Generation of multiple farnesoid-X-receptor isoforms through the use of alternative promoters

Bile acid biosynthesis is regulated by both feed-forward and feedback mechanisms involving a cascade of nuclear hormone receptors. Feed-forward regulation of the rate limiting enzyme in bile acid biosynthesis is provided by oxysterols through liver-X-receptor alpha (NR1H3), while feedback regulation is provided by bile acids through farnesoid-X-receptor (FXR) (NR1H4). The Syrian golden hamster provides a useful model for studying lipid metabolism. The hamster metabolizes and transports dietary cholesterol in a similar manner to humans, with the resulting lipid profile being more similar to the human profile than that of other rodent models. Cloning of Fxr from Syrian golden hamster revealed four hamster Fxr splice variants that altered the N-terminal activation domain or the hinge region between the DNA and ligand binding domains. Human genomic sequence and data from hamster Fxr were used to identify and clone a novel human FXR isoform resulting from the use of an alternative promoter. RNA expression analysis indicates that the two human FXR isoforms are differentially expressed in developmental and tissue-specific patterns and are likely to provide a mechanism for cell-specific FXR-dependent transcriptional activity.