AMPK Enhances Transcription of Selected Nrf2 Target Genes via Negative Regulation of Bach1.

5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) are main players in the cellular adaptive response to metabolic and oxidative/xenobiotic stress, respectively. AMPK does not only balance the rate of fuel catabolism versus anabolism but also emerges as regulator of gene expression. We here examined the influence of AMPK on Nrf2-dependent gene transcription and the potential interplay of the two cellular stress hubs. Using gene expression analyses in wt and AMPKα1 -/- or Nrf2 -/- mouse embryonal fibroblasts, we could show that AMPK only affected a portion of the entire of Nrf2-dependent transcriptome upon exposure to the Nrf2 activator sulforaphane (Sfn). Focusing on selected genes with positive regulation by Nrf2 and either positive or no further regulation by AMPK, we revealed that altered Nrf2 levels could not account for the distinct extent of transactivation of certain Nrf2 targets in wt and AMPK -/- cells (assessed by immunoblot). FAIRE-qPCR largely excluded distinct chromatin accessibility of selected Nrf2-responsive antioxidant response elements (ARE) within the regulatory gene regions in wt and AMPK-/- cells. However, expression analyses and ChIP-qPCR showed that in AMPK-/- cells, levels of BTB and CNC homology 1 (Bach1), a competitor of Nrf2 for ARE sites with predominant repressor function, were higher, and Bach1 also bound to a greater relative extent to the examined ARE sites when compared to Nrf2. The negative influence of AMPK on Bach1 was confirmed by pharmacological and genetic approaches and occurred at the level of mRNA synthesis. Overall, the observed AMPK-mediated boost in transactivation of a subset of Nrf2 target genes involves downregulation of Bach1 and subsequent favored binding of activating Nrf2 over repressing Bach1 to the examined ARE sites.