Epigenetic programming by maternal nutrition: shaping future generations

Within the Western world’s aging and increasingly overweight population, we are seeing an increasing prevalence of adult-onset, lifestyle-related disease such as diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis. There is significant evidence that suboptimal nutrition in pregnancy can lead to an increased risk of these diseases developing in offspring, and that this increased risk can be heritable. Thus, poor in utero nutrition may be a major contributor to the current cycle of obesity. While the molecular basis of this phenomenon is unknown, available evidence suggests that it can be mediated by epigenetic changes to gene expression. Here, we discuss epigenetics as a mediator of disease risk in response to nutritional cues. The potential for maternal nutrition to heritably alter epigenetic states may have implications for population health and adaptive evolution

The human Piwi protein Hiwi2 associates with tRNA-derived piRNAs in somatic cells

The Piwi-piRNA pathway is active in animal germ cells where its functions are required for germ cell maintenance and gamete differentiation. Piwi proteins and piRNAs have been detected outside germline tissue in multiple phyla, but activity of the pathway in mammalian somatic cells has been little explored. In particular, Piwi expression has been observed in cancer cells, but nothing is known about the piRNA partners or the function of the system in these cells. We have surveyed the expression of the three human Piwi genes, Hiwi, Hili and Hiwi2, in multiple normal tissues and cancer cell lines. We find that Hiwi2 is ubiquitously expressed; in cancer cells the protein is largely restricted to the cytoplasm and is associated with translating ribosomes. Immunoprecipitation of Hiwi2 from MDAMB231 cancer cells enriches for piRNAs that are predominantly derived from processed tRNAs and expressed genes, species which can also be found in adult human testis. Our studies indicate that a Piwi-piRNA pathway is present in human somatic cells, with an uncharacterised function linked to translation. Taking this evidence together with evidence from primitive organisms, we propose that this somatic function of the pathway predates the germline functions of the pathway in modern animals. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research

Unveiling unconventional magnetism at the surface of Sr2RuO4.

Materials with strongly correlated electrons often exhibit interesting physical properties. An example of these materials is the layered oxide perovskite Sr2RuO4, which has been intensively investigated due to its unusual properties. Whilst the debate on the symmetry of the superconducting state in Sr2RuO4 is still ongoing, a deeper understanding of the Sr2RuO4 normal state appears crucial as this is the background in which electron pairing occurs. Here, by using low-energy muon spin spectroscopy we discover the existence of surface magnetism in Sr2RuO4 in its normal state. We detect static weak dipolar fields yet manifesting at an onset temperature higher than 50 K. We ascribe this unconventional magnetism to orbital loop currents forming at the reconstructed Sr2RuO4 surface. Our observations set a reference for the discovery of the same magnetic phase in other materials and unveil an electronic ordering mechanism that can influence electron pairing with broken time reversal symmetry

Inheritance of an Epigenetic Mark: The CpG DNA Methyltransferase 1 Is Required for De Novo Establishment of a Complex Pattern of Non-CpG Methylation

Site-specific methylation of cytosines is a key epigenetic mark of vertebrate DNA. While a majority of the methylated residues are in the symmetrical (meC)pG:Gp(meC) configuration, a smaller, but significant fraction is found in the CpA, CpT and CpC asymmetric (non-CpG) dinucleotides. CpG methylation is reproducibly maintained by the activity of the DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) on the newly replicated hemimethylated substrates (meC)pG:GpC. On the other hand, establishment and hereditary maintenance of non-CpG methylation patterns have not been analyzed in detail. We previously reported the occurrence of site- and allele-specific methylation at both CpG and non-CpG sites. Here we characterize a hereditary complex of non-CpG methylation, with the transgenerational maintenance of three distinct profiles in a constant ratio, associated with extensive CpG methylation. These observations raised the question of the signal leading to the maintenance of the pattern of asymmetric methylation. The complete non-CpG pattern was reinstated at each generation in spite of the fact that the majority of the sperm genomes contained either none or only one methylated non-CpG site. This observation led us to the hypothesis that the stable CpG patterns might act as blueprints for the maintenance of non-CpG DNA methylation. As predicted, non-CpG DNA methylation profiles were abrogated in a mutant lacking Dnmt1, the enzymes responsible for CpG methylation, but not in mutants defective for either Dnmt3a or Dnmt2

Evaluation of the role of glutathione in the lead-induced toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The effect of intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) in the lead stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Yeast cells exposed to Pb, for 3 h, lost the cell proliferation capacity (viability) and decreased intracellular GSH level. The Pb-induced loss of cell viability was compared among yeast cells deficient in GSH1 (∆gsh1) or GSH2 (∆gsh2) genes and wild-type (WT) cells. When exposed to Pb, ∆gsh1 and ∆gsh2 cells did not display an increased loss of viability, compared with WT cells. However, the depletion of cellular thiols, including GSH, by treatment of WT cells with iodoacetamide (an alkylating agent, which binds covalently to thiol group), increased the loss of viability in Pb-treated cells. In contrast, GSH enrichment, due to the incubation of WT cells with amino acids mixture constituting GSH (l-glutamic acid, l-cysteine and glycine), reduced the Pb-induced loss of proliferation capacity. The obtained results suggest that intracellular GSH is involved in the defence against the Pb-induced toxicity; however, at physiological concentration, GSH seems not to be sufficient to prevent the Pb-induced loss of cell viability

Report on the International Colloquium on Cardio-Oncology (Rome, 12–14 March 2014)

Cardio-oncology is a relatively new discipline that focuses on the cardiovascular sequelae of anti-tumour drugs. As any other young adolescent discipline, cardio-oncology struggles to define its scientific boundaries and to identify best standards of care for cancer patients or survivors at risk of cardiovascular events. The International Colloquium on Cardio-Oncology was held in Rome, Italy, 12–14 March 2014, with the aim of illuminating controversial issues and unmet needs in modern cardio-oncology. This colloquium embraced contributions from different kind of disciplines (oncology and cardiology but also paediatrics, geriatrics, genetics, and translational research); in fact, cardio-oncology goes way beyond the merging of cardiology with oncology. Moreover, the colloquium programme did not review cardiovascular toxicity from one drug or the other, rather it looked at patients as we see them in their fight against cancer and eventually returning to everyday life. This represents the melting pot in which anti-cancer therapies, genetic backgrounds, and risk factors conspire in producing cardiovascular sequelae, and this calls for screening programmes and well-designed platforms of collaboration between one key professional figure and another. The International Colloquium on Cardio-Oncology was promoted by the Menarini International Foundation and co-chaired by Giorgio Minotti (Rome), Joseph R Carver (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States), and Steven E Lipshultz (Detroit, Michigan, United States). The programme was split into five sessions of broad investigational and clinical relevance (what is cardiotoxicity?, cardiotoxicity in children, adolescents, and young adults, cardiotoxicity in adults, cardiotoxicity in special populations, and the future of cardio-oncology). Here, the colloquium chairs and all the session chairs briefly summarised what was said at the colloquium. Topics and controversies were reported on behalf of all members of the working group of the International Colloquium on Cardio-Oncology

Patients with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour have a low risk of familial cancer

The cancer risk is unknown for those families in which a microsatellite instable tumour is neither explained by MLH1 promoter methylation nor by a germline mutation in a mismatch repair (MMR) gene. Such information is essential for genetic counselling. Families suspected of Lynch syndrome (n=614) were analysed for microsatellite instability, MLH1 promoter methylation and/or germline mutations in MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2. Characteristics of the 76 families with a germline mutation (24 MLH1, 2 PMS2, 32 MSH2, and 18 MSH6) were compared with those of 18 families with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour. The mean age at diagnosis of the index patients in both groups was comparable at 44 years. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the loss of an MMR protein. Together this suggests germline inactivation of a known gene. The Amsterdam II criteria were fulfilled in 50/75 families (66%) that carried a germline mutation in an MMR gene and in only 2/18 families (11%) with an unexplained microsatellite instable tumour (P<0.0001). Current diagnostic strategies can detect almost all highly penetrant MMR gene mutations. Patients with an as yet unexplained microsatellite instable tumour likely carry a different type of mutation that confers a lower risk of cancer for relatives

Comparison of two modes of vitamin B12 supplementation on neuroconduction and cognitive function among older people living in Santiago, Chile: a cluster randomized controlled trial. a study protocol [ISRCTN 02694183]

BACKGROUND: Older people have a high risk of vitamin B12 deficiency; this can lead to varying degrees of cognitive and neurological impairment. CBL deficiency may present as macrocytic anemia, subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, or as neuropathy, but is often asymptomatic in older people. Less is known about subclinical vitamin B12 deficiency and concurrent neuroconduction and cognitive impairment. A Programme of Complementary Feeding for the Older Population (PACAM) in Chile delivers 2 complementary fortified foods that provide approximately 1.4 μg/day of vitamin B12 (2.4 μg/day elderly RDA). The aim of the present study is to assess whether supplementation with vitamin B12 will improve neuroconduction and cognitive function in older people who have biochemical evidence of vitamin B12 insufficiency in the absence of clinical deficiency. METHODS: We designed a cluster double-blind placebo-controlled trial involving community dwelling people aged 70-79 living in Santiago, Chile. We randomized 15 clusters (health centers) involving 300 people (20 per cluster). Each cluster will be randomly assigned to one of three arms: a) a 1 mg vitamin B12 pill taken daily and a routine PACAM food; b) a placebo pill and the milk-PACAM food fortified to provide 1 mg of vitamin B12; c) the routine PACAM food and a placebo pill.The study has been designed as an 18 month follow up period. The primary outcomes assessed at baseline, 4, 9 and 18 months will be: serum levels of vitamin B12, neuroconduction and cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in later life, the present study has potential public health interest because since it will measure the impact of the existing program of complementary feeding as compared to two options that provide higher vitamin B12 intakes that might potentially may contribute in preserving neurophysiologic and cognitive function and thus improve quality of life for older people in Chile. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN: ISRCTN02694183

Promoter methylation correlates with reduced NDRG2 expression in advanced colon tumour

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aberrant DNA methylation of CpG islands of cancer-related genes is among the earliest and most frequent alterations in cancerogenesis and might be of value for either diagnosing cancer or evaluating recurrent disease. This mechanism usually leads to inactivation of tumour-suppressor genes. We have designed the current study to validate our previous microarray data and to identify novel hypermethylated gene promoters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The validation assay was performed in a different set of 8 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) by means quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis. The differential RNA expression profiles of three CRC cell lines before and after 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment were compared to identify the hypermethylated genes. The DNA methylation status of these genes was evaluated by means of bisulphite genomic sequencing and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) in the 3 cell lines and in tumour tissues from 30 patients with CRC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data from our previous genome search have received confirmation in the new set of 8 patients with CRC. In this validation set six genes showed a high induction after drug treatment in at least two of three CRC cell lines. Among them, the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (<it>NDRG2) </it>promoter was found methylated in all CRC cell lines. <it>NDRG2 </it>hypermethylation was also detected in 8 out of 30 (27%) primary CRC tissues and was significantly associated with advanced AJCC stage IV. Normal colon tissues were not methylated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings highlight the usefulness of combining gene expression patterns and epigenetic data to identify tumour biomarkers, and suggest that NDRG2 silencing might bear influence on tumour invasiveness, being associated with a more advanced stage.</p

A high-throughput and sensitive method to measure Global DNA Methylation: Application in Lung Cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genome-wide changes in DNA methylation are an epigenetic phenomenon that can lead to the development of disease. The study of global DNA methylation utilizes technology that requires both expensive equipment and highly specialized skill sets.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have designed and developed an assay, <it>CpG</it>lobal, which is easy-to-use, does not utilize PCR, radioactivity and expensive equipment. <it>CpG</it>lobal utilizes methyl-sensitive restriction enzymes, HRP Neutravidin to detect the biotinylated nucleotides incorporated in an end-fill reaction and a luminometer to measure the chemiluminescence. The assay shows high accuracy and reproducibility in measuring global DNA methylation. Furthermore, <it>CpG</it>lobal correlates significantly with High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis (HPCE), a gold standard technology. We have applied the technology to understand the role of global DNA methylation in the natural history of lung cancer. World-wide, it is the leading cause of death attributed to any cancer. The survival rate is 15% over 5 years due to the lack of any clinical symptoms until the disease has progressed to a stage where cure is limited.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through the use of cell lines and paired normal/tumor samples from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) we show that global DNA hypomethylation is highly associated with the progression of the tumor. In addition, the results provide the first indication that the normal part of the lung from a cancer patient has already experienced a loss of methylation compared to a normal individual.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By detecting these changes in global DNA methylation, <it>CpG</it>lobal may have a role as a barometer for the onset and development of lung cancer.</p