Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Is Regulated by the IRE1α-XBP1 Branch of the Unfolded Protein Response and Counteracts Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-induced Hepatic Steatosis

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 289; no. 43; pp. 29751 - 29765
• Main Authors: Jiang, Shan, Yan, Cheng, Fang, Qi-chen, Shao, Meng-le, Zhang, Yong-liang, Liu, Yang, Deng, Yi-ping, Shan, Bo, Liu, Jing-qi, Li, Hua-ting, Yang, Liu, Zhou, Jian, Dai, Zhi, Liu, Yong, Jia, Wei-ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 24.10.2014; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Diet; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - genetics; Endoribonucleases - metabolism; Enzyme Activation - drug effects; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases - metabolism; Fatty Liver - genetics; Fatty Liver - pathology; Fibroblast Growth Factors - genetics; Fibroblast Growth Factors - metabolism; Hep G2 Cells; Hepatocytes - drug effects; Hepatocytes - metabolism; Hepatocytes - pathology; Humans; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Obese; Molecular Biophysics; Molecular Sequence Data; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - metabolism; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - pathology; Organ Specificity - drug effects; Organ Specificity - genetics; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Recombinant Proteins - pharmacology; Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signal Transduction - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcription, Genetic - drug effects; Transcriptional Activation - drug effects; Transcriptional Activation - genetics; Unfolded Protein Response - drug effects; Unfolded Protein Response - genetics; X-Box Binding Protein 1; Unfolded Protein Response (UPR); Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF); Liver Metabolism; ER Stress; Hepatocyte
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M114.565960
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress activates the adaptive unfolded protein response (UPR) and represents a critical mechanism that underlies metabolic dysfunctions. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a hormone that is predominantly secreted by the liver, exerts a broad range of effects upon the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Although increased circulating levels of FGF21 have been documented in animal models and human subjects with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the functional interconnections between metabolic ER stress and FGF21 are incompletely understood. Here, we report that increased ER stress along with the simultaneous elevation of FGF21 expression were associated with the occurrence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease both in diet-induced obese mice and human patients. Intraperitoneal administration of the ER stressor tunicamycin in mice resulted in hepatic steatosis, accompanied by activation of the three canonical UPR branches and increased the expression of FGF21. Furthermore, the IRE1α-XBP1 pathway of the UPR could directly activate the transcriptional expression of Fgf21. Administration of recombinant FGF21 in mice alleviated tunicamycin-induced liver steatosis, in parallel with reduced eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP signaling. Taken together, these results suggest that FGF21 is an integral physiological component of the cellular UPR program, which exerts beneficial feedback effects upon lipid metabolism through counteracting ER stress.