1. Hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α regulates expression of the serotonin transporter in intestinal epithelial cells.
- Author
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Holton NW, Singhal M, Kumar A, Ticho AL, Manzella CR, Malhotra P, Jarava D, Saksena S, Dudeja PK, Alrefai WA, and Gill RK
- Subjects
- Animals, Caco-2 Cells, Disease Models, Animal, Epithelial Cells pathology, Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 deficiency, Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 genetics, Humans, Ileitis genetics, Ileitis pathology, Ileum pathology, Intestinal Mucosa pathology, Male, Mice, Knockout, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Response Elements, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins genetics, Transcription, Genetic, Epithelial Cells metabolism, Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 metabolism, Ileitis metabolism, Ileum metabolism, Intestinal Mucosa metabolism, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins metabolism
- Abstract
The serotonin transporter (SERT) functions to regulate the availability of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain and intestine. An intestine-specific mRNA variant arising from a unique transcription start site and alternative promoter in the SERT gene has been identified (iSERT; spanning exon 1C). A decrease in SERT is implicated in several gut disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, little is known about mechanisms regulating the iSERT variant, and a clearer understanding is warranted for targeting SERT for the treatment of gut disorders. The current studies examined the expression of iSERT across different human intestinal regions and investigated its regulation by HNF4α (hepatic nuclear factor-4α), a transcription factor important for diverse cellular functions. iSERT mRNA abundance was highest in the human ileum and Caco-2 cell line. iSERT mRNA expression was downregulated by loss of HNF4α (but not HNF1α, HNF1β, or FOXA1) in Caco-2 cells. Overexpression of HNF4α increased iSERT mRNA concomitant with an increase in SERT protein. Progressive promoter deletion and site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the HNF4α response element spans nucleotides -1,163 to -1150 relative to the translation start site. SERT mRNA levels in the intestine were drastically reduced in the intestine-specific HNF4α-knockout mice relative to HNF4α
FL/FL mice. Both HNF4α and SERT mRNA levels were also downregulated in mouse model of ileitis (SAMP) compared with AKR control mice. These results establish the transcriptional regulation of iSERT at the gut-specific internal promoter (hSERTp2) and have identified HNF4α as a critical modulator of basal SERT expression in the intestine.- Published
- 2020
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