Amelioration of hypercholesterolemia by an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor in mice with liver-specific knockout of Mig-6

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 8;9(12):e114782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114782. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Mitogen-inducible gene 6 (Mig-6) is a negative feedback inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. We previously found that Mig-6 plays a critical role in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis and in bile acid synthesis. In this study, we investigated the effects of EGFR inhibition to identify a potential new treatment target for hypercholesterolemia. We used a mouse model with conditional ablation of the Mig-6 gene in the liver (Albcre/+Mig-6f/f; Mig-6d/d) to effectively investigate the role of Mig-6 in the regulation of liver function. Mig-6d/d mice were treated with either the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib or statin for 6 weeks after administration of a high-fat or standard diet. We then compared lipid profiles and other parameters among each group of mice. After a high-fat diet, Mig-6d/d mice showed elevated serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, characteristics resembling hypercholesterolemia in diabetic patients. We observed decreases in serum levels of lipids and glucose in high-fat-diet-fed Mig-6d/d mice after 6 weeks of treatment with gefitinib or statin. Furthermore gefitinib-treated mice showed significantly greater decreases in serum levels of total, HDL and LDL cholesterol compared with statin-treated mice. Taken together, these results suggest that EGFR inhibition is effective for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia in high-fat-diet-fed Mig-6d/d mice, and our findings provide new insights into the development of possible treatment targets for hypercholesterolemia via modulation of EGFR inhibition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cholesterol / metabolism*
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Gefitinib
  • Hypercholesterolemia / metabolism
  • Hypercholesterolemia / pathology
  • Hypercholesterolemia / prevention & control*
  • Integrases / metabolism
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / physiology*
  • Lipids / analysis
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Liver / pathology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Quinazolines / pharmacology*
  • Triglycerides / metabolism

Substances

  • Errfi1 protein, mouse
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Lipids
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Quinazolines
  • Triglycerides
  • Cholesterol
  • EGFR protein, mouse
  • ErbB Receptors
  • Cre recombinase
  • Integrases
  • Gefitinib

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2013R1A1A2004719). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.