Identification of NF1 as a silencer protein of the human adenine nucleotide translocase-2 gene

Glut1 expression is increased by p53 reduction to switch metabolism to glycolysis during osteoblast differentiation

The glycolytic system is selected for ATP synthesis not only in tumor cells but also in differentiated cells. Differentiated osteoblasts also switch the dominant metabolic pathway to aerobic glycolysis. We found that primary osteoblasts increased expressions of glycolysis-related enzymes such as Glut1, hexokinase 1 and 2, lactate dehydrogenase A and pyruvate kinase M2 during their differentiation. Osteoblast differentiation decreased expression of tumor suppressor p53, which negatively regulates Glut1 expression, and enhanced phosphorylation of AKT, which is regulated by phosphoinositol-3 kinase (PI3K). An inhibitor of PI3K enhanced p53 expression and repressed Glut1 expression. Luciferase reporter assay showed that p53 negatively regulated transcriptional activity of solute carrier family 2 member 1 gene promoter region. Inhibition of glycolysis in osteoblasts reduced ATP contents more significantly than inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine. These results have indicated that osteoblasts increase Glut1 expression through the down-regulation of p53 to switch their metabolic pathway to glycolysis during differentiation.

Transcriptional Regulation of the Mitochondrial Citrate and Carnitine/Acylcarnitine Transporters: Two Genes Involved in Fatty Acid Biosynthesis and β-oxidation

Transcriptional regulation of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism is considered the major long-term regulatory mechanism controlling lipid homeostasis. By means of this mechanism, transcription factors, nutrients, hormones and epigenetics control not only fatty acid metabolism, but also many metabolic pathways and cellular functions at the molecular level. The regulation of the expression of many genes at the level of their transcription has already been analyzed. This review focuses on the transcriptional control of two genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and oxidation: the citrate carrier (CIC) and the carnitine/ acylcarnitine/carrier (CAC), which are members of the mitochondrial carrier gene family, SLC25. The contribution of tissue-specific and less tissue-specific transcription factors in activating or repressing CIC and CAC gene expression is discussed. The interaction with drugs of some transcription factors, such as PPAR and FOXA1, and how this interaction can be an attractive therapeutic approach, has also been evaluated. Moreover, the mechanism by which the expression of the CIC and CAC genes is modulated by coordinated responses to hormonal and nutritional changes and to epigenetics is highlighted.

Adenine nucleotide translocase family: four isoforms for apoptosis modulation in cancer

Mitochondria have important functions in mammalian cells as the energy powerhouse and integrators of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. The adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) is a family of proteins involved in cell death pathways that perform distinctly opposite functions to regulate cell fate decisions. On the one hand, ANT catalyzes the adenosine triphosphate export from the mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space with the concomitant import of ADP from the intermembrane space to the matrix. On the other hand, during periods of stress, ANT could function as a lethal pore and trigger the process of mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, which leads irreversibly to cell death. In human, ANT is encoded by four homologous genes, whose expression is not only tissue specific, but also varies according to the pathophysiological state of the cell. Recent evidence revealed a differential role of the ANT isoforms in apoptosis and a deregulation of their expression in cancer. In this review, we introduce the current knowledge of ANT in apoptosis and cancer cells and propose a novel classification of ANT isoforms.

Differential CpG island methylation of murine adenine nucleotide translocase genes

Adenine nucleotide translocase (Ant) mediates the exchange of ADP and ATP across the inner mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotes. Mice possess three distinct but highly homologous Ant isoforms, encoded by independent genes, whose transcription depends upon tissue type. Ant1 is expressed selectively in heart and skeletal muscles, Ant2 is ubiquitously expressed in most tissues but lower in skeletal muscle and testis, while Ant4 is exclusively expressed in the testis. Of interest, each of these Ant genes contains CpG islands in their proximal promoter regions. We investigated the methylation status of the three Ant genes in various tissues with active and inactive transcription. In contrast to the Ant4 gene in which CpG island methylation is essential for gene repression, the CpG islands of Ant1 and Ant2 are hypomethylated regardless of the gene expression status throughout the tissues of male mice. Despite the tissue specific expression profile of Ant1, CpG methylation is unlikely involved in the regulation of the gene. Consistent with these findings, addition of a CpG-demethylating agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycitidine, to fibroblasts increased the expression of Ant4 but not Ant1 or Ant2 genes. This study provides insight regarding the differential regulation of Ant isoforms in mammals, whereby both the Ant1 and Ant2 genes are capable of expression, but the Ant4 gene is completely repressed throughout somatic tissues. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first example to clearly demonstrate a differential usage of CpG island methylation within a family of genes.

Yin Yang 1 is a critical repressor of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in brain neurons

Membrane depolarization controls long lasting adaptive neuronal changes in brain physiology and pathology. Such responses are believed to be gene expression-dependent. Notably, however, only a couple of gene repressors active in nondepolarized neurons have been described. In this study, we show that in the unstimulated rat hippocampus in vivo, as well as in the nondepolarized brain neurons in primary culture, the transcriptional regulator Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is bound to the proximal Mmp-9 promoter and strongly represses Mmp-9 transcription. Furthermore, we demonstrate that monoubiquitinated and CtBP1 (C-terminal binding protein 1)-bound YY1 regulates Mmp-9 mRNA synthesis in rat brain neurons controlling its transcription apparently via HDAC3-dependent histone deacetylation. In conclusion, our data suggest that YY1 exerts, via epigenetic mechanisms, a control over neuronal expression of MMP-9. Because MMP-9 has recently been shown to play a pivotal role in physiological and pathological neuronal plasticity, YY1 may be implicated in these phenomena as well.

JunB is a repressor of MMP-9 transcription in depolarized rat brain neurons

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an extracellularly operating enzyme involved in the synaptic plasticity, hippocampal-dependent long term memory and neurodegeneration. Previous studies have shown its upregulation following seizure-evoking stimuli. Herein, we show that in the rat brain, MMP-9 mRNA expression in response to pentylenetetrazole-evoked neuronal depolarization is transient. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the rat hippocampus neuronal activation strongly induces JunB expression, simultaneously leading to an accumulation of JunB/FosB complexes onto the -88/-80 bp site of the rat MMP-9 gene promoter in vivo. Surprisingly, manipulations with JunB expression levels in activated neurons revealed its moderate repressive action onto MMP-9 gene expression. Therefore, our study documents the active repressive influence of AP-1 onto MMP-9 transcriptional regulation by the engagement of JunB.

Growth-dependent repression of human adenine nucleotide translocator-2 (ANT2) transcription: evidence for the participation of Smad and Sp family proteins in the NF1-dependent repressor complex

NF1 (nuclear factor 1) binds to two upstream elements of the human ANT2 (adenine nucleotide translocator-2) promoter and actively represses expression of the gene in growth-arrested diploid skin fibroblasts [Luciakova, Barath, Poliakova, Persson and Nelson (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 30624–30633]. ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) and co-immunoprecipitation analyses of nuclear extracts from growth-arrested and growth-activated diploid cells demonstrate that NF1, when acting as a repressor, is part of a multimeric complex that also includes Smad and Sp-family proteins. This complex appears to be anchored to both the upstream NF1-repressor elements and the proximal promoter, Sp1-dependent activation elements in growth-arrested cells. In growth-activated cells, the repressor complex dissociates and NF1 leaves the promoter. As revealed by co-immunoprecipitation experiments, NF1–Smad4–Sp3 complexes are present in nuclear extracts only from growth-inhibited cells, suggesting that the growth-state-dependent formation of these complexes is not an ANT2 promoter-specific event. Consistent with the role of Smad proteins in the repression complex, TGF-β (transforming growth factor-β) can fully repress ANT2 transcription in normally growing fibroblasts. Finally, pull-down experiments of in vitro transcribed/translated NF1 isoforms by GST (glutathione transferase)–Smad and GST–Smad MH fusion proteins indicate direct physical interactions between members of the two families. These findings suggest a possible functional relationship between the NF1 and Smad proteins that has not been previously observed.

Transcriptional regulation of MICA and MICB: a novel polymorphism in MICB promoter alters transcriptional regulation by Sp1

MHC class I-related genes A/B (MICA/B) are ligands of the NKG2D receptor expressed on T and NK cells. Their expression is highly restricted in normal tissues, but is up-regulated in tumoral and infected cells. We show that the minimal promoter of both genes contains a CCAAT box, which binds to NF-Y, and a GC box, which binds to Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4. We also demonstrate that MICB promoter is polymorphic, showing three single nucleotide polymorphisms (C>G at +16, -341, -408) and a deletion of two base pairs at -66 (AG>--) that is located close to the CCAAT box (-70) and the GC box (-86). Transcriptional activity associated with MICB promoter variants carrying this deletion, present in the 45.3% of Spanish population, showed a remarkable decrease (18-fold, p <0.01). By functional analysis, we show that the deletion plays a critical role in MICB promoter activity by diminishing Sp1 transcriptional activation. These important variations in MICB expression among normal individuals could imply a significant difference in the natural immune response against infections or tumor transformation, and might thereby contribute to an increased aberrant immune response against self cells, providing the molecular basis for the associations of the MICB gene to different autoimmune diseases.

Distinct transcriptional regulation and function of the human BACE2 and BACE1 genes

Amyloid beta protein (Abeta) is the principal component of neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Abeta is derived from beta amyloid precursor protein (APP) by beta- and gamma-secretases. Beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) has been identified as the major beta-secretase. BACE2 is the homolog of BACE1. The BACE2 gene is on chromosome 21 and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. However, the function of BACE2 in Abeta generation is controversial. Some studies have shown that BACE2 cleaved APP at the beta-site whereas other studies showed it cleaved around the alpha-secretase site. To elucidate the involvement of BACE2 in AD pathogenesis, we compared BACE2 and BACE1 gene regulation and their functions in Abeta generation. We cloned and functionally characterized the human BACE2 promoter. The BACE2 gene is controlled by a TATA-less promoter. Though Sp1 can regulate both BACE1 and BACE2 genes, comparative sequence analysis and transcription factor prediction showed little similarity between the two promoters. BACE1 increased APP cleavage at the beta-site and Abeta production whereas BACE2 did not. Overexpression of BACE2 significantly increased sAPP levels in conditioned media but markedly reduced Abeta production. Knockdown of BACE2 resulted in increased APP C83. Our data indicate that despite being homologous in amino acid sequence, BACE2 and BACE1 have distinct functions and transcriptional regulation. BACE2 is not a beta-secretase, but processes APP within the Abeta domain at a site downstream of the alpha-secretase cleavage site. Our data argue against BACE2 being involved in the formation of neuritic plaques in AD.