scholarly journals Loss of CNOT9 begets impairment in gastrulation leading to embryonic lethality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemanta Sarmah ◽  
Kentaro Ito ◽  
Mari Kaneko ◽  
Takaya Abe ◽  
Tadashi Yamamoto

AbstractThe multi-subunit eukaryotic CCR4-NOT complex imparts gene expression control primarily via messenger RNA (mRNA) decay. Here, we present the role of subunit CNOT9 in target mRNA decay during embryonic development. CNOT9 null mice appear normal by the onset of gastrulation (E7.0), however, exhibit growth and differentiation defects accompanied by extensive cell death by embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5). Sox-2 Cre conditional CNOT9 knockout mice show almost identical phenotype with brief delay in onset and progression, suggesting defects to be epiblast-dominant. Among various identified targets, we show that Lefty2 mRNA expression is post-transcriptionally regulated by CNOT9. Lefty2 3’-UTR containing mRNA has significantly higher stability in cells expressing mutant form of CNOT9, relative to cells expressing wild-type CNOT9. In addition, CNOT9 primarily localizes within the cytoplasm and bridges interactions between the CCR4-NOT complex and miRNA-RISC complex in gastrulating embryos.

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Stokłosa ◽  
Jakub Gołab

The p53 tumor suppressor plays the role of a cellular hub which gathers stress signals such as damage to DNA or hypoxia and translates them into a complex response. p53 exerts its action mainly as a potent transcription factor. The two major outcomes of p53 activity are highlighted: cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. During malignant transformation p53 or p53-pathway related molecules are disabled extremely often. Mutations in p53 gene are present in every second human tumor. A mutant form of p53 may not only negate the wild type p53 function but may play additional role in tumor progression. Therefore p53 represents a relatively unique and specific target for anticancer drug design. Current approaches include several different molecules able to restore p53 wild-type conformation and activity. Such small molecule drugs hold great promise in treating human tumors with dysfunction of p53 pathway in the near future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-J Du ◽  
W B Zhao ◽  
Q Lu ◽  
M N Nguyen ◽  
M Ziemann ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a clinical biomarker for risk of cardiovascular disease and a disease mediator forming a therapeutic target. However, the mechanism(s) that regulate cardiac expression of Gal-3 remains unknown. Activation of the sympatho-β-adrenergic system is a hallmark of heart disease, but the relationship of βAR activation and cardiac content of Gal-3 remains unknown. Purpose To determine the role of βAR activation in regulating cardiac Gal-3 level and the responsible mechanism focusing on the Hippo signalling pathway. Methods Wild-type and Gal-3 gene deleted (Gal3-KO) mice were used. To test the role of the Hippo pathway, we used transgenic (TG) mouse strains with cardiac overexpression of mammalian-20-like sterile kinase 1 (Mst1, mammalian orthology of Drosophila Hippo kinase) either in wild-type form (TG-Mst1) or dominative-negative kinase dead mutant form (TG-dnMst1). Effects of β-antagonist (isoprenaline, ISO) and antagonists were determined. We measured phosphorylation (Ser127) of YAP as a transcription co-regulator acting as the main signal output of the Hippo pathway. Results In wild-type mice, treatment with ISO led to a time- and dose-dependent increase in cardiac expression of Gal-3 (Fig. A) accompanied by elevated circulating Gal-3 levels (Fig. B). ISO treatment stimulated cardiac expression of Mst1 and YAP hyper-phosphorylation (i.e. inactivation, Fig. C), indicating activation of the Hippo signalling. These effects of ISO were inhibited by β-blockers (propranolol, Prop; carvedilol, Carv; Fig. D,E). Relative to non-TG controls, ISO-induced expression of Gal-3 was inhibited by 75% in TG-dnMst1 mice (inactivated Mst1), but exaggerated by 7-fold in TG-Mst1 mice (activated Mst1). Mst1-TG mice had a 45-fold increase in Gal-3 content, YAP hyper-phosphorylation and enhanced pro-fibrotic signaling. In Mst1-TG mice, whilst blood Gal-3 level was unchanged, treatment with ISO (6 mg, 2 days) evoked a marked increase in cardiac and blood Gal-3 levels. Using rat cardiomyoblasts, we showed that ISO-mediated Mst1 expression and YAP phosphorylation were PKA-dependent and that siRNA-mediated YAP knockdown led to Gal-3 upregulation. The role of Gal-3 in mediating ISO-induced cardiomyopathy was examined by treating wild-type and Gal3-KO mice with ISO (30 mg/kg, 7 days). ISO-treated wild-type mice had 8-fold increase in cardiac Gal-3, ventricular dysfunction, fibrosis, hypertrophy and activated inflammatory or fibrotic signalling. All these changes, except hypertrophy, were abolished by Gal3-KO. beta-AR regulates galectin-3 Conclusion βAR stimulation increases cardiac expression of Gal-3 through activation of the Hippo signalling pathway. This is accompanied by elevated circulating Gal-3 level. βAR antagonists inhibited βAR-Mst1 (Hippo) signalling and cardiac Gal-3 expression, actions likely contributing to the overall efficacy of β-blockers. Acknowledgement/Funding NHMRC of Australia; Nature Science Fund of China


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Pawlicka ◽  
Umesh Kalathiya ◽  
Javier Alfaro

Nonsense-mediated messenger RNA (mRNA) decay (NMD) is a surveillance pathway used by cells to control the quality mRNAs and to fine-tune transcript abundance. NMD plays an important role in cell cycle regulation, cell viability, DNA damage response, while also serving as a barrier to virus infection. Disturbance of this control mechanism caused by genetic mutations or dys-regulation of the NMD pathway can lead to pathologies, including neurological disorders, immune diseases and cancers. The role of NMD in cancer development is complex, acting as both a promoter and a barrier to tumour progression. Cancer cells can exploit NMD for the downregulation of key tumour suppressor genes, or tumours adjust NMD activity to adapt to an aggressive immune microenvironment. The latter case might provide an avenue for therapeutic intervention as NMD inhibition has been shown to lead to the production of neoantigens that stimulate an immune system attack on tumours. For this reason, understanding the biology and co-option pathways of NMD is important for the development of novel therapeutic agents. Inhibitors, whose design can make use of the many structures available for NMD study, will play a crucial role in characterizing and providing diverse therapeutic options for this pathway in cancer and other diseases.


2004 ◽  
Vol 165 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Cougot ◽  
Sylvie Babajko ◽  
Bertrand Séraphin

Understanding gene expression control requires defining the molecular and cellular basis of mRNA turnover. We have previously shown that the human decapping factors hDcp2 and hDcp1a are concentrated in specific cytoplasmic structures. Here, we show that hCcr4, hDcp1b, hLsm, and rck/p54 proteins related to 5′–3′ mRNA decay also localize to these structures, whereas DcpS, which is involved in cap nucleotide catabolism, is nuclear. Functional analysis using fluorescence resonance energy transfer revealed that hDcp1a and hDcp2 interact in vivo in these structures that were shown to differ from the previously described stress granules. Our data indicate that these new structures are dynamic, as they disappear when mRNA breakdown is abolished by treatment with inhibitors. Accumulation of poly(A)+ RNA in these structures, after RNAi-mediated inactivation of the Xrn1 exonuclease, demonstrates that they represent active mRNA decay sites. The occurrence of 5′–3′ mRNA decay in specific subcellular locations in human cells suggests that the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells may be more organized than previously anticipated.


2020 ◽  
pp. jbc.RA120.014226
Author(s):  
Hui Shen ◽  
Robert Jordan Ontiveros ◽  
Michael C Owens ◽  
Monica Yun Liu ◽  
Uday Ghanty ◽  
...  

Oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA by the Ten-eleven translocation (TET) family of enzymes is indispensable for gene regulation in mammals. More recently, evidence has emerged to support a biological function for TET-mediated m5C oxidation in messenger RNA. Here, we describe a previously uncharacterized role of TET-mediated m5C oxidation in transfer RNA (tRNAs). We found that the TET-mediated oxidation product 5-hydroxylmethylcytosine (hm5C) is specifically enriched in tRNA inside cells and that the oxidation activity of TET2 on m5C in tRNAs can be readily observed in vitro. We further observed that hm5C levels in tRNA were significantly decreased in Tet2 KO mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in comparison to wild type mESCs. Reciprocally, induced expression of the catalytic domain of TET2 led to an obvious increase in hm5C and a decrease in m5C in tRNAs relative to uninduced cells. Strikingly, we also show that TET2-mediated m5C oxidation in tRNA promotes translation in vitro. These results suggest TET2 may influence translation through impacting tRNA methylation and reveal an unexpected role for TET enzymes in regulating multiple nodes of the central dogma.


NAR Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanchan Kumari ◽  
Paula Groza ◽  
Francesca Aguilo

Abstract Collectively referred to as the epitranscriptome, RNA modifications play important roles in gene expression control regulating relevant cellular processes. In the last few decades, growing numbers of RNA modifications have been identified not only in abundant ribosomal (rRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA) but also in messenger RNA (mRNA). In addition, many writers, erasers and readers that dynamically regulate the chemical marks have also been characterized. Correct deposition of RNA modifications is prerequisite for cellular homeostasis, and its alteration results in aberrant transcriptional programs that dictate human disease, including breast cancer, the most frequent female malignancy, and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. In this review, we emphasize the major RNA modifications that are present in tRNA, rRNA and mRNA. We have categorized breast cancer-associated chemical marks and summarize their contribution to breast tumorigenesis. In addition, we describe less abundant tRNA modifications with related pathways implicated in breast cancer. Finally, we discuss current limitations and perspectives on epitranscriptomics for use in therapeutic strategies against breast and other cancers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (19) ◽  
pp. 10547-10553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Suzuki ◽  
Masashi Yanagisawa ◽  
Robert W. Greene

The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) gene is a neural immediate early gene that is involved in synaptic downscaling and is robustly induced by prolonged wakefulness in rodent brains. Converging evidence has led to the hypothesis that wakefulness potentiates, and sleep reduces, synaptic strengthening. This suggests a potential role for Arc in these and other sleep-related processes. However, the role of Arc in sleep remains unknown. Here, we demonstrated that Arc is important for the induction of multiple behavioral and molecular responses associated with sleep homeostasis. Arc knockout (KO) mice displayed increased time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep under baseline conditions and marked attenuation of sleep rebound to both 4 h of total sleep deprivation (SD) and selective REM deprivation. At the molecular level, the following homeostatic sleep responses to 4-h SD were all blunted in Arc KO mice: increase of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor GluA1 and its phosphorylation in synaptoneurosomes; induction of a subset of SD-response genes; and suppression of the GluA1 messenger RNA in the cortex. In wild-type brains, SD increased Arc protein expression in multiple subcellular locations, including the nucleus, cytoplasm, and synapse, which is reversed in part by recovery sleep. Arc is critical for these behavioral and multiple molecular responses to SD, thus providing a multifunctional role for Arc in the maintenance of sleep homeostasis, which may be attributed by the sleep/wake-associated changes in subcellular location of Arc.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 5601-5601
Author(s):  
Christian Bach ◽  
Magdalena Leffler ◽  
Cindy Flamann ◽  
Jan Kronke ◽  
Dimitrios Mougiakakos ◽  
...  

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) is considered a chronic and incurable disease due to its highly complex and heterogeneous molecular abnormalities. In recent years, integrating proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs into MM frontline therapy has significantly improved treatment efficacy with a median overall survival (OS) being prolonged from 3-4 to 7 years. Despite this progress, patients refractory to the aforementioned agent classes display a median OS of only 9 months. Thus, the clinical necessity for developing novel therapeutic alternative approaches is self-evident. Methylation of N6-adenosine (m6A) is known to be important for diverse biological processes including gene expression control, translation of protein, and messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing. m6A regulatory enzymes consist of "writers" METTL3 and METTL14, "readers" YTHDF1 and YTHDF2, and "erasers" FTO and ALKBH5. However, the functions of m6A mRNA modification and the specific role of these enzymes in MM remain unknown. Here we report that METTL3, a key component of the m6A methyltransferase complex, is highly expressed in MM cell lines and in isolated patient's MM cells. In contrast, we found no significant differences in the expression of the m6A demethylases FTO and ALKBH5. Accordingly, compared to plasma cells from healthy donors, global PolyA+ RNA showed a significant increase in m6A content in patient's MM plasma cells. In MM cell lines, global m6A profiling by methylated RNA-immunoprecipitation sequencing revealed m6A peaks near the stop codon in mRNAs of multiple oncogenes including MAF and CCND1. Cross-linking immunoprecipitation showed that METTL3 bound to the m6A peak within MAF and CCND1 mRNA. Depletion of METTL3 by shRNA had little effect on global mRNA levels, but specifically reduced protein levels of c-Maf and Cyclin D1. Moreover, downregulation of METTL3 in several MM cell lines results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Together, these results describe a role for METTL3 in promoting translation of a subset of oncogenes in MM and identify this enzyme as a potential therapeutic target for multiple myeloma. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raju Roy ◽  
Ishwarya Achappa Kuttanda ◽  
Nupur Bhatter ◽  
Purusharth I Rajyaguru

AbstractRNA granules are conserved mRNP complexes that play an important role in determining mRNA fate by affecting translation repression and mRNA decay. Processing bodies (P-bodies) harbor enzymes responsible for mRNA decay and proteins involved in modulating translation. Although many proteins have been identified to play a role in P-body assembly, a bonafide disassembly factor remains unknown. In this report, we identify RGG-motif translation repressor protein Sbp1 as a disassembly factor of P-bodies. Disassembly of Edc3 granules but not the Pab1 granules (a conserved stress granule marker) that arise upon sodium azide and glucose deprivation stress are defective in Δsbp1. Disassembly of other P-body proteins such as Dhh1 and Scd6 is also defective in Δsbp1. Complementation experiments suggest that the wild type Sbp1 but not an RGG-motif deletion mutant rescues the Edc3 granule disassembly defect in Δsbp1. We observe that purified Edc3 forms assemblies, which is promoted by the presence of RNA and NADH. Strikingly, addition of purified Sbp1 leads to significantly decreased Edc3 assemblies. Although low complexity sequences have been in general implicated in assembly, our results reveal the role of RGG-motif (a low-complexity sequence) in the disassembly of P-bodies.


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