ASB2 is a direct target of FLI1 that sustains NF-κB pathway activation in germinal center-derived diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Genome-wide associations with longevity and reproductive traits in U.S. rangeland ewes

Introduction: Improving ewe longevity is an important breeding and management goal, as death loss and early culling of mature ewes are economic burdens in the sheep industry. Ewe longevity can be improved by selecting for positive reproductive outcomes. However, the breeding approaches for accomplishing this come with the challenge of recording a lifetime trait. Characterizing genetic factors underpinning ewe longevity and related traits could result in the development of genomic selection strategies to improve the stayability of sheep through early, informed selection of replacement ewes. Methods: Towards this aim, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genetic markers associated with ewe longevity, reproductive, and production traits. Traits evaluated included longevity (i.e., length of time in the flock), parity and the lifetime number of lambs born, lambs born alive, lambs weaned, and weight of lambs weaned. Ewe records from previous studies were used. Specifically, Rambouillet (n = 480), Polypay (n = 404), Suffolk (n = 182), and Columbia (n = 64) breed ewes (N = 1,130) were analyzed against 503,617 SNPs in across-breed and within-breed GWAS conducted with the Bayesian-information and Linkage-disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway (BLINK) model in R. Results: The across-breed GWAS identified 25 significant SNPs and the within-breed GWAS for Rambouillet, Polypay, and Suffolk ewes identified an additional 19 significant SNPs. The most significant markers were rs411309094 (13:22,467,143) associated with longevity in across-breed GWAS (p-value = 8.3E-13) and rs429525276 (2:148,398,336) associated with both longevity (p-value = 6.4E-15) and parity (p-value = 4.8E-15) in Rambouillet GWAS. Significant SNPs were identified within or in proximity (±50 kb) of genes with known or proposed roles in reproduction, dentition, and the immune system. These genes include ALPL, ANOS1, ARHGEF26, ASIC2, ASTN2, ATP8A2, CAMK2D, CEP89, DISC1, ITGB6, KCNH8, MBNL3, MINDY4, MTSS1, PLEKHA7, PRIM2, RNF43, ROBO2, SLCO1A2, TMEM266, TNFRSF21, and ZNF804B. Discussion: This study proposes multiple SNPs as candidates for use in selection indices and suggests genes for further research towards improving understanding of the genetic factors contributing to longevity, reproductive, and production traits of ewes.

HBP1 promotes chicken preadipocyte proliferation via directly repressing SOCS3 transcription

Preadipocyte proliferation is an essential process in adipose development. During proliferation of preadipocytes, transcription factors play crucial roles. HMG-box protein 1 (HBP1) is an important transcription factor of cellular proliferation. However, the function and underlying mechanisms of HBP1 in the proliferation of preadipocytes remain unclear. Here, we found that the expression level of HBP1 decreased first and then increased during the proliferation of chicken preadipocytes. Knockout of HBP1 could inhibit the proliferation of preadipocytes, while overexpression of HBP1 could promote the proliferation of preadipocytes. ChIP-seq data showed that HBP1 had the unique DNA binding motif in chicken preadipocytes. By integrating ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq, we revealed a total of 3 candidate target genes of HBP1. Furthermore, the results of ChIP-qPCR, RT-qPCR, luciferase reporter assay and EMSA showed that HBP1 could inhibit the transcription of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) by binding to its promoter. Moreover, we confirmed that SOCS3 can mediate the regulation of HBP1 on the proliferation of preadipocytes through RNAi and rescue experiments. Altogether, these data demonstrated that HBP1 directly targets SOCS3 to regulate chicken preadipocyte proliferation. Our findings expand the transcriptional regulatory network of preadipocyte proliferation, and they will be helpful in formulating a molecular breeding scheme to control excessive abdominal fat deposition and to improve meat quality in chickens.

ETS1 phosphorylation at threonine 38 is associated with the cell of origin of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and sustains the growth of tumour cells

The transcriptional factor ETS1 is upregulated in 25% of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Here, we studied the role of ETS1 phosphorylation at threonine 38, a marker for ETS1 activation, in DLBCL cellular models and clinical specimens. p-ETS1 was detected in activated B cell-like DLBCL (ABC), not in germinal centre B-cell-like DLBCL (GCB) cell lines and, accordingly, it was more common in ABC than GCB DLBCL diagnostic biopsies. MEK inhibition decreased both baseline and IgM stimulation-induced p-ETS1 levels. Genetic inhibition of phosphorylation of ETS1 at threonine 38 affected the growth and the BCR-mediated transcriptome program in DLBCL cell lines. Our data demonstrate that ETS1 phosphorylation at threonine 38 is important for the growth of DLBCL cells and its pharmacological inhibition could benefit lymphoma patients.

Establishment of the lymphoid ETS-code reveals deregulated ETS genes in Hodgkin lymphoma

The human family of ETS transcription factors numbers 28 genes which control multiple aspects of development, notably the differentiation of blood and immune cells. Otherwise, aberrant expression of ETS genes is reportedly involved in forming leukemia and lymphoma. Here, we comprehensively mapped ETS gene activities in early hematopoiesis, lymphopoiesis and all mature types of lymphocytes using public datasets. We have termed the generated gene expression pattern lymphoid ETS-code. This code enabled identification of deregulated ETS genes in patients with lymphoid malignancies, revealing 12 aberrantly expressed members in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). For one of these, ETS gene ETV3, expression in stem and progenitor cells in addition to that in developing and mature T-cells was mapped together with downregulation in B-cell differentiation. In contrast, subsets of HL patients aberrantly overexpressed ETV3, indicating oncogenic activity in this B-cell malignancy. Analysis of ETV3-overexpressing HL cell line SUP-HD1 demonstrated genomic duplication of the ETV3 locus at 1q23, GATA3 as mutual activator, and suppressed BMP-signalling as mutual downstream effect. Additional examination of the neighboring ETS genes ETS1 and FLI1 revealed physiological activities in B-cell development and aberrant downregulation in HL patient subsets. SUP-HD1 showed genomic loss on chromosome 11, del(11)(q22q25), targeting both ETS1 and FLI1, underlying their downregulation. Furthermore, in the same cell line we identified PBX1-mediated overexpression of RIOK2 which inhibited ETS1 and activated JAK2 expression. Collectively, we codified normal ETS gene activities in lymphopoiesis and identified oncogenic ETS members in HL.

A Survival Model Based on the ASB Genes and Used to Predict the Prognosis of Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma

Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is increasing in incidence worldwide, with poor and unpredictable patient prognosis limited by diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. New genes are urgently needed to improve this situation. The ankyrin repeat and suppressor of the cytokine signaling (SOCS) box (ASB) family are a promising class of tumorigenesis-related genes. We examined the expression and mutation of 18 ASB genes in various tumors for this study. The findings revealed that ASB genes exhibit significant copy number variation (CNV) and single nucleotide variation (SNV). There were substantial variations in ASB gene expression in different tumor tissues, and different levels of methylation of ASB genes affected the gene expression and tumor progression. By applying LASSO regression analysis, we established a KIRC survival model based on five ASB genes (ASB6, ASB7, ASB8, ASB13, and ASB17). Additionally, ROC curve analysis was used to assess the survival model’s accuracy. Through univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis, we demonstrated that the model’s risk score might be an independent risk factor for individuals with KIRC. In summary, our KIRC survival model could accurately predict patients’ future survival. Further, we also quantified the survival model through a nomogram. This series of findings confirmed that ASB genes are potential predictive markers and targeted therapies for KIRC. Our KIRC survival model based on five ASB genes can help more clinical practitioners make accurate judgments about the prognosis of KIRC patients.

Pharmacologic screen identifies active combinations with BET inhibitors and LRRK2 as a novel putative target in lymphoma

Inhibitors of the Bromo‐ and Extra‐Terminal domain (BET) family proteins have strong preclinical antitumor activity in multiple tumor models, including lymphomas. Limited single‐agent activity has been reported in the clinical setting. Here, we have performed a pharmacological screening to identify compounds that can increase the antitumor activity of BET inhibitors in lymphomas.

The germinal center B‐cell like diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell lines OCI‐LY‐19 and WSU‐DLCL2 were exposed to 348 compounds given as single agents at two different concentrations and in combination with the BET inhibitor birabresib. The combination partners included small molecules targeting important biologic pathways such as PI3K/AKT/MAPK signaling and apoptosis, approved anticancer agents, kinase inhibitors, epigenetic compounds. The screening identified a series of compounds leading to a stronger antiproliferative activity when given in combination than as single agents: the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors panobinostat and dacinostat, the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) inhibitor everolimus, the ABL/SRC (ABL proto‐oncogene/SRC proto oncogene) inhibitor dasatinib, the AKT1/2/3 inhibitor MK‐2206, the JAK2 inhibitor TG101209. The novel finding was the benefit given by the addition of the LRRK2 inhibitor LRRK2‐IN‐1, which was validated in vitro and in vivo. Genetic silencing demonstrated that LRRK2 sustains the proliferation of lymphoma cells, a finding paired with the association between high expression levels and inferior outcome in DLBCL patients.

We identified combinations that can improve the response to BET inhibitors in lymphomas, and LRRK2 as a gene essential for lymphomas and as putative novel target for this type of tumors.

Sparstolonin B inhibits pancreatic adenocarcinoma through the NF-κB signaling pathway

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a highly lethal malignant gastrointestinal tumor. Sparstolonin B is an isocoumarin whose anticancer activity has recently received increasing attention. This study aimed to investigate Sparstolonin B's potential antitumor effect on pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The effect of Sparstolonin B on pancreatic cancer target genes and molecular mechanism was predicted via network pharmacology; Sparstolonin B significantly decreased Panc-1 and SW1990 cell viability and effectively suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells as shown by CCK-8, colony formation, and Transwell assays. Flow cytometry showed that it induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Sparstolonin B also upregulated Bax levels but decreased those of MMP2 and Bcl-2, downregulated IκBα expression, and upregulated p65 and IκBα phosphorylation; however, it had no effect on total NF-κB p65 levels. The NF-κB pathway inhibitor QNZ reversed these effects. The treatment group (26 μmol/L) had reduced graft volume and weight and fewer Ki-67-positive cells than the control group. Therefore, Sparstolonin B can inhibit the growth and induce the apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells via the NF-κB signaling pathway and may be a potential novel drug for pancreatic cancer treatment.