The dominant negative thyroid hormone receptor beta-mutant {Delta}337T alters PPAR{alpha} signaling in heart.
PPARalpha and TR independently regulate cardiac metabolism. Although ligands for both these receptors are currently under evaluation for treatment of congestive heart failure, their interactions or signaling cooperation have not been investigated in heart. We tested the hypothesis that cardiac TRs interact with PPARalpha regulation of target genes and used mice exhibiting a cardioselective Delta337T TRbeta1 mutation (MUT) to reveal cross-talk between these nuclear receptors. This dominant negative transgene potently inhibits DNA binding for both wild-type (WT) TRalpha and TRbeta. We used UCP3 and MTE-1 as principal reporters and analyzed gene expression from hearts of transgenic (MUT) and nontransgenic (WT) littermates 6 h after receiving either specific PPARalpha ligand (WY-14643) or vehicle. Interactions were determined through qRT-PCR analyses, and the extent of these interactions across multiple genes was determined using expression arrays. In the basal state, we detected no differences between groups for protein content for UCP3, PPARalpha, TRalpha2, RXRbeta, or PGC-1alpha. However, protein content for TRalpha1 and the PPARalpha heterodimeric partner RXRalpha was diminished in MUT, whereas PPARbeta increased. We demonstrated cross-talk between PPAR and TR for multiple genes, including the reporters UCP3 and MTE1. WY-14643 induced a twofold increase in UCP3 gene expression that was totally abrogated in MUT. We demonstrated variable cross-talk patterns, indicating that multiple mechanisms operate according to individual target genes. The non-ligand-binding TRbeta1 mutation alters expression for multiple nuclear receptors, providing a novel mechanism for interaction that has not been previously demonstrated. These results indicate that therapeutic response to PPARalpha ligands may be determined by thyroid hormone state and TR function.