Apoptosis induced by Fas signaling does not alter hepatic hepcidin expression

Abstract

AIM: To determine the regulation of human hepcidin (HAMP) and mouse hepcidin (hepcidin-1 and hepcidin-2) gene expression in the liver by apoptosis using in vivo and in vitro experimental models.

METHODS: For the induction of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway, HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of CH11, an activating antibody for human Fas receptor, for 12 h. Male C57BL/6NCR and C57BL/6J strains of mice were injected intraperitoneally with sublethal doses of an activating antibody for mouse Fas receptor, Jo2. The mice were anesthetized and sacrificed 1 or 6 h after the injection. The level of apoptosis was quantified by caspase-3 activity assay. Liver injury was assessed by measuring the levels of ALT/AST enzymes in the serum. The acute phase reaction in the liver was examined by determining the expression levels of IL-6 and SAA3 genes by SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The phosphorylation of transcription factors, Stat3, Smad4 and NF-κB was determined by western blotting. Hepcidin gene expression was determined by Taqman qPCR. The binding of transcription factors to hepcidin-1 promoter was studied using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays.

RESULTS: The treatment of HepG2 cells with CH11 induced apoptosis, as shown by the significant activation of caspase-3 (P < 0.001), but did not cause any significant changes in HAMP expression. Short-term (1 h) Jo2 treatment (0.2 μg/g b.w.) neither induced apoptosis and acute phase reaction nor altered mRNA expression of mouse hepcidin-1 in the livers of C57BL/6NCR mice. In contrast, 6 h after Jo2 injection, the livers of C57BL/6NCR mice exhibited a significant level of apoptosis (P < 0.001) and an increase in SAA3 (P < 0.023) and IL-6 (P < 0.005) expression in the liver. However, mRNA expression of hepcidin-1 in the liver was not significantly altered. Despite the Jo2-induced phosphorylation of Stat3, no occupancy of hepcidin-1 promoter by Stat3 was observed, as shown by ChIP assays. Compared to C57BL/6NCR mice, Jo2 treatment (0.2 μg/g b.w.) of C57BL/6J strain mice for 6 h induced a more prominent activation of apoptosis, liver injury and acute phase reaction. Similar to C57BL/6NCR mice, the level of liver hepcidin-1 mRNA expression in the livers of C57BL/6J mice injected with a sublethal dose of Jo2 (0.2 μg/g b.w.) remained unchanged. The injection of C57BL/6J mice with a higher dose of Jo2 (0.32 μg/g b.w.) did not also alter hepatic hepcidin expression.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that human or mouse hepcidin gene expression is not regulated by apoptosis induced via Fas receptor activation in the liver.

Keywords: Iron metabolism, Jo2, CH11, Extrinsic apoptosis, Stat3

Core tip: Apoptosis and Fas signaling participate in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases. Iron also contributes to liver injury. Changes in the expression of hepcidin, a key iron regulatory hormone, has been reported in various liver diseases. Recently, apoptosis has been implicated in the regulation of hepcidin. This study investigates effector caspase activation and apoptosis induced by Fas receptor signaling and its relationship to hepatic hepcidin expression.