Acetylation of Myocardin Is Required for the Activation of Cardiac and Smooth Muscle Genes

Myocardin belongs to the SAF-A/B, Acinus, PIAS (SAP) domain family of transcription factors and is specifically expressed in cardiac and smooth muscle. Myocardin functions as a transcriptional coactivator of SRF and is sufficient and necessary for smooth muscle gene expression. We have previously found that myocardin induces the acetylation of nucleosomal histones surrounding SRF-binding sites in the control regions of cardiac and smooth muscle genes through recruiting chromatin-modifying enzyme p300, yet no studies have determined whether myocardin itself is similarly modified. In this study, we show that myocardin is a direct target for p300-mediated acetylation. p300 acetylates lysine residues at the N terminus of the myocardin protein. Interestingly, a direct interaction between p300 and myocardin, which is mediated by the C terminus of myocardin, is required for the acetylation event. Acetylation of myocardin by p300 enhances the association of myocardin and SRF as well as the formation of the myocardin-SRF-CArG box ternary complex. Conversely, acetylation of myocardin decreases the binding of histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) to myocardin. Acetylation of myocardin is required for myocardin to activate smooth muscle genes. Our study demonstrates that acetylation plays a key role in modulating myocardin function in controlling cardiac and smooth muscle gene expression

miR-155 Inhibits Expression of the MEF2A Protein to Repress Skeletal Muscle Differentiation

microRNAs (miRNAs) are 21–23-nucleotide non-coding RNAs. It has become more and more evident that this class of small RNAs plays critical roles in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. MEF2A is a member of the MEF2 (myogenic enhancer factor 2) family of transcription factors. Prior report showed that the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of the Mef2A gene mediated its repression; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this intriguing observation was unknown. Here, we report that MEF2A is repressed by miRNAs. We identify miR-155 as one of the primary miRNAs that significantly represses the expression of MEF2A. We show that knockdown of the Mef2A gene by siRNA impairs myoblast differentiation. Similarly, overexpression of miR-155 leads to the repression of endogenous MEF2A expression and the inhibition of myoblast differentiation. Most importantly, reintroduction of MEF2A in miR-155 overexpressed myoblasts was able to partially rescue the miR-155-induced myoblast differentiation defect. Our data therefore establish miR-155 as an important regulator of MEF2A expression and uncover its function in muscle gene expression and myogenic differentiation

Expression of microRNAs is dynamically regulated during cardiomyocyte hypertrophy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered class of ∼22-nucleotide regulatory RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. We have recently demonstrated that muscle-specific miRNAs miR-1 and -133 play an important role in modulating muscle proliferation and differentiation. Here, we investigate the involvement of miRNAs in cardiac hypertrophy. We analyzed the global expression of miRNAs in agonist-induced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes as well as in pressure overload-induced hypertrophic hearts and found the miRNA expression profile altered in those hypertrophic conditions. We further show that inhibition of endogenous miR-21 or -18b augments hypertrophic growth. Conversely, introduction of functional miR-21 or -18b into cardiomyocytes represses myocyte hypertrophy. Together, our studies point to miRNAs as critical regulators of cardiac hypertrophy

Clinicopathologic characteristics and A20 mutation in primary thyroid lymphoma

博士（医学）乙日本医科大学202

Targeted deletion of Dicer in the heart leads to dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of human morbidity and mortality. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common form of cardiomyopathy associated with heart failure. Here, we report that cardiac-specific knockout of Dicer, a gene encoding a RNase III endonuclease essential for microRNA (miRNA) processing, leads to rapidly progressive DCM, heart failure, and postnatal lethality. Dicer mutant mice show misexpression of cardiac contractile proteins and profound sarcomere disarray. Functional analyses indicate significantly reduced heart rates and decreased fractional shortening of Dicer mutant hearts. Consistent with the role of Dicer in animal hearts, Dicer expression was decreased in end-stage human DCM and failing hearts and, most importantly, a significant increase of Dicer expression was observed in those hearts after left ventricle assist devices were inserted to improve cardiac function. Together, our studies demonstrate essential roles for Dicer in cardiac contraction and indicate that miRNAs play critical roles in normal cardiac function and under pathological conditions

Clinicopathologic characteristics and A20 mutation in primary thyroid lymphoma

202

MicroRNA-208a is a regulator of cardiac hypertrophy and conduction in mice

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that have gained status as important regulators of gene expression. Here, we investigated the function and molecular mechanisms of the miR-208 family of miRNAs in adult mouse heart physiology. We found that miR-208a, which is encoded within an intron of α-cardiac muscle myosin heavy chain gene (Myh6), was actually a member of a miRNA family that also included miR-208b, which was determined to be encoded within an intron of β-cardiac muscle myosin heavy chain gene (Myh7). These miRNAs were differentially expressed in the mouse heart, paralleling the expression of their host genes. Transgenic overexpression of miR-208a in the heart was sufficient to induce hypertrophic growth in mice, which resulted in pronounced repression of the miR-208 regulatory targets thyroid hormone–associated protein 1 and myostatin, 2 negative regulators of muscle growth and hypertrophy. Studies of the miR-208a Tg mice indicated that miR-208a expression was sufficient to induce arrhythmias. Furthermore, analysis of mice lacking miR-208a indicated that miR-208a was required for proper cardiac conduction and expression of the cardiac transcription factors homeodomain-only protein and GATA4 and the gap junction protein connexin 40. Together, our studies uncover what we believe are novel miRNA-dependent mechanisms that modulate cardiac hypertrophy and electrical conduction