N-Myc Regulates Expression of Pluripotency Genes in Neuroblastoma Including lif, klf2, klf4, and lin28b

myc genes are best known for causing tumors when overexpressed, but recent studies suggest endogenous myc regulates pluripotency and self-renewal of stem cells. For example, N-myc is associated with a number of tumors including neuroblastoma, but also plays a central role in the function of normal neural stem and precursor cells (NSC). Both c- and N-myc also enhance the production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and are linked to neural tumor stem cells. The mechanisms by which myc regulates normal and neoplastic stem-related functions remain largely open questions. Here from a global, unbiased search for N-Myc bound genes using ChIP-chip assays in neuroblastoma, we found lif as a putative N-Myc bound gene with a number of strong N-Myc binding peaks in the promoter region enriched for E-boxes. Amongst putative N-Myc target genes in expression microarray studies in neuroblastoma we also found lif and three additional important embryonic stem cell (ESC)-related factors that are linked to production of iPSC: klf2, klf4, and lin28b. To examine the regulation of these genes by N-Myc, we measured their expression using neuroblastoma cells that contain a Tet-regulatable N-myc transgene (TET21N) as well as NSC with a nestin-cre driven N-myc knockout. N-myc levels closely correlated with the expression of all of these genes in neuroblastoma and all but lif in NSC. Direct ChIP assays also indicate that N-Myc directly binds the lif promoter. N-Myc regulates trimethylation of lysine 4 of histone H3 in the promoter of lif and possibly in the promoters of several other stem-related genes. Together these findings indicate that N-Myc regulates overlapping stem-related gene expression programs in neuroblastoma and NSC, supporting a novel model by which amplification of the N-myc gene may drive formation of neuroblastoma. They also suggest mechanisms by which Myc proteins more generally contribute to maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal of ESC as well as to iPSC formation

Myc and Miz-1 have coordinate genomic functions including targeting Hox genes in human embryonic stem cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A proposed role for Myc in maintaining mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell pluripotency is transcriptional repression of key differentiation-promoting genes, but detail of the mechanism has remained an important open topic.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To test the hypothesis that the zinc finger protein Miz-1 plays a central role, in the present work we conducted chromatin immunoprecipitation/microarray (ChIP-chip) analysis of Myc and Miz-1 in human ES cells, finding homeobox (<it>Hox</it>) genes as the most significant functional class of Miz-1 direct targets. Miz-1 differentiation-associated target genes specifically lack acetylated lysine 9 and trimethylated lysine 4 of histone H3 (AcH3K9 and H3K4me3) 9 histone marks, consistent with a repressed transcriptional state. Almost 30% of Miz-1 targets are also bound by Myc and these cobound genes are mostly factors that promote differentiation including <it>Hox </it>genes. Knockdown of Myc increased expression of differentiation genes directly bound by Myc and Miz-1, while a subset of the same genes is downregulated by Miz-1 loss-of-function. Myc and Miz-1 proteins interact with each other and associate with several corepressor factors in ES cells, suggesting a mechanism of repression of differentiation genes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together our data indicate that Miz-1 and Myc maintain human ES cell pluripotency by coordinately suppressing differentiation genes, particularly <it>Hox </it>genes. These data also support a new model of how Myc and Miz-1 function on chromatin.</p

c- and N-myc Regulate Neural Precursor Cell Fate, Cell Cycle, and Metabolism to Direct Cerebellar Development

Separate murine knockout (KO) of either c- or N-myc genes in neural stem and precursor cells (NSC) driven by nestin-cre causes microcephaly. The cerebellum is particularly affected in the N-myc KO, leading to a strong reduction in cerebellar granule neural progenitors (CGNP) and mature granule neurons. In humans, mutation of N-myc also causes microcephaly in Feingold Syndrome. We created a double KO (DKO) of c- and N-myc using nestin-cre, which strongly impairs brain growth, particularly that of the cerebellum. Granule neurons were almost absent from the Myc DKO cerebellum, and other cell types were relatively overrepresented, including astroglia, oligodendrocytes, and Purkinje neurons. These findings are indicative of a profound disruption of cell fate of cerebellar stem and precursors. DKO Purkinje neurons were strikingly lacking in normal arborization. Inhibitory neurons were ectopic and exhibited very abnormal GAD67 staining patterns. Also consistent with altered cell fate, the adult DKO cerebellum still retained a residual external germinal layer (EGL). CGNP in the DKO EGL were almost uniformly NeuN and p27KIP1 positive as well as negative for Math1 and BrdU at the peak of normal cerebellar proliferation at P6. The presence of some mitotic CGNP in the absence of S phase cells suggests a possible arrest in M phase. CGNP and NSC metabolism also was affected by loss of Myc as DKO cells exhibited weak nucleolin staining. Together these findings indicate that c- and N-Myc direct cerebellar development by maintaining CGNP and NSC populations through inhibiting differentiation as well as directing rapid cell cycling and active cellular metabolism

Sin Meets NuRD and Other Tails of Repression

Fuente, Carlos;Pericas, Enri

Myc stimulates B lymphocyte differentiation and amplifies calcium signaling

Deregulated expression of the Myc family of transcription factors (c-, N-, and L-myc) contributes to the development of many cancers by a mechanism believed to involve the stimulation of cell proliferation and inhibition of differentiation. However, using B cell–specific c-/N-myc double-knockout mice and Eμ-myc transgenic mice bred onto genetic backgrounds (recombinase-activating gene 2−/− and Btk−/− Tec−/−) whereby B cell development is arrested, we show that Myc is necessary to stimulate both proliferation and differentiation in primary B cells. Moreover, Myc expression results in sustained increases in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), which is required for Myc to stimulate B cell proliferation and differentiation. The increase in [Ca2+]i correlates with constitutive nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) nuclear translocation, reduced Ca2+ efflux, and decreased expression of the plasma membrane Ca2+–adenosine triphosphatase (PMCA) efflux pump. Our findings demonstrate a revised model whereby Myc promotes both proliferation and differentiation, in part by a remarkable mechanism whereby Myc amplifies Ca2+ signals, thereby enabling the concurrent expression of Myc- and Ca2+-regulated target genes

N-Myc and GCN5 Regulate Significantly Overlapping Transcriptional Programs in Neural Stem Cells

Here we examine the functions of the Myc cofactor and histone acetyltransferase, GCN5/KAT2A, in neural stem and precursor cells (NSC) using a conditional knockout approach driven by nestin-cre. Mice with GCN5-deficient NSC exhibit a 25% reduction in brain mass with a microcephaly phenotype similar to that observed in nestin-cre driven knockouts of c- or N-myc. In addition, the loss of GCN5 inhibits precursor cell proliferation and reduces their populations in vivo, as does loss of N-myc. Gene expression analysis indicates that about one-sixth of genes whose expression is affected by loss of GCN5 are also affected in the same manner by loss of N-myc. These findings strongly support the notion that GCN5 protein is a key N-Myc transcriptional cofactor in NSC, but are also consistent with recruitment of GCN5 by other transcription factors and the use by N-Myc of other histone acetyltransferases. Putative N-Myc/GCN5 coregulated transcriptional pathways include cell metabolism, cell cycle, chromatin, and neuron projection morphogenesis genes. GCN5 is also required for maintenance of histone acetylation both at its putative specific target genes and at Myc targets. Thus, we have defined an important role for GCN5 in NSC and provided evidence that GCN5 is an important Myc transcriptional cofactor in vivo

The Stem Cell Hard Sell: Report from a Clinic's Patient Recruitment Seminar

SummaryThe growing direct-to-consumer, stem cell clinic industry in the U.S. uses a number of strategies for patient recruitment, including self-styled educational seminars, which may reach thousands of members of the public annually. Here I report on a first-hand experience at such a seminar that I recently attended. Numerous specific medical claims were made at the seminar: no potential for rejection; no side effects, including no pain; proven efficacy for a variety of conditions, including in particular arthritis and pain; and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. I discuss the potential impact of these kinds of seminars on the public and on the stem cell field.This article focuses on the strategies used to recruit patients via for-profit stem cell clinic seminars and the marketing claims made as well as the impact on the public and the stem cell translational medicine field. Although the field is very aware of the existence of such seminars, this piece is significant and novel for reporting first-hand on the specific factual details of one such seminar. Stem cell clinics conducting such self-described stem cell educational seminars use a number of marketing strategies to recruit customers and make specific testable medical claims, which may, in some instances, misinform the public and potentially pose a threat to the stem cell field. Potential ways to address this growing challenge are discussed