Long chain fatty acids and pharmacologic ligands for the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα) activate expression of genes involved in fatty acid and glucose oxidation including carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1A (CPT-1A) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4). CPT-1A catalyzes the transfer of long chain fatty acids from acyl-CoA to carnitine for translocation across the mitochondrial membranes and is an initiating step in the mitochondrial oxidation of long chain fatty acids. PDK4 phosphorylates and inhibits the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) which catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA in the glucose oxidation pathway. The activity of CPT-1A is modulated both by transcriptional changes as well as by malonyl-CoA inhibition. In the liver, CPT-1A and PDK4 gene expression are induced by starvation, high fat diets and PPARα ligands. Here, we characterized a binding site for PPARα in the second intron of the rat CPT-1A gene. Our studies indicated that WY14643 and long chain fatty acids induce CPT-1A gene expression through this element. In addition, we found that mutation of the PPARα binding site reduced the expression of CPT-1A-luciferase vectors in the liver of fasted rats. We had demonstrated previously that CPT-1A was stimulated by the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator (PGC-1α) via sequences in the first intron of the rat CPT-1A gene. Surprisingly, PGC-1α did not enhance CPT-1A transcription through the PPARα binding site in the second intron. Following knockdown of PGC-1α with short hairpin RNA, the CPT-1A and PDK4 genes remained responsive to WY14643. Overall, our studies indicated that PPARα and PGC-1α stimulate transcription of the CPT-1A gene through different regions of the CPT-1A gene.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA in mitochondria and is a key regulatory enzyme in the oxidation of glucose to acetyl-CoA. Phosphorylation of PDC by the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDK) inhibits its activity. The expression of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) gene is increased in fasting and other conditions associated with the switch from the utilization of glucose to fatty acids as an energy source. Transcription of the PDK4 gene is elevated by glucocorticoids and inhibited by insulin. In this study, we have investigated the factors involved in the regulation of the PDK4 gene by these hormones. Glucocorticoids stimulate PDK4 through two glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding sites located more than 6,000 base pairs upstream of the transcriptional start site. Insulin inhibits the glucocorticoid induction in part by causing dissociation of the GR from the promoter. Previously, we found that the estrogen related receptor alpha (ERRα) stimulates the expression of PDK4. Here, we determined that one of the ERRα binding sites contributes to the insulin inhibition of PDK4. A binding site for the forkhead transcription factor (FoxO1) is adjacent to the ERRα binding sites. FoxO1 participates in the glucocorticoid induction of PDK4 and the regulation of this gene by insulin. Our data demonstrate that glucocorticoids and insulin each modulate PDK4 gene expression through complex hormone response units that contain multiple factors.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) regulates pyruvate oxidation through the phosphorylation and inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). PDC catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl‐CoA and is an important control point in glucose and pyruvate metabolism. PDK4 gene expression is stimulated by thyroid hormone (T3), glucocorticoids and long chain fatty acids. Here, we have identified two binding sites for the thyroid hormone receptor (TRß) in the promoter of the PDK4 gene. In addition, we have investigated the role of transcriptional coactivators and found that the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator (PGC‐1α) enhances the T3 induction of PDK4. Addition of T3 to rat hepatocytes increased the abundance of the PGC‐1α and its association with the PDK4 promoter. Administration of T3 to hypothyroid rats increased PGC‐1α protein levels in the liver. In addition, we observed enhanced association of PGC‐1α not only with the PDK4 gene but also with phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (CPT‐1a) genes. Knock‐down of PGC‐1α in rat hepatocytes reduced the T3 induction of PDK4, PEPCK and CPT‐1a genes. Our results indicate that T3 regulates PGC‐1α abundance and association with hepatic genes and in turn PGC‐1α is an important participant in the T3 induction of selected genes.

Thyroid hormone (T3) is a key regulator of several processes including development and metabolic rate. Our laboratory has investigated the regulation of hepatic genes by T3. Here, we examined the mechanisms by which T3 activates the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK4) gene. PDK4 regulates pyruvate oxidation through the phosphorylation and inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). PDC catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl‐CoA and is an important control point in the metabolism of glucose and pyruvate. We identified a T3 response element in the PDK4 gene and demonstrated that the T3 receptor binds this element. The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator (PGC‐1a) is a transcriptional coactivator that promotes hepatic gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. We found that PGC‐1a is associated with the PDK4 gene following T3 administration and that the abundance of PGC‐1a is increased by T3. We explored the role of several transcription factors including estrogen related receptor (ERRa), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPß), forkhead transcription factor (FOXO1) in the activation of the PDK4 gene by T3. Moreover, we identified a number of factors including ERRa that are induced by T3. Our results suggest that the hepatic actions of T3 are mediated in part by the induction of transcription factors as well as the recruitment of coactivators to T3 responsive genes.