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

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.