0000000000132185

AUTHOR

Maurice Bugaut

Dehydroepiandrosterone Induction of the Abcd2 and Abcd3 Genes encoding peroxisomal ABC Transporters

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a peroxisome proliferator known to increase the expression of the genes encoding the peroxisomal s-oxidation enzymes in rodents. Using RT-PCR, we analysed the expression of the Abcd2 and Abcd3 genes encoding the peroxisomal ABC transporters ALDRP (ALD related protein) and PMP70 (70 kDa peroxisomal membrane protein) in primary cultures of rats hepatocytes treated with sulfated DHEA. We observed a time (12-72h) and dose (125-500μM) dependent increase in the expression of both genes.

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Fibrate induction of the adrenoleukodystrophy-related gene (ABCD2)

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a neurodegenerative disease due to a defect in the ABCD1 (ALD) gene. ABCD1, and the two close homologues ABCD2 (ALDR) and ABCD3 (PMP70), are genes encoding ATP-binding cassette half-transporters of the peroxisomal membrane. As overexpression of the ABCD2 or ABCD3 gene can reverse the biochemical phenotype of X-ALD (reduced beta-oxidation of very-long-chain fatty acids), pharmacological induction of these partially redundant genes may represent a therapeutic approach to X-ALD. We previously reported that the ABCD2 and ABCD3 genes could be strongly induced by fibrates, which are hypolipidaemic drugs and peroxisome-proliferators in rodents. We provide e…

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Thyroid hormone induction of the adrenoleukodystrophy-related gene (ABCD2).

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a demyelinating disorder associated with impaired very-long-chain fatty-acid (VLCFA) beta-oxidation caused by mutations in the ABCD1 (ALD) gene that encodes a peroxisomal membrane ABC transporter. ABCD2 (ALDR) displays partial functional redundancy because when overexpressed, it is able to correct the X-ALD biochemical phenotype. The ABCD2 promoter contains a putative thyroid hormone-response element conserved in rodents and humans. In this report, we demonstrate that the element is capable of binding retinoid X receptor and 3,5,3'-tri-iodothyronine (T3) receptor (TRbeta) as a heterodimer and mediating T3 responsiveness of ABCD2 in its promoter conte…

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Proteins and enzymes of the peroxisomal membrane in mammals.

Proteins of the peroxisomal membrane can be schematically divided into two groups, one being made up of more or less characterized proteins with generally unknown functions and the other consisting of enzyme activities of which the corresponding proteins have not been characterized. In the present report, these proteins and enzymes are described with the addition of unpublished results regarding their induction by peroxisome proliferators at the post-transcriptional level. Integral membrane proteins (IMPs) can be isolated using an alkaline solution of sodium carbonate. A dozen of preponderant IMPs can be seen on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the major band c…

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Copurification of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyl-transferase and other peroxisomal proteins from liver of fenofibrate-treated rats.

Dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyl-transferase (DHAP-AT), a peroxisomal membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the first step of ether-glycerolipid synthesis, was purified from liver of rats treated with fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator. The protocol first included isolation of peroxisomes, their purification through a discontinuous gradient and solubilization of membranes in CHAPS. DHAP-AT was further purified by four chromatographic steps, namely low-pressure size-exclusion, cation-exchange, hydroxylapatite and chromatofocusing. The chromatofocusing step led to a 4000-fold increase in the specific activity of DHAP-AT with respect to the liver homogenate with a yield of about 0.2%. Trypsi…

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The four murine peroxisomal ABC-transporter genes differ in constitutive, inducible and developmental expression.

Four ATP-binding cassette (ABC) half-transporters have been identified in mammalian peroxisomes: adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP), adrenoleukodystrophy-related protein (ALDRP), 70-kDa peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP70) and PMP70-related protein (P70R). Inherited defects in ALDP cause the neurodegenerative disorder X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). By comparative Northern blot analyses we found each of the four murine peroxisomal ABC transporter mRNA species at maximum abundance only in a few tissues, which differed for each family member. The four genes were also regulated differentially during mouse brain development: ALDP mRNA was most abundant in embryonic brain and gradually d…

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Microscale synthesis of phosphatidyl-[3H]choline from 1,2-diacylglycerol. Assessment of isomerization by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The synthesis of rac-1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylglycero-3-phospho-[3H]choline of high specific activity was carried out on a microscale by making 7 mumol of rac-1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerol react first with an equimolar amount of POCl3 and then of [3H]choline. After purification by thin-layer chromatography and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the yield of the synthesis of [3H]phosphatidylcholine (120 microCi/mumol) was 22%. rac-1-Palmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerol was purified before use by reversed-phase HPLC under conditions which were nonisomerizing and allowed the separation of 1,2- and 1,3-isomers of diacylglycerol. E…

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Evaluation of the therapeutic potential of PPARalpha agonists for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.

Adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ABCD1), a peroxisomal membrane protein, is mutated in patients affected by X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). Adrenoleukodystrophy-related protein (ABCD2) is the closest relative of ABCD1. Pharmacological induction of ABCD2 gene expression has been proposed as a novel therapy strategy for X-ALD. Fibrates induce peroxisome proliferation and Abcd2 expression in rodent liver. Here we evaluate the possibility of using peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) agonists for pharmacological induction of ABCD2 expression. In the liver of PPARalpha-deficient mice, both the constitutive and the fenofibrate-inducible Abcd2 gene expression was found …

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Rat adrenoleukodystrophy-related (ALDR) gene: full-length cDNA sequence and new insight in expression.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is an inherited demyelinating disorder due to mutations in the ALD gene, which encodes a peroxisomal ABC half-transporter (ALDP). It has been suggested that ALDP assembles with ALDRP (adrenoleukodystrophy-related protein), a close homologous half-transporter, to form a functional heterodimer. For the first time full-length ALDRP cDNA (5.5 kb) was cloned, and 5' and 3' RACE analysis revealed that alternative usage of polyadenylation sites generates the two transcripts of 3.0 and 5.5 kb observed in the rat in Northern blot analysis. Southern blotting and chromosomal mapping demonstrated one ALDR locus in the rat genome. Characterisation of the 3' flanking…

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Pharmacological Induction of Redundant Genes for a Therapy of X-ALD

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a recessive neurologic disease with an incidence among males of 1/17 000. Since the identification of the X-ALD gene (ABCD1) ten years ago (Mosser et al 1993), no satisfactory therapy has been available. A close homologue (ABCD2) was then cloned and presented as a putative modifier gene that could account for some of the extreme phenotypic variability of X-ALD (Lombard-Platet et al 1996). The inducibility of Abcd2 by the hypolipidemic drug fenofibrate in the liver of rodents (Albet et al 1997), correlated to a partial normalisation of the biochemical phenotype of X-ALD (Netik et al 1999), opened up the way of a pharmacological therapy of X-ALD. The b…

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Biological effects of short-chain fatty acids in nonruminant mammals.

propionate, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), cholesterol, cell prolifera­ tion, human gastric lipase

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