@article {26614, title = {A dominant negative form of the transcription factor c-Jun affects genes that have opposing effects on lipid homeostasis in mice}, journal = {J Biol ChemJ Biol ChemJ Biol Chem}, volume = {282}, number = {27}, year = {2007}, note = {Drosatos, KonstantinosSanoudou, DespinaKypreos, Kyriakos EKardassis, DimitrisZannis, Vassilis IengR01 HL048739-11/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/HL48739/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/R01 HL048739/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/R01 HL033952/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/R01 HL068216/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/R01 HL068216-05A1/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/HL33952/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/Research Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov{\textquoteright}t2007/04/26 09:00J Biol Chem. 2007 Jul 6;282(27):19556-64. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M700986200. Epub 2007 Apr 24.}, month = {Jul 6}, pages = {19556-64}, abstract = {c-Jun is a transcription factor activated by phosphorylation by the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway in response to extracellular signals and cytokines. We show that adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of the dominant negative form of c-Jun (dn-c-Jun) in C57BL/6 mice increased greatly apoE hepatic mRNA and plasma levels, increased plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and very low density lipoprotein levels, and resulted in the accumulation of discoidal high density lipoprotein particles. A similar but more severe phenotype was generated by overexpression of the mouse apoE in C57BL/6 mice, suggesting that dyslipidemia induced by dn-c-Jun was the result of apoE overexpression. Unexpectedly, infection of apoE(-/-) mice with adenovirus expressing dn-c-Jun reduced plasma cholesterol by 70\%, suggesting that dn-c-Jun affected other genes that control plasma cholesterol levels. To identify these genes, we performed whole genome expression analysis (34,000 genes) of isolated livers from two groups of five apoE(-/-) mice, infected with adenoviruses expressing either the dn-c-Jun or the green fluorescence protein. Bioinformatic analysis and Northern blotting validation revealed that dn-c-Jun increased 40-fold the apoE mRNA and reduced by 70\% the Scd-1 (stearoyl-CoA-desaturase 1) mRNA. The involvement of Scd-1 in lowering plasma cholesterol was confirmed by restoration of high cholesterol levels of apoE(-/-) mice following coinfection with adenoviruses expressing dn-c-Jun and Scd-1. In conclusion, dn-c-Jun appears to trigger two opposing events in mice that affect plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels as follows: one results in apoE overexpression and triggers dyslipidemia and the other results in inhibition of Scd-1 and offsets dyslipidemia.}, keywords = {*Genes, Dominant, *Homeostasis/genetics, *Lipid Metabolism/genetics, *Signal Transduction/genetics, Adenoviridae, Animals, Apolipoproteins E/biosynthesis/deficiency, Cell Line, Tumor, Cholesterol/blood, Dyslipidemias/blood/genetics, Genome, Humans, JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics/metabolism, Liver/metabolism, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun/*biosynthesis/genetics, RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis/genetics, Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase/genetics/metabolism, Triglycerides/blood}, isbn = {0021-9258 (Print)0021-9258 (Linking)}, author = {Drosatos, K. and Sanoudou, D. and Kypreos, K. E. and Kardassis, D. and Zannis, V. I.} }