scholarly journals A Double-Bromodomain Protein, FSH-S, Activates the Homeotic Gene Ultrabithorax through a Critical Promoter-Proximal Region

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (15) ◽  
pp. 5486-5498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuh-Long Chang ◽  
Balas King ◽  
Shu-Chun Lin ◽  
James A. Kennison ◽  
Der-Hwa Huang

ABSTRACT More than a dozen trithorax group (trxG) proteins are involved in activation of Drosophila HOX genes. How they act coordinately to integrate signals from distantly located enhancers is not fully understood. The female sterile (1) homeotic (fs(1)h) gene is one of the trxG genes that is most critical for Ultrabithorax (Ubx) activation. We show that one of the two double-bromodomain proteins encoded by fs(1)h acts as an essential factor in the Ubx proximal promoter. First, overexpression of the small isoform FSH-S, but not the larger one, can induce ectopic expression of HOX genes and cause body malformation. Second, FSH-S can stimulate Ubx promoter in cultured cells through a critical proximal region in a bromodomain-dependent manner. Third, purified FSH-S can bind specifically to a motif within this region that was previously known as the ZESTE site. The physiological relevance of FSH-S is ascertained using transgenic embryos containing a modified Ubx proximal promoter and chromatin immunoprecipitation. In addition, we show that FSH-S is involved in phosphorylation of itself and other regulatory factors. We suggest that FSH-S acts as a critical component of a regulatory circuitry mediating long-range effects of distant enhancers.

2006 ◽  
Vol 398 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Liu ◽  
Xin Guo ◽  
Jaladanki N. Rao ◽  
Tongtong Zou ◽  
Bernard S. Marasa ◽  
...  

Maintenance of intestinal mucosal epithelial integrity requires cellular polyamines that regulate expression of various genes involved in cell proliferation, growth arrest and apoptosis. Our previous studies have shown that polyamines are essential for expression of the c-myc gene and that polyamine-induced c-Myc plays a critical role in stimulation of normal IEC (intestinal epithelial cell) proliferation, but the exact downstream targets of induced c-Myc are still unclear. The p21Cip1 protein is a major player in cell cycle control, which is primarily regulated at the transcriptional level. The current study was designed to determine whether induced c-Myc stimulates normal IEC proliferation by repressing p21Cip1 transcription following up-regulation of polyamines. Overexpression of the ODC (ornithine decarboxylase) gene increased levels of cellular polyamines, induced c-Myc expression and inhibited p21Cip1 transcription, as indicated by repression of p21Cip1 promoter activity and a decrease in p21Cip1 protein levels. In contrast, depletion of cellular polyamines by inhibiting ODC enzyme activity with α-difluoromethylornithine decreased c-Myc, but increased p21Cip1 transcription. Ectopic expression of wild-type c-myc not only inhibited basal levels of p21Cip1 transcription in control cells, but also prevented increased p21Cip1 in polyamine-deficient cells. Experiments using different p21Cip1 promoter mutants showed that transcriptional repression of p21Cip1 by c-Myc was mediated through Miz-1- and Sp1-binding sites within the proximal region of the p21Cip1 promoter in normal IECs. These findings confirm that p21Cip1 is one of the direct mediators of induced c-Myc following increased polyamines and that p21Cip1 repression by c-Myc is implicated in stimulation of normal IEC proliferation.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (4) ◽  
pp. F653-F662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kameswaran Surendran ◽  
Theodore C. Simon

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) regulates salt excretion, vascular tone, and fibroblast proliferation and activation. CNP inhibits fibroblast activation in vitro and fibrosis in vivo, but endogenous CNP gene ( Nppc) expression during tissue fibrosis has not been reported. We determined that Nppc is induced in renal tubular epithelia and then in interstitial myofibroblasts after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Induction of Nppcoccurred in identical cell populations to those in which Wnt4 is induced after renal injury. In addition, Nppc was activated in Wnt4-expressing cells during nephrogenesis. Wnt signaling components β-catenin and T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer binding factor (TCF/LEF) specifically bound to cognate elements in the Nppc proximal promoter. Wnt-4, β-catenin, and LEF-1 activated an Nppc transgene in cultured cells, and transgene activation by Wnt-4 and LEF-1 was dependent on the presence of intact cognate elements. These findings suggest that Wnt-4 stimulates Nppc in a TCF/LEF-dependent manner after renal injury and thus may contribute to limiting renal fibrosis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Colussi ◽  
Leonie M. Quinn ◽  
David C.S. Huang ◽  
Michelle Coombe ◽  
Stuart H. Read ◽  
...  

Bcl-2 family of proteins are key regulators of apoptosis. Both proapoptotic and antiapoptotic members of this family are found in mammalian cells, but no such proteins have been described in insects. Here, we report the identification and characterization of Debcl, the first Bcl-2 homologue in Drosophila melanogaster. Structurally, Debcl is similar to Bax-like proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members. Ectopic expression of Debcl in cultured cells and in transgenic flies causes apoptosis, which is inhibited by coexpression of the baculovirus caspase inhibitor P35, indicating that Debcl is a proapoptotic protein that functions in a caspase-dependent manner. debcl expression correlates with developmental cell death in specific Drosophila tissues. We also show that debcl genetically interacts with diap1 and dark, and that debcl-mediated apoptosis is not affected by gene dosage of rpr, hid, and grim. Biochemically, Debcl can interact with several mammalian and viral prosurvival Bcl-2 family members, but not with the proapoptotic members, suggesting that it may regulate apoptosis by antagonizing prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins. RNA interference studies indicate that Debcl is required for developmental apoptosis in Drosophila embryos. These results suggest that the main components of the mammalian apoptosis machinery are conserved in insects.


Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (11) ◽  
pp. 1991-1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Packer ◽  
D.A. Crotty ◽  
V.A. Elwell ◽  
D.J. Wolgemuth

Analysis of the regulatory regions of the Hox genes has revealed a complex array of positive and negative cis-acting elements that control the spatial and temporal pattern of expression of these genes during embryogenesis. In this study we show that normal expression of the murine Hoxa4 gene during development requires both autoregulatory and retinoic acid-dependent modes of regulation. When introduced into a Hoxa4 null background, expression of a lacZ reporter gene driven by the Hoxa4 regulatory region (Hoxa4/lacZ) is either abolished or significantly reduced in all tissues at E10. 5-E12.5. Thus, the observed autoregulation of the Drosophila Deformed gene is conserved in a mouse homolog in vivo, and is reflected in a widespread requirement for positive feedback to maintain Hoxa4 expression. We also identify three potential retinoic acid response elements in the Hoxa4 5′ flanking region, one of which is identical to a well-characterized element flanking the Hoxd4 gene. Administration of retinoic acid to Hoxa4/lacZ transgenic embryos resulted in stage-dependent ectopic expression of the reporter gene in the neural tube and hindbrain. When administered to Hoxa4 null embryos, however, persistent ectopic expression was not observed, suggesting that autoregulation is required for maintenance of the retinoic acid-induced expression. Finally, mutation of the consensus retinoic acid response element eliminated the response of the reporter gene to exogenous retinoic acid, and abolished all embryonic expression in untreated embryos, with the exception of the neural tube and prevertebrae. These data add to the evidence that Hox gene expression is regulated, in part, by endogenous retinoids and autoregulatory loops.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle E. Read ◽  
Ananya Gupta ◽  
Karen Cawley ◽  
Laura Fontana ◽  
Patrizia Agostinis ◽  
...  

AbstractAn important event in the unfolded protein response (UPR) is the activation of the endoplasmic reticulum kinase PERK (EIF2AK3). The PERK signalling branch first mediates a prosurvival response, which switches into a proapoptotic response upon prolonged ER stress. However, the molecular mechanisms of PERK-mediated cell death are not well understood. Here we show that expression of the primary miR-17-92 transcript and mature miRNAs belonging to miR-17-92 cluster is decreased during UPR. We found that activity of miR-17-92 promoter reporter was reduced during UPR in a PERK-dependent manner. We show that activity of miR-17-92 promoter is repressed by ectopic expression of ATF4 and NRF2. The promoter deletion analysis and ChIP assays mapped the region responding to UPR-mediated repression to site in the proximal region of the miR-17-92 promoter. Hypericin-mediated photo-oxidative ER damage reduced the expression of miRNAs belonging to miR-17-92 cluster in wild-type but not in PERK-deficient cells. Importantly, ER stress-induced apoptosis was inhibited upon miR-17-92 overexpression in SH-SY5Y and H9c2 cells. Our results reveal a novel function for NRF2, where repression of miR-17-92 cluster by NRF2 plays an important role in ER stress-mediated apoptosis. The data presented here provides mechanistic details how sustained PERK signalling via NRF2 mediated repression of miR-17-92 cluster can potentiate cell death.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Danielle E. Read ◽  
Ananya Gupta ◽  
Karen Cawley ◽  
Laura Fontana ◽  
Patrizia Agostinis ◽  
...  

An important event in the unfolded protein response (UPR) is activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase PERK. The PERK signalling branch initially mediates a prosurvival response, which progresses to a proapoptotic response upon prolonged ER stress. However, the molecular mechanisms of PERK-mediated cell death are not well understood. Here we show that expression of the primary miR-17-92 transcript and mature miRNAs belonging to the miR-17-92 cluster are decreased during UPR. We found that miR-17-92 promoter reporter activity was reduced during UPR in a PERK-dependent manner. Furthermore, we show that activity of the miR-17-92 promoter is repressed by ectopic expression of ATF4 and NRF2. Promoter deletion analysis mapped the region responding to UPR-mediated repression to a site in the proximal region of the miR-17-92 promoter. Hypericin-mediated photo-oxidative ER damage reduced the expression of miRNAs belonging to the miR-17-92 cluster in wild-type but not in PERK-deficient cells. Importantly, ER stress-induced apoptosis was inhibited upon miR-17-92 overexpression in SH-SY5Y and H9c2 cells. Our results reveal a novel function for ATF4 and NRF2, where repression of the miR-17-92 cluster plays an important role in ER stress-mediated apoptosis. Mechanistic details are provided for the potentiation of cell death via sustained PERK signalling mediated repression of the miR-17-92 cluster.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Yeongji Yu ◽  
Hyejin Kim ◽  
SeokGyeong Choi ◽  
JinSuh Yu ◽  
Joo Yeon Lee ◽  
...  

The elimination of the cancer stem cell (CSC) population may be required to achieve better outcomes of cancer therapy. We evaluated stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) as a novel target for CSC-selective elimination in colon cancer. CSCs expressed more SCD1 than bulk cultured cells (BCCs), and blocking SCD1 expression or function revealed an essential role for SCD1 in the survival of CSCs, but not BCCs. The CSC potential selectively decreased after treatment with the SCD1 inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. The CSC-selective suppression was mediated through the induction of apoptosis. The mechanism leading to selective CSC death was investigated by performing a quantitative RT-PCR analysis of 14 CSC-specific signaling and marker genes after 24 and 48 h of treatment with two concentrations of an inhibitor. The decrease in the expression of Notch1 and AXIN2 preceded changes in the expression of all other genes, at 24 h of treatment in a dose-dependent manner, followed by the downregulation of most Wnt- and NOTCH-signaling genes. Collectively, we showed that not only Wnt but also NOTCH signaling is a primary target of suppression by SCD1 inhibition in CSCs, suggesting the possibility of targeting SCD1 against colon cancer in clinical settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Liu ◽  
Lijuan Guo ◽  
Hongyan Qi ◽  
Meng Lou ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractRibonucleotide reductase (RR) is a unique enzyme for the reduction of NDPs to dNDPs, the building blocks for DNA synthesis and thus essential for cell proliferation. Pan-cancer profiling studies showed that RRM2, the small subunit M2 of RR, is abnormally overexpressed in multiple types of cancers; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms in cancers are still unclear. In this study, through searching in cancer-omics databases and immunohistochemistry validation with clinical samples, we showed that the expression of MYBL2, a key oncogenic transcriptional factor, was significantly upregulated correlatively with RRM2 in colorectal cancer (CRC). Ectopic expression and knockdown experiments indicated that MYBL2 was essential for CRC cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and cell cycle progression in an RRM2-dependent manner. Mechanistically, MYBL2 directly bound to the promoter of RRM2 gene and promoted its transcription during S-phase together with TAF15 and MuvB components. Notably, knockdown of MYBL2 sensitized CRC cells to treatment with MK-1775, a clinical trial drug for inhibition of WEE1, which is involved in a degradation pathway of RRM2. Finally, mouse xenograft experiments showed that the combined suppression of MYBL2 and WEE1 synergistically inhibited CRC growth with a low systemic toxicity in vivo. Therefore, we propose a new regulatory mechanism for RRM2 transcription for CRC proliferation, in which MYBL2 functions by constituting a dynamic S-phase transcription complex following the G1/early S-phase E2Fs complex. Doubly targeting the transcription and degradation machines of RRM2 could produce a synthetic inhibitory effect on RRM2 level with a novel potential for CRC treatment.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (6) ◽  
pp. L1324-L1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Kulisz ◽  
Ningfang Chen ◽  
Navdeep S. Chandel ◽  
Zuohui Shao ◽  
Paul T. Schumacker

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is phosphorylated in response to oxidative stress. Mitochondria in cardiomyocytes increase their generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during hypoxia (1–5% O2). These ROS participate in signal transduction pathways involved in adaptive responses, including ischemic preconditioning and gene transcription. The present study therefore tested the hypothesis that hypoxia induces p38 MAPK phosphorylation by augmenting mitochondrial ROS generation. In cardiomyocytes, phosphorylation of p38 was observed in a Po 2-dependent manner during hypoxia. This response was inhibited by rotenone, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, and myxothiazol, inhibitors of mitochondrial complexes I, II, and III, respectively. A similar inhibition was observed in the cells pretreated with anion channel inhibitor DIDS, which may block ROS release from mitochondria. During normoxia, increases in mitochondrial ROS elicited by azide (1–2 mM) or by the mitochondrial inhibitor antimycin A caused increased phosphorylation of p38. Brief treatment with exogenous H2O2 during normoxia also induced phosphorylation of p38 as hypoxia, but this effect was not abolished by myxothiazol or DIDS. The antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine abolished the p38 response to hypoxia, presumably by scavenging H2O2, but the mitogen extracellular receptor kinase inhibitor PD-98059 did not inhibit p38 phosphorylation during hypoxia. Thus physiological hypoxia leads to p38 phosphorylation through a mechanism that requires electron flux in the proximal region of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which suggests that either H2O2 or superoxide participates in activating that process.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Hwa Goo ◽  
Young Chang Sohn ◽  
Dae-Hwan Kim ◽  
Seung-Whan Kim ◽  
Min-Jung Kang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Many transcription coactivators interact with nuclear receptors in a ligand- and C-terminal transactivation function (AF2)-dependent manner. These include activating signal cointegrator 2 (ASC-2), a recently isolated transcriptional coactivator molecule, which is amplified in human cancers and stimulates transactivation by nuclear receptors and numerous other transcription factors. In this report, we show that ASC-2 belongs to a steady-state complex of approximately 2 MDa (ASC-2 complex [ASCOM]) in HeLa nuclei. ASCOM contains retinoblastoma-binding protein RBQ-3, α/β-tubulins, and trithorax group proteins ALR-1, ALR-2, HALR, and ASH2. In particular, ALR-1/2 and HALR contain a highly conserved 130- to 140-amino-acid motif termed the SET domain, which was recently implicated in histone H3 lysine-specific methylation activities. Indeed, recombinant ALR-1, HALR, and immunopurified ASCOM exhibit very weak but specific H3-lysine 4 methylation activities in vitro, and transactivation by retinoic acid receptor appears to involve ligand-dependent recruitment of ASCOM and subsequent transient H3-lysine 4 methylation of the promoter region in vivo. Thus, ASCOM may represent a distinct coactivator complex of nuclear receptors. Further characterization of ASCOM will lead to a better understanding of how nuclear receptors and other transcription factors mediate transcriptional activation.


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