Induction of endogenous genes by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha ligands in a human kidney cell line and in vivo.

The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) plays a key role in regulating fatty acid metabolism by regulating expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation. To identify endogenous transcripts that could be used as surrogate markers for on-target activity of PPARalpha agonists, we employed a global profiling approach using DNA microarrays. The HK-2 cell line derived from proximal tubules of the human kidney, showed induction of several genes, including pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK-4) and adipocyte differentiation related protein (ADRP) by PPARalpha ligands.

Antisense oligonucleotides selectively regulate aspartyl beta-hydroxylase and its truncated protein isoform in vitro but distribute poorly into A549 tumors in vivo.

Alternative splicing of the human beta-aspartyl (asparaginyl) hydroxylase (BAH) gene results in the expression of humbug, a truncated form of BAH that lacks the catalytic domain of the enzyme. Overexpression of BAH and humbug has been associated with a variety of human cancers, and although humbug lacks enzymatic activity, it is expressed at levels comparable with that of BAH in various cancer cell lines. Phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides (ONs) were designed to dissect out the function of these hydroxylase protein isoforms.