scholarly journals Muscle versus Snail: Muscle wins

2016 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-141
Author(s):  
Sergio Simoes ◽  
Ulrich Tepass

Epithelial–mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are often governed by the transcription factor Snail and entail the loss of apical junctions from epithelial cells. In this issue, Weng and Wieschaus (2016. J Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201508056) report that actomyosin contractility can strengthen junctions to override Snail-dependent junctional disassembly and postpone EMT during Drosophila melanogaster gastrulation.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. e41355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Linsey E. Lindley ◽  
Virneliz Fernandez-Vega ◽  
Megan E. Rieger ◽  
Andrew H. Sims ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 5548-5564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D. Prescott ◽  
Karen S. N. Koto ◽  
Meenakshi Singh ◽  
Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann

ABSTRACT Several different transcription factors, including estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and ETS family members, have been implicated in human breast cancer, indicating that transcription factor-induced alterations in gene expression underlie mammary cell transformation. ESE-1 is an epithelium-specific ETS transcription factor that contains two distinguishing domains, a serine- and aspartic acid-rich (SAR) domain and an AT hook domain. ESE-1 is abundantly expressed in human breast cancer and trans-activates epithelium-specific gene promoters in transient transfection assays. While it has been presumed that ETS factors transform mammary epithelial cells via their nuclear transcriptional functions, here we show (i) that ESE-1 protein is cytoplasmic in human breast cancer cells; (ii) that stably expressed green fluorescent protein-ESE-1 transforms MCF-12A human mammary epithelial cells; and (iii) that the ESE-1 SAR domain, acting in the cytoplasm, is necessary and sufficient to mediate this transformation. Deletion of transcriptional regulatory or nuclear localization domains does not impair ESE-1-mediated transformation, whereas fusing the simian virus 40 T-antigen nuclear localization signal to various ESE-1 constructs, including the SAR domain alone, inhibits their transforming capacity. Finally, we show that the nuclear localization of ESE-1 protein induces apoptosis in nontransformed mammary epithelial cells via a transcription-dependent mechanism. Together, our studies reveal two distinct ESE-1 functions, apoptosis and transformation, where the ESE-1 transcription activation domain contributes to apoptosis and the SAR domain mediates transformation via a novel nonnuclear, nontranscriptional mechanism. These studies not only describe a unique ETS factor transformation mechanism but also establish a new paradigm for cell transformation in general.


2008 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-265
Author(s):  
D. V. Kopytova ◽  
M. R. Kopantseva ◽  
E. N. Nabirochkina ◽  
N. E. Vorobyova ◽  
S. G. Georgieva ◽  
...  

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Tsai ◽  
Mariana RP Alves ◽  
Justin Crocker

We previously showed in Drosophila melanogaster embryos that low-affinity Ultrabithorax (Ubx)-responsive shavenbaby (svb) enhancers drive expression using localized transcriptional environments and that active svb enhancers on different chromosomes tended to colocalize (Tsai et al., 2017). Here, we test the hypothesis that these multi-enhancer ‘hubs’ improve phenotypic resilience to stress by buffering against decreases in transcription factor concentrations and transcriptional output. Deleting a redundant enhancer from the svb locus led to reduced trichome numbers in embryos raised at elevated temperatures. Using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we observed lower Ubx concentration and transcriptional output in this deletion allele. Transcription sites of the full svb cis-regulatory region inserted into a different chromosome colocalized with the svb locus, increasing Ubx concentration, the transcriptional output of svb, and partially rescuing the phenotype. Thus, multiple enhancers could reinforce a local transcriptional hub to buffer against environmental stresses and genetic perturbations, providing a mechanism for phenotypical robustness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zheng ◽  
Lu Yao ◽  
Yijing Zhou ◽  
Xiaoqun Gu ◽  
Can Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic pruritic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by recurrent eczematous lesions. Interleukin (IL)−33, a cytokine of the IL-1 family, was found to play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. As a key component of the inflammasome, NLRP3 has been mostly described in myeloid cells that to mediate inflammasome activation conducted proinflammatory cytokine production of the IL-1 family. However, the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of AD, as well as IL-33 processing are highly controversial. Whether NLRP3 can mediate IL-33 expression and secretion independently of the inflammasome in the epithelium of AD has remained unclear. In this article, we found the mRNA expression of Il33 and Nlrp3 were notably increased in the lesional skin of AD patients compared to healthy controls. We then found a significant positive correlation between the expression of Nlrp3 and Il33 in the epithelium of MC903-mediated AD mice model, but no changes were observed for Il36α, Il36γ, Il1β, or Il18 mRNA expression, as well as IL-1β or IL-18 production. Overexpression of NLRP3 in human immortalized epithelial cells increased IL-33 expression, whereas siRNA targeting NLRP3 abolished IL-33 expression. In addition, inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation or caspase-1 activity with MCC950 or VX-765 showed no effect on the expression and secretion of IL-33 in AD mice. Unlike myeloid cells, NLRP3 predominantly located in the nucleus of epithelial cells, which could directly bind to Il33 specific-promoters and transactivate it through an interaction with transcription factor IRF4. Furthermore, NLRP3 deficient mice exhibited a significant alleviated epidermis inflammation and decreased mRNA expression and secretion of IL-33 in MC903-mediated AD mice without interfering with TSLP and IL-1β production. Our results demonstrate a novel ability of NLRP3 to function as a crucial transcription factor of IL-33 in epithelium independently of inflammasome that to mediate the pathological process of AD.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (3) ◽  
pp. L671-L679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Baulig ◽  
Michèle Garlatti ◽  
Véronique Bonvallot ◽  
Alexandre Marchand ◽  
Robert Barouki ◽  
...  

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) induce a proinflammatory response in human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) characterized by the release of proinflammatory cytokines after activation of transduction pathways involving MAPK and the transcription factor NF-κB. Because cellular effects induced by DEP are prevented by antioxidants, they could be mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using fluorescent probes, we detected ROS production in bronchial and nasal epithelial cells exposed to native DEP, organic extracts of DEP (OE-DEP), or several polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Carbon black particles mimicking the inorganic part of DEP did not increase ROS production. DEP and OE-DEP also induced the expression of genes for phase I [cytochrome P-450 1A1 (CYP1A1)] and phase II [NADPH quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO-1)] xenobiotic metabolization enzymes, suggesting that DEP-adsorbed organic compounds become bioavailable, activate transcription, and are metabolized since the CYP1A1 enzymatic activity is increased. Because NQO-1 gene induction is reduced by antioxidants, it could be related to the ROS generated by DEP, most likely through the activation of the stress-sensitive Nrf2 transcription factor. Indeed, DEP induced the translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus and increased protein nuclear binding to the antioxidant responsive element. In conclusion, we show that DEP-organic compounds generate an oxidative stress, activate the Nrf2 transcription factor, and increase the expression of genes for phase I and II metabolization enzymes.


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