scholarly journals KDM6 Demethylases and Their Roles in Human Cancers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Hua ◽  
Jiaqing Chen ◽  
Shuting Li ◽  
Jianan Zhou ◽  
Jiahong Fu ◽  
...  

Cancer therapy is moving beyond traditional chemotherapy to include epigenetic approaches. KDM6 demethylases are dynamic regulation of gene expression by histone demethylation in response to diverse stimuli, and thus their dysregulation has been observed in various cancers. In this review, we first briefly introduce structural features of KDM6 subfamily, and then discuss the regulation of KDM6, which involves the coordinated control between cellular metabolism (intrinsic regulators) and tumor microenvironment (extrinsic stimuli). We further describe the aberrant functions of KDM6 in human cancers, acting as either a tumor suppressor or an oncoprotein in a context-dependent manner. Finally, we propose potential therapy of KDM6 enzymes based on their structural features, epigenetics, and immunomodulatory mechanisms, providing novel insights for prevention and treatment of cancers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Temitayo O. Idowu ◽  
Valerie Etzrodt ◽  
Thorben Pape ◽  
Joerg Heineke ◽  
Klaus Stahl ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Reduced endothelial Tie2 expression occurs in diverse experimental models of critical illness, and experimental Tie2 suppression is sufficient to increase spontaneous vascular permeability. Looking for a common denominator among different critical illnesses that could drive the same Tie2 suppressive (thereby leak inducing) phenotype, we identified “circulatory shock” as a shared feature and postulated a flow-dependency of Tie2 gene expression in a GATA3 dependent manner. Here, we analyzed if this mechanism of flow-regulation of gene expression exists in vivo in the absence of inflammation. Results To experimentally mimic a shock-like situation, we developed a murine model of clonidine-induced hypotension by targeting a reduced mean arterial pressure (MAP) of approximately 50% over 4 h. We found that hypotension-induced reduction of flow in the absence of confounding disease factors (i.e., inflammation, injury, among others) is sufficient to suppress GATA3 and Tie2 transcription. Conditional endothelial-specific GATA3 knockdown (B6-Gata3tm1-Jfz VE-Cadherin(PAC)-cerERT2) led to baseline Tie2 suppression inducing spontaneous vascular leak. On the contrary, the transient overexpression of GATA3 in the pulmonary endothelium (jet-PEI plasmid delivery platform) was sufficient to increase Tie2 at baseline and completely block its hypotension-induced acute drop. On the functional level, the Tie2 protection by GATA3 overexpression abrogated the development of pulmonary capillary leakage. Conclusions The data suggest that the GATA3–Tie2 signaling pathway might play a pivotal role in controlling vascular barrier function and that it is affected in diverse critical illnesses with shock as a consequence of a flow-regulated gene response. Targeting this novel mechanism might offer therapeutic opportunities to treat vascular leakage of diverse etiologies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5578
Author(s):  
Cedric R. Clapier

The establishment and maintenance of genome packaging into chromatin contribute to define specific cellular identity and function. Dynamic regulation of chromatin organization and nucleosome positioning are critical to all DNA transactions—in particular, the regulation of gene expression—and involve the cooperative action of sequence-specific DNA-binding factors, histone modifying enzymes, and remodelers. Remodelers are molecular machines that generate various chromatin landscapes, adjust nucleosome positioning, and alter DNA accessibility by using ATP binding and hydrolysis to perform DNA translocation, which is highly regulated through sophisticated structural and functional conversations with nucleosomes. In this review, I first present the functional and structural diversity of remodelers, while emphasizing the basic mechanism of DNA translocation, the common regulatory aspects, and the hand-in-hand progressive increase in complexity of the regulatory conversations between remodelers and nucleosomes that accompanies the increase in challenges of remodeling processes. Next, I examine how, through nucleosome positioning, remodelers guide the regulation of gene expression. Finally, I explore various aspects of how alterations/mutations in remodelers introduce dissonance into the conversations between remodelers and nucleosomes, modify chromatin organization, and contribute to oncogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo D. Campagnaro ◽  
Edward Nay ◽  
Michael J. Plevin ◽  
Angela K. Cruz ◽  
Pegine B. Walrad

A large number of eukaryotic proteins are processed by single or combinatorial post-translational covalent modifications that may alter their activity, interactions and fate. The set of modifications of each protein may be considered a “regulatory code”. Among the PTMs, arginine methylation, catalyzed by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), can affect how a protein interacts with other macromolecules such as nucleic acids or other proteins. In fact, many RNA-binding (RBPs) proteins are targets of PRMTs. The methylation status of RBPs may affect the expression of their bound RNAs and impact a diverse range of physiological and pathological cellular processes. Unlike most eukaryotes, Kinetoplastids have overwhelmingly intronless genes that are arranged within polycistronic units from which mature mRNAs are generated by trans-splicing. Gene expression in these organisms is thus highly dependent on post-transcriptional control, and therefore on the action of RBPs. These genetic features make trypanosomatids excellent models for the study of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. The roles of PRMTs in controlling the activity of RBPs in pathogenic kinetoplastids have now been studied for close to 2 decades with important advances achieved in recent years. These include the finding that about 10% of the Trypanosoma brucei proteome carries arginine methylation and that arginine methylation controls Leishmania:host interaction. Herein, we review how trypanosomatid PRMTs regulate the activity of RBPs, including by modulating interactions with RNA and/or protein complex formation, and discuss how this impacts cellular and biological processes. We further highlight unique structural features of trypanosomatid PRMTs and how it contributes to their singular functionality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 397-419
Author(s):  
Michael J. Shapiro ◽  
Virginia Smith Shapiro

T cell development involves stepwise progression through defined stages that give rise to multiple T cell subtypes, and this is accompanied by the establishment of stage-specific gene expression. Changes in chromatin accessibility and chromatin modifications accompany changes in gene expression during T cell development. Chromatin-modifying enzymes that add or reverse covalent modifications to DNA and histones have a critical role in the dynamic regulation of gene expression throughout T cell development. As each chromatin-modifying enzyme has multiple family members that are typically all coexpressed during T cell development, their function is sometimes revealed only when two related enzymes are concurrently deleted. This work has also revealed that the biological effects of these enzymes often involve regulation of a limited set of targets. The growing diversity in the types and sites of modification, as well as the potential for a single enzyme to catalyze multiple modifications, is also highlighted.


2000 ◽  
Vol 167 (1) ◽  
pp. R1-R5 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Imae ◽  
Y Inoue ◽  
Z Fu ◽  
H Kato ◽  
T Noguchi

Hepatocyte nuclear factor-3 (HNF-3) belongs to a large family of forkhead transcription factors and is made up of three members (HNF-3alpha, -3beta and -3gamma). It has been shown that HNF-3 regulates a number of metabolically important genes. However, the mechanisms underlying this regulation of HNF-3 activity by hormones and nutrition have not yet been well elucidated. In attempting to explore the regulation of gene expression of HNF-3 members by physiological status, we analyzed the effects of insulin, dexamethasone and protein malnutrition on the hepatic mRNA level of each member. Male Wistar rats were fed on a 12% casein diet, 12% gluten diet (deficient in lysine and threonine) or a protein-free diet for 1 week. The protein-free diet and gluten diet caused a 3. 7-fold increase in HNF-3g mRNA in the liver and did not affect the mRNA level of either HNF-3alpha or HNF-3beta. Daily administration of dexamethasone caused the mRNA levels of HNF-3alpha and HNF-3beta to increase (2.3- and 1.4-fold, respectively), but had no effect on the HNF-3gamma mRNA level. In diabetic rats that had been injected with streptozotocin, an elevation of the hepatic mRNA levels of HNF-3beta and HNF-3gamma was observed (1.6-and 1.9-fold, respectively). Insulin replacement in the diabetic rats decreased both mRNA levels in a dose-dependent manner. HNF-3alpha mRNA was not affected by insulin status. These results show that the genes of the three members of the HNF-3 family respond differently to hormonal and nutritional factors suggesting that the activities of HNF-3 members are regulated, at least in part, by the levels of their gene expression.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijian Qiu ◽  
Vijay Shankar ◽  
Rooksana E. Noorai ◽  
Nelson Yeung ◽  
Sarah Grace McAlpine ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe ability to adapt to varying nutrient availability in changing environments is critical for successful parasitism. The lifecycle stages of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, that infect the host mammalian bloodstream utilize glucose exclusively for ATP production. The finding that trypanosomes also inhabit other tissues that frequently contain lower glucose concentrations suggests blood stage parasites may have to respond to a dynamic environment with changing nutrient availability in order to survive. However, little is known about how the parasites coordinate gene expression with nutrient availability. Through transcriptome analysis, we have found blood stage parasites deprived of glucose alter gene expression in a pattern similar to transcriptome changes triggered by other stresses. A surprisingly low concentration of glucose (<10 μM) was required to initiate the response. To further understand the dynamic regulation of gene expression that occurs in response to altered glucose availability in the environment, we have interrogated the 3’UTR of cytochrome c oxidase subunit VI, a known lifecycle stage regulated gene, and have identified a stem-loop structure that confers glucose-responsive regulation at the translational level.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Thudium ◽  
Katherine C Palozola ◽  
Eloise L'Her ◽  
Erica Korb

Epigenetic regulation plays a critical role in many neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In particular, many such disorders are the result of mutations in genes that encode chromatin modifying proteins. However, while these disorders share many features, it is unclear whether they also share gene expression disruptions resulting from the aberrant regulation of chromatin. We examined 5 chromatin modifiers that are all linked to ASD despite their different roles in regulating chromatin. Specifically, we depleted Ash1L, Chd8, Crebbp, Ehmt1, and Nsd1 in parallel in a highly controlled neuronal culture system. We then identified sets of shared genes, or transcriptional signatures, that are differentially expressed following loss of multiple ASD-linked chromatin modifiers. We examined the functions of genes within the transcriptional signatures and found an enrichment in many neurotransmitter transport genes and activity-dependent genes. In addition, these genes are enriched for specific chromatin features such as bivalent domains that allow for highly dynamic regulation of gene expression. The downregulated transcriptional signature is also observed within multiple mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders that result in ASD, but not those only associated with intellectual disability. Finally, the downregulated transcriptional signature can distinguish between neurons generated from iPSCs derived from healthy donors and idiopathic ASD patients through RNA-deconvolution, demonstrating that this gene set is relevant to the human disorder. This work identifies a transcriptional signature that is found within many neurodevelopmental syndromes, helping to elucidate the link between epigenetic regulation and the underlying cellular mechanisms that result in ASD.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Oertlin ◽  
Julie Lorent ◽  
Valentina Gandin ◽  
Carl Murie ◽  
Laia Masvidal ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTmRNA translation plays an evolutionarily conserved role in homeostasis and when dysregulated results in various disorders. Optimal and universally applicable analytical methods to study transcriptome-wide changes in translational efficiency are therefore critical for understanding the complex role of translation regulation under physiological and pathological conditions. Techniques used to interrogate translatomes, including polysome- and ribosome-profiling, require adjustment for changes in total mRNA levels to capture bona fide alterations in translational efficiency. Herein, we present the anota2seq algorithm for such analysis using data from ribosome- or polysome-profiling quantified by DNA-microarrays or RNA sequencing, which outperforms current methods for identification of changes in translational efficiency. In contrast to available analytical methods, anota2seq also allows capture of an underappreciated mode for regulation of gene expression whereby translation acts as a buffering mechanism which maintains constant protein levels despite fluctuations in mRNA levels (“translational buffering”). Application of anota2seq shows that insulin affects gene expression at multiple levels, in a largely mTOR-dependent manner. Moreover, insulin induces levels of a subset of mRNAs independently of mTOR that undergo translational buffering upon mTOR inhibition. Thus, the universal anota2seq algorithm allows efficient and hitherto unprecedented interrogation of translatomes and enables studies of translational buffering which represents an unexplored mechanism for regulating of gene expression.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosvany López ◽  
Alexis Vandenbon ◽  
Akinao Nose ◽  
Kenta Nakai

Because transcription is the first step in the regulation of gene expression, understanding how transcription factors bind to their DNA binding motifs has become absolutely necessary. It has been shown that the promoters of genes with similar expression profiles share common structural patterns. This paper presents an extensive study of the regulatory regions of genes expressed in 24 developmental stages ofDrosophila melanogaster. It proposes the use of a combination of structural features, such as positioning of individual motifs relative to the transcription start site, orientation, pairwise distance between motifs, and presence of motifs anywhere in the promoter for predicting gene expression from structural features of promoter sequences. RNA-sequencing data was utilized to create and validate the 24 models. When genes with high-scoring promoters were compared to those identified by RNA-seq samples, 19 (79.2%) statistically significant models, a number that exceeds previous studies, were obtained. Each model yielded a set of highly informative features, which were used to search for genes with similar biological functions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Gamboa ◽  
Erick V. Phung ◽  
Haoxin Li ◽  
Jared P. Meyers ◽  
Gabriel A. Kwong

ABSTRACTEmerging CRISPR technologies are enabling powerful new approaches to control mammalian cell functions, yet the lack of spatially-defined, noninvasive modalities to direct their function limit their potential as biological tools and pose a major challenge for clinical translation. Here we confer remote control of CRISPR-dCas9 activity using thermal gene switches, enabling the dynamic regulation of gene expression using short pulses of heat to modulate transcriptional commands.


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