Cyclin C regulates adipogenesis by stimulating transcriptional activity of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α.

Brown adipose tissue is important for maintaining energy homeostasis and adaptive thermogenesis in rodents and humans. As disorders arising from dysregulated energy metabolism, such as obesity and metabolic diseases, have increased, so has interest in the molecular mechanisms of adipocyte biology. Using a functional screen, we identified cyclin C (CycC), a conserved subunit of the Mediator complex, as a novel regulator for brown adipocyte formation. siRNA-mediated CycC knockdown (KD) in brown preadipocytes impaired the early transcriptional program of differentiation, and genetic KO of CycC completely blocked the differentiation process. RNA sequencing analyses of CycC-KD revealed a critical role of CycC in activating genes co-regulated by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα). Overexpression of PPARγ2 or addition of the PPARγ ligand rosiglitazone rescued the defects in CycC-KO brown preadipocytes and efficiently activated the PPARγ-responsive promoters in both WT and CycC-KO cells, suggesting that CycC is not essential for PPARγ transcriptional activity. In contrast, CycC-KO significantly reduced C/EBPα-dependent gene expression. Unlike for PPARγ, overexpression of C/EBPα could not induce C/EBPα target gene expression in CycC-KO cells or rescue the CycC-KO defects in brown adipogenesis, suggesting that CycC is essential for C/EBPα-mediated gene activation. CycC physically interacted with C/EBPα, and this interaction was required for C/EBPα transactivation domain activity. Consistent with the role of C/EBPα in white adipogenesis, CycC-KD also inhibited differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells into white adipocytes. Together, these data indicate that CycC activates adipogenesis in part by stimulating the transcriptional activity of C/EBPα.

Regulation of lipogenic gene expression by lysine-specific histone demethylase-1 (LSD1).

Dysregulation of lipid homeostasis is a common feature of several major human diseases, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, because of the complex nature of lipid metabolism, the regulatory mechanisms remain poorly defined at the molecular level. As the key transcriptional activators of lipogenic genes, such as fatty acid synthase (FAS), sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) play a pivotal role in stimulating lipid biosynthesis. Several studies have shown that SREBPs are regulated by the NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase SIRT1, which forms a complex with the lysine-specific histone demethylase LSD1. Here, we show that LSD1 plays a role in regulating SREBP1-mediated gene expression. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that LSD1 is required for SREBP1-dependent activation of the FAS promoter in mammalian cells. LSD1 knockdown decreases SREBP-1a at the transcription level. Although LSD1 affects nuclear SREBP-1 abundance indirectly through SIRT1, it is also required for SREBP1 binding to the FAS promoter. As a result, LSD1 knockdown decreases triglyceride levels in hepatocytes. Taken together, these results show that LSD1 plays a role in regulating lipogenic gene expression, suggesting LSD1 as a potential target for treating dysregulation of lipid metabolism.

Inhibition of SREBP transcriptional activity by a boron-containing compound improves lipid homeostasis in diet-induced obesity.

Dysregulation of lipid homeostasis is intimately associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Sterol regulatory-element binding proteins (SREBPs) are the master regulators of lipid biosynthesis. Previous studies have shown that the conserved transcriptional cofactor Mediator complex is critically required for the SREBP transcriptional activity, and recruitment of the Mediator complex to the SREBP transactivation domains (TADs) is through the MED15-KIX domain. Recently, we have synthesized several boron-containing small molecules. Among these novel compounds, BF175 can specifically block the binding of MED15-KIX to SREBP1a-TAD in vitro, resulting in an inhibition of the SREBP transcriptional activity and a decrease of SREBP target gene expression in cultured hepatocytes. Furthermore, BF175 can improve lipid homeostasis in the mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Compared with the control, BF175 treatment decreased the expression of SREBP target genes in mouse livers and decreased hepatic and blood levels of lipids. These results suggest that blocking the interaction between SREBP-TADs and the Mediator complex by small molecules may represent a novel approach for treating diseases with aberrant lipid homeostasis.

Regulation of lipogenesis by cyclin-dependent kinase 8-mediated control of SREBP-1.

Altered lipid metabolism underlies several major human diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, lipid metabolism pathophysiology remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Insulin is the primary stimulator of hepatic lipogenesis through activation of the SREBP-1c transcription factor. Here we identified cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) and its regulatory partner cyclin C (CycC) as negative regulators of the lipogenic pathway in Drosophila, mammalian hepatocytes, and mouse liver. The inhibitory effect of CDK8 and CycC on de novo lipogenesis was mediated through CDK8 phosphorylation of nuclear SREBP-1c at a conserved threonine residue. Phosphorylation by CDK8 enhanced SREBP-1c ubiquitination and protein degradation. Importantly, consistent with the physiologic regulation of lipid biosynthesis, CDK8 and CycC proteins were rapidly downregulated by feeding and insulin, resulting in decreased SREBP-1c phosphorylation. Moreover, overexpression of CycC efficiently suppressed insulin and feeding-induced lipogenic gene expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CDK8 and CycC function as evolutionarily conserved components of the insulin signaling pathway in regulating lipid homeostasis.