Chemistry meets biology in colitis-associated carcinogenesis

The intestine comprises an exceptional venue for a dynamic and complex interplay of numerous chemical and biological processes. Here, multiple chemical and biological systems, including the intestinal tissue itself, its associated immune system, the gut microbiota, xenobiotics, and metabolites meet and interact to form a sophisticated and tightly regulated state of tissue homoeostasis. Disturbance of this homeostasis can cause inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—a chronic disease of multifactorial etiology that is strongly associated with increased risk for cancer development. This review addresses recent developments in research into chemical and biological mechanisms underlying the etiology of inflammation-induced colon cancer. Beginning with a general overview of reactive chemical species generated during colonic inflammation, the mechanistic interplay between chemical and biological mediators of inflammation, the role of genetic toxicology, and microbial pathogenesis in disease development are discussed. When possible, we systematically compare evidence from studies utilizing human IBD patients with experimental investigations in mice. The comparison reveals that many strong pathological and mechanistic correlates exist between mouse models of colitis-associated cancer, and the clinically relevant situation in humans. We also summarize several emerging issues in the field, such as the carcinogenic potential of novel inflammation-related DNA adducts and genotoxic microbial factors, the systemic dimension of inflammation-induced genotoxicity, and the complex role of genome maintenance mechanisms during these processes. Taken together, current evidence points to the induction of genetic and epigenetic alterations by chemical and biological inflammatory stimuli ultimately leading to cancer formation.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Environmental Health Sciences (ES002109)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH (CA26731)

An automated Fpg-based FADU method for the detection of oxidative DNA lesions and screening of antioxidants

The oxidation of guanine to 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) is one of the most abundant and best studied oxidative DNA lesions and is commonly used as a biomarker for oxidative stress. Over the last decades, various methods for the detection of DNA oxidation products have been established and optimized. However, some of them lack sensitivity or are prone to artifact formation, while others are time-consuming, which hampers their application in screening approaches. In this study, we present a formamidopyrimidine glycosylase (Fpg)-based method to detect oxidative lesions in isolated DNA using a modified protocol of the automated version of the fluorimetric detection of alkaline DNA unwinding (FADU) method, initially developed for the measurement of DNA strand breaks (Moreno-Villanueva et al., 2009. BMC Biotechnol. 9, 39). The FADU-Fpg method was validated using a plasmid DNA model, mimicking mitochondrial DNA, and the results were correlated to 8-oxo-dG levels as measured by LC–MS/MS. The FADU-Fpg method can be applied to analyze the potential of compounds to induce DNA strand breaks and oxidative lesions, as exemplified here by treating plasmid DNA with the peroxynitrite-generating molecule Sin-1. Moreover, this method can be used to screen DNA-protective effects of antioxidant substances, as exemplified here for a small-molecule, i.e., uric acid, and a protein, i.e., manganese superoxide dismutase, both of which displayed a dose-dependent protection against the generation of oxidative DNA lesions. In conclusion, the automated FADU-Fpg method offers a rapid and reliable measurement for the detection of peroxynitrite-mediated DNA damage in a cell-free system, rendering it an ideal method for screening the DNA-protective effects of antioxidant compounds.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Grant BU 698/6-1)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant ES002109)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA026731

Non-canonical BIM-regulated energy metabolism determines drug-induced liver necrosis.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen, APAP) overdose severely damages mitochondria and triggers several apoptotic processes in hepatocytes, but the final outcome is fulminant necrotic cell death, resulting in acute liver failure and mortality. Here, we studied this switch of cell death modes and demonstrate a non-canonical role of the apoptosis-regulating BCL-2 homolog BIM/Bcl2l11 in promoting necrosis by regulating cellular bioenergetics. BIM deficiency enhanced total ATP production and shifted the bioenergetic profile towards glycolysis, resulting in persistent protection from APAP-induced liver injury. Modulation of glucose levels and deletion of Mitofusins confirmed that severe APAP toxicity occurs only in cells dependent on oxidative phosphorylation. Glycolytic hepatocytes maintained elevated ATP levels and reduced ROS, which enabled lysosomal recycling of damaged mitochondria by mitophagy. The present study highlights how metabolism and bioenergetics affect drug-induced liver toxicity, and identifies BIM as important regulator of glycolysis, mitochondrial respiration, and oxidative stress signaling

PARP1 catalytic variants reveal branching and chain length-specific functions of poly(ADP-ribose) in cellular physiology and stress response

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation regulates numerous cellular processes like genome maintenance and cell death, thus providing protective functions but also contributing to several pathological conditions. Poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) molecules exhibit a remarkable heterogeneity in chain lengths and branching frequencies, but the biological significance of this is basically unknown. To unravel structure-specific functions of PAR, we used PARP1 mutants producing PAR of different qualities, i.e. short and hypobranched (PARP1\G972R), short and moderately hyperbranched (PARP1\Y986S), or strongly hyperbranched PAR (PARP1\Y986H). By reconstituting HeLa PARP1 knockout cells, we demonstrate that PARP1\G972R negatively affects cellular endpoints, such as viability, cell cycle progression and genotoxic stress resistance. In contrast, PARP1\Y986S elicits only mild effects, suggesting that PAR branching compensates for short polymer length. Interestingly, PARP1\Y986H exhibits moderate beneficial effects on cell physiology. Furthermore, different PARP1 mutants have distinct effects on molecular processes, such as gene expression and protein localization dynamics of PARP1 itself, and of its downstream factor XRCC1. Finally, the biological relevance of PAR branching is emphasized by the fact that branching frequencies vary considerably during different phases of the DNA damage-induced PARylation reaction and between different mouse tissues. Taken together, this study reveals that PAR branching and chain length essentially affect cellular functions, which further supports the notion of a ‘PAR code’

Chemical and cytokine features of innate immunity characterize serum and tissue profiles in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) arises from inappropriate activation of the mucosal immune system resulting in a state of chronic inflammation with causal links to colon cancer. Helicobacter hepaticus-infected Rag2[superscript −/−] mice emulate many aspects of human IBD, and our recent work using this experimental model highlights the importance of neutrophils in the pathology of colitis. To define molecular mechanisms linking colitis to the identity of disease biomarkers, we performed a translational comparison of protein expression and protein damage products in tissues of mice and human IBD patients. Analysis in inflamed mouse colons identified the neutrophil- and macrophage-derived damage products 3-chlorotyrosine (Cl-Tyr) and 3-nitrotyrosine, both of which increased with disease duration. Analysis also revealed higher Cl-Tyr levels in colon relative to serum in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease. The DNA chlorination damage product, 5-chloro-2′-deoxycytidine, was quantified in diseased human colon samples and found to be present at levels similar to those in inflamed mouse colons. Multivariate analysis of these markers, together with serum proteins and cytokines, revealed a general signature of activated innate immunity in human IBD. Signatures in ulcerative colitis sera were strongly suggestive of neutrophil activity, and those in Crohn disease and mouse sera were suggestive of both macrophage and neutrophil activity. These data point to innate immunity as a major determinant of serum and tissue profiles and provide insight into IBD disease processes.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA26731)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Environmental Health Sciences (Grant ES002109))Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Merck Fellowship)German Academic Exchange Service (Fellowship

The C-terminal domain of p53 orchestrates the interplay between non-covalent and covalent poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of p53 by PARP1

The post-translational modification poly(ADPribosyl)ation (PARylation) plays key roles in genome maintenance and transcription. Both non-covalent poly(ADP-ribose) binding and covalent PARylation control protein functions, however, it is unknown how the two modes of modification crosstalk mechanistically. Employing the tumor suppressor p53 as a model substrate, this study provides detailed insights into the interplay between noncovalent and covalent PARylation and unravels its functional significance in the regulation of p53. We reveal that the multifunctional Cterminal domain (CTD) of p53 acts as the central hub in the PARylation-dependent regulation of p53. Specifically, p53 bound to auto-PARylated PARP1 via highly specific non–covalent PAR-CTD interaction, which conveyed target specificity for its covalent PARylation by PARP1. Strikingly, fusing the p53-CTD to a protein that is normally not PARylated, renders this a target for covalent PARylation as well. Functional studies revealed that the p53–PAR interaction had substantial implications on molecular and cellular levels. Thus, PAR significantly influenced the complex p53–DNA binding properties and controlled p53 functions, with major implications on the p53-dependent interactome, transcription, and replication-associated recombination. Remarkably, this mechanism potentially also applies to other PARylation targets, since a bioinformatics analysis revealed that CTD-like regions are highly enriched in the PARylated proteome

Herstellung und phänotypische Charakterisierung

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) uses NAD+ as a substrate to modify various nuclear proteins with the biopolymer poly(ADP-ribose), thereby regulating a variety of cellular processes such as DNA repair, gene transcription, and cell death. These diverse functions on the cellular level are also reflected in the contribution of PARP-1 to multiple physiological and pathophysiological conditions on an organismal level.While several groups have established PARP-1-deficient mice, PARP-1-overexpressing or hypermorphic mice have not been described to date. The latter, however, should also represent a relevant biological model, the rationale being provided by the fact that the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation capacity of purified human PARP-1 (hPARP-1) is significantly higher than that of its rodent (rat) orthologue. In this thesis, a novel mouse model with ectopic expression of hPARP-1 (comprising two independent congenic lines) was generated, using gene targeting in embryonic stem (ES) cells. The targeting vector was designed to allow replacement of the murine Parp-1 (mParp-1) coding sequence (32 kb) with its human orthologous sequence (46 kb). Unexpectedly though, site-specific homologous recombination was mimicked by bidirectional extension of the vector homology arms, followed by adjacent integration of the targeting vector, thus leaving the murine locus functional. Related to this phenomenon is the so-called ectopic gene targeting mediated by synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA), which has so far only been described for 'ends-in integration vectors in non-ES cell gene targeting. Therefore, results of this thesis give new insight into the role of SDSA during gene targeting and are of general importance for the design of gene knock-in approaches in mice.Mutant hPARP-1 ES cells and mice displayed gene-dose-dependent expression levels of hPARP-1, thereby resulting in a moderate overexpression of total PARP-1, while mPARP-1 expression was downregulated to some extent. Consequently, hPARP-1 ES cells exhibited an altered poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation metabolism, but an intact DNA damage response. Phenotypic analyses revealed impaired survival rates in a gene-dose-dependent manner in both sexes of hPARP-1 mice, with females being more affected. Several pathologies were identified in hPARP-1 mice, such as obesity, glomerulopathy, and splenomegaly, all pointing to the development of chronic diseases. Moreover, hPARP-1 mice showed signs of premature aging, such as sporadic kyphosis accompanied by alterations in bone metabolism and impaired regenerative potential of the hair.In conclusion, this study characterized the occurrence of ectopic gene targeting in murine ES cells transfected with an ends-out gene replacement vector for the first time. Furthermore, the generated hPARP-1 mice represent a novel model system with unexpected, multifaceted phenotypes, which should be instrumental for the elucidation of the role of PARP-1 in health and disease

Pleiotropic Cellular Functions of PARP1 in Longevity and Aging: Genome Maintenance Meets Inflammation

Aging is a multifactorial process that depends on diverse molecular and cellular mechanisms, such as genome maintenance and inflammation. The nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), which catalyzes the synthesis of the biopolymer poly(ADP-ribose), exhibits an essential role in both processes. On the one hand, PARP1 serves as a genomic caretaker as it participates in chromatin remodelling, DNA repair, telomere maintenance, resolution of replicative stress, and cell cycle control. On the other hand, PARP1 acts as a mediator of inflammation due to its function as a regulator of NF-κB and other transcription factors and its potential to induce cell death. Consequently, PARP1 represents an interesting player in several aging mechanisms and is discussed as a longevity assurance factor on the one hand and an aging-promoting factor on the other hand. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms underlying the various roles of PARP1 in longevity and aging with special emphasis on cellular studies and we briefly discuss the results in the context of in vivo studies in mice and humans

How to kill tumor cells with inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is a post-translational modification catalyzed by the enzyme family of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). PARPs exhibit pleiotropic cellular functions ranging from maintenance of genomic stability and chromatin remodeling to regulation of cell death, thereby rendering PARP homologues promising targets in cancer therapy. Depending on the molecular status of a cancer cell, low-molecular weight PARP inhibitors can (i) either be used as monotherapeutic agents following the concept of synthetic lethality or (ii) to support classical chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The rationales are the following: (i) in cancers with selective defects in homologous recombination repair, inactivation of PARPs directly causes cell death. In cancer treatment, this phenomenon can be employed to specifically target tumor cells while sparing nonmalignant tissue. (ii) PARP inhibitors can also be used to sensitize cells to cytotoxic DNA-damaging treatments, as some PARPs actively participate in genomic maintenance. Apart from that, PARP inhibitors possess antiangiogenic functions, thus opening up a further option to inhibit tumor growth. In view of the above, a number of high-potency PARP inhibitors have been developed during the last decade and are currently evaluated as cancer therapeutics in clinical trials by several leading pharmaceutical companies

The Nucleolus and PARP1 in Cancer Biology

The nucleolus has been known for a long time to fulfill crucial functions in ribosome biogenesis, of which cancer cells can become addicted to in order to produce sufficient amounts of proteins for cell proliferation. Recently, the nucleolus has emerged as a central regulatory hub in many other cancer-relevant processes, including stress sensing, DNA damage response, cell cycle control, and proteostasis. This fostered the idea that nucleolar processes can be exploited in cancer therapy. Interestingly, a significant proportion of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) molecules are localized in the nucleolus and PARP1 also plays crucial roles in many processes that are important in cancer biology, including genome maintenance, replication, transcription, and chromatin remodeling. Furthermore, during the last years, PARP1 came into focus in oncology since it represents a promising target of pharmacological PARP inhibitors in various types of cancers. Here, we provide an overview of our current understanding on the role of PARP1 in nucleolar functions and discuss potential implications in cancer biology and therapy.publishe