Yanhua Gong

MicroRNA-128 inhibits glioma cells proliferation by targeting transcription factor E2F3a.

MicroRNAs are ∼21nt single-stranded RNAs and function as regulators of gene expression. Previous studies have shown that microRNAs play crucial roles in tumorigenesis by targeting the mRNAs of oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Here we show that brain-enriched miR-128 is down-regulated in glioma tissues and cell lines when compared to normal brain tissues. Overexpression of miR-128 in glioma cells inhibited cell proliferation. A bioinformatics search revealed a conserved target site within the 3′untranslated region (UTR) of E2F3a, a transcription factor that regulates cell cycle progression. The protein levels of E2F3a in gliomas and normal brain tissues were negatively correlated to the expression levels of miR-128 in these tissues. Overexpression of miR-128 suppressed a luciferase-reporter containing the E2F3a-3′UTR and reduced the level of E2F3a protein in T98G cells. Moreover, knocking down of E2F3a had similar effect as overexpression of miR-128, and overexpression of E2F3a can partly rescue the proliferation inhibition caused by miR-128. Taken together, our study demonstrates that miR-128 can inhibit proliferation of glioma cells through one of its targets, E2F3a.

MicroRNA-21 down-regulates the expression of tumor suppressor PDCD4 in human glioblastoma cell T98G

MicroRNAs have been linked to different cancer-related processes. The microRNA miR-21 appears to function as an anti-apoptosis factor in glioblastomas. However, the functional target genes of miR-21 are largely unknown in glioblastomas. In this study, bioinformatics analysis was used to identify miR-21 target sites in various genes. Luciferase activity assay showed that a number of genes involved in apoptosis, PDCD4, MTAP, and SOX5, carry putative miR-21 binding sites. Expression of PDCD4 protein correlates inversely with expression of miR-21 in a number of human glioblastoma cell lines such as T98G, A172, U87, and U251. Inhibition of miR-21 increases endogenous levels of PDCD4 in cell line T98G and over-expression miR-21 inhibits PDCD4-dependent apoptosis. Together, these results indicate that miR-21 expression plays a key role in regulating cellular processes in glioblastomas and may serve as a target for effective therapies.

MicroRNA-16 targets amyloid precursor protein to potentially modulate Alzheimer's-associated pathogenesis in SAMP8 mice

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder mainly characterized by amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). The abnormal enrichment of amyloid protein precursor (APP) leads to a high risk of AD. One of the plausible age-associated AD animal models, senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8), have age-related learning and memory deficits. We found APP protein significantly increased in the hippocampus of aged SAMP8 mice. The 20 to 25 nucleotide (nt) tiny regulators, known as micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs), have been found to play crucial roles in neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we examined the post-transcriptional regulation mechanism of APP mediated by micro ribonucleic acids and found that miR-16 was one of the post-transcriptional regulators of APP in SAMP8 mice. Overexpression of miR-16, both in vitro and in vivo, led to reduced APP protein expression. Furthermore, miR-16 and APP displayed complementary expression patterns in SAMP8 mice and BALb/c mice embryos. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that APP is a target of miR-16 and the abnormally low expression of miR-16 could potentially lead to APP protein accumulation in AD mice.

Crystal Structure of the V Domain of Human Nectin-like Molecule-1/Syncam3/Tsll1/Igsf4b, a Neural Tissue-specific Immunoglobulin-like Cell-Cell Adhesion Molecule

Nectins are Ca2+-independent immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily proteins that participate in the organization of epithelial and endothelial junctions. Nectins have three Ig-like domains in the extracellular region, and the first one is essential in cell-cell adhesion and plays a central role in the interaction with the envelope glycoprotein D of several viruses. Five Nectin-like molecules (Necl-1 through -5) with similar domain structures to those of Nectins have been identified. Necl-1 is specifically expressed in neural tissue, has Ca2+-independent homophilic and heterophilic cell-cell adhesion activity, and plays an important role in the formation of synapses, axon bundles, and myelinated axons. Here we report the first crystal structure of its N-terminal Ig-like V domain at 2.4 Å, providing insight into trans-cellular recognition mediated by Necl-1. The protein crystallized as a dimer, and the dimeric form was confirmed by size-exclusion chromatography and chemical cross-linking experiments, indicating this V domain is sufficient for homophilic interaction. Mutagenesis work demonstrated that Phe82 is a key residue for the adhesion activity of Necl-1. A model for homophilic adhesion of Necl-1 at synapses is proposed based on its structure and previous studies.

Crystal Structure of the C-Terminal Domain of Human DPY-30-Like Protein: A Component of the Histone Methyltransferase Complex

The conserved DPY-30 is an essential component of the dosage compensation complex that balances the X-linked gene expression by regulation of the complex formation in Caenorhabditis elegans. The human DPY-30-like protein (DPY-30L) homolog is a conserved member of certain histone methyltransferase (HMT) complexes. In the human MLL1 (mixed-lineage leukemia-1) HMT complex, DPY-30L binds to the BRE2 homolog ASH2L in order to regulate histone 3-lysine 4 trimethylation. We have determined the 1.2-A crystal structure of the human DPY-30L C-terminal domain (DPY-30L(C)). The DPY-30L(C) structure, harboring the conserved DPY-30 motif, is composed of two alpha-helices linked by a sharp loop and forms a typical X-type four-helix bundle required for dimer formation. DPY-30L(C) dimer formation is largely mediated by an extensive hydrophobic interface with some additional polar interactions. The oligomerization of DPY-30L(C) in solution, together with its reported binding to ASH2L, leads us to propose that the hydrophobic surface of the dimer may provide a platform for interaction with ASH2L in the MLL1 HMT complex.

Loss of NECL1, a novel tumor suppressor, can be restored in glioma by HDAC inhibitor-Trichostatin A through Sp1 binding site

Nectin‐like molecule 1 (NECL1)/CADM3/IGSF4B/TSLL1/SynCAM3 is a neural tissue‐specific immunoglobulin‐like cell–cell adhesion molecule downregulated at the mRNA level in 12 human glioma cell lines. Here we found that the expression of NECL1 was lost in six glioma cell lines and 15 primary glioma tissues at both RNA and protein levels. Re‐expression of NECL1 into glioma cell line U251 would repress cell proliferation in vitro by inducing cell cycle arrest. And also NECL1 could decrease the growth rate of tumors in nude mice in vivo. To further investigate the mechanism why NECL1 was silenced in glioma, the basic promoter region located at −271 to +81 in NECL1 genomic sequence was determined. DNA bisulfite sequencing was performed to study the methylation status of CpG islands in NECL1 promoter; however, no hypermethylated CpG site was found. Additionally, the activity of histone deacetylase (HDACs) in glioma was higher than that in normal brain tissues, and the expression of NECL1 in glioma cell lines could be reactivated by HDACs inhibitor‐Trichostatin A (TSA). So the loss of NECL1 in glioma was at least partly caused by histone deacetylation. Luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation and co‐immunoprecipitation (co‐IP) assays indicated that Sp1 played an important role in this process by binding to either HDAC1 in untreated glioma cells or p300/CBP in TSA treated cells. Our finding suggests that NECL1 may act as a tumor suppressor in glioma and loss of it in glioma may be caused by histone deacetylation.

Proteomic analysis of cardiomyocytes differentiation in mouse embryonic carcinoma P19CL6 cells

A clonal derivative named P19CL6 has been isolated from pluripotent P19 mouse embryonic carcinoma cells, and this subline efficiently differentiates into beating cardiomyocytes when treated with 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). It offers a valuable model to study cardiomyocytes differentiation in vitro. In this study, comparative proteomic analysis was used to characterize the protein profiles associated with the DMSO‐induced cardiomyocytes differentiation of P19CL6 cells. We demonstrated that P19CL6 cells indeed differentiated into cardiomyocytes after DMSO inducement as they expressed sarcomeric myosin heavy chain (MHC) as well as three cardiac‐specific transcription factors (Csx/Nkx‐2.5, GATA‐4, and MEF2C). Image analysis of silver‐stained two‐dimensional gels was used to find protein spots that exhibited an at least 1.5‐fold change in abundance after successful differentiation. Seventeen protein spots were selected for further analysis by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS) and/or nano‐electrospray ionization MS/MS (ESI‐MS/MS), and 16 protein spots were identified. The identified proteins are involved in different cellular functions such as metabolism, signal transduction, and cellular organization. To confirm the expression changes of the identified proteins during differentiation, the mRNA levels of six identified proteins (including seven protein spots) were assessed by the real‐time polymerase chain reaction and three showed a correlation between mRNA level and protein abundance. As an initial step toward identifying proteins involved in maintaining the differentiated state of cardiomyocytes derived from P19CL6 cells, our data provide some helpful information that may lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which P19CL6 cells differentiate into cardiomyocytes after treatment with DMSO. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 149–160, 2007.

NSPc1, a mainly nuclear localized protein of novel PcG family members, has a transcription repression activity related to its PKC phosphorylation site at S183.

Nervous system polycomb 1 (NSPc1) shares high homology with vertebrate PcG proteins Mel‐18 and Bmi‐1. The mRNA of NSPc1 is highly expressed in the developmental nervous system [Mech. Dev. 102 (2001) 219–222]. However, the functional characterization of NSPc1 protein is not clear. In the present study, using Western blotting technique, we aimed to describe the distributions of NSPc1 protein in rat tissues and cell lines. The subcellular localization of NSPc1 was examined in HeLa and SH‐SY5Ycell lines, and its transcriptional repression activity was examined in COS‐7 cell line. We found that the NSPc1 protein was localized mainly in the nucleus. NSPc1 remarkably repressed the transcription. Most interestingly, both the C‐terminal of NSPc1 and two phosphorylation sites in the C‐terminal, especially the PKC phosphorylation site at S183, were important in mediating transcription repression. Taken together, results from our study suggest that NSPc1, as a typical PcG family member, has powerful transcriptional repression ability, which may be related to the PKC signaling pathway.

Human D-Tyr-tRNA(Tyr) deacylase contributes to the resistance of the cell to D-amino acids.

DTD (D-Tyr-tRNA(Tyr) deacylase) is known to be able to deacylate D-aminoacyl-tRNAs into free D-amino acids and tRNAs and therefore contributes to cellular resistance against D-amino acids in Escherichia coli and yeast. We have found that h-DTD (human DTD) is enriched in the nuclear envelope region of mammalian cells. Treatment of HeLa cells with D-Tyr resulted in nuclear accumulation of tRNA(Tyr). D-Tyr treatment and h-DTD silencing caused tRNA(Tyr) downregulation. Furthermore, inhibition of protein synthesis by D-Tyr treatment and h-DTD silencing were also observed. D-Tyr, D-Asp and D-Ser treatment inhibited mammalian cell viability in a dose-dependent manner; overexpression of h-DTD decreased the inhibition rate, while h-DTD-silenced cells became more sensitive to the D-amino acid treatment. Our results suggest that h-DTD may play an important role in cellular resistance against D-amino acids by deacylating D-aminoacyl tRNAs at the nuclear pore. We have also found that m-DTD (mouse DTD) is specifically enriched in central nervous system neurons, its nuclear envelope localization indicates that D-aminoacyl-tRNA editing may be vital for the survival of neurons under high concentration of D-amino acids.

Dok-5 is involved in cardiomyocyte differentiation through PKB/FOXO3a pathway.

The insulin receptor substrate (IRS) family plays important roles in cellular growth, signaling, and survival in the brain. We identified IRS6/Dok-5, a member of the IRS family, also expressed in heart. Dok-5 expression level significantly increased during cardiomyocyte differentiation of P19CL6 cells. To understand the mechanism of Dok-5 gene expression and regulation during cardiomyocyte differentiation, we first mapped the transcription start site of the mouse Dok-5 gene and characterized its promoter regions. Truncation and mutation analysis of the Dok-5 promoter identified the forkhead binding element responsible for the repression of Dok-5 promoter activation. The co-localization of FOXO3a and Dok-5 in the mouse heart allows FOXO3a to be a transcriptional regulator of Dok-5. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirmed that FOXO3a could bind to the Dok-5 promoter, accompanied by FOXO3a translocation from the nucleus to cytoplasm. FOXO3a overexpression could inhibit Dok-5 promoter activity. Silencing FOXO3a expression by siRNA upregulated the expression of Dok-5 and enhanced cardiomyocyte differentiation. Moreover, Dok-5 siRNA attenuated cardiomyocyte differentiation. Our results provide the first evidence that FOXO3a, the PI3K/PKB downstream substrate, acts as a transcriptional repressor to inhibit the expression of Dok-5. Dok-5 is involved in cardiomyocyte differentiation by a PI3K/PKB/FOXO3a signaling pathway.