LXR antagonists induce ABCD2 expression

• Human cells treated with synthetic LXR antagonists display ABCD2 and CTNNB1 induction.
• Oxidative stress in X-ALD fibroblasts is reduced by LXR antagonist treatment.
• Expression of Abcd2 and Ctnnb1 in rat liver is induced by 22S-hydroxycholesterol.
• LXRα and ABCD2 expression levels are almost inversely correlated in human tissues.
• LXR antagonists may have a therapeutic interest for neurodegenerative disorders.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of very-long-chain fatty acids resulting from a β-oxidation defect. Oxidative stress and inflammation are also key components of the pathogenesis. X-ALD is caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene, which encodes for a peroxisomal half ABC transporter predicted to participate in the entry of VLCFA-CoA into the peroxisome, the unique site of their β-oxidation. Two homologous peroxisomal ABC transporters, ABCD2 and ABCD3 have been proven to compensate for ABCD1 deficiency when overexpressed. Pharmacological induction of these target genes could therefore represent an alternative therapy for X-ALD patients. Since LXR activation was shown to repress ABCD2 expression, we investigated the effects of LXR antagonists in different cell lines. Cells were treated with GSK(17) (a LXR antagonist recently discovered from the GlaxoSmithKline compound collection), 22(S)-hydroxycholesterol (22S-HC, another LXR antagonist) and 22R-HC (an endogenous LXR agonist). We observed up-regulation of ABCD2, ABCD3 and CTNNB1 (the gene encoding for β-catenin, which was recently demonstrated to induce ABCD2 expression) in human HepG2 hepatoma cells and in X-ALD skin fibroblasts treated with LXR antagonists. Interestingly, induction in X-ALD fibroblasts was concomitant with a decrease in oxidative stress. Rats treated with 22S-HC showed hepatic induction of the 3 genes of interest. In human, we show by multiple tissue expression array that expression of ABCD2 appears to be inversely correlated with NR1H3 (LXRα) expression. Altogether, antagonists of LXR that are currently developed in the context of dyslipidemia may find another indication with X-ALD.