Transcriptional regulation of the melanoma prognostic marker melastatin (TRPM1) by MITF in melanocytes and melanoma

Human melastatin 1 (TRPM1) is regulated by MITF and produces multiple polypeptide isoforms in melanocytes and melanoma

Melastatin 1 (MLSN1), originally identified as melanoma metastasis suppressor, represents a TRPM subfamily of transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins which serve diverse biological roles in a wide variety of cell types. Down-regulation of MLSN1 expression in human cutaneous melanoma, as indicated by in situ hybridization, appears to be a prognostic marker for melanoma metastasis. However, the exact physiological function(s) of MLSN1, the mechanism(s) involved in the regulation of its expression and its role in melanoma tumour progression are not yet clear. In this study, we identified a 654 bp upstream sequence of MLSN1, containing four E boxes (E1-E4), including an 11 bp M box (E4), that is sufficient for melanocyte-specific transcription and activation by the melanocyte transcription factor MITF (a bHLH-zip factor). Deletion analysis showed that the two distal E boxes (E3 and E4) in the MLSN1 promoter are required for both its activation by MITF and its constitutive activity in melanoma cells. Western blot analysis using polyclonal rabbit anti-human MLSN1 antibodies identified several polypeptides, presumably generated by both alternative splicing of MLSN1 messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteolytic cleavage, in both melanocytes and metastatic melanoma cells. Thus, multiple mechanisms appear to regulate MLSN1 expression in melanocytes and melanoma cells.

TRP channels: a TR(I)P through a world of multifunctional cation channels

The "transient receptor potential" (TRP) family of ion channels comprises more than 50 cation-permeable channels expressed from yeast to man. On the basis of structural homology, the TRP family can be subdivided in to seven main subfamilies: the TRPC ('Canonical') group, the TRPV ('Vanilloid') group, the TRPM ('Melastatin') group, the TRPP ('Polycystin'), the TRPML ('Mucolipin'), the TRPA ('Ankyrin') and the TRPN ('NOMP') family. The cloning and characterization of members of this cation channel family has exploded during recent years, leading to a plethora of data concerning TRPs in a variety of cell types, tissues and species. This paper briefly reviews the TRP superfamily and the basic properties of its many members as a reader's guide in this Special Issue. Hopefully, a better understanding of TRP channel physiology will provide important insight into the relationship between TRP channel dysfunction and human diseases.

Transcriptional regulation and processing increase the functional variability of TRPM channels

Mammalian TRP channels display heterogenous biophysical properties and are involved in a variety of signal transduction pathways. To carry out their diverse biological functions and to adapt these functions to changes of the environment, mechanisms to regulate their molecular structure are required. Transcriptional regulation and post-transcriptional RNA processing represent essential instruments to generate TRP channel variants with modified properties. TRP variants are expressed depending on the tissue and developmental state. They can show distinct biophysical properties and mechanisms of activation, and thereby determine channel function and malfunction in certain human diseases. In this review, we give an overview of the variants of a given TRP gene, with the focus on the TRPM subfamily, and discuss their relevance with respect to their function under physiological and pathological conditions.

Melanocytes and the microphthalmia transcription factor network

The first mouse microphthalmia transcription factor (Mitf ) mutation was discovered over 60 years ago, and since then over 24 spontaneous and induced mutations have been identified at the locus. Mitf encodes a member of the Myc supergene family of basic helix-loop-helix zipper (bHLH-Zip) transcription factors. Like Myc, Mitf regulates gene expression by binding to DNA as a homodimer or as a heterodimer with another related family member, in the case of Mitf the Tfe3, Tfeb, and Tfec proteins. The study of Mitf has provided many insights into the biology of melanocytes and helped to explain how melanocyte-specific gene expression and signaling is regulated. The human homologue of MITF is mutated in patients with the pigmentary and deafness disorder Waardenburg Syndrome Type 2A (WS2A). The mouse Mitf mutations therefore serve as a model for the study of this human disease. Mutations and/or aberrant expression of several MITF family member genes have also been reported in human cancer, including melanoma (MITF), papillary renal cell carcinoma (TFE3, TFEB), and alveolar soft part sarcoma (TFE3). Genes in the MITF/TFE pathway may therefore also represent valuable therapeutic targets for the treatment of human cancer. Here we review recent developments in the analysis of Mitf function in vivo and in vitro and show how traditional genetics, modern forward genetics and in vitro biochemical analyses have combined to produce an intriguing story on the role and actions of a gene family in a living organism.

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Novel Monoclonal Antibody PNL2 and Comparison With Other Melanocyte Differentiation Markers

PNL2 is a novel monoclonal antibody, which has recently been introduced as an immunohistochemical reagent to stain melanocyte and tumors derived thereof. In the present study, we analyzed the immunoreactivity of this mAb in various normal tissues, melanocytic nevi, primary and metastatic melanoma, nonmelanocytic tumors, including histologic mimickers of melanoma as well as angiomyolipoma, and multiple cell lines derived from different tumors types. We used several tissue microarray panels as well as selected conventional sections from tissue blocks. For metastatic melanoma, immunoreactivity for PNL2 was compared with A103 (Melan-A/MART-1), T311 (tyrosinase), HMB45 (gp100), and D5 (MITF). Positive staining with PNL2 was found in normal melanocytes and neutrophils, but no other normal cell type. Among melanocytic lesions, both benign nevi as well as primary malignant melanomas, especially epithelioid variants thereof, were commonly immunopositive. Only 1 of 13 desmoplastic melanomas reacted with PNL2. PNL2 showed high sensitivity for metastatic melanoma (87%). In comparison, 82% of metastatic melanomas were positive for A103, 76% for HMB45, 92% for T311, and 84% for D5. The combined use of all five reagents minimized the number of immunonegative cases. None of the selected nonmelanocytic tumors (carcinomas or soft tissue neoplasms) was positive for PNL2 in this series except for angiomyolipomas and chronic myeloid leukemias and 1 single case of a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with heterologous differentiation (malignant Triton tumor). Despite its reactivity with neutrophils, PNL2 appears to be a valuable supplementary reagent for the diagnosis of melanocytic tumors.

Sumoylation of MITF and Its Related Family Members TFE3 and TFEB

MITF and its related family members TFE3 and TFEB heterodimerize with each other, recognize the same DNA sequences, and are subject to many of the same post-translational modifications. We show that lysine residues within conserved small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) consensus sites in these family members are subject to SUMO modification. Mutation of these sites significantly affects the transcriptional activity of MITF but does not alter dimerization, DNA binding, stability, or nuclear localization. Mutagenesis reducing the number of MITF binding sites in the promoter of TRPM1 from three to one eliminated the difference in transcriptional activity between the MITF mutants. Among other MITF target gene promoter constructs, differences in transcriptional activity between wild type and non-sumoylatable MITF were only seen in promoters with multiple MITF binding sites. These data support a synergy control model in which the functional consequences of MITF sumoylation depend on promoter context. Sumoylation, thus, provides a possible mechanism for altering the effects of MITF by affecting the target genes that it activates.

Transdifferentiation of the retina into pigmented cells in ocular retardation mice defines a new function of the homeodomain gene Chx10

The homeodomain transcription factor Chx10 is one of the earliest markers of the developing retina. It is required for retinal progenitor cell proliferation as well as formation of bipolar cells, a type of retinal interneuron. or(J) (ocular retardation) mice, which are Chx10 null mutants, are microphthalmic and show expanded and abnormal peripheral structures, including the ciliary body. We show here, in a mixed genetic background, the progressive appearance of pigmented cells in the neural retina, concomitant with loss of expression of retinal markers. Fate mapping analysis using a multifunctional Chx10 BAC reporter mouse revealed this process to be direct transdifferentiation of retinal cells into pigmented cells. Microarray and in situ hybridization analyses revealed a complex program underlying the transdifferentiation. This program involved the expansion of expression of genes normally found only in the periphery into central regions of the eye. These genes included a transcription factor controlling pigmentation, Mitf, and the related factor Tfec (Tcfec -- Mouse Genome Informatics), which can activate a melanogenic gene expression program. Misexpression of Chx10 in the developing retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) caused downregulation of Mitf, Tfec, and associated pigment markers, leading to a nonpigmented RPE. These data link Chx10 and Mitf to maintenance of the neural retina and RPE fates respectively. Further, they suggest a new role for Chx10 in maintenance of compartment boundaries in the peripheral retina.

Critical role of CDK2 for melanoma growth linked to its melanocyte-specific transcriptional regulation by MITF

The genomic organization of the CDK2 gene, which overlaps the melanocyte-specific gene SILV/PMEL17, poses an interesting regulatory challenge. We show that, despite its ubiquitous expression, CDK2 exhibits tissue-specific regulation by the essential melanocyte lineage transcription factor MITF. In addition, functional studies revealed this regulation to be critical for maintaining CDK2 kinase activity and growth of melanoma cells. Expression levels of MITF and CDK2 are tightly correlated in primary melanoma specimens and predict susceptibility to the CDK2 inhibitor roscovitine. CDK2 depletion suppressed growth and cell cycle progression in melanoma, but not other cancers, corroborating previous results. Collectively, these data indicate that CDK2 activity in melanoma is largely maintained at the transcriptional level by MITF, and unlike other malignancies, it may be a suitable drug target in melanoma.

TRPV6 and prostate cancer: cancer growth beyond the prostate correlates with increased TRPV6 Ca2+ channel expression

Life expectancy for patients suffering from prostate cancer is inversely correlated with the degree of extraprostatic metastasis. In order to find pharmacological tools to treat this aggressive growth it is important to define targets whose expression not only correlates with the malignancy of the cancerous cells, but that are also amenable to pharmacological intervention. In this review, we would like to focus on the potential role of a distinct class of ion channels that may be involved in this process.

TRPM7: Channeling the Future of Cellular Magnesium Homeostasis?

A recent paper by Schmitz and colleagues provides persuasive evidence that the ion channel transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) may be the long-sought regulator of magnesium (Mg) homeostasis in mammalian cells. This finding is not unexpected, because TRPM channels contain a kinase domain that allows them to participate in signal transduction pathways and regulatory networks. However, these studies introduce an exciting new twist into our understanding of Mg homeostasis; TRPM7 facilitates Mg entry into the cell, whereas other putative Mg transporters apparently operate in the opposite direction. By combining electrophysiological, biochemical, and genetic approaches, Schmitz and colleagues characterized most of the key features that demonstrate a well-defined and biologically plausible regulator of Mg homeostasis. TRPM7 genetics are well in hand, its regulation by intracellular free Mg2+ unravels the mechanisms of regulatory feedback loops, and its kinase domain modulates its sensitivity to free Mg2+. These findings are discussed in light of the indirect and descriptive information we had about Mg regulation before this rigorous characterization of TRPM7 brought it to the center of the Mg stage. Although the molecular events downstream of TRPM7 phosphorylation and dephosphorylation await in-depth elucidation, these results open up exciting perspectives in Mg research and may provide a much-needed tool with which to reexamine the role of Mg in cell proliferation and other important pathophysiologic events. Likewise, these findings will offer guidelines for research on disease states that are characterized by Mg imbalance.