Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Quantitative Determination of De Novo Fatty Acid Synthesis in Brown Adipose Tissue Using Deuterium Oxide
Published on: May 12, 2023
ATF6 modulates SREBP2-mediated lipogenesis
Lingfang Zeng1, Min Lu, Kazutoshi Mori
1Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0121, USA.
Abstract:
Activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are activated by proteolytic cleavage. The ensuing nuclear translocation of their N-termini (i.e., ATF6(N) and SREBP(N)) activates the respective target genes involved in unfolded protein response and lipogenesis. Here, we report that glucose deprivation activated ATF6 but suppressed the SREBP2-regulated transcription. Overexpression of ATF6(N) had similar inhibitory effects on SREBP2-targeted genes. The blockade of ATF6 cleavage by BiP/grp78 reversed this inhibitory effect. GST pull-down and immunoprecipitation assays revealed that ATF6(N) bound to SREBP2(N). Deletion analysis of the various functional domains of ATF6 indicated that the interaction was through its leucine-zipper domain. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that ATF6(N) formed a complex with the SRE-bound SREBP2(N). The attenuated transcriptional activity of SREBP2 was due, in part, to the recruitment of HDAC1 to the ATF6-SREBP2 complex. As a functional consequence, the lipogenic effect of SREBP2(N) in liver cells was suppressed by ATF6(N). Our results provide a novel mechanism by which ATF6 antagonizes SREBP2 to regulate the homeostasis of lipid and glucose.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Lipid Catabolism
The Unfolded Protein Response
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response
Protein Modifications in the RER
Broadly, these modifications can be categorized into four main categories — glycosylation, formation of disulfide bonds, assembly of protein subunits, and specific proteolytic cleavages like removal of signal sequences.
