Glucocorticoid regulation of branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase E2 subunit gene expression

Regulation of hepatic branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex in rats fed a high-fat diet

Branched-chain α-ketoacid (BCKA) dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC) regulates branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism at the level of BCKA catabolism. It has been demonstrated that the activity of hepatic BCKDC is markedly decreased in type 2 diabetic animal models. In this study, we examined the regulation of hepatic BCKDC in rats with diet-induced obesity (DIO). Rats were fed a control or a 60% of energy high-fat diet (HFD) for twelve weeks. Concentrations of blood components and the activities and protein amounts of hepatic BCKDC and its specific kinase (BDK) were measured. The concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, and corticosterone were significantly elevated in DIO rats compared to those fed the control diet, suggestive of insulin resistance. Blood BCAA concentrations were not increased. The activity of hepatic BCKDC that was present in the active form in the liver was higher in DIO rats compared to controls, although the total activity and the enzyme amount were not different between two diet groups. The activity of hepatic BDK and the abundance of BDK bound to the BCKDC were decreased in DIO rats. The total amount of hepatic BDK was also significantly decreased in DIO rats. In rats made obese through HFD feeding, in contrast to prior studies in rat models of type 2 diabetes, hepatic BDK was down-regulated and thereby hepatic BCKDC was activated, suggesting that DIO promotes liver BCKA catabolism. In this model there was no evidence that increased blood BCAAs drive DIO-associated insulin resistance, since concentrations of BCAAs were not altered by DIO.

Mechanisms of glucocorticoid signalling

It has become increasingly clear that glucocorticoid signalling not only comprises the binding of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to its response element (GRE), but also involves indirect regulation glucocorticoid-responsive genes by regulating or interacting with other transcription factors. In addition, they can directly regulate gene expression by binding to negative glucocorticoid response elements (nGREs), to simple GREs, to GREs, or to GREs and GRE half sites (GRE1/2s) that are part of a regulatory unit. A response unit allows a higher level of glucocorticoid induction than simple GREs and, in addition, allows the integration of tissue-specific information with the glucocorticoid response. Presumably, the complexity of such a glucocorticoid response unit (GRU) depends on the number of pathways that integrate at this unit. Because GRUs are often located at distant sites relative to the transcription-start site, the GRU has to find a way to communicate with the basal-transcription machinery. We propose that the activating signal of a distal enhancer can be relayed onto the transcription-initiation complex by coupling elements located proximal to the promoter.