A mechanism of COOH-terminal binding protein-mediated repression

CtBP1 is essential for epigenetic silencing of μ-opioid receptor genes in the dorsal root ganglion in spinal nerve ligation-induced neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain poses a significant public health challenge, greatly impacting patients' quality of life. Emerging evidence underscores the involvement of epigenetics in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons relevant to pain modulation. C-terminal binding protein 1 (CtBP1) has emerged as a crucial epigenetic transcriptional coregulator. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of CtBP1-mediated epigenetic regulation in DRG neurons in neuropathic pain remain poorly elucidated. Here, we employed a Sprague‒Dawley rat model of spinal nerve ligation (SNL) to establish a neuropathic pain model. CtBP1 expression in the ipsilateral DRG gradually increased over a three-week period post-SNL. Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant elevation in CtBP1 levels specifically in NeuN-positive neuronal cells in the ipsilateral DRG following SNL. Further characterization demonstrated CtBP1 expression across various subtypes of DRG neurons in SNL rats. Silencing CtBP1 expression with siRNA reversed tactile allodynia in SNL rats and restored both CtBP1 and μ-opioid receptor expression in the DRG in SNL rats. Moreover, Foxp1 was identified to recruit CtBP1 for mediating μ-opioid receptor gene silencing in the DRG in SNL rats. Subsequent investigation unveiled that Foxp1 recruits CtBP1 and associates with HDAC2 to regulate H3K9Ac binding to μ-opioid receptor chromatin regions in the DRG in SNL rats, implicating epigenetic mechanisms in neuropathic pain. Targeting the Foxp1/CtBP1/HDAC2/μ-opioid receptor signaling pathway in the DRG holds promise as a potential therapeutic strategy for managing neuropathic pain.

The Role of CtBP1 in Oncogenic Processes and Its Potential as a Therapeutic Target

Transcriptional corepressor proteins have emerged as an important facet of cancer etiology. These corepressor proteins are often altered by loss- or gain-of-function mutations, leading to transcriptional imbalance. Thus, research directed at expanding our current understanding of transcriptional corepressors could impact the future development of new cancer diagnostics, prognostics, and therapies. In this review, our current understanding of the CtBP corepressors, and their role in both development and disease, is discussed in detail. Importantly, the role of CtBP1 overexpression in adult tissues in promoting the progression of multiple cancer types through their ability to modulate the transcription of developmental genes ectopically is explored. CtBP1 overexpression is known to be protumorigenic and affects the regulation of gene networks associated with "cancer hallmarks" and malignant behavior, including increased cell survival, proliferation, migration, invasion, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. As a transcriptional regulator of broad developmental processes capable of promoting malignant growth in adult tissues, therapeutically targeting the CtBP1 corepressor has the potential to be an effective method for the treatment of diverse tumor types. Although efforts to develop CtBP1 inhibitors are still in the early stages, the current progress and the future perspectives of therapeutically targeting this transcriptional corepressor are also discussed. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(6); 981-90. ©2017 AACR.

Bioenergetic state regulates innate inflammatory responses through the transcriptional co-repressor CtBP

The innate inflammatory response contributes to secondary injury in brain trauma and other disorders. Metabolic factors such as caloric restriction, ketogenic diet, and hyperglycemia influence the inflammatory response, but how this occurs is unclear. Here, we show that glucose metabolism regulates pro-inflammatory NF-κB transcriptional activity through effects on the cytosolic NADH:NAD⁺ ratio and the NAD(H) sensitive transcriptional co-repressor CtBP. Reduced glucose availability reduces the NADH:NAD⁺ ratio, NF-κB transcriptional activity, and pro-inflammatory gene expression in macrophages and microglia. These effects are inhibited by forced elevation of NADH, reduced expression of CtBP, or transfection with an NAD(H) insensitive CtBP, and are replicated by a synthetic peptide that inhibits CtBP dimerization. Changes in the NADH:NAD⁺ ratio regulate CtBP binding to the acetyltransferase p300, and regulate binding of p300 and the transcription factor NF-κB to pro-inflammatory gene promoters. These findings identify a mechanism by which alterations in cellular glucose metabolism can influence cellular inflammatory responses.

Several metabolic factors affect cellular glucose metabolism as well as the innate inflammatory response. Here, the authors show that glucose metabolism regulates pro-inflammatory responses through effects on the cytosolic NADH:NAD+ ratio and the NAD(H)-sensitive transcription co-repressor CtBP.

Group I p21-activated kinases facilitate Tax-mediated transcriptional activation of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 long terminal repeats

Background

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia and tropical spastic paraparesis. HTLV-1 encodes transactivator protein Tax that interacts with various cellular factors to modulate transcription and other biological functions. Additional cellular mediators of Tax-mediated transcriptional activation of HTLV-1 long terminal repeats (LTR) remain to be identified and characterized.

Results

In this study, we investigated the regulatory role of group I p21-activated kinases (Paks) in Tax-induced LTR activation. Both wild-type and kinase-dead mutants of Pak3 were capable of potentiating the activity of Tax to activate LTR transcription. The effect of Paks on the LTR was attributed to the N-terminal regulatory domain and required the action of CREB, CREB-regulating transcriptional coactivators (CRTCs) and p300/CREB-binding protein. Paks physically associated with Tax and CRTCs. Paks were recruited to the LTR in the presence of Tax. siRNAs against either Pak1 or Pak3 prevented the interaction of Tax with CRTC1 and the recruitment of Tax to the LTR. These siRNAs also inhibited LTR-dependent transcription in HTLV-1-transformed MT4 cells and in cells transfected with an infectious clone of HTLV-1.

Conclusion

Group I Paks augment Tax-mediated transcriptional activation of HTLV-1 LTR in a kinase-independent manner.

A role for Mediator complex subunit MED13L in Rb/E2F-induced growth arrest

The Rb/E2F pathway is deregulated in virtually all human tumors. It is clear that, in addition to Rb itself, essential cofactors required for transcriptional repression and silencing of E2F target genes are mutated or lost in cancer. To identify novel cofactors required for Rb/E2F-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation, we performed a genome-wide short hairpin RNA screen. In addition to several known Rb cofactors, the screen identified components of the Mediator complex, a large multiprotein coactivator required for RNA polymerase II transcription. We show that the Mediator complex subunit MED13L is required for Rb/E2F control of cell growth, the complete repression of cell cycle target genes, and cell cycle inhibition.

Interaction of ZEB and histone deacetylase with the PLDLS-binding cleft region of monomeric C-terminal binding protein 2

Background

Proteins of the C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) family, CtBP1 and CtBP2 are closely related transcriptional regulators that are coded by two different gene loci in the vertebrate genomes. They perform redundant and unique functions during animal development. CtBP proteins mediate their transcriptional function through interaction with various DNA-binding repressors that contain PLDLS-like motifs and chromatin modifying enzymes, such as class I histone deacetylases (HDAC) that do not contain such motifs. The N-terminal region of CtBP1/2 forms a hydrophobic cleft and is involved in interaction with both PLDLS-containing factors and non-PLDLS factors. CtBP proteins function as dimers to mediate transcriptional repression and dimerization is modulated by specific binding to NAD/NADH.

Results

In this study, we have investigated the role of dimerization of CtBP2 in recruitment of PLDLS-motif cofactors and non-PLDLS cofactors. Our results indicate that mutations in CtBP2 that interfere with dimerization abolish CtBP2 interaction with most cellular factors, except the PLDLS-motif factor zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB) and the non-PLDLS factor HDAC2. Unlike most PLDLS-containing CtBP-binding proteins, ZEB contains three PLDLS-like motifs and all three contribute to the interaction with the CtBP2 monomer. Despite the ability to interact with ZEB and HDAC, the CtBP2 monomer fails to mediate ZEB-dependent transcriptional repression. The lack of repression activity of the CtBP2 monomer is correlated with the competition between ZEB and HDAC for interaction with the CtBP2 monomer.

Conclusion

These results suggest a competition between the canonical PLDLS-motif factors such as E1A and non-PLDLS factor HDAC for interaction with CtBP. They also indicate that the affinity for the CtBP monomer may be determined by the number as well as amino acid sequence compositions of the PLDLS-like motifs. Our results are consistent with a model that the CtBP2 dimer may interact with a PLDLS-containing repressor through one monomer and recruit HDAC and other chromatin modifying enzymes through the second monomer in the CtBP2 dimer.

Acetylation-dependent interaction of SATB1 and CtBP1 mediates transcriptional repression by SATB1

Special AT-rich binding protein 1 (SATB1) acts as a global regulator of gene expression by recruiting various corepressor or coactivator complexes, thereby establishing a unique chromatin structure at its genomic targets in a context-dependent manner. Although SATB1 acts predominantly as a repressor via recruitment of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) complexes, the precise mechanism of global repression is not clear. Here we report that SATB1 and C-terminal binding protein 1 (CtBP1) form a repressor complex in vivo. The interaction occurs via the CtBP1 interaction consensus motif PVPLS within the PDZ-like domain of SATB1. The acetylation of SATB1 upon LiCl and ionomycin treatments disrupts its association with CtBP1, resulting in enhanced target gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis indicated that the occupancy of CtBP1 and HDAC1 is gradually decreased and the occupancy of PCAF is elevated at the SATB1 binding sites within the human interleukin-2 and mouse c-Myc promoters. Moreover, gene expression profiling studies using cells in which expression of SATB1 and CtBP1 was silenced indicated commonly targeted genes that may be coordinately repressed by the SATB1-CtBP1 complex. Collectively, these results provide a mechanistic insight into the role of SATB1-CtBP1 interaction in the repression and derepression of SATB1 target genes during Wnt signaling in T cells.

Role of the PLDLS-binding cleft region of CtBP1 in recruitment of core and auxiliary components of the corepressor complex

C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) family proteins CtBP1 and CtBP2 are highly homologous transcriptional corepressors and are recruited by a large number of transcription factors to mediate sequence-specific transcriptional repression. In addition to DNA-binding repressors, the nuclear protein complex of CtBP1 consists of enzymatic constituents such as histone deacetylases (HDAC1/2), histone methyl transferases (HMTases; G9a and GLP), and the lysine-specific demethylase (LSD1). Additionally, CtBPs also recruit the components of the sumoylation machinery. The CtBPs contain two different unique structural elements, a hydrophobic cleft, with which factors that contain motifs related to the E1A PLDLS motif bind, and a surface groove that binds with factors containing motifs related to the sequence RRTGXPPXL (RRT motif). By structure-based functional dissection of CtBP1, we show that the PLDLS-binding cleft region functions as the primary recruitment center for DNA-binding factors and for the core and auxiliary enzymatic constituents of the CtBP1 corepressor complex. We identify HDAC1/2, CoREST/LSD1, and Ubc9 (E2) as the core constituents of the CtBP1 complex, and these components interact with the PLDLS cleft region through non-PLDLS interactions. Among the CtBP core constituents, HDACs contribute predominantly to the repression activity of CtBP1. The auxiliary components include an HMTase complex (G9a/Wiz/CDYL) and two SUMO E3 ligases, HPC2 and PIAS1. The interaction of auxiliary components with CtBP1 is excluded by PLDLS (E1A)-mediated interactions. Although monomeric CtBP1 is proficient in the recruiting of both core and auxiliary components, NAD(H)-dependent dimerization is required for transcriptional repression. We also provide evidence that CtBP1 functions as a platform for sumoylation of cofactors.

Transcriptional regulation by C-terminal binding proteins

C-terminal binding protein family members function predominantly as transcriptional corepressors in association with sequence specific DNA-binding transcriptional repressors. The vertebrates have two CtBP genes while the invertebrates contain a single gene. Genetic studies indicate that the CtBP genes play pivotal roles in animal development. The vertebrate C-terminal binding proteins (CtBP1 and CtBP2) are highly related and are functionally redundant for certain developmental processes and non-redundant for others. The animal C-terminal binding proteins exhibit structural and functional similarity to d-isomer-specific 2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenases (D2-HDH). They function as dimers, recruiting transcriptional regulators through two protein-binding interfaces in each monomer. The corepressor complex of CtBP1 contains enzymatic constituents that mediate coordinated histone modification by deacetylation and methylation of histone H3-Lysine 9 and demethylation of histone H3-Lysine 4. CtBP also recruits the small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) conjugating E2 enzyme UBC9 and a SUMO E3 ligase (HPC2), suggesting that CtBP-mediated transcriptional regulation may also involve SUMOylation of transcription factors. In addition to gene-specific transcriptional repression, CtBP1 appears to antagonize the activity of the global transcriptional coactivators, p300/CBP. Genetic evidence also suggests that the fly CtBP (dCtBP) and the vertebrate CtBP2 might activate transcription in a context-dependent manner. The transcriptional regulatory activity of CtBP is modulated by the nuclear NADH/NAD+ ratio and hence appears to be influenced by the metabolic status of the cell. The nuclear dinucleotide ratio may differentially influence the repression activities of factors that recruit CtBP through PLDLS-like motifs and those through non-PLDLS-motifs.

Coregulator exchange and sphingosine-sensitive cooperativity of steroidogenic factor-1, general control nonderepressed 5, p54, and p160 coactivators regulate cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent cytochrome P450c17 transcription rate

Transcription of the cytochrome P450 17 (CYP17) gene is regulated by cAMP-dependent binding of steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) to its promoter in the adrenal cortex. Using temporal chromatin immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid experiments, we establish the reciprocal presence of coactivators [general control nonderepressed (GCN5), cAMP response element-binding protein-binding protein, p300, p300/cAMP response element-binding protein-binding protein CBP associated factor, p160s, polypyrimidine tract associated splicing factor, and p54(nrb)], corepressors (class I histone deacetylases, receptor interacting protein, nuclear receptor corepressor, and Sin3A), and SWI/SNF (human homolog of yeast mating type switching/sucrose nonfermenting) and imitation SWI chromatin remodeling ATPases on the CYP17 promoter during transcription cycles in the H295R adrenocortical cell line. A ternary GCN5/SRC-1/SF-1 complex forms on the CYP17 promoter with cAMP-dependence within 30 min of cAMP stimulation, and corresponds with SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling. This complex is sensitive to the SF-1 antagonist sphingosine and results in decreased transcription of CYP17. GCN5 acetyltransferase activity and carboxy terminus binding proteins alternatively mediate disassembly of the complex. This work establishes the temporal order of cAMP-induced events on the promoter of a key steroidogenic gene during SF-1-mediated transcription.

Changes in C-terminal binding protein 2 (CtBP2) corepressor complex induced by E1A and modulation of E1A transcriptional activity by CtBP2

The N-terminal region of adenovirus E1A interacts with histone acetyl transferases (HATs) such as p300, P/CAF, and GCN5. The C-terminal region interacts with the transcriptional corepressors CtBP1 and CtBP2. The functional significance of co-recruitment of HATs and CtBPs by E1A is not well understood. In this study, we have shown that E1A enhanced acetylation of CtBP2 by recruitment of p300 to the CtBP2 complex. Additionally, E1A also displaced the histone methyltransferase G9a and the E-box repressor ZEB from the CtBP2 complex through the C-terminal CtBP-binding domain. A transcriptional activation function encoded by the E1A N-terminal region was efficiently inhibited by CtBP2 but not by a mutant with an N-terminal deletion or by a mutant deficient in interaction with E1A. Two isoforms of CtBP1 (CtBP1-L and CtBP1-S) poorly inhibited transcriptional activity of the E1A N-terminal region. Thus, the N-terminal domain of CtBP2 may contribute a unique transcriptional regulatory activity of CtBP2. Our results provide new insights by which CtBP might modulate the biochemical activities of E1A.

Acetylation by p300 Regulates Nuclear Localization and Function of the Transcriptional Corepressor CtBP2

CtBP family members, CtBP1 and CtBP2, are unique transcriptional regulators that adapt a metabolic enzyme fold, and their activities are regulated by NAD(H)-binding. CtBP1 is both cytoplasmic and nuclear, and its subcellular localization is regulated by sumoylation, phosphorylation, and binding to a PDZ protein. In contrast, we showed that CtBP2 is exclusively nuclear. CtBP1 and CtBP2 are highly similar, but differ at the N-terminal 20 amino acid region. Substitution of the N-terminal domain of CtBP1 with the corresponding CtBP2 domain confers a dominant nuclear localization pattern to CtBP1. The N-terminal domain of CtBP2 contains three Lys residues. Our results show that these Lys residues are acetylated by the nuclear acetylase p300. Although all three Lys residues of CtBP2 (Lys-6, Lys-8, and Lys-10) appear to be acetylated, acetylation of Lys-10 is critical for nuclear localization. CtBP2 with a single amino acid substitution at Lys-10 (K10R) is predominantly localized in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic localization of the K10R mutant is correlated with enhanced nuclear export that is inhibited by leptomycin B. Furthermore, lack of acetylation at Lys-10 renders CtBP2 to be more efficient in repression of the E-cadherin promoter. Our studies have revealed the important roles of acetylation in regulating subcellular localization and transcriptional activity of CtBP2.