Paternal Body Mass Index (BMI) Is Associated with Offspring Intrauterine Growth in a Gender Dependent Manner

Background: Environmental alternations leading to fetal programming of cardiovascular diseases in later life have been attributed to maternal factors. However, animal studies showed that paternal obesity may program cardio-metabolic diseases in the offspring. In the current study we tested the hypothesis that paternal BMI may be associated with fetal growth. Methods and Results: We analyzed the relationship between paternal body mass index (BMI) and birth weight, ultrasound parameters describing the newborn’s body shape as well as parameters describing the newborns endocrine system such as cortisol, aldosterone, renin activity and fetal glycated serum protein in a birth cohort of 899 father/mother/child triplets. Since fetal programming is an offspring sex specific process, male and female offspring were analyzed separately. Multivariable regression analyses considering maternal BMI, paternal and maternal age, hypertension during pregnancy, maternal total glycated serum protein, parity and either gestational age (for birth weight) or time of ultrasound investigation (for ultrasound parameters) as confounding showed that paternal BMI is associated with growth of the male but not female offspring. Paternal BMI correlated with birth parameters of male offspring only: birth weight; biparietal diameter, head circumference; abdominal diameter, abdominal circumference; and pectoral diameter. Cortisol was likewise significantly correlated with paternal BMI in male newborns only

The Long Noncoding RNA CCAT2 Induces Chromosomal Instability Through BOP1-AURKB Signaling

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a carcinogenesis event that promotes metastasis and resistance to therapy by unclear mechanisms. Expression of the colon cancer-associated transcript 2 gene (CCAT2), which encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), associates with CIN, but little is known about how CCAT2 lncRNA regulates this cancer enabling characteristic.METHODS: We performed cytogenetic analysis of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines (HCT116, KM12C/SM, and HT29) overexpressing CCAT2 and colon organoids from C57BL/6N mice with the CCAT2 transgene and without (controls). CRC cells were also analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy, gamma-H2AX, and senescence assays. CCAT2 transgene and control mice were given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium to induce colon tumors. We performed gene expression array and mass spectrometry to detect downstream targets of CCAT2 lncRNA. We characterized interactions between CCAT2 with downstream proteins using MS2 pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, and selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension analyses. Downstream proteins were overexpressed in CRC cells and analyzed for CIN. Gene expression levels were measured in CRC and non-tumor tissues from 5 cohorts, comprising more than 900 patients.RESULTS: High expression of CCAT2 induced CIN in CRC cell lines and increased resistance to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Mice that expressed the CCAT2 transgene developed chromosome abnormalities, and colon organoids derived from crypt cells of these mice had a higher percentage of chromosome abnormalities compared with organoids from control mice. The transgenic mice given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium developed more and larger colon polyps than control mice given these agents. Microarray analysis and mass spectrometry indicated that expression of CCAT2 increased expression of genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis. CCAT2 lncRNA interacted directly with and stabilized BOP1 ribosomal biogenesis factor (BOP1). CCAT2 also increased expression of MYC, which activated expression of BOP1. Overexpression of BOP1 in CRC cell lines resulted in chromosomal missegregation errors, and increased colony formation, and invasiveness, whereas BOP1 knockdown reduced viability. BOP1 promoted CIN by increasing the active form of aurora kinase B, which regulates chromosomal segregation. BOP1 was overexpressed in polyp tissues from CCAT2 transgenic mice compared with healthy tissue. CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA or protein were all increased in microsatellite stable tumors (characterized by CIN), but not in tumors with microsatellite instability compared with nontumor tissues. Increased levels of CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA correlated with each other and with shorter survival times of patients.CONCLUSIONS: We found that overexpression of CCAT2 in colon cells promotes CIN and carcinogenesis by stabilizing and inducing expression of BOP1 an activator of aurora kinase B. Strategies to target this pathway might be developed for treatment of patients with microsatellite stable colorectal tumors

Whole-body tissue stabilization and selective extractions via tissue-hydrogel hybrids for high-resolution intact circuit mapping and phenotyping

To facilitate fine-scale phenotyping of whole specimens, we describe here a set of tissue fixation-embedding, detergent-clearing and staining protocols that can be used to transform excised organs and whole organisms into optically transparent samples within 1–2 weeks without compromising their cellular architecture or endogenous fluorescence. PACT (passive CLARITY technique) and PARS (perfusion-assisted agent release in situ) use tissue-hydrogel hybrids to stabilize tissue biomolecules during selective lipid extraction, resulting in enhanced clearing efficiency and sample integrity. Furthermore, the macromolecule permeability of PACT- and PARS-processed tissue hybrids supports the diffusion of immunolabels throughout intact tissue, whereas RIMS (refractive index matching solution) grants high-resolution imaging at depth by further reducing light scattering in cleared and uncleared samples alike. These methods are adaptable to difficult-to-image tissues, such as bone (PACT-deCAL), and to magnified single-cell visualization (ePACT). Together, these protocols and solutions enable phenotyping of subcellular components and tracing cellular connectivity in intact biological networks

Characterization of the functional role of nucleotides within the URE2 IRES element and the requirements for eIF2A-mediated repression

Cap-independent initiation of translation is thought to promote protein synthesis on some mRNAs during times when cap-dependent initiation is down-regulated. However, the mechanism of cap-independent initiation is poorly understood. We have previously reported the secondary structure within the yeast minimal URE2 IRES element. In this study, we sought to investigate the mechanism of internal initiation in yeast by assessing the functional role of nucleotides within the minimal URE2 IRES element, and delineating the cis-sequences that modulate levels of internal initiation using a monocistronic reporter vector. Furthermore, we compared the eIF2A sensitivity of the URE2 IRES element with some of the invasive growth IRES elements using ΔeIF2A yeast. We found that the stability of the stem–loop structure within the minimal URE2 IRES element is not a critical determinant of optimal IRES activity, and the downstream sequences that modulate URE2 IRES-mediated translation can be defined to discrete regions within the URE2 coding region. Repression of internal initiation on the URE2 minimal IRES element by eIF2A is not dependent on the stability of the secondary structure within the URE2 IRES element. Our data also indicate that eIF2A-mediated repression is not specific to the URE2 IRES element, as both the GIC1 and PAB1 IRES elements are repressed by eIF2A. These data provide valuable insights into the mRNA requirements for internal initiation in yeast, and insights into the mechanism of eIF2A-mediated suppression

Insights into the role of yeast eIF2A in IRES-mediated translation.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2A is a single polypeptide that acts to negatively regulate IRES-mediated translation during normal cellular conditions. We have found that eIF2A (encoded by YGR054w) abundance is reduced at both the mRNA and protein level during 6% ethanol stress (or 37°C heat shock) under conditions that mimic the diauxic shift in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, eIF2A protein is posttranslationally modified during ethanol stress. Unlike ethanol and heat shock stress, H(2)O(2) and sorbitol treatment induce the loss of eIF2A mRNA, but not protein and without protein modification. To investigate the mechanism of eIF2A function we employed immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry and identified an interaction between eIF2A and eEF1A. The interaction between eIF2A and eEF1A increases during ethanol stress, which correlates with an increase in IRES-mediated translation from the URE2 IRES element. These data suggest that eIF2A acts as a switch to regulate IRES-mediated translation, and eEF1A may be an important mediator of translational activation during ethanol stress

Insights into the Role of Yeast eIF2A in IRES-Mediated Translation

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2A is a single polypeptide that acts to negatively regulate IRES-mediated translation during normal cellular conditions. We have found that eIF2A (encoded by YGR054w) abundance is reduced at both the mRNA and protein level during 6% ethanol stress (or 37°C heat shock) under conditions that mimic the diauxic shift in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, eIF2A protein is posttranslationally modified during ethanol stress. Unlike ethanol and heat shock stress, H2O2 and sorbitol treatment induce the loss of eIF2A mRNA, but not protein and without protein modification. To investigate the mechanism of eIF2A function we employed immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry and identified an interaction between eIF2A and eEF1A. The interaction between eIF2A and eEF1A increases during ethanol stress, which correlates with an increase in IRES-mediated translation from the URE2 IRES element. These data suggest that eIF2A acts as a switch to regulate IRES-mediated translation, and eEF1A may be an important mediator of translational activation during ethanol stress.</p

Arginine demethylation of G3BP1 promotes stress granule assembly

Stress granules (SGs) are cytoplasmic condensates of stalled messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNPs) that form when eukaryotic cells encounter environmental stress. RNA binding proteins are enriched for arginine methylation and facilitate SG assembly through interactions involving regions of low amino acid complexity. How methylation of specific RNA binding proteins regulates RNA granule assembly has not been characterized. Here, we examined the potent SG nucleating protein Ras-GAP SH3 Binding Protein 1 (G3BP1), and found that G3BP1 is differentially methylated on specific arginine residues by protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) 1 and PRMT5 in its RGG domain. Several genetic and biochemical interventions that increased methylation repressed SG assembly, whereas interventions that decreased methylation promoted SG assembly. Arsenite stress quickly and reversibly decreased asymmetric arginine methylation on G3BP1. These data indicate that arginine methylation in the RGG domain prevents large SG assembly and rapid demethylation is a novel signal that regulates SG formation

Stress Granules Regulate Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Activation through a Complex Containing G3BP1 and Caprin1

UNLABELLED: Stress granules (SGs) are dynamic cytoplasmic repositories containing translationally silenced mRNAs that assemble upon cellular stress. We recently reported that the SG nucleating protein G3BP1 promotes antiviral activity and is essential in double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) recruitment to stress granules, thereby driving phosphorylation of the α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α). Here, we delineate the mechanism for SG-dependent PKR activation. We show that G3BP1 and inactive PKR directly interact with each other, dependent on both the NTF2-like and PXXP domains of G3BP1. The G3BP1-interacting protein Caprin1 also directly interacts with PKR, regulates efficient PKR activation at the stress granule, and is also integral for the release of active PKR into the cytoplasm to engage in substrate recognition. The G3BP1-Caprin1-PKR complex represents a new mode of PKR activation and is important for antiviral activity of G3BP1 and PKR during infection with mengovirus. Our data links stress responses and their resultant SGs with innate immune activation through PKR without a requirement for foreign double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) pattern recognition. IMPORTANCE: Our previous work indicates that stress granules have antiviral activity and mediate innate immunity through functions of G3BP1; however, the mechanistic details of these functions were not resolved. We show that much of the antiviral activity of stress granules is contingent on the function of PKR in a complex with G3BP1 and Caprin1. The PKR-G3BP1-Caprin1 complex undergoes dynamic transitioning within and outside stress granules to accomplish PKR activation and translational repression. This mechanism appears to function distinctly from canonical pattern recognition of double-stranded RNA by PKR. Therefore, this mechanism bridges the stress response with innate immunity, allowing the cell to respond to many cellular stressors and amplify the pathogen pattern recognition systems of innate immunity

Stress Granules Regulate Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Activation through a Complex Containing G3BP1 and Caprin1

UNLABELLED: Stress granules (SGs) are dynamic cytoplasmic repositories containing translationally silenced mRNAs that assemble upon cellular stress. We recently reported that the SG nucleating protein G3BP1 promotes antiviral activity and is essential in double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) recruitment to stress granules, thereby driving phosphorylation of the α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α). Here, we delineate the mechanism for SG-dependent PKR activation. We show that G3BP1 and inactive PKR directly interact with each other, dependent on both the NTF2-like and PXXP domains of G3BP1. The G3BP1-interacting protein Caprin1 also directly interacts with PKR, regulates efficient PKR activation at the stress granule, and is also integral for the release of active PKR into the cytoplasm to engage in substrate recognition. The G3BP1-Caprin1-PKR complex represents a new mode of PKR activation and is important for antiviral activity of G3BP1 and PKR during infection with mengovirus. Our data links stress responses and their resultant SGs with innate immune activation through PKR without a requirement for foreign double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) pattern recognition. IMPORTANCE: Our previous work indicates that stress granules have antiviral activity and mediate innate immunity through functions of G3BP1; however, the mechanistic details of these functions were not resolved. We show that much of the antiviral activity of stress granules is contingent on the function of PKR in a complex with G3BP1 and Caprin1. The PKR-G3BP1-Caprin1 complex undergoes dynamic transitioning within and outside stress granules to accomplish PKR activation and translational repression. This mechanism appears to function distinctly from canonical pattern recognition of double-stranded RNA by PKR. Therefore, this mechanism bridges the stress response with innate immunity, allowing the cell to respond to many cellular stressors and amplify the pathogen pattern recognition systems of innate immunity