Summary
Elevated levels of both fibrinogen and cholesterol are risk factors in coronary artery
disease. Previously we reported a metabolic link between fibrinogen and lipid metabolism
in that HepG2 cells that were programmed by transfection of Bβ-fibrinogen cDNA to
overexpress fibrinogen exhibited increased synthesis of cholesterol and increased
secretion of apolipoprotein B. In this study we demonstrate that oxysterols, which
participate in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis, also down regulate fibrinogen
expression. Treatment of HepG2 cells with 25-hydroxycholesterol lowered fibrinogen
Aα, Bβ and γ mRNA levels and inhibited fibrinogen synthesis and secretion but had
no effect on α1-antitrypsin which, like fibrinogen, is an acute-phase protein. The inhibition of
fibrinogen synthesis by oxysterols was maintained in interleukin-6 treated cells.
Other oxysterols, that inhibit cholesterol synthesis by a feedback mechanism, also
diminished fibrinogen expression in HepG2, rat H-4-II-E hepatoma cells and in primary
human hepatocytes. Overexpression of SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 by transfection of HepG2
cells, or treatment with a synthetic LXRα agonist, which affect cholesterol metabolism,
did not affect fibrinogen expression. We conclude that fibrinogen and cholesterol
may share a novel common regulatory pathway.
Keywords
Fibrinogen - cholesterol - oxysterols