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Our former studies have suggested that taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) as a signaling molecule shows obvious anti-inflammatory and immune regulation properties. In this research, we tentatively explored the potential effects and the possible mechanism that involve in the apoptotic process in NR8383 cells induced by TCDCA. Using flow cytometry analysis, we evaluated the apoptosis rate. Gene expression levels were determined by qPCR. The expressions of protein kinase C (PKC), Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and their phosphorylation were measured by Western Blot. We observed the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-8 with Caspase-Glo® regent. The results demonstrated that TCDCA dramatically improved the apoptosis rate of NR8383 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In the meantime, PKC mRNA levels and activities were significantly augmented by TCDCA treatments. In addition, JNK, caspase-3 and caspase-8 mRNA expression levels and activities were increased by TCDCA, while they were markedly decreased by specific inhibitors. We conclude that TCDCA contributes to the apoptosis through the activation of the caspase cascade in NR8383 cells, and the PKC/JNK signaling pathway may be involved in this process. These results indicate that TCDCA may be a latent effective pharmaceutical product for apoptosis-related diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a key sensor in bile acid homeostasis. Although four human FXR isoforms have been identified, the physiological role of this diversity is poorly understood. Here we investigated their subcellular localization, agonist sensitivity and response of target genes. Measurement of mRNA revealed that liver predominantly expressed FXRα1(+/-), whereas FXRα2(+/-) were the most abundant isoforms in kidney and intestine. In all cases, the proportion of FXRα(1/2)(+) and FXRα(1/2)(-) isoforms, i.e., with and without a 12bp insert, respectively, was approximately 50%. When FXR was expressed in liver and intestinal cells the magnitude of the response to GW4064 and bile acids differs among FXR isoforms. In both cell types the strongest response was that of FXRα1(-). Different efficacy of bile acids species to activate FXR was found. The four FXR isoforms shared the order of sensitivity to bile acids species. When in FXR-deficient cells FXR was transfected, unconjugated, but not taurine- and glycine-amidated bile acids, were able to activate FXR. In contrast, human hepatocytes and cell lines showing an endogenous expression of FXR were sensitive to both unconjugated and conjugated bile acids. This suggests that to activate FXR conjugated, but not unconjugated, bile acids require additional component(s) of the intracellular machinery not related with uptake processes, which are missing in some tumor cells. In conclusion, cell-specific pattern of FXR isoforms determine the overall tissue sensitivity to FXR agonists and may be involved in the differential response of FXR target genes to FXR activation., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)