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and Its Crosstalk with LXR in Xeno- and Endobiotic Gene Regulation

* Center for Pharmacogenetics and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261; and
Cell Biology Section, Division of Intramural Research, The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at 1 Center for Pharmacogenetics, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Terrace St., 633 Salk Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261. E-mail: wex6{at}pitt.edu
Retinoid-related orphan receptors (RORs), including the
, β and
isoforms (NR1F1–3), are orphan nuclear receptors that have been implicated in tissue development, immune responses, and circadian rhythm. Although ROR
and ROR
have been shown to be expressed in the liver, the hepatic function of these two RORs remains unknown. We have recently shown that loss of ROR
and/or ROR
can positively or negatively influence the expression of multiple Phase I and Phase II drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters in the liver. Among ROR responsive genes, we identified oxysterol 7
-hydroxylase (Cyp7b1), which plays a critical role in the homeostasis of cholesterol, as a ROR
target gene. We showed that ROR
is both necessary and sufficient for Cyp7b1 activation. Studies of mice deficient of ROR
or liver X receptors (LXRs) revealed an interesting and potentially important functional crosstalk between ROR
and LXR. The respective activation of LXR target genes and ROR target genes in ROR
null mice and LXR null mice led to our hypothesis that these two receptors are mutually suppressive in vivo. LXRs have been shown to regulate a battery of metabolic genes. We conclude that RORs participate in the xeno- and endobiotic regulatory network by regulating gene expression directly or through crosstalk with LXR, which may have broad implications in metabolic homeostasis.
Key Words: nuclear receptor gene regulation metabolism
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