Metabolic Effects of Rexinoids: Tissue-Specific Regulation of Lipoprotein Lipase Activity

Abstract

Hypertriglyceridemia is a frequent complication accompanying the treatment of patients with either retinoids or rexinoids, [retinoid X receptor (RXR)-selective retinoids]. To investigate the cellular and molecular basis for this observation, we have studied the effects of rexinoids on triglyceride metabolism in both normal and diabetic rodents. Administration of a rexinoid such as LG100268 (LG268) to normal or diabetic rats results in a rapid increase in serum triglyceride levels. LG268 has no effect on hepatic triglyceride production but suppresses post-heparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity suggesting that the hypertriglyceridemia results from diminished peripheral processing of plasma very low density lipoproteins particles. Treatment of diabetic rats with rexinoids suppresses skeletal and cardiac muscle but not adipose tissue LPL activity. This effect is independent of changes in LPL mRNA. In C2C12 myocytes, LG268 suppresses the level of cell surface (i.e., heparin-releasable) LPL activity without altering LPL mRNA. This effect is very rapid (t1/2 = 2 h) and is blocked by the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D. These studies demonstrate that RXR ligands can have dramatic effects on the post-translational processing of LPL and suggest that skeletal muscle may be an important target of rexinoid action. In addition, these data underscore that the metabolic consequences of RXR activation are distinct from either retinoic acid receptor or peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor activation.

Footnotes

  • Send reprint requests to: Dr. Peter J. A. Davies, Dept. of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas School of Medicine, P.O. Box 20708, Houston, TX 77225. E-mail:peter.j.davies{at}uth.tmc.edu

  • This work was supported by grants from Ligand Pharmaceuticals, the National Institutes of Health (DK26356), the Fondation de France, the European Union (Grant QLG1-CT-1999-00674), CNRS, INSERM, and Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg. J.A. and C.F. are research directors with CNRS and INSERM, respectively.

  • Abbreviations:
    RA
    retinoic acid
    LDL
    low-density lipoprotein
    VLDL
    very-low-density lipoprotein
    LPL
    lipoprotein lipase
    RAR
    retinoic acid receptor
    RXR
    retinoid X receptor
    PPAR
    peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
    ZDF
    Zucker diabetic fatty
    DMEM
    Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium
    HDL
    high-density lipoprotein
    TTNPB
    (E)-4-[2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-1-propenyl]benzoic acid
    Act D
    actinomycin D
    • Received July 18, 2000.
    • Accepted October 10, 2000.
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