Suv4-20h deficiency results in telomere elongation and derepression of telomere recombination

Mammalian telomeres have heterochromatic features, including trimethylated histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me3) and trimethylated histone H4 at lysine 20 (H4K20me3). In addition, subtelomeric DNA is hypermethylated. The enzymatic activities responsible for these modifications at telomeres are beginning to be characterized. In particular, H4K20me3 at telomeres could be catalyzed by the novel Suv4-20h1 and Suv4-20h2 histone methyltransferases (HMTases). In this study, we demonstrate that the Suv4-20h enzymes are responsible for this histone modification at telomeres. Cells deficient for Suv4-20h2 or for both Suv4-20h1 and Suv4-20h2 show decreased levels of H4K20me3 at telomeres and subtelomeres in the absence of changes in H3K9me3. These epigenetic alterations are accompanied by telomere elongation, indicating a role for Suv4-20h HMTases in telomere length control. Finally, cells lacking either the Suv4-20h or Suv39h HMTases show increased frequencies of telomere recombination in the absence of changes in subtelomeric DNA methylation. These results demonstrate the importance of chromatin architecture in the maintenance of telomere length homeostasis and reveal a novel role for histone lysine methylation in controlling telomere recombination

Altered telomere homeostasis and resistance to skin carcinogenesis in Suv39h1 transgenic mice

The Suv39h1 and Suv39h2 H3K9 histone methyltransferases (HMTs) have a conserved role in the formation of constitutive heterochromatin and gene silencing. Using a transgenic mouse model system we demonstrate that elevated expression of Suv39h1 increases global H3K9me3 levels in vivo. More specifically, Suv39h1 overexpression enhances the imposition of H3K9me3 levels at constitutive heterochromatin at telomeric and major satellite repeats in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Chromatin compaction is paralleled by telomere shortening, indicating that telomere length is controlled by H3K9me3 density at telomeres. We further show that increased Suv39h1 levels result in an impaired clonogenic potential of transgenic epidermal stem cells and Ras/E1A transduced transgenic primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Importantly, Suv39h1 overexpression in mice confers resistance to a DMBA/TPA induced skin carcinogenesis protocol that is characterized by the accumulation of activating H-ras mutations. Our results provide genetic evidence that Suv39h1 controls telomere homeostasis and mediates resistance to oncogenic stress in vivo. This identifies Suv39h1 as an interesting target to improve oncogene induced senescence in premalignant lesions

The PDZ Protein Tax-interacting Protein-1 Inhibits β-Catenin Transcriptional Activity and Growth of Colorectal Cancer Cells

Wnt signaling is essential during development while deregulation of this pathway frequently leads to the formation of various tumors including colorectal carcinomas. A key component of the pathway is beta-catenin that, in association with TCF-4, directly regulates the expression of Wnt-responsive genes. To identify novel binding partners of beta-catenin that may control its transcriptional activity, we performed a mammalian two-hybrid screen and isolated the Tax-interacting protein (TIP-1). The in vivo complex formation between beta-catenin and TIP-1 was verified by coimmunoprecipitation, and a direct physical association was revealed by glutathione S-transferase pull-down experiments in vitro. By using a panel of deletion mutants of both proteins, we demonstrate that the interaction is mediated by the PDZ (PSD-95/DLG/ZO-1 homology) domain of TIP-1 and requires primarily the last four amino acids of beta-catenin. TIP-1 overexpression resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the transcriptional activity of beta-catenin when tested on the TOP/FOPFLASH reporter system. Conversely, siRNA-mediated knock-down of endogenous TIP-1 slightly increased endogenous beta-catenin transactivation function. Moreover, we show that overexpression of TIP-1 reduced the proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of colorectal cancer cells. These data suggest that TIP-1 may represent a novel regulatory element in the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway

The Calpain System Is Involved in the Constitutive Regulation of β-Catenin Signaling Functions

Beta-catenin is a multifunctional protein serving both as a structural element in cell adhesion and as a signaling component in the Wnt pathway, regulating embryogenesis and tumorigenesis. The signaling fraction of beta-catenin is tightly controlled by the adenomatous polyposis coli-axin-glycogen synthase kinase 3beta complex, which targets it for proteasomal degradation. It has been recently shown that Ca(2+) release from internal stores results in nuclear export and calpain-mediated degradation of beta-catenin in the cytoplasm. Here we have highlighted the critical relevance of constitutive calpain pathway in the control of beta-catenin levels and functions, showing that small interference RNA knock down of endogenous calpain per se (i.e. in the absence of external stimuli) induces an increase in the free transcriptional competent pool of endogenous beta-catenin. We further characterized the role of the known calpain inhibitors, Gas2 and Calpastatin, demonstrating that they can also control levels, function, and localization of beta-catenin through endogenous calpain regulation. Finally we present Gas2 dominant negative (Gas2DN) as a new tool for regulating calpain activity, providing evidence that it counteracts the described effects of both Gas2 and Calpastatin on beta-catenin and that it works via calpain independently of the classical glycogen synthase kinase 3beta and proteasome pathway. Moreover, we provide in vitro biochemical evidence showing that Gas2DN can increase the activity of calpain and that in vivo it can induce degradation of stabilized/mutated beta-catenin. In fact, in a context where the classical proteasome pathway is impaired, as in colon cancer cells, Gas2DN biological effects accounted for a significant reduction in proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of colon cancer

A Nitric Oxide-Donor Furoxan Moiety Improves the Efficacy of Edaravone against Early Renal Dysfunction and Injury Evoked by Ischemia/Reperfusion

Edaravone (5-methyl-2-phenyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one, EDV) is a free-radical scavenger reduces organ ischemic injury. Here we investigated whether the protective effects of EDV in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury may be enhanced by an EDV derivative bearing a nitric oxide- (NO-) donor furoxan moiety (NO-EDV). Male Wistar rats were subjected to renal ischemia (45 minutes), followed by reperfusion (6 hours). Administration of either EDV (1.2–6–30 µmol/kg, i.v.) or NO-EDV (0.3–1.2–6 µmol/kg, i.v.) dose-dependently attenuated markers of renal dysfunction (serum urea and creatinine, creatinine clearance, urine flow, urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin/lipocalin-2). NO-EDV exerted protective effects in the dose-range 1.2–6 µmol/kg, while a higher dose (30 µmol/kg) was needed to obtain protection by EDV. Both EDV and NO-EDV modulated tissue markers of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. NO-EDV, but not EDV, activated endothelial NO synthase (NOS) and blunted I/R-induced upregulation of inducible NOS, secondary to modulation of Akt and NF-κB activation, respectively. Besides NO-EDV administration inhibited I/R-induced IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, and TNF-α overproduction. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the NO-donor moiety contributes to the protection against early renal I/R injury and suggest that NO-donor EDV codrugs are worthy of additional study as innovative pharmacological tools.Fil: Chiazza, Fausto. Universitã â  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Chegaev, Konstantin. Università  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Rogazzo, Mara. Universitã â  Di Torino; ItaliaFil: Cutrin, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas (i); ArgentinaFil: Beneti, Elisa. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: Lazzarato, Loretta. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: Fruttero, Roberta. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: Collino, Massimo. Universita di Torino; Itali

The Interplay between Histamine H4 Receptor and the Kidney Function: The Lesson from H4 Receptor Knockout Mice

Previous studies implicated the histamine H4 receptor in renal pathophysiology. The aim here is to elucidate the role of this receptor on renal function using H4 receptor knockout mice (H4R−/−). Healthy and diabetic H4R−/− mice compared to their C57BL/6J wild-type counterpart for renal function and the expression of crucial tubular proteins. H4R−/− and wild-type mice, matched for ages, showed comparable weight gain curves reaching similar median weight at the end of the study. However, H4R−/− mice displayed a higher basal glycemia. H4R−/− mice showed a lower urine 24 h outflow, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) compared to wild-type mice. Consistently, H4R−/− mice presented a higher expression of megalin and a lower basal expression of the sodium-hydrogen exchanger (NHE)3 and aquaporin (AQP)2. According to these basal differences, diabetic H4R−/− mice developed more severe hyperglycemia and a higher 24 h urine volume, but a lower increase in ACR and decrease in urine pH were observed. These events were paralleled by a reduced NHE3 over-expression and megalin loss in diabetic H4R−/− mice. The AQP1 and AQP7 patterns were also different between H4R−/− and wild-type diabetic mice. The collected results highlight the role of the histamine H4 receptor in the control of renal reabsorption processes, particularly albumin uptake

The Cell Cycle-regulated Protein Human GTSE-1 Controls DNA Damage-induced Apoptosis by Affecting p53 Function

GTSE-1 (G2 and S phase-expressed-1) protein is specifically expressed during S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. It is mainly localized to the microtubules and when overexpressed delays the G2 to M transition. Here we report that human GTSE-1 (hGTSE-1) protein can negatively regulate p53 transactivation function, protein levels, and p53-dependent apoptosis. We identified a physical interaction between the C-terminal regulatory domain of p53 and the C-terminal region of hGTSE-1 that is necessary and sufficient to down-regulate p53 activity. Furthermore, we provide evidence that hGTSE-1 is able to control p53 function in a cell cycle-dependent fashion. hGTSE-1 knock-down by small interfering RNA resulted in a S/G2-specific increase of p53 levels as well as cell sensitization to DNA damage-induced apoptosis during these phases of the cell cycle. Altogether, this work suggests a physiological role of hGTSE-1 in apoptosis control after DNA damage during S and G2 phases through regulation of p53 function