👤 Richard L Veech

The carbohydrate-response element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a glucose-responsive transcription factor that plays an essential role in converting excess carbohydrate to fat storage in the liver. In response to glucose levels, ChREBP is regulated by nuclear/cytosol trafficking via interaction with 14-3-3 proteins, CRM-1 (exportin-1 or XPO-1), or importins. Nuclear localization of ChREBP was rapidly inhibited when incubated in branched-chain α-ketoacids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide. Here, we discovered that protein-free extracts of high fat-fed livers contained, in addition to ketone bodies, a new metabolite, identified as AMP, which specifically activates the interaction between ChREBP and 14-3-3. The crystal structure showed that AMP binds directly to the N terminus of ChREBP-α2 helix. Our results suggest that AMP inhibits the nuclear localization of ChREBP through an allosteric activation of ChREBP/14-3-3 interactions and not by activation of AMPK. AMP and ketone bodies together can therefore inhibit lipogenesis by restricting localization of ChREBP to the cytoplasm during periods of ketosis. Show less

The carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a glucose-responsive transcription factor that plays a critical role in converting excess carbohydrate to storage fat in liver. In response to changing glucose levels, ChREBP activity is regulated by nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of ChREBP via interactions with 14-3-3 proteins and importins. The nuclear/cytosol trafficking is regulated partly by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of serine 196 mediated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein phosphatase. We show here that protein-free extracts of starved and high fat-fed livers contain metabolites that activate interaction of ChREBP·14-3-3 and inhibit the ChREBP/importin α interaction, resulting in cytosolic localization. These metabolites were identified as β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. Nuclear localization of GFP-ChREBP is rapidly inhibited in hepatocytes incubated in β-hydroxybutyrate or fatty acids, and the observed inhibition is closely correlated with the production of ketone bodies. These observations show that ketone bodies play an important role in the regulation of ChREBP activity by restricting ChREBP localization to the cytoplasm, thus inhibiting fat synthesis during periods of ketosis. Show less

Livers from mice lacking the carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) were compared with wild type (WT) mice to determine the effect of this transcription factor on hepatic energy metabolism. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was considerably more active in ChREBP(-/-) mice because of diminished pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase activity. Greater pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity caused a stimulation of lactate and pyruvate oxidation, and it significantly impaired fatty acid oxidation in perfused livers from ChREBP(-/-) mice. This shift in mitochondrial substrate utilization led to a 3-fold reduction of the free cytosolic [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratio, a 1.7-fold increase in the free mitochondrial [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratio, and a 2-fold decrease in the free cytosolic [ATP]/[ADP][P(i)] ratio in the ChREBP(-/-) liver compared with control. Hepatic pyruvate carboxylase flux was impaired with ChREBP deletion secondary to decreased fatty acid oxidation, increased pyruvate oxidation, and limited pyruvate availability because of reduced activity of liver pyruvate kinase and malic enzyme, which replenish pyruvate via glycolysis and pyruvate cycling. Overall, the shift from fat utilization to pyruvate and lactate utilization resulted in a decrease in the energy of ATP hydrolysis and a hypo-energetic state in the livers of ChREBP(-/-) mice. Show less