Ethanol specifically decreases peroxisome proliferator activated receptor β in B12 oligodendrocyte‐like cells

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear receptors that control important genes involved in lipid metabolism. Their role in nerve cells is uncertain, although anomalous myelination of the corpus callosum has been described in the PPARβ-null mouse, and abnormalities of this tissue have been documented in fetal alcohol syndrome in humans. We report here that ethanol treatment of B12 oligodendrocyte-like cells induces a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in the mRNA and protein levels of PPARβ, with no effect on PPARα or PPARγ. The effect on PPARβ is seen as an increase in mRNA degradation, as assessed by run-off assays, due to a significant decrease in PPARβ mRNA half-life, with no observed changes in intracellular localization. Our results suggest a possible link between PPARβ function and ethanol-induced abnormal myelination in oligodendrocytes.