, in vitro GR-DNA binding analyses suggest that ligand structure modulates GR-DNA interaction dynamics rather than the receptor's ability to bind DNA. On the other hand, by coimmunoprecipitation studies we evaluated the in vivo interaction between the transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2) coactivator and different GR-ligand complexes. No correlation was found between GR intranuclear distribution, cofactor recruitment and the homodimerization process. Finally, Molecular determinants that support the observed experimental GR LBD-ligand/TIF2 interaction were found by Molecular Dynamics simulation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The data presented here sustain the idea that in vivo GR homodimerization inside the nucleus can be achieved in a DNA-independent fashion, without ruling out a dependent pathway as well. Moreover, since at least one GR-ligand complex is able to induce homodimer formation while preventing TIF2 coactivator interaction, results suggest that these two events might be independent from each other. Finally, 21-hydroxy-6,19-epoxyprogesterone arises as a selective glucocorticoid with potential pharmacological interest. Taking into account that GR homodimerization and cofactor recruitment are considered essential steps in the receptor activation pathway, results presented here contribute to understand how specific ligands influence GR behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego M. Presman
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- IFIBYNE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lautaro D. Alvarez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica/UMYMFOR-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Valeria Levi
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Silvina Eduardo
- Departamento de Química Orgánica/UMYMFOR-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Michelle A. Digman
- Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Developmental Biology Center Optical Biology Core Facility, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Marcelo A. Martí
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- INQUIMAE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adriana S. Veleiro
- Departamento de Química Orgánica/UMYMFOR-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gerardo Burton
- Departamento de Química Orgánica/UMYMFOR-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adali Pecci
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- IFIBYNE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Yuan X, Ta TC, Lin M, Evans JR, Dong Y, Bolotin E, Sherman MA, Forman BM, Sladek FM. Identification of an endogenous ligand bound to a native orphan nuclear receptor. PLoS One 2009; 4:e5609. [PMID: 19440305 PMCID: PMC2680617 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2009] [Accepted: 04/22/2009] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
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 α (HNF4α) 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 HNF4α is selectively occupied by linoleic acid (LA, C18:2ω6) 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 HNF4α 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 HNF4α 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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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Yuan
- Department of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery, Gonda Diabetes Research Center, The Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | - Tuong Chi Ta
- Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Min Lin
- Department of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery, Gonda Diabetes Research Center, The Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | - Jane R. Evans
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Yinchen Dong
- Department of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery, Gonda Diabetes Research Center, The Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | - Eugene Bolotin
- Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Sherman
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
| | - Barry M. Forman
- Department of Gene Regulation and Drug Discovery, Gonda Diabetes Research Center, The Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BMF); (FMS)
| | - Frances M. Sladek
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BMF); (FMS)
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Hubler TR, Scammell JG. Intronic hormone response elements mediate regulation of FKBP5 by progestins and glucocorticoids. Cell Stress Chaperones 2005; 9:243-52. [PMID: 15544162 PMCID: PMC1065283 DOI: 10.1379/csc-32r.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Expression of FKBP51, a large molecular weight immunophilin, is strongly enhanced by glucocorticoids, progestins, and androgens. However, the activity of a 3.4-kb fragment of the FKBP51 gene (FKBP5) promoter was only weakly increased by progestin and we show here that it is unresponsive to glucocorticoids and androgens. The entire FKBP5 was scanned for consensus hormone response elements (HREs) using MatInspector. We found that 2 regions of intron E, which are conserved in rat and mouse FKBP5, contain HRE-like sequences with high match scores. Deoxyribonucleic acid fragments (approximately 1 kb in length) containing these regions were amplified and tested in reporter gene assays for steroid responsiveness. One region of intron E of FKBP5 (pIE2) conferred both glucocorticoid and progestin responsiveness to 2 heterologous reporter genes, whereas the other, less-conserved region of intron E (pIE1) was responsive only to progestins. The inclusion of pIE1 upstream of pIE2 (pIE1IE2) enhanced progestin but not glucocorticoid responsiveness. None of the constructs containing intronic sequences was responsive to androgens. Mutation of the putative HREs within pIE1 and pIE2 eliminated hormone responsiveness. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that progesterone receptors (PR) bound to the HRE in pIE1, whereas both PR and glucocorticoid receptors interacted with the HRE in pIE2. These data suggest that distal intronic elements significantly contribute to transcriptional regulation of FKBP5 by glucocorticoids and progestins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina R Hubler
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688, USA
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Knutti D, Kaul A, Kralli A. A tissue-specific coactivator of steroid receptors, identified in a functional genetic screen. Mol Cell Biol 2000; 20:2411-22. [PMID: 10713165 PMCID: PMC85422 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.20.7.2411-2422.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 227] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/1999] [Accepted: 01/03/2000] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Steroid receptors mediate responses to lipophilic hormones in a tissue- and ligand-specific manner. To identify nonreceptor proteins that confer specificity or regulate steroid signaling, we screened a human cDNA library in a steroid-responsive yeast strain. One of the identified cDNAs, isolated in the screen as ligand effect modulator 6, showed no homology to yeast or Caenorhabditis elegans proteins but high similarity to the recently described mouse coactivator PGC-1 and was accordingly termed hPGC-1. The hPGC-1 DNA encodes a nuclear protein that is expressed in a tissue-specific manner and carries novel motifs for transcriptional regulators. The expression of hPGC-1 in mammalian cells enhanced potently the transcriptional response to several steroids in a receptor-specific manner. hPGC-1-mediated enhancement required the receptor hormone-binding domain and was dependent on agonist ligands. Functional analysis of hPGC-1 revealed two domains that interact with steroid receptors in a hormone-dependent manner, a potent transcriptional activation function, and a putative dimerization domain. Our findings suggest a regulatory function for hPGC-1 as a tissue-specific coactivator for a subset of nuclear receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Knutti
- Division of Biochemistry, Biozentrum of the University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
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