Tauroursodeoxycholate Protects Rat Hepatocytes from Bile Acid-Induced Apoptosis via β1-Integrin- and Protein Kinase A-Dependent Mechanisms

Abstract

Background/Aims: Ursodeoxycholic acid, which in vivo is rapidly converted into its taurine conjugate, is frequently used for the treatment of cholestatic liver disease. Apart from its choleretic effects, tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDC) can protect hepatocytes from bile acid-induced apoptosis, but the mechanisms underlying its anti-apoptotic effects are poorly understood. Methods: These mechanisms were investigated in perfused rat liver and isolated rat hepatocytes. Results: It was found that TUDC inhibited the glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDC)-induced activation of the CD95 death receptor at the level of association between CD95 and the epidermal growth factor receptor. This was due to a rapid TUDC-induced β₁-integrin-dependent cyclic AMP (cAMP) signal with induction of the dual specificity mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatase 1 (MKP-1), which prevented GCDC-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) and c-jun-NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) activation. Furthermore, TUDC induced a protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated serine/threonine phosphorylation of the CD95, which was recently identified as an internalization signal for CD95. Furthermore, TUDC inhibited GCDC-induced CD95 targeting to the plasma membrane in a β₁-integrin-and PKA-dependent manner. In line with this, the β₁-integrin siRNA knockdown in sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp)-transfected HepG2 cells abolished the protective effect of TUDC against GCDC-induced apoptosis. Conclusion: TUDC exerts its anti-apoptotic effect via a β₁-integrin-mediated formation of cAMP, which prevents CD95 activation by hydrophobic bile acids at the levels of JNK activation and CD95 serine/threonine phosphorylation.