Serena Racanicchi

MicroRNAs 17-5p-20a-106a control monocytopoiesis through AML1 targeting and M-CSF receptor upregulation.

We investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNA) 17-5p, 20a and 106a in monocytic differentiation and maturation. In unilineage monocytic culture generated by haematopoietic progenitor cells these miRNAs are downregulated, whereas the transcription factor acute myeloid leukaemia-1 (AML1; also known as Runt-related transcription factor 1, Runx1) is upregulated at protein but not mRNA level. As miRNAs 17-5p, 20a and 106a bind the AML1 mRNA 3′UTR, their decline may unblock AML1 translation. Accordingly, transfection with miRNA 17-5p–20a–106a suppresses AML1 protein expression, leading to M-CSF receptor (M-CSFR) downregulation, enhanced blast proliferation and inhibition of monocytic differentiation and maturation. Treatment with anti-miRNA 17-5p, 20a and 106a causes opposite effects. Knockdown of AML1 or M-CSFR by short interfering RNA (siRNA) mimics the action of the miRNA 17-5p–20a–106a, confirming that these miRNAs target AML1, which promotes M-CSFR transcription. In addition, AML1 binds the miRNA 17-5p–92 and 106a–92 cluster promoters and transcriptionally inhibits the expression of miRNA 17-5p–20a–106a. These studies indicate that monocytopoiesis is controlled by a circuitry involving sequentially miRNA 17-5p–20a–106a, AML1 and M-CSFR, whereby miRNA 17-5p–20a–106a function as a master gene complex interlinked with AML1 in a mutual negative feedback loop.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Demethylates a Single CpG That Mediates Expression of Tumor Suppressor CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein δ in U937 Leukemia Cells

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) inhibit proliferation and induce differentiation in leukemia cells. To investigate the molecular mechanisms whereby fatty acids affect these processes, U937 leukemia cells were conditioned with stearic, oleic, linolenic, α-linolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids. PUFAs affected proliferation; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was the most potent on cell cycle progression. EPA enhanced the expression of the myeloid lineage-specific transcription factors CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ), PU.1, and c-Jun, resulting in increased expression of the monocyte lineage-specific target gene, the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor. Indeed, it is known that PU.1 and C/EBPs interact with their consensus sequences on a small DNA fragment of macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor promoter, which is a determinant for expression. We demonstrated that C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ bind the same response element as a heterodimer. We focused on the enhanced expression of C/EBPδ, which has been reported to be a tumor suppressor gene silenced by promoter hypermethylation in U937 cells. After U937 conditioning with EPA and bisulfite sequencing of the −370/−20 CpG island on the C/EBPδ promoter region, we found a site-specific CpG demethylation that was a determinant for the binding activity of Sp1, an essential factor for C/EBPδ gene basal expression. Our results provide evidence for a new role of PUFAs in the regulation of gene expression. Moreover, we demonstrated for the first time that re-expression of the tumor suppressor C/EBPδ is controlled by the methylation state of a site-specific CpG dinucleotide.

Targeting fusion protein/corepressor contact restores differentiation response in leukemia cells.

The AML1/ETO and PML/RARα leukemia fusion proteins induce acute myeloid leukemia by acting as transcriptional repressors. They interact with corepressors, such as N‐CoR and SMRT, that recruit a multiprotein complex containing histone deacetylases on crucial myeloid differentiation genes. This leads to gene repression contributing to generate a differentiation block. We expressed in leukemia cells containing PML/RARα and AML1/ETO N‐CoR protein fragments derived from fusion protein/corepressor interaction surfaces. This blocks N‐CoR/SMRT binding by these fusion proteins, and disrupts the repressor protein complex. In consequence, the expression of genes repressed by these fusion proteins increases and differentiation response to vitamin D3 and retinoic acid is restored in previously resistant cells. The alteration of PML/RARα–N‐CoR/SMRT connections triggers proteasomal degradation of the fusion protein. The N‐CoR fragments are biologically effective also when directly transduced by virtue of a protein transduction domain. Our data indicate that fusion protein activity is permanently required to maintain the leukemia phenotype and show the route to developing a novel therapeutic approach for leukemia, based on its molecular pathogenesis.

Transcriptional targeting by microRNA-polycomb complexes: a novel route in cell fate determination.

Advances in the understanding of the epigenetic events underlying the regulation of developmental genes expression and cell lineage commitment are revealing novel regulatory networks. These also involve distinct components of the epigenetic pathways, including chromatin histone modification, DNA methylation, repression by polycomb complexes and microRNAs. Changes in chromatin structure, DNA methylation status and microRNA expression levels represent flexible, reversible and heritable mechanisms for the maintenance of stem cell states and cell fate decisions. We recently provided novel evidence showing that microRNAs, besides determining the post-transcriptional gene silencing of their targets, also bind to evolutionarily conserved complementary genomic seed-matches present on target gene promoters. At these sites, microRNAs can function as a critical interface between chromatin remodeling complexes and the genome for transcriptional gene silencing. Here, we discuss our novel findings supporting a role of the transcriptional chromatin targeting by polycomb-microRNA complexes in lineage fate determination of human hematopoietic cells.

Transcriptional fine-tuning of microRNA-223 levels directs lineage choice of human hematopoietic progenitors

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and death during development and postnatal life. The expression level of mature miRNAs results from complex molecular mechanisms, including the transcriptional regulation of their genes. MiR-223 is a hematopoietic-specific miRNA participating in regulatory signaling networks involving lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs). However, the transcriptional mechanisms governing its expression levels and its functional role in lineage fate decision of human hematopoietic progenitors (HPCs) have not yet been clarified. We found that in CD34+HPCs undergoing unilineage differentiation/maturation, miR-223 is upregulated more than 10-fold during granulopoiesis, 3-fold during monocytopoiesis and maintained at low levels during erythropoiesis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and promoter luciferase assays showed that the lineage-specific expression level of mature miR-223 is controlled by the coordinated binding of TFs to their DNA-responsive elements located in ‘distal’ and ‘proximal’ regulatory regions of the miR-223 gene, differentially regulating the transcription of two primary transcripts (pri-miRs). All this drives myeloid progenitor maturation into specific lineages. Accordingly, modulation of miR-223 activity in CD34+HPCs and myeloid cell lines significantly affects their differentiation/maturation into erythroid, granulocytic and monocytic/macrophagic lineages. MiR-223 overexpression increases granulopoiesis and impairs erythroid and monocytic/macrophagic differentiation. Its knockdown, meanwhile, impairs granulopoiesis and facilitates erythropoiesis and monocytic/macrophagic differentiation. Overall, our data reveal that transcriptional pathways acting on the differential regulation of two pri-miR transcripts results in the fine-tuning of a single mature miRNA expression level, which dictates the lineage fate decision of hematopoietic myeloid progenitors.

Eicosapentaenoic acid activates RAS/ERK/C/EBPβ pathway through H-Ras intron 1 CpG island demethylation in U937 leukemia cells.

Epigenetic alterations, including aberrant DNA methylation, contribute to tumor development and progression. Silencing of tumor suppressor genes may be ascribed to promoter DNA hypermethylation, a reversible phenomenon intensely investigated as potential therapeutic target. Previously, we demonstrated that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) exhibits a DNA demethylating action that promotes the re-expression of the tumor suppressor gene CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein δ (C/EBPδ). The C/EBPβ/C/EBPδ heterodimer formed appears essential for the monocyte differentiation commitment. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of EPA on RAS/extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERK1/2)/C/EBPβ pathway, known to be induced during the monocyte differentiation program. We found that EPA conditioning of U937 leukemia cells activated RAS/ERK/C/EBPβ pathway, increasing the C/EBPβ and ERK1/2 active phosphorylated forms. Transcriptional induction of the upstream activator H-Ras gene resulted in increased expression of H-Ras protein in the active pool of non raft membrane fraction. H-Ras gene analysis identified an hypermethylated CpG island in intron 1 that can affect the DNA-protein interaction modifying RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) activity. EPA treatment demethylated almost completely this CpG island, which was associated with an enrichment of active RNAPII. The increased binding of the H-Ras transcriptional regulator p53 to its consensus sequence within the intronic CpG island further confirmed the effect of EPA as demethylating agent. Our results provide the first evidence that an endogenous polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) promotes a DNA demethylation process responsible for the activation of RAS/ERK/C/EBPβ pathway during the monocyte differentiation commitment. The new role of EPA as demethylating agent paves the way for studying PUFA action when aberrant DNA methylation is involved.

Erratum: Targeting fusion protein/corepressor contact restores differentiation response in leukemia cells (EMBO Journal (2005) 24 (1232-1242) DOI: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600593)

Correction to: The EMBO Journal (2005) 24, 1232–1242. doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600593 The authors have discovered an error in the above article. In the Materials and methods section under the subheading ‘Chromatin immunoprecipitation’, the sequence of the reverse primer for the detection of the RARa2 promoter should be 50-CTCATTTGCCTAATGCAATGCGGC-30. The sequence of the reverse primer for the b-actin gene should be 50-ATGGCTGGGGTGTTGAAGGTCTCA-30. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused. The EMBO Journal (2005) 24, 1899 | & 2005 European Molecular Biology Organization |All Rights Reserved 0261-4189/05 www.embojournal.org