Central administration of REV-ERBα agonist promotes opposite responses on energy balance in fasted and fed states

REV-ERBα Agonist SR9009 Promotes a Negative Energy Balance in Goldfish

REV-ERBα (nr1d1, nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1) is a transcriptional repressor that in mammals regulates nutrient metabolism, and has effects on energy homeostasis, although its role in teleosts is poorly understood. To determine REV-ERBα's involvement in fish energy balance and metabolism, we studied the effects of acute and 7-day administration of its agonist SR9009 on food intake, weight and length gain, locomotor activity, feeding regulators, plasma and hepatic metabolites, and liver enzymatic activity. SR9009 inhibited feeding, lowering body weight and length gain. In addition, the abundance of ghrelin mRNA decreased in the intestine, and abundance of leptin-aI mRNA increased in the liver. Hypocretin, neuropeptide y (npy), and proopiomelanocortin (pomc) mRNA abundance was not modified after acute or subchronic SR9009 administration, while hypothalamic cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (cartpt-I) was induced in the subchronic treatment, being a possible mediator of the anorectic effects. Moreover, SR9009 decreased plasma glucose, coinciding with increased glycolysis and a decreased gluconeogenesis in the liver. Decreased triglyceride levels and activity of lipogenic enzymes suggest a lipogenesis reduction by SR9009. Energy expenditure by locomotor activity was not significantly affected by SR9009. Overall, this study shows for the first time in fish the effects of REV-ERBα activation via SR9009, promoting a negative energy balance by reducing energetic inputs and regulating lipid and glucose metabolism.

Downregulation of REV-ERBα is associated with the progression of lung adenocarcinoma

Background

The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα (nuclear receptor subfamily 1, Group D member 1, NR1D1) is one of the essential components of the circadian clock which modulates cell proliferation, glucose metabolism, inflammation, and many other biological processes. Modulation of these processes are also relevant to cancer development. Previous studies have suggested that activation of REV-ERBα correlates with cancer cell senescence and death, but how REV-ERBα play roles in tumor progression require further elucidation.

Methods

We investigated the expression of REV-ERBα in clinical samples by immunohistochemistry (IHC). REV-ERBα is downregulated by shorth hairpin RNA (shRNA). The gene expression level of each group was detected by Western blot analysis. The effects of REV-ERBα downregulation on apoptosis and cell cycles was assessed by flow cytometry assay. A549 cell growth curve under different treatments measured by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. Cell invasion ability under different treatments was measured by Transwell assay. Immunostaining analysis was also used for evaluating the effects of downregulation of REV-ERBα on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB).

Results

Compared to 81.8% (54/66) of samples exhibiting a lower expression level of REV-ERBα in cancer tissue than in paired normal tissue, only 18.2% (12/66) were higher or equally expressed in lung cancer tissue. Furthermore, downregulation of REV-ERBα by RNA interference can significantly enhance the transcription of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), while the expression of p53 remained the same. Downregulation of REV-ERBα was also shown to stimulate the invasion and promote the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that tumorigenesis and progression of lung carcinoma is relevant to downregulation or inhibition of REV-ERBα. This pathophysiological process also correlates with regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, indicating that REV-ERBα is a potential target of lung cancer therapy.