CaMKKβ-AMPKα2 signaling contributes to mitotic Golgi fragmentation and the G2/M transition in mammalian cells

<p>Before a cell enters mitosis, the Golgi apparatus undergoes extensive fragmentation. This is required for the correct partitioning of the Golgi apparatus into daughter cells, and inhibition of this process leads to cell cycle arrest in G2 phase. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays critical roles in regulating growth and reprogramming metabolism. Recent studies have suggested that AMPK promotes mitotic progression and Golgi disassembly, and that this seems independent of the cellular energy status. However, the molecular mechanism underlying these events is not well understood. Here, we show that both treatment with compound C and depletion of AMPKα2 (but not AMPKα1) delays the G2/M transition in synchronized HeLa cells, as evidenced by flow cytometry and mitotic index analysis. Furthermore, knockdown of AMPKα2 specifically delays further fragmentation of isolated Golgi stacks. Interestingly, pAMPKα^Thr172 signals transiently appear in the perinuclear region of late G2<u>/</u>early prophase cells, partially co-localizing with the Golgi matrix protein, GM-130. These Golgi pAMPKα^Thr172 signals were also specifically abolished by AMPKα2 knockdown, indicating specific spatio-temporal activation of AMPKα2 at Golgi complex during late G2/early prophases. We also found that the specific CaMKKβ inhibitor, STO-609, reduces the pAMPKα^Thr172 signals in the perinuclear region of G2 phase cells and delays mitotic Golgi fragmentation. Taken together, these data suggest that AMPKα2 is the major catalytic subunit of AMPKα which regulates Golgi fragmentation and G2/M transition, and that the CaMKKβ activates AMPKα2 during late G2 phase.</p

Multipotent neurogenic fate of mesenchymal stem cell is determined by Cdk4-mediated hypophosphorylation of Smad-STAT3

<p>Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) in complex with a corresponding cyclin plays a pivotal role in neurogenic differentiation. In particular, Cdk4 activity acts as a signaling switch to direct human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to neural transdifferentiation. However, the molecular evidence of how Cdk4 activity converts MSCs to neurogenic lineage remains unknown. Here, we found that Cdk4 inhibition in human MSCs enriches the populations of neural stem and progenitor pools rather than differentiated glial and neuronal cell pools. Interestingly, Cdk4 inhibition directly inactivates Smads and subsequently STAT3 signaling by hypophosphorylation, and both Cdk4 and Smads levels are linked during the processes of neural transdifferentiation and differentiation. In summary, our results provide novel molecular evidence in which Cdk4 inhibition leads to directing human MSCs to a multipotent neurogenic fate by inactivating Smads-STAT3 signaling.</p

Structure−Activity Relationship Studies of a Series of Novel δ-Lactam-Based Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

We synthesized a series of δ-lactam-based HDAC inhibitors that were identified with various degrees of anti-inflammatory and cell growth inhibitory activities. Compounds possessing significant HDAC inhibitory activity exhibited both anti-inflammatory and cell growth inhibitory activities as well as significant tumor growth inhibition in the in vivo tumor xenograft experiments. Besides, these compounds demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in vitro via suppression of the production of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α and nitric oxide by LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells