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Yuk N, Jung HJ. Inhibition of PRMT1 Suppresses the Growth of U87MG-Derived Glioblastoma Stem Cells by Blocking the STAT3 Signaling Pathway. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2950. [PMID: 38474197 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) play a pivotal role in the initiation, progression, resistance to treatment, and relapse of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Thus, identifying potential therapeutic targets and drugs that interfere with the growth of GSCs may contribute to improved treatment outcomes for GBM. In this study, we first demonstrated the functional role of protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) in GSC growth. Furamidine, a PRMT1 inhibitor, effectively inhibited the proliferation and tumorsphere formation of U87MG-derived GSCs by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and promoting the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Moreover, furamidine potently suppressed the in vivo tumor growth of U87MG GSCs in a chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane model. In particular, the inhibitory effect of furamidine on U87MG GSC growth was associated with the downregulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and key GSC markers, including CD133, Sox2, Oct4, Nanog, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1, and integrin α6. Our results also showed that the knockdown of PRMT1 by small interfering RNA significantly inhibited the proliferation of U87MG GSCs in vitro and in vivo through a molecular mechanism similar to furamidine. In addition, combined treatment with furamidine and berbamine, a calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II gamma (CaMKIIγ) inhibitor, inhibited the growth of U87MG GSCs more strongly than single-compound treatment. The increased antiproliferative effect of combining the two compounds resulted from a stronger downregulation of STAT3-mediated downstream GBM stemness regulators through dual PRMT1 and CaMKIIγ function blockade. In conclusion, these findings suggest that PRMT1 and its inhibitor, furamidine, are potential novel therapeutic targets and drug candidates for effectively suppressing GSC growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayeong Yuk
- Department of Life Science and Biochemical Engineering, Graduate School, Sun Moon University, Asan 31460, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Jin Jung
- Department of Life Science and Biochemical Engineering, Graduate School, Sun Moon University, Asan 31460, Republic of Korea
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Biotechnology, Sun Moon University, Asan 31460, Republic of Korea
- Genome-Based BioIT Convergence Institute, Sun Moon University, Asan 31460, Republic of Korea
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2
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Chang K, Gao D, Yan J, Lin L, Cui T, Lu S. Critical Roles of Protein Arginine Methylation in the Central Nervous System. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:6060-6091. [PMID: 37415067 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03465-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
A remarkable post-transitional modification of both histones and non-histone proteins is arginine methylation. Methylation of arginine residues is crucial for a wide range of cellular process, including signal transduction, DNA repair, gene expression, mRNA splicing, and protein interaction. Arginine methylation is modulated by arginine methyltransferases and demethylases, like protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMTs) and Jumonji C (JmjC) domain containing (JMJD) proteins. Symmetric dimethylarginine and asymmetric dimethylarginine, metabolic products of the PRMTs and JMJD proteins, can be changed by abnormal expression of these proteins. Many pathologies including cancer, inflammation and immune responses have been closely linked to aberrant arginine methylation. Currently, the majority of the literature discusses the substrate specificity and function of arginine methylation in the pathogenesis and prognosis of cancers. Numerous investigations on the roles of arginine methylation in the central nervous system (CNS) have so far been conducted. In this review, we display the biochemistry of arginine methylation and provide an overview of the regulatory mechanism of arginine methyltransferases and demethylases. We also highlight physiological functions of arginine methylation in the CNS and the significance of arginine methylation in a variety of neurological diseases such as brain cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, we summarize PRMT inhibitors and molecular functions of arginine methylation. Finally, we pose important questions that require further research to comprehend the roles of arginine methylation in the CNS and discover more effective targets for the treatment of neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kewei Chang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
- Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
| | - Dan Gao
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
- Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jidong Yan
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
- Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
| | - Liyan Lin
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
| | - Tingting Cui
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China
| | - Shemin Lu
- Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, 76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
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Cao Y. Neural induction drives body axis formation during embryogenesis, but a neural induction-like process drives tumorigenesis in postnatal animals. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1092667. [PMID: 37228646 PMCID: PMC10203556 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1092667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterization of cancer cells and neural stem cells indicates that tumorigenicity and pluripotency are coupled cell properties determined by neural stemness, and tumorigenesis represents a process of progressive loss of original cell identity and gain of neural stemness. This reminds of a most fundamental process required for the development of the nervous system and body axis during embryogenesis, i.e., embryonic neural induction. Neural induction is that, in response to extracellular signals that are secreted by the Spemann-Mangold organizer in amphibians or the node in mammals and inhibit epidermal fate in ectoderm, the ectodermal cells lose their epidermal fate and assume the neural default fate and consequently, turn into neuroectodermal cells. They further differentiate into the nervous system and also some non-neural cells via interaction with adjacent tissues. Failure in neural induction leads to failure of embryogenesis, and ectopic neural induction due to ectopic organizer or node activity or activation of embryonic neural genes causes a formation of secondary body axis or a conjoined twin. During tumorigenesis, cells progressively lose their original cell identity and gain of neural stemness, and consequently, gain of tumorigenicity and pluripotency, due to various intra-/extracellular insults in cells of a postnatal animal. Tumorigenic cells can be induced to differentiation into normal cells and integrate into normal embryonic development within an embryo. However, they form tumors and cannot integrate into animal tissues/organs in a postnatal animal because of lack of embryonic inducing signals. Combination of studies of developmental and cancer biology indicates that neural induction drives embryogenesis in gastrulating embryos but a similar process drives tumorigenesis in a postnatal animal. Tumorigenicity is by nature the manifestation of aberrant occurrence of pluripotent state in a postnatal animal. Pluripotency and tumorigenicity are both but different manifestations of neural stemness in pre- and postnatal stages of animal life, respectively. Based on these findings, I discuss about some confusion in cancer research, propose to distinguish the causality and associations and discriminate causal and supporting factors involved in tumorigenesis, and suggest revisiting the focus of cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Cao
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen, China
- MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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Hashimoto M, Takeichi K, Murata K, Kozakai A, Yagi A, Ishikawa K, Suzuki-Nakagawa C, Kasuya Y, Fukamizu A, Nakagawa T. Regulation of neural stem cell proliferation and survival by protein arginine methyltransferase 1. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:948517. [DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.948517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1), a major type I arginine methyltransferase in mammals, methylates histone and non-histone proteins to regulate various cellular functions, such as transcription, DNA damage response, and signal transduction. PRMT1 is highly expressed in neural stem cells (NSCs) and embryonic brains, suggesting that PRMT1 is essential for early brain development. Although our previous reports have shown that PRMT1 positively regulates oligodendrocyte development, it has not been studied whether PRMT1 regulates NSC proliferation and its survival during development. To examine the role of PRMT1 in NSC activity, we cultured NSCs prepared from embryonic mouse forebrains deficient in PRMT1 specific for NSCs and performed neurosphere assays. We found that the primary neurospheres of PRMT1-deficient NSCs were small and the number of spheres was decreased, compared to those of control NSCs. Primary neurospheres deficient in PRMT1 expressed an increased level of cleaved caspase-3, suggesting that PRMT1 deficiency-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, p53 protein was significantly accumulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. In parallel, p53-responsive pro-apoptotic genes including Pmaip1 and Perp were upregulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. p53-target p21 mRNA and its protein levels were shown to be upregulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. Moreover, the 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay showed that the loss of PRMT1 led to cell cycle defects in the embryonic NSCs. In contrast to the above in vitro observations, NSCs normally proliferated and survived in the fetal brains of NSC-specific PRMT1-deficient mice. We also found that Lama1, which encodes the laminin subunit α1, was significantly upregulated in the embryonic brains of PRMT1-deficient mice. These data implicate that extracellular factors provided by neighboring cells in the microenvironment gave a trophic support to NSCs in the PRMT1-deficient brain and recovered NSC activity to maintain brain homeostasis. Our study implies that PRMT1 plays a cell-autonomous role in the survival and proliferation of embryonic NSCs.
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Zhu Q, Wang D, Liang F, Tong X, Liang Z, Wang X, Chen Y, Mo D. Protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 promotes adipogenesis by modulating transcription factors C/EBPβ and PPARγ. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102309. [PMID: 35921899 PMCID: PMC9425039 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) methylates a variety of histone and nonhistone protein substrates to regulate multiple cellular functions such as transcription, DNA damage response, and signal transduction. It has been reported as an emerging regulator of various metabolic pathways including glucose metabolism in the liver, atrophy in the skeletal muscle, and lipid catabolism in the adipose tissue. However, the underlying mechanisms governing how PRMT1 regulates adipogenesis remain elusive. Here, we delineate the roles of PRMT1 in mitotic clonal expansion and adipocyte differentiation. Gain and loss of functions demonstrate that PRMT1 is essential for adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 and C3H10T1/2 cells. Mechanistically, we show PRMT1 promotes the expression of transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) by catalyzing histone modification H4R3me2a and impedes the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by increasing the level of Axin to accelerate adipogenic differentiation. In addition, we demonstrate mitotic clonal expansion is suppressed by PRMT1 deficiency. PRMT1 interacts with transcription factor CCATT enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ), and the absence of PRMT1 leads to the depressed phosphorylation of C/EBPβ. Interestingly, we discover PRMT1 acts as a positive regulator of C/EBPβ protein stability through decreasing the level of E3 ubiquitin ligase Smurf2, which promotes the ubiquitination and degradation of C/EBPβ, thus facilitating adipogenesis. Collectively, these discoveries highlight a critical role of PRMT1 in adipogenesis and provide potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of obesity.
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Zhang M, Liu Y, Shi L, Fang L, Xu L, Cao Y. Neural stemness unifies cell tumorigenicity and pluripotent differentiation potential. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102106. [PMID: 35671824 PMCID: PMC9254501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural stemness is suggested to be the ground state of tumorigenicity and pluripotent differentiation potential. However, the relationship between these cell properties is unclear. Here, by disrupting the neural regulatory network in neural stem and cancer cells and by serial transplantation of cancer cells, we show that tumorigenicity and pluripotent differentiation potential are coupled cell properties unified by neural stemness. We show that loss of neural stemness via inhibition of SETDB1, an oncoprotein with enriched expression in embryonic neural cells during vertebrate embryogenesis, led to neuronal differentiation with reduced tumorigenicity and pluripotent differentiation potential in neural stem and cancer cells, whereas enhancement of neural stemness by SETDB1 overexpression caused the opposite effects. SETDB1 maintains a regulatory network comprising proteins involved in developmental programs and basic cellular functional machineries, including epigenetic modifications (EZH2), ribosome biogenesis (RPS3), translation initiation (EIF4G), and spliceosome assembly (SF3B1); all of these proteins are enriched in embryonic neural cells and play active roles in cancers. In addition, SETDB1 represses the transcription of genes promoting differentiation and cell cycle and growth arrest. Serial transplantation of cancer cells showed that neural stemness, tumorigenicity, and pluripotent differentiation potential were simultaneously enhanced; these effects were accompanied by increased expression of proteins involved in developmental programs and basic machineries, including SETDB1 and the abovementioned proteins, as well as by increased alternative splicing events. These results indicate that basic machineries work together to define a highly proliferative state with pluripotent differentiation potential and also suggest that neural stemness unifies tumorigenicity and differentiation potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhang
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School
| | - Yang Liu
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School
| | - Lihua Shi
- MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School
| | - Lei Fang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Liyang Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School
| | - Ying Cao
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center of Medical School.
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