Hepatic FOXO1 Target Genes Are Co-regulated by Thyroid Hormone via RICTOR Protein Deacetylation and MTORC2-AKT Protein Inhibition

MTORC2-AKT is a key regulator of carbohydrate metabolism and insulin signaling due to its effects on FOXO1 phosphorylation. Interestingly, both FOXO1 and thyroid hormone (TH) have similar effects on carbohydrate and energy metabolism as well as overlapping transcriptional regulation of many target genes. Currently, little is known about the regulation of MTORC2-AKT or FOXO1 by TH. Accordingly, we performed hepatic transcriptome profiling in mice after FOXO1 knockdown in the absence or presence of TH, and we compared these results with hepatic FOXO1 and THRB1 (TRβ1) ChIP-Seq data. We identified a subset of TH-stimulated FOXO1 target genes that required co-regulation by FOXO1 and TH. TH activation of FOXO1 was directly linked to an increase in SIRT1-MTORC2 interaction and RICTOR deacetylation. This, in turn, led to decreased AKT and FOXO1 phosphorylation. Moreover, TH increased FOXO1 nuclear localization, DNA binding, and target gene transcription by reducing AKT-dependent FOXO1 phosphorylation in a THRB1-dependent manner. These events were associated with TH-mediated oxidative phosphorylation and NAD+ production and suggested that downstream metabolic effects by TH can post-translationally activate other transcription factors. Our results showed that RICTOR/MTORC2-AKT can integrate convergent hormonal and metabolic signals to provide coordinated and sensitive regulation of hepatic FOXO1-target gene expression. Thyroid hormone (TH) and FOXO1 share similar transcriptional networks. However, TH regulation of FOXO1 activity is not well understood. TH decreased RICTOR acetylation and MTORC2/AKT activity by SIRT1 activation and reduced FOXO1 phosphorylation. TH co-regulated transcription of FOXO1 target genes via RICTOR deacetylation. Downstream metabolic effects by TH can post-translationally activate other transcription factors.