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Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Valastyan, S; Thakur, V; Johnson, A; Kumar, K; Manor, D
Published in: Biochemistry
January 15, 2008

Vitamin E is a dietary lipid that is essential for vertebrate health and fertility. The biological activity of vitamin E is thought to reflect its ability to quench oxygen- and carbon-based free radicals and thus to protect the organism from oxidative damage. However, recent reports suggest that vitamin E may also display other biological activities. Here, to examine possible mechanisms that may underlie such nonclassical activities of vitamin E, we investigated the possibility that it functions as a specific modulator of gene expression. We show that treatment of cultured hepatocytes with (RRR)-alpha-tocopherol alters the expression of multiple genes and that these effects are distinct from those elicited by another antioxidant. Genes modulated by vitamin E include those that encode key enzymes in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. Correspondingly, vitamin E caused a pronounced inhibition of de novo cholesterol biosynthesis. The transcriptional activities of vitamin E were mediated by attenuating the post-translational processing of the transcription factor SREBP-2 that, in turn, led to a decreased transcriptional activity of sterol-responsive elements in the promoters of target genes. These observations indicate that vitamin E possesses novel transcriptional activities that affect fundamental biological processes. Cross talk between tocopherol levels and cholesterol status may be an important facet of the biological activities of vitamin E.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biochemistry

DOI

ISSN

0006-2960

Publication Date

January 15, 2008

Volume

47

Issue

2

Start / End Page

744 / 752

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • alpha-Tocopherol
  • Vitamin E
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 2
  • Serum Response Element
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Multigene Family
 

Citation

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Valastyan, S., Thakur, V., Johnson, A., Kumar, K., & Manor, D. (2008). Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis. Biochemistry, 47(2), 744–752. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi701432q
Valastyan, Scott, Varsha Thakur, Amy Johnson, Karan Kumar, and Danny Manor. “Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis.Biochemistry 47, no. 2 (January 15, 2008): 744–52. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi701432q.
Valastyan S, Thakur V, Johnson A, Kumar K, Manor D. Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis. Biochemistry. 2008 Jan 15;47(2):744–52.
Valastyan, Scott, et al. “Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis.Biochemistry, vol. 47, no. 2, Jan. 2008, pp. 744–52. Pubmed, doi:10.1021/bi701432q.
Valastyan S, Thakur V, Johnson A, Kumar K, Manor D. Novel transcriptional activities of vitamin E: inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis. Biochemistry. 2008 Jan 15;47(2):744–752.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biochemistry

DOI

ISSN

0006-2960

Publication Date

January 15, 2008

Volume

47

Issue

2

Start / End Page

744 / 752

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • alpha-Tocopherol
  • Vitamin E
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 2
  • Serum Response Element
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Multigene Family