AMPK activation represses the human gene promoter of the cardiac isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase: Role of nuclear respiratory factor-1

The cardiac-enriched isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCβ) produces malonyl-CoA, a potent inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. AMPK inhibits ACCβ activity, lowering malonyl-CoA levels and promoting mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation. Previously, AMPK increased promoter binding of nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), a pivotal transcriptional modulator controlling gene expression of mitochondrial proteins. We therefore hypothesized that NRF-1 inhibits myocardial ACCβ promoter activity via AMPK activation. A human ACCβ promoter-luciferase construct was transiently transfected into neonatal cardiomyocytes ± a NRF-1 expression construct. NRF-1 overexpression decreased ACCβ gene promoter activity by 71 ± 4.6% (p < 0.001 vs. control). Transfections with 5′-end serial promoter deletions revealed that NRF-1-mediated repression of ACCβ was abolished with a pPIIβ-18/+65-Luc deletion construct. AMPK activation dose-dependently reduced ACCβ promoter activity, while NRF-1 addition did not further decrease it. We also investigated NRF-1 inhibition in the presence of upstream stimulatory factor 1 (USF1), a known transactivator of the human ACCβ gene promoter. Here NRF-1 blunted USF1-dependent induction of ACCβ promoter activity by 58 ± 7.5% (p < 0.001 vs. control), reversed with a dominant negative NRF-1 construct. NRF-1 also suppressed endogenous USF1 transcriptional activity by 55 ± 6.2% (p < 0.001 vs. control). This study demonstrates that NRF-1 is a novel transcriptional inhibitor of the human ACCβ gene promoter in the mammalian heart. Our data extends AMPK regulation of ACCβ to the transcriptional level.

Research highlights
► AMPK inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta gene promoter activity.
► Nuclear respiratory factor-1 inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta promoter activity.
► AMPK regulates acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta at transcriptional level.