Farnesoid X receptor antagonizes JNK signaling pathway in liver carcinogenesis by activating SOD3.

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a key metabolic and homeostatic regulator in the liver. In the present work, we identify a novel role of FXR in antagonizing c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway in liver carcinogenesis by activating superoxide dismutase 3 (SOD3) transcription. Compared with wild-type mouse liver, FXR(-/-) mouse liver showed elevated JNK phosphorylation. JNK1 deletion suppressed the increase of diethylnitrosamine-induced tumor number in FXR(-/-) mice. These results suggest that JNK1 plays a key role in chemical-induced liver carcinogenesis in FXR(-/-) mice. We found that ligand-activated FXR was able to alleviate H₂O₂or tetradecanoylphorbol acetate-induced JNK phosphorylation in human hepatoblastoma (HepG2) cells or mouse primary hepatocytes. FXR ligand decreased H₂O₂-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in wild-type but not FXR(-/-) mouse hepatocytes. FXR knockdown abolished the inhibition of 3-[2-[2-chloro-4-[[3-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-5-(1-methylethyl)-4-isoxazolyl]methoxy]phenyl]ethenyl]-Benzoic acid (GW4064) on JNK phosphorylation and ROS production induced by H₂O₂in HepG2 cells. The gene expression of SOD3, an antioxidant defense enzyme, was increased by FXR activation in vitro and in vivo. An FXR-responsive element, inverted repeat separated by 1 nucleotide in SOD3 promoter, was identified by a combination of transcriptional reporter assays, EMSAs, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, which indicated that SOD3 could be a direct FXR target gene. SOD3 knockdown abolished the inhibition of GW4064 on JNK phosphorylation induced by H₂O₂in HepG2 cells. In summary, FXR may regulate SOD3 expression to suppress ROS production, resulting in decreasing JNK activity. These results suggest that FXR, as a novel JNK suppressor, may be an attractive therapeutic target for liver cancer treatment.