Estrogen Sulfotransferase Is an Oxidative Stress-responsive Gene That Gender-specifically Affects Liver Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 290; no. 23; pp. 14754 - 14764
• Main Authors: Guo, Yan, Hu, Bingfang, Huang, Hai, Tsung, Allan, Gaikwad, Nilesh W., Xu, Meishu, Jiang, Mengxi, Ren, Songrong, Fan, Jie, Billiar, Timothy R., Huang, Min, Xie, Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 05.06.2015; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Animals; Cells, Cultured; estrogen homeostasis; estrogen sulfotransferase; Estrogens - metabolism; Female; Gene Deletion; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; Liver - metabolism; Liver - pathology; liver ischemia and reperfusion; Male; Metabolism; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - genetics; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - metabolism; Nrf2; Oxidative Stress; Reperfusion Injury - genetics; Reperfusion Injury - metabolism; Reperfusion Injury - pathology; Sex Factors; Sulfotransferases - genetics; Sulfotransferases - metabolism; Up-Regulation; estrogen sulfotransferase; Nrf2; estrogen homeostasis; liver ischemia and reperfusion; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M115.642124

Estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) regulates estrogen homeostasis by sulfonating and deactivating estrogens. Liver ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) involves both hypoxia during the ischemic phase and oxidative damage during the reperfusion phase. In this report, we showed that the expression of EST was markedly induced by I/R. Mechanistically, oxidative stress-induced activation of Nrf2 was responsible for the EST induction, which was abolished in Nrf2−/− mice. EST is a direct transcriptional target of Nrf2. In female mice, the I/R-responsive induction of EST compromised estrogen activity. EST ablation attenuated I/R injury as a result of decreased estrogen deprivation, whereas this benefit was abolished upon ovariectomy. The effect of EST ablation was sex-specific because the EST−/− males showed heightened I/R injury. Reciprocally, both estrogens and EST regulate the expression and activity of Nrf2. Estrogen deprivation by ovariectomy abolished the I/R-responsive Nrf2 accumulation, whereas the compromised estrogen deprivation in EST−/− mice was associated with increased Nrf2 accumulation. Our results suggested a novel I/R-responsive feedback mechanism to limit the activity of Nrf2 in which Nrf2 induces the expression of EST, which subsequently increases estrogen deactivation and limits the estrogen-responsive activation of Nrf2. Inhibition of EST, at least in females, may represent an effective approach to manage hepatic I/R injury. Background: EST regulates estrogen homeostasis by sulfonating and deactivating estrogens. Results: Liver ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) induced the expression of EST and comprised estrogen activity in an Nrf2-dependent manner. EST ablation gender-specifically affected I/R sensitivity. Conclusion: EST is an oxidative stress responsive gene that affects liver I/R injury. Significance: Inhibition of EST, at least in females, represents an effective approach to manage hepatic I/R injury.