COUP-TFII revisited: Its role in metabolic gene regulation

Chicken Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter Transcription Factor II (COUP-TFII) is an orphan member of the nuclear receptor family of transcriptional regulators. Although hormonal activation of COUP-TFII has not yet been identified, rodent genetic models have uncovered vital and diverse roles for COUP-TFII in biological processes. These include control of cardiac function and angiogenesis, reproduction, neuronal development, cell fate and organogenesis. Recently, an emerging body of evidence has demonstrated COUP-TFII involvement in various metabolic systems such as adipogenesis, lipid metabolism, hepatic gluconeogenesis, insulin secretion, and regulation of blood pressure. The potential relevance of these observations to human pathology has been corroborated by the identification of single nucleotide polymorphism in the human COUP-TFII promoter controlling insulin sensitivity. Of particular interest to metabolism is the ability of COUP-TFII to interact with the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR). This interaction is known to control gluconeogenesis, principally through direct binding of COUP-TFII/GR complexes to the promoters of gluconeogenic enzyme genes. However, it is likely that this interaction is critical to other metabolic processes, since GR, like COUP-TFII, is an essential regulator of adipogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. This review will highlight these unique roles of COUP-TFII in metabolic gene regulation.