Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P51532 (transcriptional activator)
 6,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP) is responsible for the thermogenic function of brown fat, and it is a molecular marker of the brown adipocyte cell type. Retinoic acid (RA) increased UCP mRNA levels severalfold in brown adipocytes differentiated in culture. This induction was independent of adrenergic pathways or protein synthesis. RA stimulated ucp gene expression regardless of the stage of brown adipocyte differentiation. In transient transfection experiments RA induced the expression of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase vectors driven by 4.5 kilobases of the 5'-noncoding region of the rat ucp gene, and co-transfection of expression vectors for RA receptors enhanced the action of RA. Retinoic acid receptor alpha was more effective than retinoid X receptor in promoting RA action, whereas a mixture of the two was the most effective. The RA-responsive region in the ucp gene was located at -2469/-2318 and contains three motifs (between -2357 and -2330) of the consensus half-sites characteristic of retinoic acid response elements. This 27-base pair sequence specifically binds purified retinoic acid receptor alpha as well as related proteins from brown fat nuclei. In conclusion, a novel potential regulatory pathway of brown fat development and thermogenic function has been recognized by identifying RA as a transcriptional activator of the ucp gene.
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PMID:A novel regulatory pathway of brown fat thermogenesis. Retinoic acid is a transcriptional activator of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein gene. 789 Jun 89

A novel potential regulatory pathway of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis was recently recognized after identifying retinoic acid (RA) as a transcriptional activator of the uncoupling protein (UCP) gene. Here we provide evidence that the UCP responsiveness to RA in primary cultures of brown adipocytes involves RA receptor alpha (RAR alpha), and show, in the same system and also in CHO cells, that RA down-regulates the steady-state levels of RAR alpha and especially of retinoid X receptor alpha, suggesting autoregulation of the retinoid pathway and therefore supporting the idea of a physiological role for it in controlling the thermogenic capacity of BAT.
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PMID:Retinoic acid modulates retinoid X receptor alpha and retinoic acid receptor alpha levels of cultured brown adipocytes. 910 17

Malonyl-CoA functions as a mediator in the hypothalamic sensing of energy balance and regulates the neural physiology that governs feeding behavior and energy expenditure. The central administration of C75, a potent inhibitor of the fatty acid synthase (FAS), increases malonyl-CoA concentration in the hypothalamus and suppresses food intake while activating fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle. Closely correlated with the increase in muscle fatty acid oxidation is the phosphorylation/inactivation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which leads to reduced malonyl-CoA concentration. Lowering muscle malonyl-CoA, a potent inhibitor of carnitine/palmitoyl-CoA transferase 1 (CPT1), releases CPT1 from inhibitory constraint, facilitating the entry of fatty acids into mitochondria for beta oxidation. Also correlated with these events are C75-induced increases in the expression of skeletal muscle peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), a transcriptional activator of fatty acid oxidizing enzymes, and uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3), a thermogenic mitochondrial uncoupling protein. Phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent, prevents the C75-induced increases of skeletal muscle UCP3 and whole body fatty acid oxidation and C75-induced decrease of skeletal muscle malonyl-CoA. Thus, the sympathetic nervous system is implicated in the transmission of the "malonyl-CoA signal" from brain to skeletal muscle. Consistent with the up-regulation of UCP3 and PPARalpha is the concomitant increase in the expression of PGC1alpha, transcriptional coactivator of the UCP3 and PPARalpha-activated genes. These findings clarify the mechanism by which the hypothalamic malonyl-CoA signal is communicated to metabolic systems in skeletal muscle that regulate fatty acid oxidation and energy expenditure.
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PMID:Inhibition of hypothalamic fatty acid synthase triggers rapid activation of fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle. 1620 72