In order to reach the nucleus and act as a transcription factor, the NH₂-terminal domain of each SREBP must be released from the membrane proteolytically (Figure ​(Figure1).1). Three proteins required for SREBP processing have been delineated in cultured cells, using the tools of somatic cell genetics (see ref. 5for review). One is an escort protein designated SREBP cleavage–activating protein (SCAP). The other two are proteases, designated Site-1 protease (S1P) and Site-2 protease (S2P). Newly synthesized SREBP is inserted into the membranes of the ER, where its COOH-terminal regulatory domain binds to the COOH-terminal domain of SCAP (Figure ​(Figure1).1). SCAP is both an escort for SREBPs and a sensor of sterols. When cells become depleted in cholesterol, SCAP escorts the SREBP from the ER to the Golgi apparatus, where the two proteases reside. In the Golgi apparatus, S1P, a membrane-bound serine protease, cleaves the SREBP in the luminal loop between its two membrane-spanning segments, dividing the SREBP molecule in half (Figure ​(Figure1).1). The NH₂-terminal bHLH-Zip domain is then released from the membrane via a second cleavage mediated by S2P, a membrane-bound zinc metalloproteinase. The NH₂-terminal domain, designated nuclear SREBP (nSREBP), translocates to the nucleus, where it activates transcription by binding to nonpalindromic sterol response elements (SREs) in the promoter/enhancer regions of multiple target genes.

Knockout mice that lack all nSREBPs die early in embryonic development. For instance, a germline deletion of S1p, which prevents the processing of all SREBP isoforms, results in death before day 4 of development (15, 17). Germline deletion of Srebp2 leads to 100% lethality at a later stage of embryonic development than does deletion of S1p (embryonic day 7–8). In contrast, germline deletion of Srebp1, which eliminates both the 1a and the 1c transcripts, leads to partial lethality, in that about 15–45% of Srebp1^–/– mice survive (13). The surviving homozygotes manifest elevated levels of SREBP-2 mRNA and protein (Table ​(Table1),1), which presumably compensates for the loss of SREBP-1a and -1c. When the SREBP-1c transcript is selectively eliminated, no embryonic lethality is observed, suggesting that the partial embryonic lethality in the Srebp1^–/– mice is due to the loss of the SREBP-1a transcript (16).

To bypass embryonic lethality, we have produced mice in which all SREBP function can be disrupted in adulthood through induction of Cre recombinase. For this purpose, loxP recombination sites were inserted into genomic regions that flank crucial exons in the Scap or S1p genes (so-called floxed alleles) (14, 15). Mice homozygous for the floxed gene and heterozygous for a Cre recombinase transgene, which is under control of an IFN-inducible promoter (MX1-Cre), can be induced to delete Scap or S1p by stimulating IFN expression. Thus, following injection with polyinosinic acid–polycytidylic acid, a double-stranded RNA that provokes antiviral responses, the Cre recombinase is produced in liver and disrupts the floxed gene by recombination between the loxP sites.

Cre-mediated disruption of Scap or S1p dramatically reduces nSREBP-1 and nSREBP-2 levels in liver and diminishes expression of all SREBP target genes in both the cholesterol and the fatty acid synthetic pathways (Table ​(Table1).1). As a result, the rates of synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids fall by 70–80% in Scap- and S1p-deficient livers.

Overexpression of nSREBP-1c in the liver of transgenic mice produces a triglyceride-enriched fatty liver with no increase in cholesterol (10). mRNAs for fatty acid synthetic enzymes and rates of fatty acid synthesis are elevated fourfold in this tissue, whereas the mRNAs for cholesterol synthetic enzymes and the rate of cholesterol synthesis are not increased (8). Conversely, overexpression of nSREBP-2 in the liver increases the mRNAs encoding all cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes; the most dramatic is a 75-fold increase in HMG-CoA reductase mRNA (11). mRNAs for fatty acid synthesis enzymes are increased to a lesser extent, consistent with the in vivo observation that the rate of cholesterol synthesis increases 28-fold in these transgenic nSREBP-2 livers, while fatty acid synthesis increases only fourfold. This increase in cholesterol synthesis is even more remarkable when one considers the extent of cholesterol overload in this tissue, which would ordinarily reduce SREBP processing and essentially abolish cholesterol synthesis (Table ​(Table11).

We have also studied the consequences of overexpressing SREBP-1a, which is expressed only at low levels in the livers of adult mice, rats, hamsters, and humans (6). nSREBP-1a transgenic mice develop a massive fatty liver engorged with both cholesterol and triglycerides (9), with heightened expression of genes controlling cholesterol biosynthesis and, still more dramatically, fatty acid synthesis (Table ​(Table1).1). The preferential activation of fatty acid synthesis (26-fold increase) relative to cholesterol synthesis (fivefold increase) explains the greater accumulation of triglycerides in their livers. The relative representation of the various fatty acids accumulating in this tissue is also unusual. Transgenic nSREBP-1a livers contain about 65% oleate (C18:1), markedly higher levels than the 15–20% found in typical wild-type livers (8) — a result of the induction of fatty acid elongase and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (7). Considered together, the overexpression studies indicate that both SREBP-1 isoforms show a relative preference for activating fatty acid synthesis, whereas SREBP-2 favors cholesterol.

The phenotype of animals lacking the Srebp1 gene, which encodes both the SREBP-1a and -1c transcripts, also supports the notion of distinct hepatic functions for SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 (13). Most homozygous SREBP-1 knockout mice die in utero. The surviving Srebp1^–/– mice show reduced synthesis of fatty acids, owing to reduced expression of mRNAs for fatty acid synthetic enzymes (Table ​(Table1).1). Hepatic nSREBP-2 levels increase in these mice, presumably in compensation for the loss of nSREBP-1. As a result, transcription of cholesterol biosynthetic genes increases, producing a threefold increase in hepatic cholesterol synthesis (Table ​(Table11).

The transcriptional regulation of the SREBPs is more complex. SREBP-1c and SREBP-2 are subject to distinct forms of transcriptional regulation, whereas SREBP-1a appears to be constitutively expressed at low levels in liver and most other tissues of adult animals (6). One mechanism of regulation shared by SREBP-1c and SREBP-2 involves a feed-forward regulation mediated by SREs present in the enhancer/promoters of each gene (20, 21). Through this feed-forward loop, nSREBPs activate the transcription of their own genes. In contrast, when nSREBPs decline, as in Scap or S1p knockout mice, there is a secondary decline in the mRNAs encoding SREBP-1c and SREBP-2 (14, 15).

Three factors selectively regulate the transcription of SREBP-1c: liver X-activated receptors (LXRs), insulin, and glucagon. LXRα and LXRβ, nuclear receptors that form heterodimers with retinoid X receptors, are activated by a variety of sterols, including oxysterol intermediates that form during cholesterol biosynthesis (22–24). An LXR-binding site in the SREBP-1c promoter activates SREBP-1c transcription in the presence of LXR agonists (23). The functional significance of LXR-mediated SREBP-1c regulation has been confirmed in two animal models. Mice that lack both LXRα and LXRβ express reduced levels of SREBP-1c and its lipogenic target enzymes in liver and respond relatively weakly to treatment with a synthetic LXR agonist (23). Because a similar blunted response is found in mice that lack SREBP-1c, it appears that LXR increases fatty acid synthesis largely by inducing SREBP-1c (16). LXR-mediated activation of SREBP-1c transcription provides a mechanism for the cell to induce the synthesis of oleate when sterols are in excess (23). Oleate is the preferred fatty acid for the synthesis of cholesteryl esters, which are necessary for both the transport and the storage of cholesterol.

In vivo, the total amount of SREBP-1c in liver and adipose tissue is reduced by fasting, which suppresses insulin and increases glucagon levels, and is elevated by refeeding (32, 33). The levels of mRNA for SREBP-1c target genes parallel the changes in SREBP-1c expression. Similarly, SREBP-1c mRNA levels fall when rats are treated with streptozotocin, which abolishes insulin secretion, and rise after insulin injection (29). Overexpression of nSREBP-1c in livers of transgenic mice prevents the reduction in lipogenic mRNAs that normally follows a fall in plasma insulin levels (32). Conversely, in livers of Scap knockout mice that lack all nSREBPs in the liver (14) or knockout mice lacking either nSREBP-1c (16) or both SREBP-1 isoforms (34), there is a marked decrease in the insulin-induced stimulation of lipogenic gene expression that normally occurs after fasting/refeeding. It should be noted that insulin and glucagon also exert a posttranslational control of fatty acid synthesis though changes in the phosphorylation and activation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. The posttranslational regulation of fatty acid synthesis persists in transgenic mice that overexpress nSREBP-1c (10). In these mice, the rates of fatty acid synthesis, as measured by [³H]water incorporation, decline after fasting even though the levels of the lipogenic mRNAs remain high (our unpublished observations).

Metformin, a biguanide drug used to treat insulin-resistant diabetes, reduces hepatic nSREBP-1 levels and dramatically lowers the lipid accumulation in livers of insulin-resistant ob/ob mice (40). Metformin stimulates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that inhibits lipid synthesis through phosphorylation and inactivation of key lipogenic enzymes (41). In rat hepatocytes, metformin-induced activation of AMPK also leads to decreased mRNA expression of SREBP-1c and its lipogenic target genes (41), but the basis of this effect is not understood.

The incidence of coronary artery disease increases with increasing plasma LDL-cholesterol levels, which in turn are inversely proportional to the levels of hepatic LDL receptors. SREBPs stimulate LDL receptor expression, but they also enhance lipid synthesis (1), so their net effect on plasma lipoprotein levels depends on a balance between opposing effects. In mice, the plasma levels of lipoproteins tend to fall when SREBPs are either overexpressed or underexpressed. In transgenic mice that overexpress nSREBPs in liver, plasma cholesterol and triglycerides are generally lower than in control mice (Table ​(Table1),1), even though these mice massively overproduce fatty acids, cholesterol, or both. Hepatocytes of nSREBP-1a transgenic mice overproduce VLDL, but these particles are rapidly removed through the action of LDL receptors, and they do not accumulate in the plasma. Indeed, some nascent VLDL particles are degraded even before secretion by a process that is mediated by LDL receptors (42). The high levels of nSREBP-1a in these animals support continued expression of the LDL receptor, even in cells whose cholesterol concentration is elevated. In LDL receptor–deficient mice carrying the nSREBP-1a transgene, plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels rise tenfold (43).

Whereas cholesterol synthesis depends almost entirely on SREBPs, fatty acid synthesis is only partially dependent on these proteins. This has been shown most clearly in cultured nonhepatic cells such as Chinese hamster ovary cells. In the absence of SREBP processing, as when the Site-2 protease is defective, the levels of mRNAs encoding cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes and the rates of cholesterol synthesis decline nearly to undetectable levels, whereas the rate of fatty acid synthesis is reduced by only 30% (44). Under these conditions, transcription of the fatty acid biosynthetic genes must be maintained by factors other than SREBPs. In liver, the gene encoding fatty acid synthase (FASN) can be activated transcriptionally by upstream stimulatory factor, which acts in concert with SREBPs (45). The FASN promoter also contains an LXR element that permits a low-level response to LXR ligands even when SREBPs are suppressed (46). These two transcription factors may help to maintain fatty acid synthesis in liver when nSREBP-1c is low.