Stimulation of transcription on chromatin by polar organic compounds

H3K27me3 Does Not Orchestrate the Expression of Lineage-Specific Markers in hESC-Derived Hepatocytes In Vitro

Although pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into the hepatocyte lineages, such cells retain an immature phenotype. As the chromatin state of regulatory regions controls spatiotemporal gene expression during development, we evaluated changes in epigenetic histone marks in lineage-specific genes throughout in vitro hepatocyte differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Active acetylation and methylation marks at promoters and enhancers correlated with progressive changes in gene expression. However, repression-associated H3K27me3 marks at these control regions showed an inverse correlation with gene repression during transition from hepatic endoderm to a hepatocyte-like state. Inhibitor of Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) reduced H3K27me3 decoration but did not improve hepatocyte maturation. Thus, H3K27me3 at regulatory regions does not regulate transcription and appears dispensable for hepatocyte lineage differentiation of hESCs in vitro.

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Epigenetic studies to understand hepatocyte differentiation from human PSC

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Dynamics in histone profile correlate with alterations in gene transcription

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hESC-derived HLCs have higher H3K27me3 mark at regulatory regions compared with PHHs

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Reducing H3K27me3 by EZH2 inhibition did not improve hepatocyte differentiation

Rapid NMR screening of RNA secondary structure and binding

Determination of RNA secondary structures by NMR spectroscopy is a useful tool e.g. to elucidate RNA folding space or functional aspects of regulatory RNA elements. However, current approaches of RNA synthesis and preparation are usually time-consuming and do not provide analysis with single nucleotide precision when applied for a large number of different RNA sequences. Here, we significantly improve the yield and 3' end homogeneity of RNA preparation by in vitro transcription. Further, by establishing a native purification procedure with increased throughput, we provide a shortcut to study several RNA constructs simultaneously. We show that this approach yields μmol quantities of RNA with purities comparable to PAGE purification, while avoiding denaturation of the RNA.

Gene transcription acceleration: main cause of hepatitis B surface antigen production improvement by dimethyl sulfoxide in the culture of Chinese hamster ovary cells

The production and specific productivity of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were increased by 81% and threefold, respectively, when supplemented with 1.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in the culture medium. To investigate the mechanism of DMSO effect on HBsAg production improvement, HBsAg mRNA level was measured by real-time PCR. HBsAg mRNA was increased by about 1.5-fold at 1.5% DMSO. The increase could derive from the increase of HBsAg gene copy number, the improvement of HBsAg mRNA stability, or the acceleration of HBsAg gene transcription. It was found that HBsAg gene copy number was not significantly changed in the cells stimulated with DMSO. HBsAg mRNA stability of cells with DMSO treatment was also not obviously different from control, and the mRNA half-life of 5.58 h in the cells at 1.5% DMSO was comparable to that of 5.36 h in the control culture. DMSO resulted in 80% increase in HBsAg gene transcription activity assessed using a nuclear run-on transcription assay. It could be deduced that the acceleration of HBsAg gene transcription is the main cause of HBsAg production improvement.

Dimethyl sulfoxide targets phage RNA polymerases to promote transcription

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a "universal" solvent in pharmaceutical sciences and cell biology. DMSO was previously reported to facilitate in vitro transcription of chromatin and supercoiled plasmid, with the underlying mechanism being attributed to the alteration of the template structure. Here, we demonstrated that low concentrations of DMSO significantly increase the phage polymerase-catalyzed RNA synthesis when the naked and short PCR products were used as templates, suggesting that DMSO promotes transcription through additional mechanism(s). Interestingly, SP6 RNA polymerase was more sensitive to the DMSO stimulation than T7 RNA polymerase, suggesting that the polymerase is an important target for DMSO stimulation of RNA synthesis. Consistent with this finding, we also showed that DMSO dramatically elevated the RNA polymerase activity. This elevated activity is explained by altered polymerase structure as reflected by a change in intrinsic fluorescence. Furthermore, DMSO was shown to simultaneously accumulate both the abortive and full-length transcripts, leading us to conclude that the DMSO-altered polymerase structure primarily encodes an enhanced activity at the stage of transcription initiation. DMSO-induced alteration of the polymerase structure and function highlights a potentially generalized mechanism in interpreting the molecular action of this popular solvent.

Induction of calcium-activated potassium channel activity by hemin in human erythroleukemia cells

The agent hemin has been demonstrated to be able to initiate a coordinated differentiation program in several cell types. In the present study, we examined the ability of hemin on inducing cell differentiation and Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity in erythroleukemic K562 cells. Treating undifferentiated K562 cells with hemin (0.1 mM) for five days caused these cells to display differentiation-like characteristics including chromatin aggregation, nuclear degradation, pseudopod extension of the membrane and increased hemoglobin production. However, overall cell viability was not significantly changed by the presence of hemin. After hemin treatment for different periods, the Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel was activated by the addition of ionomycin (1 microM), and was inhibited by either clotrimazole, charybdotoxin, or EGTA. Before hemin treatment there was no significant Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity present in undifferentiated K562 cells. After hemin treatment for 5 days, a significant Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity was detected. This increasing Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity may be contributed from a subtype of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel, KCNN4. These results suggest that the ability of hemin to induce increasing Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel activity may contribute to the mechanism of hemin-induced K562 cell differentiation.

Effects of dimethylsulfoxide on Friend erythroleukemic cell proliferation and on the activity of enzymes involved in this process

Variations in catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GP) and adenylate cyclase (AC) activity in murine erythroleukemic (MEL) cells were studied during multiplication and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-induced differentiation. The results demonstrated that, although DMSO favors the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into DNA of treated cells, it slows down cell multiplication. Increased incorporation was also observed in superoxide dismutase (SOD)-treated cells. DMSO also determined an early and significant drop in AC activity and a late fall in catalase activity, whereas there was no significant variation in GP activity in parallel with the decreased cell multiplication that accompanied cell differentiation. We hypothesize that DMSO and SOD favor 3H-thymidine incorporation by neutralizing the reactive forms of oxygen and that the reduction in catalase and AC activity is closely related to the mitotic activity of MEL cells.

Biological effects of acetamide, formamide, and their monomethyl and dimethyl derivatives

The industrial use of certain acetamides and formamides (particularly DMAC and DMF) for their solvent properties has resulted in rather extensive examination of their biological properties. Both DMAC and DMF are rapidly absorbed through biological membranes and are metabolized by demethylation first to monomethyl derivatives and then to the parent acetamide or formamide. Relatively high single doses to various species following oral, dermal, i.p., i.v., or inhalation exposures generally are required to produce mortality. The liver is the primary target following acute high level exposure, but massive doses can also produce damage to other organs and tissues. Repeated sublethal treatment by various routes also shows the liver to be the target organ with the degree of damage being proportional to the amount absorbed. With MMF, the potential usefulness as a cancer chemotherapeutic agent needs to be measured against the hepatotoxic effects produced in man. Acetamides and formamides are generally inactive in mutagenicity tests. Mammalian test systems do not appear to be genetically sensitive and DMF has been recommended for use as the vehicle in microbial assays designed to test for genetic activity of hard-to-dissolve chemicals. Embryotoxicity can be demonstrated at high doses; doses which generally show toxicity to the maternal animals. Structural abnormalities in sensitive species such as the rabbit are produced following exposure at near-lethal levels. The spectrum of abnormalities seen is broad and fails to show any time or site specificity in terms of developing organs/organ systems. Inhalation exposures to DMAC and DMF at levels producing some maternal toxicity in rats have produced no teratogenic response and only slight evidence of embryotoxicity. Long-term feeding of relatively high levels of acetamide produces liver cancer in rats. DMAC and DMF appear to be noncarcinogenic. The environmental toxicity of these chemicals is low. Liver damage can be produced by overexposure to these chemicals in man. Airborne concentrations need to be controlled and care should be taken to avoid excessive liquid contact as the chemicals are absorbed through the skin. A relationship exists between the amount of DMAC or DMF absorbed and the amount of MMAC or MMF excreted in the urine so that biomonitoring of the urinary metabolites can indicate situations in which total exposures, both dermal and inhalation, are excessive. An interaction between DMF and ethanol occurs such that signs, including severe facial flushing, appear when DMF-exposed individuals consume alcoholic beverages.

Perturbation of the switch-on of transcriptase activity in intermediate subviral particles from reovirus

Intermediate subviral particles (ISVP) derived from reovirus represent a simple model system for the switch-on of transcriptase function. In such particles the endogenous transcriptase is present in a switched-off form, one step removed from the switched-on state. Switch-on of transcriptase function is an active process in this system and can be triggered by K+ions. A variety of agents which affect gene expression in cells were tested for an effect on switch-on in ISVP. Marked effects on switch-on in ISVP were observed with a diverse group of test agents, including DMSO and other solvents, BUdR, TdR, caffeine, theophylline, and temperature. The correlation in response between ISVP and cells suggests that the ISVP system may be useful as a model for studying the biochemical mechanisms underlying the perturbative effects of such agents on gene expression in cells.

Effect of endogenous and exogenous prostaglandin E on Friend erythroleukaemia cell growth and differentiation

The effect of exogenous and endogenous prostaglandins on the patterns of growth and differentiation of Friend erythroleukaemia cells (FLC) were studied. During the differentiation process, DMSO stimulated PGE synthesis by an average of 95%. The addition of a long-acting synthetic analogue of PGE2,16,16-dimethyl-PGE2-methyl ester (di-M-PGE2) to the culture medium only slightly and temporarily slowed cell growth, with no appreciable induction of differentiation. However, in the presence of DMSO, the same concentration of di-M-PGE2 produced 73% inhibition of cell growth and accelerated and potently stimulated haemoglobin production. The action of both di-M-PGE2 and DMSO on cell proliferation was dependent upon the state of cell growth at the time of the administration of these compounds. FLC cultures treated with DMSO + di-M-PGE2 produced considerable amounts of haemoglobin before even one duplication cycle was completed. Both DMSO and di-M-PGE2 stimulated endogenous PGE biosynthesis, and the biosynthetic effect of these compounds was synergistic. Inhibition of endogenous prostaglandin synthesis by indomethacin completely abolished the effects produced by DMSO + di-M-PGE2 on the growth, and substantially reduced the stimulated differentiation of FLC. These data suggest that an endogenously synthesized prostaglandin plays a significant role in both the inhibition of replication and in the stimulation of differentiation induced by DMSO and di-M-PGE2 in Friend erythroleukaemia cells.

Relaxation of chromatin structure by ethidium bromide binding: determined by viscometry and histone dissociation studies

The effects of ethidium bromide intercalation on chromatin structure were monitored by viscometry and analysis of histone dissociation. Investigation of the NaCl concentration dependence of chromatin viscosity showed that the reduced viscosity (etared) was very low up to 0.4 M NaCl and increased gradually when the salt concentration was raised further. In chromatin intercalated by ethidium bromide, etared was not significantly different at low salt concentrations (up to 0.2 M NaCl). However, when the salt concentration was raised further, the viscosity response curve increased sharply to reach viscosities about 4-5 times higher than those for nonintercalated chromatin. The increase in viscosity was proportional to the increase in fluorescence intensity, when the ratio of ethidium bromide to DNA mucleotide was raised. The transition of intercalated chromatin into the relaxed form was reversible, dependent on the nature of the electrolyte and cooperative, as indicated by the small increase in salt concentration required to obtain chromatin relaxation. Investigation of the NaCl concentration dependence of histone dissociation revealed that total histones and each individual histone fraction were released from intercalated chromatin at much reduced NaCl concentrations. The midpoints of the dissociation curves of the individual histones ranged from 0.30 to 0.45 M NaCl and fell within the same range where the drastic viscosity change occurred. These results indicate that intercalation of ethidium bromide labilizes chromatin structure to relaxation by moderately elevated salt concentrations. It is suggested that the labilization is caused by changes in the DNA helix conformation due to dye intercalation decreasing the stability of histone-DNA interactions.