Effects of fenofibrate on Semaphorin 6B gene expression in rat skeletal muscle

Semaphorin 6B is a member of the semaphorin family of signaling proteins, which is implicated in a variety of biological processes, such as axon guidance and muscle regeneration. PPARα is known to be a regulator of semaphorin 6B in human cancer cell lines. In this study, we examined the effect of fenofibrate as a PPARα activator on the expression of the Sema6B gene in rat skeletal muscle. A total of 18 rats were divided into two groups: one fed with standard chow (control group), and the other with fenofibrate chow (treatment group) for 4 weeks by gavage with 30 mg/kg per day. The expression of rSema6B mRNA was analyzed by qPCR. rSema6B protein content in rat skeletal muscle was measured by Western blotting. A significant down-regulation of rSema6B was observed at both the mRNA and protein levels. Using the ChIP assay, a putative PPARα binding region (PPRE) was identified in the rSema6B promoter. We conclude that the expression of Sema6B is down-regulated by fenofibarte in rat skeletal muscle.