1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Induces a NURR1–Tyrosine Hydroxylase Transcriptional Axis Modulated by Rexinoid/RXR Signaling in Parkinson’s Disease-Relevant Human Neural Cell Models

The hormonal vitamin D metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D), produced primarily in the kidney, acts in numerous end-organs via the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR) to trigger molecular events that orchestrate bone mineral homeostasis, immune responsiveness, and aspects of behavior. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) encodes a neuronally expressed enzyme that catalyzes the initial, rate-limiting step in the production of several catecholamine neurotransmitters and hormones, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Herein we report that TH mRNA is significantly induced (2.5-fold) and NURR1 mRNA is induced 9.3-fold by 10 nM 1,25D in differentiated human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Similar results were observed in human U87 glioblastoma cells (TH, 2.6-fold; NURR1, 3.6-fold). Comparative analysis of TH gene promoter-proximal sequences from human, mouse, and rat identifies candidate NURR1-responsive elements (NBREs) at the following positions: −35, −855, −1470, and −2343 bp in the human gene; −34 and −961 bp in the mouse gene; and −34, −350, and −873 bp in the rat gene, consistent with NURR1 acting as a recurring regulatory factor at TH promoters across mammalian species. Furthermore, by interrogating VDR ChIP-seq/cistrome datasets, we identified candidate vitamin D-responsive elements (VDREs) at the human NURR1 locus that provide a plausible genomic framework for direct regulation of NURR1 by 1,25D/VDR. We propose that 1,25D-liganded VDR acts as a primary inducer of NURR1, which in turn secondarily activates expression of the TH gene, thereby defining a transcriptional route through which 1,25D/VDR signaling may influence TH-linked dopaminergic gene programs. Retinoid X receptor (RXR) may facilitate both NURR1-dependent and -independent potentiation of TH transcription because the rexinoid, bexarotene, significantly enhances TH mRNA in human U87 cells, either alone (2.0-fold) or in combination with 1,25D (4.1-fold). In addition, bexarotene and its novel analogs, A41 and A55, induce NURR1 mRNA expression in U87 cells by 2.8-, 3.1-, and 4.8-fold, respectively, with A55 outperforming the parent compound at matched concentration. Because Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and impaired NURR1-dependent transcriptional programs, our findings identify a 1,25D/VDR–NURR1–RXR transcriptional axis as a previously underappreciated regulatory framework for studying TH gene expression and dopaminergic gene regulation in Parkinson’s disease-relevant neural contexts.