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Dougherty EJ, Chen LY, Awad KS, Ferreyra GA, Demirkale CY, Keshavarz A, Gairhe S, Johnston KA, Hicks ME, Sandler AB, Curran CS, Krack JM, Ding Y, Suffredini AF, Solomon MA, Elinoff JM, Danner RL. Inflammation and DKK1-induced AKT activation contribute to endothelial dysfunction following NR2F2 loss. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2023; 324:L783-L798. [PMID: 37039367 PMCID: PMC10202490 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00171.2022] [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: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
NR2F2 is expressed in endothelial cells (ECs) and Nr2f2 knockout produces lethal cardiovascular defects. In humans, reduced NR2F2 expression is associated with cardiovascular diseases including congenital heart disease and atherosclerosis. Here, NR2F2 silencing in human primary ECs led to inflammation, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), proliferation, hypermigration, apoptosis-resistance, and increased production of reactive oxygen species. These changes were associated with STAT and AKT activation along with increased production of DKK1. Co-silencing DKK1 and NR2F2 prevented NR2F2-loss-induced STAT and AKT activation and reversed EndMT. Serum DKK1 concentrations were elevated in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and DKK1 was secreted by ECs in response to in vitro loss of either BMPR2 or CAV1, which are genetic defects associated with the development of PAH. In human primary ECs, NR2F2 suppressed DKK1, whereas its loss conversely induced DKK1 and disrupted endothelial homeostasis, promoting phenotypic abnormalities associated with pathologic vascular remodeling. Activating NR2F2 or blocking DKK1 may be useful therapeutic targets for treating chronic vascular diseases associated with EC dysfunction.NEW & NOTEWORTHY NR2F2 loss in the endothelial lining of blood vessels is associated with cardiovascular disease. Here, NR2F2-silenced human endothelial cells were inflammatory, proliferative, hypermigratory, and apoptosis-resistant with increased oxidant stress and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. DKK1 was induced in NR2F2-silenced endothelial cells, while co-silencing NR2F2 and DKK1 prevented NR2F2-loss-associated abnormalities in endothelial signaling and phenotype. Activating NR2F2 or blocking DKK1 may be useful therapeutic targets for treating vascular diseases associated with endothelial dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward J Dougherty
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Li-Yuan Chen
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Keytam S Awad
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Gabriela A Ferreyra
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Cumhur Y Demirkale
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Ali Keshavarz
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Salina Gairhe
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Kathryn A Johnston
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Madelyn E Hicks
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Alexis B Sandler
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Colleen S Curran
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Janell M Krack
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Yi Ding
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Anthony F Suffredini
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Michael A Solomon
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Jason M Elinoff
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Robert L Danner
- Clinical Center/Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Li L, Galichon P, Xiao X, Figueroa-Ramirez AC, Tamayo D, Lee JJK, Kalocsay M, Gonzalez-Sanchez D, Chancay MS, McCracken KW, Lee NN, Ichimura T, Mori Y, Valerius MT, Wilflingseder J, Lemos DR, Edelman ER, Bonventre JV. Orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII enhances myofibroblast glycolysis leading to kidney fibrosis. EMBO Rep 2021; 22:e51169. [PMID: 34031962 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202051169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies demonstrate that metabolic disturbance, such as augmented glycolysis, contributes to fibrosis. The molecular regulation of this metabolic perturbation in fibrosis, however, has been elusive. COUP-TFII (also known as NR2F2) is an important regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism. Its contribution to organ fibrosis is undefined. Here, we found increased COUP-TFII expression in myofibroblasts in human fibrotic kidneys, lungs, kidney organoids, and mouse kidneys after injury. Genetic ablation of COUP-TFII in mice resulted in attenuation of injury-induced kidney fibrosis. A non-biased proteomic study revealed the suppression of fatty acid oxidation and the enhancement of glycolysis pathways in COUP-TFII overexpressing fibroblasts. Overexpression of COUP-TFII in fibroblasts also induced production of alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and collagen 1. Knockout of COUP-TFII decreased glycolysis and collagen 1 levels in fibroblasts. Chip-qPCR revealed the binding of COUP-TFII on the promoter of PGC1α. Overexpression of COUP-TFII reduced the cellular level of PGC1α. Targeting COUP-TFII serves as a novel treatment approach for mitigating fibrosis in chronic kidney disease and potentially fibrosis in other organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pierre Galichon
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiaoyan Xiao
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Diana Tamayo
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jake J-K Lee
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marian Kalocsay
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Maria S Chancay
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kyle W McCracken
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nathan N Lee
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Takaharu Ichimura
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yutaro Mori
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M Todd Valerius
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Dario R Lemos
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elazer R Edelman
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joseph V Bonventre
- Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
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3
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Polvani S, Pepe S, Milani S, Galli A. COUP-TFII in Health and Disease. Cells 2019; 9:E101. [PMID: 31906104 PMCID: PMC7016888 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The nuclear receptors (NRs) belong to a vast family of evolutionary conserved proteins acting as ligand-activated transcription factors. Functionally, NRs are essential in embryogenesis and organogenesis and in adulthood they are involved in almost every physiological and pathological process. Our knowledge of NRs action has greatly improved in recent years, demonstrating that both their expression and activity are tightly regulated by a network of signaling pathways, miRNA and reciprocal interactions. The Chicken Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter Transcription Factor II (COUP-TFII, NR2F2) is a NR classified as an orphan due to the lack of a known natural ligand. Although its expression peaks during development, and then decreases considerably, in adult tissues, COUP-TFII is an important regulator of differentiation and it is variably implicated in tissues homeostasis. As such, alterations of its expression or its transcriptional activity have been studied and linked to a spectrum of diseases in organs and tissues of different origins. Indeed, an altered COUP-TFII expression and activity may cause infertility, abnormality in the vascular system and metabolic diseases like diabetes. Moreover, COUP-TFII is actively investigated in cancer research but its role in tumor progression is yet to be fully understood. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of COUP-TFII in healthy and pathological conditions, proposing an updated and critical view of the many functions of this NR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Polvani
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, Gastroenterology Unit, University of Florence, viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Firenze, Italy; (S.P.); (S.M.)
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, largo Brambilla 50, 50139 Firenze, Italy
| | - Sara Pepe
- Istituto per la Ricerca, la Prevenzione e la rete Oncologica (ISPRO), viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Firenze, Italy;
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, via M. Bracci 16, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Milani
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, Gastroenterology Unit, University of Florence, viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Firenze, Italy; (S.P.); (S.M.)
| | - Andrea Galli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, Gastroenterology Unit, University of Florence, viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Firenze, Italy; (S.P.); (S.M.)
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Ashraf UM, Sanchez ER, Kumarasamy S. COUP-TFII revisited: Its role in metabolic gene regulation. Steroids 2019; 141:63-69. [PMID: 30481528 PMCID: PMC6435262 DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2018.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Chicken Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter Transcription Factor II (COUP-TFII) is an orphan member of the nuclear receptor family of transcriptional regulators. Although hormonal activation of COUP-TFII has not yet been identified, rodent genetic models have uncovered vital and diverse roles for COUP-TFII in biological processes. These include control of cardiac function and angiogenesis, reproduction, neuronal development, cell fate and organogenesis. Recently, an emerging body of evidence has demonstrated COUP-TFII involvement in various metabolic systems such as adipogenesis, lipid metabolism, hepatic gluconeogenesis, insulin secretion, and regulation of blood pressure. The potential relevance of these observations to human pathology has been corroborated by the identification of single nucleotide polymorphism in the human COUP-TFII promoter controlling insulin sensitivity. Of particular interest to metabolism is the ability of COUP-TFII to interact with the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR). This interaction is known to control gluconeogenesis, principally through direct binding of COUP-TFII/GR complexes to the promoters of gluconeogenic enzyme genes. However, it is likely that this interaction is critical to other metabolic processes, since GR, like COUP-TFII, is an essential regulator of adipogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. This review will highlight these unique roles of COUP-TFII in metabolic gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Usman M Ashraf
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA; Center for Hypertension and Personalized Medicine, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA
| | - Edwin R Sanchez
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA; Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Research, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA
| | - Sivarajan Kumarasamy
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA; Center for Hypertension and Personalized Medicine, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA.
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Ubiquitination of nuclear receptors. Clin Sci (Lond) 2017; 131:917-934. [PMID: 28473472 DOI: 10.1042/cs20160708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are cellular proteins, which upon ligand activation, act to exert regulatory control over transcription and subsequent expression. Organized via systemic classification into seven subfamilies, NRs partake in modulating a vast expanse of physiological functions essential for maintenance of life. NRs display particular characteristics towards ubiquitination, the process of addition of specific ubiquitin tags at appropriate locations. Orchestrated through groups of enzymes harboring a diverse array of specialized structural components, the ubiquitination process emphatically alters the fate or downstream effects of NRs. Such influence is especially prominent in transcriptional processes such as promoter clearing for optimization and degradation pathways eliminating or recycling targeted proteins. Ultimately, the ubiquitination of NRs carries significant implications in terms of generating pathological clinical manifestations. Increasing evidence from studies involving patients and disease models suggests a role for ubiquitinated NRs in virtually every organ system. This supports the broad repertoire of roles that NRs play in the body, including modulatory conductors, facilitators, responders to external agents, and critical constituents for pharmacological or biological interventions. This review aims to cover relevant background and mechanisms of NRs and ubiquitination, with a focus towards elucidating subsequent pathophysiology and therapeutics in clinical disorders encompassing such ubiquitinated NRs.
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