Nrf2-dependent and -independent induction of ABC transporters ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCG2 in HepG2 cells under oxidative stress
Tatsuhiko Adachi, Hiroshi Nakagawa, Ivy Chung, Yuichiro Hagiya, Kazuyuki Hoshijima, Noriko Noguchi, Macus Tien Kuo and Toshihisa Ishikawa
Nrf2, an NF-E2-related transcription factor, plays a critical role in transcriptional upregulation of many target genes, including those for metabolizing enzymes and transporters essential for cellular defense in response to oxidative and/or electrophilic stress. In the present study, we have studied the potential involvement of Nrf2 in induction of human ABC transporter genes under oxidative stress. We created a real-time PCR primer set to quantitatively investigate the induction of human ABC transporters by a redox-active compound tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) in HepG2 cells. We found that mRNA levels of ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC3, and ABCG2 were significantly elevated in dose- and time-dependent manners. Translocation of Nrf2 into the nuclei occurred concomitantly with the induction of ABCC1 and ABCC2 as well as both heavy and light chains of g -glutamylcysteine synthetase (-GCSh and g -GCSl) during tBHQ treatments. To examine the potential involvement of Nrf2 in upregulation of the ABC transporters, we treated cells with siRNA to knockdown the expression of Nrf2. Under such Nrf2- knockdown conditions, tBHQ-induced mRNA levels of ABCC2 and ABCG2 were significantly suppressed as were mRNA levels of g-GCSh and g-GCSl. Interestingly, however, the elevated mRNA level of ABCC1 was little affected by Nrf2 siRNA treatment. We also addressed the involvement of Keap1, which is a negative regulator of Nrf2 by retrieving it in the cytoplasm. When HepG2 cells were treated with Keap1-specifc siRNA, a significant increase was observed in mRNA levels of ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCG2 as well as • -GCSl, suggesting that induction of ABCC2 and ABCG2 by tBHQ is mediated by the Nrf2/Keap1 system, whereas the induction of ABCC1 may involve a Keap1-dependent but Nrf2- independent mechanism.