Nucleotide variation regulates the level of enhancement by hypersensitive site 2 of the beta-globin locus control region

Molecular analysis of β-thalassemia patients: first identification of mutations HBB:c.93-2A>G and HBB:c.114G>A in Brazil

The various clinical phenotypes in β-thalassemias have stimulated the study of genetic factors that could modify the manifestations of these diseases. We examined 21 patients with β-thalassemia (β-thal) in order to identify some genetic modifying factors: β-thalassemia mutations, HBG2:g.-158C>T polymorphism, α-globin gene deletions and (AT)xNz(AT)y motif within the hypersensitive site 2-locus control region (HS2-LCR). In the 42 alleles analyzed, the most frequent mutations observed were HBB:c.92+6T>C (30.9%), HBB:c.118C>T (16.7%), HBB:c.93-21G>A (11.9%) and HBB:c.92+1G>A (4.8%); this finding is in accordance with previous data of the Brazilian population. The other genetic factors analyzed showed no relation with the severity of the disease. For the first time in Brazil, we report HBB:c.93-2A>G and HBB:c.114G>A mutations on the β-globin gene, both in a heterozygous state. This is also the first study to analyze the HS2-LCR in β-thalassemic individuals in the Brazilian population.

Mechanism for fetal hemoglobin induction by histone deacetylase inhibitors involves gamma-globin activation by CREB1 and ATF-2

The histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDA-CIs) butyrate and trichostatin A activate gamma-globin expression via a p38 mitogen-activating protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent mechanism. We hypothesized that down-stream effectors of p38 MAPK, namely activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2) and cyclic AMP response element (CRE) binding protein (CREB), are intimately involved in fetal hemoglobin induction by these agents. In this study, we observed increased ATF-2 and CREB1 phosphorylation mediated by the HDACIs in K562 cells, in conjunction with histone H4 hyperacetylation. Moreover, enhanced DNA-protein interactions occurred in the CRE in the (G)gamma-globin promoter (G-CRE) in vitro after drug treatments; subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirmed ATF-2 and CREB1 binding to the G-CRE in vivo. Enforced expression of ATF-2 and CREB produced (G)gamma-promoter trans-activation which was abolished by a 2-base pair mutation in the putative G-CRE. The data presented herein demonstrate that gamma-gene induction by butyrate and trichostatin A involves ATF-2 and CREB1 activation via p38 MAPK signaling.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule is a component of the endothelial junction involved in transendothelial monocyte migration

Transendothelial leukocyte migration is a major aspect of the innate immune response. It is essential in repair and regeneration of damaged tissues and is regulated by multiple cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) including members of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily. Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM/CD166) is an Ig CAM expressed by activated monocytes and endothelial cells. Hitherto, the functional relevance of ALCAM expression by endothelial cells and activated monocytes remained unknown. In this report, we demonstrate soluble recombinant human ALCAM significantly inhibited the rate of transendothelial migration of monocyte cell lines. Direct involvement of ALCAM in transendothelial migration was evident from the robust inhibition of this process by ALCAM blocking antibodies. However, soluble recombinant ALCAM had no impact on monocyte migration or adhesion to endothelium. Localization of ALCAM specifically at cell-cell junctions in endothelial cells supported its role in transendothelial migration. This study is the first to localize ALCAM to endothelial cell junctions and demonstrate a functional relevance for co-expression of ALCAM by activated monocytes and endothelial cells.

Human growth hormone 1 (GH1) gene expression: complex haplotype-dependent influence of polymorphic variation in the proximal promoter and locus control region

The proximal promoter region of the human pituitary expressed growth hormone (GH1) gene is highly polymorphic, containing at least 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This variation is manifest in 40 different haplotypes, the high diversity being explicable in terms of gene conversion, recurrent mutation, and selection. Functional analysis showed that 12 haplotypes were associated with a significantly reduced level of reporter gene expression whereas 10 haplotypes were associated with a significantly increased level. The former tend to be more prevalent in the general population than the latter (p<0.01), possibly as a consequence of selection. Although individual SNPs contributed to promoter strength in a highly interactive and non-additive fashion, haplotype partitioning was successful in identifying six SNPs as major determinants of GH1 gene expression. The prediction and functional testing of hitherto unobserved super-maximal and sub-minimal promoter haplotypes was then used to test the efficacy of the haplotype partitioning approach. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that five SNP sites exhibit allele-specific protein binding. An association was noted between adult height and the mean in vitro expression value corresponding to an individual's GH1 promoter haplotype combination (p=0.028) although only 3.3% of the variance of adult height was found to be explicable by reference to this parameter. Three additional SNPs, identified within sites I and II of the upstream locus control region (LCR), were ascribed to three distinct LCR haplotypes. A series of LCR-GH1 proximal promoter constructs were used to demonstrate that 1) the LCR enhanced proximal promoter activity by up to 2.8-fold depending upon proximal promoter haplotype, and that 2) the activity of a given proximal promoter haplotype was also differentially enhanced by different LCR haplotypes. The genetic basis of inter-individual differences in GH1 gene expression thus appears to be extremely complex.

Functional role of the four different types of (AT)(x)T(y) motifs 5' to the beta-globin gene and their distribution in the Greek population

The polymorphic sequence (AT)(X)T(Y) motif residing 0.5 kb 5' to the human -globin gene has been shown to be a binding site for a putative repressor protein, BP1, in K562 cells. The (AT)(X)T(Y) sequence is characterized by variable length and several configurations. The precise role of the (AT)(X)T(Y) repeats on the regulation of the -globin gene remains unclear. In the present study, we identified the (AT)(X)T(Y) motifs which prevail in the Greek population, established their frequency, and directly investigated their role on -globin gene expression by comparing the effects of the four identified (AT)(X)T(Y) motifs using transient expression assays. Four different configurations were found in the Greek population: the (AT)7T7 motif was the most abundant (81.8%) representing the reference sequence, the (AT)9T5 motif (16.1%), and the (AT)11T3 motif (2%), while the (AT)8T4 motif was absent from normal A chromosomes and was exclusively found on s chromosomes. To evaluate their different role on transcriptional regulation, the four motifs were subcloned upstream of the luciferase reporter gene. Two expression systems were used; MEL cells were transfected with a pGL-2 basic plasmid containing one of the four (AT)(X)T(Y) repeats, the -globin gene promoter, and the luciferase gene, while HeLa cells were transfected with a similar construct (pGL-2 enhancer) including the SV40 enhancer. After 48 h following transient transfection of the cell lines, the expression level of the reporter gene was estimated using a photoilluminometer. The transfected MEL cells exhibited a clearly reduced expression of the luciferase gene driven by the -globin promoter containing the (AT)9T5 and (AT)11T3 configurations. In contrast, HeLa cells did not exhibit any differences among the four motifs. On the basis of these results, we postulate that the (AT)9T5 and (AT)11T3 variants residing 0.5 kb 5' to the -globin gene do not represent simple polymorphisms and can affect its expression in an erythroid environment.