Regulatory Role for PC-TP/StarD2 in the Metabolic Response to Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor Alpha (PPARα)

Phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC-TP, a.k.a StarD2) is abundantly expressed in liver and is regulated by PPARα. When fed the synthetic PPARα ligand fenofibrate, Pctp-/- mice exhibited altered lipid and glucose homeostasis. Microarray profiling of liver from fenofibrate fed wild type and Pctp-/- mice revealed differential expression of a broad array of metabolic genes, as well as their regulatory transcription factors. Because its expression controlled the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and HNF4α in cell culture, the broader impact of PC-TP on nutrient metabolism is most likely secondary to its role in fatty acid metabolism. 6 livers collected from PC-TP knockout mice fed a fenobrate-supplemented diet were used as the experimental group. 6 livers collected from wild type mice fed a fenofibrate-supplemented diet were used as the control group. RNA prepared from one liver was used to hybridize one GeneChip, so that there were 6 experimental GeneChips and 6 control GeneChips.