scholarly journals DUX4 Role in Normal Physiology and in FSHD Muscular Dystrophy

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3322
Author(s):  
Emanuele Mocciaro ◽  
Valeria Runfola ◽  
Paola Ghezzi ◽  
Maria Pannese ◽  
Davide Gabellini
Keyword(s):  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Somatic Tissues ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Development Regulation

In the last decade, the sequence-specific transcription factor double homeobox 4 (DUX4) has gone from being an obscure entity to being a key factor in important physiological and pathological processes. We now know that expression of DUX4 is highly regulated and restricted to the early steps of embryonic development, where DUX4 is involved in transcriptional activation of the zygotic genome. While DUX4 is epigenetically silenced in most somatic tissues of healthy humans, its aberrant reactivation is associated with several diseases, including cancer, viral infection and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). DUX4 is also translocated, giving rise to chimeric oncogenic proteins at the basis of sarcoma and leukemia forms. Hence, understanding how DUX4 is regulated and performs its activity could provide relevant information, not only to further our knowledge of human embryonic development regulation, but also to develop therapeutic approaches for the diseases associated with DUX4. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the cellular and molecular processes regulated by DUX4 with a special emphasis on FSHD muscular dystrophy.

scholarly journals DUX4 Signalling in the Pathogenesis of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Rowel Q. Lim ◽  
Quynh Nguyen ◽  
Toshifumi Yokota
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Signalling Pathways ◽  
Progressive Muscle Weakness ◽  
Homeobox Protein

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a disabling inherited muscular disorder characterized by asymmetric, progressive muscle weakness and degeneration. Patients display widely variable disease onset and severity, and sometimes present with extra-muscular symptoms. There is a consensus that FSHD is caused by the aberrant production of the double homeobox protein 4 (DUX4) transcription factor in skeletal muscle. DUX4 is normally expressed during early embryonic development, and is then effectively silenced in all tissues except the testis and thymus. Its reactivation in skeletal muscle disrupts numerous signalling pathways that mostly converge on cell death. Here, we review studies on DUX4-affected pathways in skeletal muscle and provide insights into how understanding these could help explain the unique pathogenesis of FSHD.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Inhibitors Identified in a 160,000-Compound Small-Molecule DUX4 Viability Screen

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 680-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Ho Choi ◽  
Darko Bosnakovski ◽  
Jessica M. Strasser ◽  
Erik A. Toso ◽  
Michael A. Walters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Oxidative Stress Pathway ◽  
Nonspecific Effects ◽  
Stress Pathway ◽  
Mouse Myoblast

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is a genetically dominant, currently untreatable muscular dystrophy. It is caused by mutations that enable expression of the normally silent DUX4 gene, which encodes a pathogenic transcription factor. A screen based on Tet-on DUX4-induced mouse myoblast death previously uncovered compounds from a 44,000-compound library that protect against DUX4 toxicity. Many of those compounds acted downstream of DUX4 in an oxidative stress pathway. Here, we extend this screen to an additional 160,000 compounds and, using greater stringency, identify a new set of DUX4-protective compounds. From 640 hits, we performed secondary screens, repurchased 46 of the most desirable, confirmed activity, and tested each for activity against other cell death–inducing insults. The majority of these compounds also protected against oxidative stress. Of the 100 repurchased compounds identified through both screens, only SHC40, 75, and 98 inhibited DUX4 target genes, but they also inhibited dox-mediated DUX4 expression. Using a target gene readout on the 640-compound hit set, we discovered three overlooked compounds, SHC351, 540, and 572, that inhibit DUX4 target gene upregulation without nonspecific effects on the Tet-on system. These novel inhibitors of DUX4 transcriptional activity may thus act on pathways or cofactors needed by DUX4 for transcriptional activation in these cells.

scholarly journals CRISPR mediated targeting of DUX4 distal regulatory element represses DUX4 target genes dysregulated in Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny Das ◽  
Brian P. Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Regulatory Element ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscle Disease ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Somatic Tissues ◽  
Myoblast Cell Line ◽  
Myoblast Cell

AbstractFacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a debilitating muscle disease that currently does not have an effective cure or therapy. The abnormal reactivation of DUX4, an embryonic gene that is epigenetically silenced in somatic tissues, is causal to FSHD. Disease-specific reactivation of DUX4 has two common characteristics, the presence of a non-canonical polyadenylation sequence within exon 3 of DUX4 that stabilizes pathogenic transcripts, and the loss of repressive chromatin modifications at D4Z4, the macrosatellite repeat which encodes DUX4. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to silence DUX4 using two independent approaches. We deleted the DUX4 pathogenic polyadenylation signal, which resulted in downregulation of pathogenic DUX4-fl transcripts. In another approach, we transcriptionally repressed DUX4 by seeding heterochromatin using the dCas9-KRAB platform within exon 3. These feasibility of targeting DUX4 experiments were initially tested in a non-myogenic carcinoma cell line that we have previously characterized. Subsequently, in an immortalized patient myoblast cell line, we demonstrated that targeting DUX4 by either approach led to substantial downregulation of not only pathogenic DUX4 transcripts, but also a subset of its target genes that are known biomarkers of FSHD. These findings offer proof-of-concept of the effect of silencing the polyadenylation sequence on pathogenic DUX4 expression.

scholarly journals Bone morphogenetic proteins, breast cancer, and bone metastases: striking the right balance

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. R349-R366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Zabkiewicz ◽  
Jeyna Resaul ◽  
Rachel Hargest ◽  
Wen Guo Jiang ◽  
Lin Ye
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Breast Tumour ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Foetal Development ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Right

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) belong to the TGF-β super family, and are essential for the regulation of foetal development, tissue differentiation and homeostasis and a multitude of cellular functions. Naturally, this has led to the exploration of aberrance in this highly regulated system as a key factor in tumourigenesis. Originally identified for their role in osteogenesis and bone turnover, attention has been turned to the potential role of BMPs in tumour metastases to, and progression within, the bone niche. This is particularly pertinent to breast cancer, which commonly metastasises to bone, and in which studies have revealed aberrations of both BMP expression and signalling, which correlate clinically with breast cancer progression. Ultimately a BMP profile could provide new prognostic disease markers. As the evidence suggests a role for BMPs in regulating breast tumour cellular function, in particular interactions with tumour stroma and the bone metastatic microenvironment, there may be novel therapeutic potential in targeting BMP signalling in breast cancer. This review provides an update on the current knowledge of BMP abnormalities and their implication in the development and progression of breast cancer, particularly in the disease-specific bone metastasis.

Subnuclear compartmentalization of sequence-specific transcription factors and regulation of eukaryotic gene expression

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth N Corry ◽  
D Alan Underhill
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Nuclear Architecture ◽  
Subnuclear Localization ◽  
Modular Structures

To date, the majority of the research regarding eukaryotic transcription factors has focused on characterizing their function primarily through in vitro methods. These studies have revealed that transcription factors are essentially modular structures, containing separate regions that participate in such activities as DNA binding, protein–protein interaction, and transcriptional activation or repression. To fully comprehend the behavior of a given transcription factor, however, these domains must be analyzed in the context of the entire protein, and in certain cases the context of a multiprotein complex. Furthermore, it must be appreciated that transcription factors function in the nucleus, where they must contend with a variety of factors, including the nuclear architecture, chromatin domains, chromosome territories, and cell-cycle-associated processes. Recent examinations of transcription factors in the nucleus have clarified the behavior of these proteins in vivo and have increased our understanding of how gene expression is regulated in eukaryotes. Here, we review the current knowledge regarding sequence-specific transcription factor compartmentalization within the nucleus and discuss its impact on the regulation of such processes as activation or repression of gene expression and interaction with coregulatory factors.Key words: transcription, subnuclear localization, chromatin, gene expression, nuclear architecture.

scholarly journals Wnt/β-catenin Pathway-Mediated PPARδ Expression during Embryonic Development Differentiation and Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1854
Author(s):  
Tabinda Sidrat ◽  
Zia-Ur Rehman ◽  
Myeong-Don Joo ◽  
Kyeong-Lim Lee ◽  
Il-Keun Kong
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Hereditary Diseases ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor ◽  
Stem Cell Regulation ◽  
Early Developmental

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a crucial role in early embryonic development. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a major regulator of cell proliferation and keeps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the pluripotent state. Dysregulation of Wnt signaling in the early developmental stages causes several hereditary diseases that lead to embryonic abnormalities. Several other signaling molecules are directly or indirectly activated in response to Wnt/β-catenin stimulation. The crosstalk of these signaling factors either synergizes or opposes the transcriptional activation of β-catenin/Tcf4-mediated target gene expression. Recently, the crosstalk between the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ), which belongs to the steroid superfamily, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been reported to take place during several aspects of embryonic development. However, numerous questions need to be answered regarding the function and regulation of PPARδ in coordination with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Here, we have summarized the functional activation of the PPARδ in co-ordination with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway during the regulation of several aspects of embryonic development, stem cell regulation and maintenance, as well as during the progression of several metabolic disorders.

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