scholarly journals Melanoma Addiction to GCDH is Mediated by NRF2 Tumor Suppressor Function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Verma ◽  
David Crawford ◽  
Ali Khateb ◽  
Yongmei Feng ◽  
Eduard Sergienko ◽  
...  

Tumor dependency on specific metabolic signals has guided numerous therapeutic approaches. Here we identify melanoma addiction to the mitochondrial protein Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH), a component in lysine metabolism which controls protein glutarylation. GCDH knockdown promoted apoptotic Unfolded Protein Response signaling and cell death in melanoma cells, an activity blocked by knockdown of the upstream lysine catabolism enzyme DHTKD1. Correspondingly, reduced GCDH expression correlated with improved survival of melanoma patients. A key mediator of GCDH-dependent melanoma cell death programs is the transcription factor NRF2, which induces ATF3, CHOP, and CHAC1 transcription linking lysine catabolism with the UPR signaling. NRF2 glutarylation upon GCDH KD increased its stability and DNA binding activity, which coincided with increased transcriptional activity, promoting apoptotic UPR signaling and tumor suppression. In vivo, genetic GCDH inhibition effectively inhibited melanoma tumor growth. Overall, these findings demonstrate an addiction of melanoma cells to GCDH, which by controlling NRF2 glutarylation limits apoptotic UPR signaling. Inhibiting the GCDH pathway could represent a novel therapeutic modality to treat melanoma.

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi L Vogel ◽  
Vincent Geuskens ◽  
Lucie Desmet ◽  
N Patrick Higgins ◽  
Ariane Toussaint

Abstract Mutations in an N-terminal 70-amino acid domain of bacteriophage Mu's repressor cause temperature-sensitive DNA-binding activity. Surprisingly, amber mutations can conditionally correct the heat-sensitive defect in three mutant forms of the repressor gene, cts25 (D43-G), cts62 (R47-Q and cts71 (M28-I), and in the appropriate bacterial host produce a heat-stable Sts phenotype (for survival of temperature shifts). Sts repressor mutants are heat sensitive when in supE or supF hosts and heat resistant when in Sup° hosts. Mutants with an Sts phenotype have amber mutations at one of three codons, Q179, Q187, or Q190. The Sts phenotype relates to the repressor size: in Sup° hosts sts repressors are shorter by seven, 10, or 18 amino acids compared to repressors in supE or supF hosts. The truncated form of the sts62-1 repressor, which lacks 18 residues (Q179–V196), binds Mu operator DNA more stably at 42° in vitro compared to its full-length counterpart (cts62 repressor). In addition to influencing temperature sensitivity, the C-terminus appears to control the susceptibility to in vivo Clp proteolysis by influencing the multimeric structure of repressor.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1056-1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira T. Kassouf ◽  
Hedia Chagraoui ◽  
Paresh Vyas ◽  
Catherine Porcher

Abstract Dissecting the molecular mechanisms used by developmental regulators is essential to understand tissue specification/differentiation. SCL/TAL-1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor absolutely critical for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell specification and lineage maturation. Using in vitro and forced expression experimental systems, we previously suggested that SCL might have DNA-binding–independent functions. Here, to assess the requirements for SCL DNA-binding activity in vivo, we examined hematopoietic development in mice carrying a germline DNA-binding mutation. Remarkably, in contrast to complete absence of hematopoiesis and early lethality in scl-null embryos, specification of hematopoietic cells occurred in homozygous mutant embryos, indicating that direct DNA binding is dispensable for this process. Lethality was forestalled to later in development, although some mice survived to adulthood. Anemia was documented throughout development and in adulthood. Cellular and molecular studies showed requirements for SCL direct DNA binding in red cell maturation and indicated that scl expression is positively autoregulated in terminally differentiating erythroid cells. Thus, different mechanisms of SCL's action predominate depending on the developmental/cellular context: indirect DNA binding activities and/or sequestration of other nuclear regulators are sufficient in specification processes, whereas direct DNA binding functions with transcriptional autoregulation are critically required in terminal maturation processes.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 4739-4749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elma R. Fernandes ◽  
Robert J. Rooney

ABSTRACT The adenovirus E1A gene can act as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor, with the latter effect generally arising from the induction of apoptosis or the repression of genes that provide oncogenic growth stimuli (e.g., HER-2/c-erbB2/neu) or increased metastatic invasiveness (e.g., metalloproteases). In this study, coexpression of E1A and p50E4F, a cellular transcription factor whose DNA binding activity is stimulated by E1A, suppressed colony formation by NIH 3T3 cells and transformation of primary rat embryo fibroblasts but had no observed effect in the absence of E1A. Domains in p50E4F required for stimulation of the adenovirus E4 promoter were required for the suppressive effect, indicating a transcriptional mechanism. In serum-containing media, retroviral expression of p50E4F in E1A13S/ras-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts had little effect on subconfluent cultures but accelerated a decline in viability after the cultures reached confluence. Cell death occurred by both apoptosis and necrosis, with the predominance of each process determined by culture conditions. In serum-free media, p50E4F accelerated E1A-induced apoptosis. The results suggest that p50E4F sensitizes cells to signals or conditions that cause cell death.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4723-4733
Author(s):  
L A Chodosh ◽  
R W Carthew ◽  
P A Sharp

A simple approach has been developed for the unambiguous identification and purification of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins solely on the basis of their ability to bind selectively to their target sequences. Four independent methods were used to identify the promoter-specific RNA polymerase II transcription factor MLTF as a 46-kilodalton (kDa) polypeptide. First, a 46-kDa protein was specifically cross-linked by UV irradiation to a body-labeled DNA fragment containing the MLTF binding site. Second, MLTF sedimented through glycerol gradients at a rate corresponding to a protein of native molecular weight 45,000 to 50,000. Third, a 46-kDa protein was specifically retained on a biotin-streptavidin matrix only when the DNA fragment coupled to the matrix contained the MLTF binding site. Finally, proteins from the most highly purified fraction which were eluted and renatured from the 44- to 48-kDa region of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel exhibited both binding and transcription-stimulatory activities. The DNA-binding activity was purified 100,000-fold by chromatography through three conventional columns plus a DNA affinity column. Purified MLTF was characterized with respect to the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of DNA binding. These parameters indicate a high degree of occupancy of MLTF binding sites in vivo.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Doren ◽  
H.M. Ellis ◽  
J.W. Posakony

In Drosophila, a group of regulatory proteins of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) class play an essential role in conferring upon cells in the developing adult epidermis the competence to give rise to sensory organs. Proteins encoded by the daughterless (da) gene and three genes of the achaete-scute complex (AS-C) act positively in the determination of the sensory organ precursor cell fate, while the extramacrochaetae (emc) and hairy (h) gene products act as negative regulators. In the region upstream of the achaete gene of the AS-C, we have identified three ‘E box’ consensus sequences that are bound specifically in vitro by hetero-oligomeric complexes consisting of the da protein and an AS-C protein. We have used this DNA-binding activity to investigate the biochemical basis of the negative regulatory function of emc. Under the conditions of our experiments, the emc protein, but not the h protein, is able to antagonize specifically the in vitro DNA-binding activity of da/AS-C and putative da/da protein complexes. We interpret these results as follows: the heterodimerization capacity of the emc protein (conferred by its HLH domain) allows it to act in vivo as a competitive inhibitor of the formation of functional DNA-binding protein complexes by the da and AS-C proteins, thereby reducing the effective level of their transcriptional regulatory activity within the cell.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kramer ◽  
T.M. Jinks ◽  
P. Schedl ◽  
J.P. Gergen

Runt functions as a transcriptional regulator in multiple developmental pathways in Drosophila melanogaster. Recent evidence indicates that Runt represses the transcription of several downstream target genes in the segmentation pathway. Here we demonstrate that runt also functions to activate transcription. The initial expression of the female-specific sex-determining gene Sex-lethal in the blastoderm embryo requires runt activity. Consistent with a role as a direct activator, Runt shows sequence-specific binding to multiple sites in the Sex-lethal early promoter. Using an in vivo transient assay, we demonstrate that Runt's DNA-binding activity is essential for Sex-lethal activation in vivo. These experiments further reveal that increasing the dosage of runt alone is sufficient for triggering the transcriptional activation of Sex-lethal in males. In addition, a Runt fusion protein, containing a heterologous transcriptional activation domain activates Sex-lethal expression, indicating that this regulation is direct and not via repression of other repressors. Moreover, we demonstrate that a small segment of the Sex-lethal early promoter that contains Runt-binding sites mediates Runt-dependent transcriptional activation in vivo.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Gillessen ◽  
Pieter Bas Kwak ◽  
Alfred Tamayo

The proteins CLOCK and BMAL1 form a heterodimeric transcription factor essential to circadian rhythms in mammals.  Daily rhythms of CLOCK-BMAL1 DNA binding activity are known to oscillate with target gene expression in vivo. Here we present a highly sensitive assay that recapitulates native CLOCK-BMAL1 DNA binding rhythms from crude tissue extracts, which we call the Clock Protein-DNA Binding Assay (CPDBA). This method can detect less than 2-fold differences in DNA binding activity, and can deliver results in two hours or less using 10 microliters or less of crude extract, while requiring neither specialized equipment nor expensive probes. To demonstrate the sensitivity and versatility of this assay, we show that enzymatic removal of phosphate groups from proteins in tissue extracts or pharmacological inhibition of casein kinase I in cell culture increased CLOCK-BMAL1 DNA binding activity by ~1.5 to ~2 fold, as measured by the CPDBA. In addition, we show that the CPDBA can measure CLOCK-BMAL1 binding to reconstituted chromatin. The CPDBA is a sensitive, fast, efficient and versatile probe of clock function.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2464-2476
Author(s):  
M Cockell ◽  
B J Stevenson ◽  
M Strubin ◽  
O Hagenbüchle ◽  
P K Wellauer

Footprint analysis of the 5'-flanking regions of the alpha-amylase 2, elastase 2, and trypsina genes, which are expressed in the acinar pancreas, showed multiple sites of protein-DNA interaction for each gene. Competition experiments demonstrated that a region from each 5'-flanking region interacted with the same cell-specific DNA-binding activity. We show by in vitro binding assays that this DNA-binding activity also recognizes a sequence within the 5'-flanking regions of elastase 1, chymotrypsinogen B, carboxypeptidase A, and trypsind genes. Methylation interference and protection studies showed that the DNA-binding activity recognized a bipartite motif, the subelements of which were separated by integral helical turns of DNA. The alpha-amylase 2 cognate sequence was found to enhance in vivo transcription of its own promoter in a cell-specific manner, which identified the DNA-binding activity as a transcription factor (PTF 1). The observation that PTF 1 bound to DNA sequences that have been defined as transcriptional enhancers by others suggests that this factor is involved in the coordinate expression of genes transcribed in the acinar pancreas.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document