RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Repression of the Nuclear Receptor Small Heterodimer Partner by Steatotic Drugs and in Advanced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease JF Molecular Pharmacology JO Mol Pharmacol FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 582 OP 594 DO 10.1124/mol.114.096313 VO 87 IS 4 A1 Benet, Marta A1 Guzmán, Carla A1 Pisonero-Vaquero, Sandra A1 García-Mediavilla, M. Victoria A1 Sánchez-Campos, Sonia A1 Martínez-Chantar, M. Luz A1 Donato, M. Teresa A1 Castell, José Vicente A1 Jover, Ramiro YR 2015 UL http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/87/4/582.abstract AB The small heterodimer partner (SHP) (NR0B2) is an atypical nuclear receptor that lacks a DNA-binding domain. It interacts with and inhibits many transcription factors, affecting key metabolic processes, including bile acid, cholesterol, fatty acid, and drug metabolism. Our aim was to determine the influence of steatotic drugs and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on SHP expression and investigate the potential mechanisms. SHP was found to be repressed by steatotic drugs (valproate, doxycycline, tetracycline, and cyclosporin A) in cultured hepatic cells and the livers of different animal models of NAFLD: iatrogenic (tetracycline-treated rats), genetic (glycine N-methyltransferase–deficient mice), and nutritional (mice fed a methionine- and choline-deficient diet). Among the different transcription factors investigated, CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) showed the strongest dominant-repressive effect on SHP expression in HepG2 and human hepatocytes. Reporter assays revealed that the inhibitory effect of C/EBPα and steatotic drugs colocalize between −340 and −509 base pair of the SHP promoter, and mutation of a predicted C/EBPα response element at −473 base pair abolished SHP repression by both C/EBPα and drugs. Moreover, inhibition of major stress signaling pathways demonstrated that the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 pathway activates, while the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase pathway represses SHP in a C/EBP-dependent manner. We conclude that SHP is downregulated by several steatotic drugs and in advanced NAFLD. These conditions can activate signals that target C/EBPα and consequently repress SHP, thus favoring the progression and severity of NAFLD.