A KDM6 inhibitor potently induces ATF4 and its target gene expression through HRI activation and by UTX inhibition

UTX/KDM6A encodes a major histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) demethylase, and is frequently mutated in various types of human cancers. Although UTX appears to play a crucial role in oncogenesis, the mechanisms involved are still largely unknown. Here we show that a specific pharmacological inhibitor of H3K27 demethylases, GSK-J4, induces the expression of transcription activating factor 4 (ATF4) protein as well as the ATF4 target genes (e.g. PCK2, CHOP, REDD1, CHAC1 and TRIB3). ATF4 induction by GSK-J4 was due to neither transcriptional nor post-translational regulation. In support of this view, the ATF4 induction was almost exclusively dependent on the heme-regulated eIF2α kinase (HRI) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Gene expression profiles with UTX disruption by CRISPR-Cas9 editing and the following stable re-expression of UTX showed that UTX specifically suppresses the expression of the ATF4 target genes, suggesting that UTX inhibition is at least partially responsible for the ATF4 induction. Apoptosis induction by GSK-J4 was partially and cell-type specifically correlated with the activation of ATF4-CHOP. These findings highlight that the anti-cancer drug candidate GSK-J4 strongly induces ATF4 and its target genes via HRI activation and raise a possibility that UTX might modulate cancer formation by regulating the HRI-ATF4 axis

Graded Nodal/Activin Signaling Titrates Conversion of Quantitative Phospho-Smad2 Levels into Qualitative Embryonic Stem Cell Fate Decisions

Nodal and Activin are morphogens of the TGFbeta superfamily of signaling molecules that direct differential cell fate decisions in a dose- and distance-dependent manner. During early embryonic development the Nodal/Activin pathway is responsible for the specification of mesoderm, endoderm, node, and mesendoderm. In contradiction to this drive towards cellular differentiation, the pathway also plays important roles in the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic and epiblast stem cells. The molecular basis behind stem cell interpretation of Nodal/Activin signaling gradients and the undertaking of disparate cell fate decisions remains poorly understood. Here, we show that any perturbation of endogenous signaling levels in mouse embryonic stem cells leads to their exit from self-renewal towards divergent differentiation programs. Increasing Nodal signals above basal levels by direct stimulation with Activin promotes differentiation towards the mesendodermal lineages while repression of signaling with the specific Nodal/Activin receptor inhibitor SB431542 induces trophectodermal differentiation. To address how quantitative Nodal/Activin signals are translated qualitatively into distinct cell fates decisions, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation of phospho-Smad2, the primary downstream transcriptional factor of the Nodal/Activin pathway, followed by massively parallel sequencing, and show that phospho-Smad2 binds to and regulates distinct subsets of target genes in a dose-dependent manner. Crucially, Nodal/Activin signaling directly controls the Oct4 master regulator of pluripotency by graded phospho-Smad2 binding in the promoter region. Hence stem cells interpret and carry out differential Nodal/Activin signaling instructions via a corresponding gradient of Smad2 phosphorylation that selectively titrates self-renewal against alternative differentiation programs by direct regulation of distinct target gene subsets and Oct4 expression

S-2-hydroxyglutarate regulates CD8+ T-lymphocyte fate.

R-2-hydroxyglutarate accumulates to millimolar levels in cancer cells with gain-of-function isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 mutations. These levels of R-2-hydroxyglutarate affect 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. Both metabolite enantiomers, R- and S-2-hydroxyglutarate, are detectible in healthy individuals, yet their physiological function remains elusive. Here we show that 2-hydroxyglutarate accumulates in mouse CD8+ T cells in response to T-cell receptor triggering, and accumulates to millimolar levels in physiological oxygen conditions through a hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α)-dependent mechanism. S-2-hydroxyglutarate predominates over R-2-hydroxyglutarate in activated T cells, and we demonstrate alterations in markers of CD8+ T-cell differentiation in response to this metabolite. Modulation of histone and DNA demethylation, as well as HIF-1α stability, mediate these effects. S-2-hydroxyglutarate treatment greatly enhances the in vivo proliferation, persistence and anti-tumour capacity of adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells. Thus, S-2-hydroxyglutarate acts as an immunometabolite that links environmental context, through a metabolic-epigenetic axis, to immune fate and function

Mechanism of regulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α by the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein

In normoxic cells the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is rapidly degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, and activation of HIF-1α to a functional form requires protein stabilization. Here we show that the product of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene mediated ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of HIF-1α under normoxic conditions via interaction with the core of the oxygen-dependent degradation domain of HIF-1α. The region of VHL mediating interaction with HIF-1α overlapped with a putative macromolecular binding site observed within the crystal structure of VHL. This motif of VHL also represents a mutational hotspot in tumors, and one of these mutations impaired interaction with HIF-1α and subsequent degradation. Interestingly, the VHL binding site within HIF-1α overlapped with one of the minimal transactivation domains. Protection of HIF-1α against degradation by VHL was a multistep mechanism, including hypoxia-induced nuclear translocation of HIF-1α and an intranuclear hypoxia-dependent signal. VHL was not released from HIF-1α during this process. Finally, stabilization of HIF-1α protein levels per se did not totally bypass the need of the hypoxic signal for generating the transactivation response

Role of the PAS Domain in Regulation of Dimerization and DNA Binding Specificity of the Dioxin Receptor

The dioxin receptor is a ligand-regulated transcription factor that mediates signal transduction by dioxin and related environmental pollutants. The receptor belongs to the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)–Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) family of factors, which, in addition to the bHLH motif, contain a PAS region of homology. Upon activation, the dioxin receptor dimerizes with the bHLH-PAS factor Arnt, enabling the receptor to recognize xenobiotic response elements in the vicinity of target genes. We have studied the role of the PAS domain in dimerization and DNA binding specificity of the dioxin receptor and Arnt by monitoring the abilities of the individual bHLH domains and different bHLH-PAS fragments to dimerize and bind DNA in vitro and recognize target genes in vivo. The minimal bHLH domain of the dioxin receptor formed homodimeric complexes, heterodimerized with full-length Arnt, and together with Arnt was sufficient for recognition of target DNA in vitro and in vivo. In a similar fashion, only the bHLH domain of Arnt was necessary for DNA binding specificity in the presence of the dioxin receptor bHLH domain. Moreover, the bHLH domain of the dioxin receptor displayed a broad dimerization potential, as manifested by complex formation with, e.g., the unrelated bHLH-Zip transcription factor USF. In contrast, a construct spanning the dioxin receptor bHLH domain and an N-terminal portion of the PAS domain failed to form homodimers and was capable of dimerizing only with Arnt. Thus, the PAS domain is essential to confer dimerization specificity of the dioxin receptor

Catalytic domain-dependent and -independent transcriptional activities of the tumour suppressor histone H3K27 demethylase UTX/KDM6A in specific cancer types

Epigenetics18011-1