Background
mRNA levels in control rat liver display strain-specific, hereditary, and AHR-dependent components.
No sample metadata fields
View Samples2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is an environmental contaminant that produces myriad toxicities in most mammals. In rodents alone, there is a huge divergence in the toxicological response across species, as well as among different strains within a species. But there are also significant differences between males and females animals of a single strain. These differences are inconsistent across model systems: the severity of toxicity is greater in female rats than males, while male mice and guinea pigs are more sensitive than females. Because the specific events that underlie this difference remain unclear, we characterized the hepatic transcriptional response of adult male and female C57BL/6 mice to 500g/kg TCDD at multiple time-points. The transcriptional profile diverged significantly between the sexes. Female mice demonstrated a large number of altered transcripts as early as 6h following treatment, suggesting a large primary response. Conversely, male animals showed the greatest TCDD-mediated response 144h following exposure, potentially implicating significant secondary responses. Nr1i3 was statistically significantly induced at all time-points in the sensitive male animals. This mRNA encodes the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), a transcription factor involved in the regulation of xenobiotic metabolism, lipid metabolism, cell cycle and apoptosis. Surprisingly though, changes at the protein level (aside from the positive control, CYP1A1) were modest, with only FMO3 showing clear induction, and no genes with sex-differences. Thus, while male and female mice show transcriptional differences in their response to TCDD, their association with TCDD-induced toxicities remains unclear.
Sex-related differences in murine hepatic transcriptional and proteomic responses to TCDD.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesMajor toxicities of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) result from dysregulation of gene expression mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Dioxin-like chemicals alter expression of numerous genes in liver but the specific genes whose dysregulation leads to toxicities such as wasting, hepatotoxicity and lethality have not been identified. We searched for genes that are most likely to be key to dioxin toxicity by using gene expression arrays to contrast hepatic gene expression after TCDD treatment in dioxin-sensitive rats (that carry wildtype AHR) with gene expression in H/W(Kuopio) rats which are highly resistant to dioxin toxicity due to a major deletion in the AHR's transactivation domain (TAD). The total number of TCDD-responsive genes was smaller in rats with the AHRH/W genotype than in rats with wildtype AHR. However, genes in the classic AH gene battery such as CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1 remained fully responsive to TCDD in AHRH/W rats; thus the TAD deletion selectively interferes with expression of a subset of hepatic genes rather than abolishing global AHR-mediated responses. Genes in the following functional categories differ in response to TCDD between dioxin-sensitive rats and dioxin-resistant rats: fatty acid oxidation, metabolism (xenobiotic, alcohol, amino acid, and fatty acid), phosphate transport, regulation of steroid biosynthesis, nitrogen compound catabolism, and generation of precursor metabolites and energy. Many of these differentially-responsive genes are integral parts of pathways such as: protein degradation and synthesis, fatty acid metabolism and synthesis, cytokinesis, cell growth, and apoptosis which may be part of mechanisms which lead to TCDD-induced wasting, hepatotoxicity, tumors, and death. These differentially-responsive genes are worthy candidates for further mechanistic studies to test their role in mediating or protecting from major dioxin toxicities.
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-regulated transcriptomic changes in rats sensitive or resistant to major dioxin toxicities.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesBackground
Transcriptomic responses to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in liver: comparison of rat and mouse.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesBackground
Transcriptomic responses to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in liver: comparison of rat and mouse.
No sample metadata fields
View Samples2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dixion (TCDD) is the most potent of the dioxin congeners, capable of causing a wide range of toxic effects across numerous animal models. Previous studies have demonstrated that males and females of the same species can display divergent sensitivity phenotypes to TCDD toxicities. Although it is now clear that most TCDD-induced toxic outcomes are mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), the mechanism of differential responses to TCDD exposure between sexes remains largely unknown. To investigate the differential sensitivities in male and female mice, we profiled the hepatic transcriptomic responses 4 days following exposure to various amounts of TCDD (125, 250, 500 or 1000 g/kg) in adult male and female C57BL/6Kuo mice.
Male and female mice show significant differences in hepatic transcriptomic response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesAcute progressive feed restriction (APFR) represents a specific form of caloric restriction in which feed availability is increasingly curtailed over a period of a few days to a few weeks. It is often used for control animals in toxicological and pharmacological studies on compounds causing body weight loss to equalize weight changes between experimental and control groups and thereby, intuitively, to also set their metabolic states to the same phase. However, scientific justification for this procedure is lacking. In the present study, we analyzed by DNA microarrays the impact on hepatic gene expression in rats of two APFR regimens that caused identical diminution of body weight (19%) but differed slightly in duration (4 vs. 10 days). In addition, white adipose tissue (WAT) was also subjected to the transcriptomic analysis on day-4. The data revealed that the two regimens led to distinct patterns of differentially expressed genes in liver, albeit some major pathways of energy metabolism were similarly affected (particularly fatty acid and amino acid catabolism). The reason for the divergence appeared to be entrainment by the longer APFR protocol of peripheral oscillator genes, which resulted in derailment of circadian rhythms and consequent interaction of altered diurnal fluctuations with metabolic adjustments in gene expression activities. WAT proved to be highly unresponsive to the 4-day APFR as only 17 mRNA levels were influenced by the treatment. This study demonstrates that body weight is a poor proxy of metabolic state and that the customary protocols of feed restriction can lead to rhythm entrainment.
Genome-wide effects of acute progressive feed restriction in liver and white adipose tissue.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesConventional biochemical and molecular techniques identified previously several genes whose expression is regulated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). We sought to map the complete spectrum of AHR-dependent genes in male adult liver using expression arrays to contrast mRNA profiles in Ahr-null mice (Ahr/) with those in mice with wild-type AHR (Ahr+/+). Transcript profiles were determined both in untreated mice and in mice treated 19 h earlier with 1000 g/kg 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Expression of 456 ProbeSets was significantly altered by TCDD in an AHR-dependent manner, including members of the classic AHRE-I gene battery, such as Cyp1a1, Cyp1a2, Cyp1b1, and Nqo1. In the absence of exogenous ligand, AHR status alone affected expression of 392 ProbeSets, suggesting that the AHR has multiple functions in normal physiology. In Ahr/ mice, only 32 ProbeSets exhibited responses to TCDD, indicating that the AHR is required for virtually all transcriptional responses to dioxin exposure in liver. The flavin-containing monooxygenases, Fmo2 and Fmo3, considered previously to be uninducible, were highly induced by TCDD in an AHR-dependent manner. The estrogen receptor alpha as well as two estrogen-receptor-related genes (alpha and gamma) exhibit AHR-dependent expression, thereby extending cross-talk opportunities between the intensively studied AHR and estrogen receptor pathways. p53 binding sites are over-represented in genes down-regulated by TCDD, suggesting that TCDD inhibits p53 transcriptional activity. Overall, our study identifies a wide range of genes that depend on the AHR, either for constitutive expression or for response to TCDD.
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor regulates distinct dioxin-dependent and dioxin-independent gene batteries.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe dioxin congener 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) causes a wide range of toxic effects in rodent species, all of which are mediated by a ligand-dependent transcription-factor, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). The Han/Wistar (Kuopio) (H/W) strain shows exceptional resistance to many TCDD-induced toxicities; the LD50 of >9600 g/kg for H/W rats is higher than for any other wild-type mammal known. We have previously shown that this resistance primarily results from H/W rats expressing a variant AHR isoform that has a substantial portion of the AHR transactivation domain deleted. Despite this large deletion, H/W rats are not entirely refractory to the effects of TCDD; the variant AHR in these animals remains fully competent to up-regulate well-known dioxin-inducible genes. TCDD-sensitive (Long-Evans, L-E) and resistant (H/W) rats were treated with either corn-oil (with or without feed-restriction) or 100 g/kg TCDD for either four or ten days. Hepatic transcriptional profiling was done using microarrays, and was validated by RT-PCR analysis of 41 genes. . A core set of genes was altered in both strains at all time points tested, including CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP1B1, Nqo1, Aldh3a1, Tiparp, Exoc3, and Inmt. Outside this core, the strains differed significantly in the breadth of response: three-fold more genes were altered in L-E than H/W rats. At ten days almost all expressed genes were dysregulated in L-E rats, likely reflecting emerging toxic responses. Far fewer genes were affected by feed-restriction, suggesting that only a minority of the TCDD-induced changes are secondary to the wasting syndrome.
Hepatic transcriptomic responses to TCDD in dioxin-sensitive and dioxin-resistant rats during the onset of toxicity.
Sex
View SamplesIn many mammals, halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon (HAH) exposure causes wasting syndrome, defined as lethal weight loss as a result of severe and persistent hypophagia. The most potent HAH in causing wasting is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo--dioxin (TCDD), which exerts its toxic effects through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) a transcription factor. Because TCDD toxicity is thought to predominantly arise from dysregulation of AHR-transcribed genes, we hypothesized that wasting syndrome is due to TCDD-induced dysregulation of genes involved in regulation of food-intake. We therefore focused on the hypothalamus, as it is the regulatory center of food-intake and energy balance in the central nervous system. We profiled mRNA abundance in hypothalamic tissue from two rat strains with widely differing sensitivities to wasting syndrome: TCDD-sensitive Long-Evans rats and TCDD-resistant Han/Wistar rats, 23 hours after exposure to TCDD (100 g/kg) or corn oil vehicle. We found that TCDD exposure caused minimal transcriptional dysregulation effects in the hypothalamus, with only 6 genes changed in Long-Evans rats and 15 genes in Han/Wistar rats. Two of the most dysregulated genes were Cyp1a1 and Nqo1, which are induced by TCDD across a wide range of tissues and are considered sensitive markers of TCDD exposure. The minimal response of the hypothalamic transcriptome to a lethal dose of TCDD at an early time-point suggests that the hypothalamus is not the predominant site of initial events leading to hypophagia and associated wasting. TCDD may affect feeding behaviour via events upstream or downstream of the hypothalamus, and further work is required to evaluate this at the level of individual hypothalamic nuclei and subregions.
Transcriptional profiling of rat hypothalamus response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-ρ-dioxin.
Sex
View Samples