Inhibition of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway in cytoplasm: a novel property of the carboxyl terminal domains of two Xenopus ELL genes

Trophoblast Side-Population Markers are Dysregulated in Preeclampsia and Fetal Growth Restriction

Dysregulated progenitor cell populations may contribute to poor placental development and placental insufficiency pathogenesis. Side-population cells possess progenitor properties. Recent human trophoblast side-population isolation identified enrichment of 8 specific genes (CXCL8, ELL2, GATA6, HK2, HLA-DPB1, INTS6, SERPINE3 and UPP1) (Gamage et al. 2020, Stem Cell Rev Rep). We characterised these trophoblast side-population markers in human placenta and in placental insufficiency disorders: preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Trophoblast side-population markers localised to mononuclear trophoblasts lining the placental villous basement membrane in preterm control, preeclamptic and FGR placental sections (n = 3, panel of 3 markers/serial section). Analysis of single-cell transcriptomics of an organoid human trophoblast stem cell (hTSC) to extravillous trophoblast (EVT) differentiation model (Shannon et al. 2022, Development) identified that all side-population genes were enriched in mononuclear trophoblast and trophoblasts committed to differentiation under hTSC culture conditions. In vitro validation via 96 h time course hTSC differentiation to EVTs or syncytiotrophoblasts (n = 5) demonstrated ELL2 and HK2 increased with differentiation (p < 0.0024, p < 0.0039 respectively). CXCL8 and HLA-DPB1 were downregulated (p < 0.030, p < 0.011 respectively). GATA6 and INTS6 increased with EVT differentiation only, and UPP1 reduced with syncytialisation. SERPINE3 was undetectable. Trophoblast side-population marker mRNA was measured in human placentas (< 34-weeks' gestation; n = 78 preeclampsia, n = 30 FGR, and n = 18 gestation-matched controls). ELL2, HK2 and CXCL8 were elevated in preeclamptic (p = 0.0006, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0335 respectively) and FGR placentas (p = 0.0065, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0001 respectively) versus controls. Placental GATA6 was reduced in pregnancies with preeclampsia and FGR (p = 0.0014, p = 0.0146 respectively). Placental INTS6 was reduced with FGR only (p < 0.0001). This study identified the localisation of a unique trophoblast subset enriched for side-population markers. Aberrant expression of some side-population markers may indicate disruptions to unique trophoblast subtypes in placental insufficiency.

Carboxypeptidase E down-regulation regulates transcriptional and epigenetic profiles in pancreatic cancer cell line: A network analysis

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor and its incidence has increased in recent years. Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) is a prohormone/proneuropeptide processing enzyme that has been shown to be associated with tumor growth and invasion in various cancers including pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To understand the molecular mechanism underlying the proliferative effects of CPE in cancer cells.

METHODS

We down-regulated CPE gene expression in PANC-1 cell, a pancreatic cell line, and investigated mRNA, miRNA, circRNA and lncRNA expression profiling in PANC-1 cells from control group and CPE knock-down group by microarray analysis. We further validated the top 14 differentially expressed circRNAs by qRT-PCR.

RESULTS

Our results showed that CPE down-regulation caused decreased cell proliferation. The microarray data showed 107, 15, 299 and 360 differentially expressed mRNAs, miRNAs, circRNAs, and lncRNAs, respectively between control group and CPE knock-down group. Of Which, 41 mRNAs, 12 miRNAs, 133 circRNAs, and 262 lncRNAs were down-regulated; 66 mRNAs, 3 miRNAs, 166 circRNAs, and 98 lncRNAs were up-regulated. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the top significantly enriched pathways for the differentially expressed RNAs were related to cancer onset and/or progression, these included p53 signaling pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion and Wnt signaling pathway. We further performed network analysis to assess the mRNA, miRNA, circRNA and lncRNA correlations, and showed that HUWE1, hsa-miR-6780b-5p, has_circ_0058208 and lnc-G3BP1-3:8 were in the core position of the network.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these results identified potential CPE regulated core genes and pathways for cell proliferation in pancreatic cancer cell, and therefore provide potential targets for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Keeping RNA polymerase II on the run: Functions of MLL fusion partners in transcriptional regulation

Since the identification of key MLL fusion partners as transcription elongation factors regulating expression of HOX cluster genes during hematopoiesis, extensive work from the last decade has resulted in significant progress in our overall mechanistic understanding of role of MLL fusion partner proteins in transcriptional regulation of diverse set of genes beyond just the HOX cluster. In this review, we are going to detail overall understanding of role of MLL fusion partner proteins in transcriptional regulation and thus provide mechanistic insights into possible MLL fusion protein-mediated transcriptional misregulation leading to aberrant hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis.

Inflammation-induced Occludin Downregulation Limits Epithelial Apoptosis by Suppressing Caspase-3 Expression

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Epithelial tight junctions are compromised in gastrointestinal disease. Processes that contribute to the resulting barrier loss include endocytic occludin removal from the tight junction and reduced occludin expression. Nevertheless, the relatively-normal basal phenotype of occludin knockout (KO) mice has been taken as evidence that occludin does not contribute to gastrointestinal barrier function. We asked whether stress could unmask occludin functions within intestinal epithelia.

METHODS

Wildtype (WT), universal and intestinal epithelial-specific occludin KO, and villin-EGFP-occludin transgenic mice as well as WT and occludin knockdown (KD) Caco-2_BBe cell monolayers were challenged with DSS, TNBS, staurosporine, 5-FU, or TNF. Occludin and caspase-3 expression were assessed in patient biopsies.

RESULTS

Intestinal epithelial occludin loss limited severity of DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis due to epithelial resistance to apoptosis; activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways was blocked in occludin KO epithelia. Promoter analysis revealed that occludin enhances CASP3 transcription and, conversely, that occludin downregulation reduces caspase-3 expression. Analysis of biopsies from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients and normal controls demonstrated that disease-associated occludin downregulation was accompanied by and correlated with reduced caspase-3 expression. In vitro, cytokine-induced occludin downregulation resulted in reduced caspase-3 expression and resistance to intrinsic and extrinsic pathway apoptosis, demonstrating an overall protective effect of inflammation-induced occludin loss.

CONCLUSIONS

The tight junction protein occludin regulates apoptosis by enhancing caspase-3 transcription. These data suggest that reduced epithelial caspase-3 expression downstream of occludin downregulation is a previously-unappreciated anti-apoptotic process that contributes to mucosal homeostasis in inflammatory conditions.

The amino-terminal domain of ELL transcription elongation factor is essential for ELL function in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Transcriptional elongation is a critical step for regulating expression of protein-coding genes. Multiple transcription elongation factors have been identified in vitro, but the physiological roles of many of them are still not clearly understood. The ELL (Eleven nineteen Lysine rich Leukemia) family of transcription elongation factors are conserved from fission yeast to humans. Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains a single ELL homolog (SpELL) that is not essential for its survival. Therefore to gain insights into the in vivo cellular functions of SpELL, we identified phenotypes associated with deletion of ell1 in S. pombe. Our results demonstrate that SpELL is required for normal growth of S. pombe cells. Furthermore, cells lacking ell1⁺ exhibit a decrease in survival when exposed to DNA-damaging conditions, but their growth is not affected under environmental stress conditions. ELL orthologs in different organisms contain three conserved domains, an amino-terminal domain, a middle domain and a carboxyl-terminal domain. We also carried out an in vivo functional mapping of these conserved domains within S. pombe ELL and uncovered a critical role for its amino-terminus in regulating all its cellular functions, including growth under different conditions, transcriptional elongation potential and interaction with S. pombe EAF. Taken together our results suggest that the domain organization of ELL proteins is conserved across species, but the in vivo functions as well as the relationship between the various domains and roles of ELL show species-specific differences.

Quantitative phosphoproteome profiling of Wnt3a-mediated signaling network: indicating the involvement of ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase M2 subunit phosphorylation at residue serine 20 in canonical Wnt signal transduction

The complexity of canonical Wnt signaling comes not only from the numerous components but also from multiple post-translational modifications. Protein phosphorylation is one of the most common modifications that propagates signals from extracellular stimuli to downstream effectors. To investigate the global phosphorylation regulation and uncover novel phosphoproteins at the early stages of canonical Wnt signaling, HEK293 cells were metabolically labeled with two stable isotopic forms of lysine and were stimulated for 0, 1, or 30 min with purified Wnt3a. After phosphoprotein enrichment and LC-MS/MS analysis, 1057 proteins were identified in all three time points. In total 287 proteins showed a 1.5-fold or greater change in at least one time point. In addition to many known Wnt signaling transducers, other phosphoproteins were identified and quantitated, implicating their involvement in canonical Wnt signaling. k-Means clustering analysis showed dynamic patterns for the differential phosphoproteins. Profile pattern and interaction network analysis of the differential phosphoproteins implicated the possible roles for those unreported components in Wnt signaling. Moreover 100 unique phosphorylation sites were identified, and 54 of them were quantitated in the three time points. Site-specific phosphopeptide quantitation revealed that Ser-20 phosphorylation on RRM2 increased upon 30-min Wnt3a stimulation. Further studies with mutagenesis, the Wnt reporter gene assay, and RNA interference indicated that RRM2 functioned downstream of beta-catenin as an inhibitor of Wnt signaling and that Ser-20 phosphorylation of RRM2 counteracted its inhibition effect. Our systematic profiling of dynamic phosphorylation changes responding to Wnt3a stimulation not only presented a comprehensive phosphorylation network regulated by canonical Wnt signaling but also found novel molecules and phosphorylation involved in Wnt signaling.

Novel Daple-like protein positively regulates both the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and the Wnt/JNK pathway in Xenopus

Wnt signaling pathways are essential in various developmental processes including differentiation, proliferation, cell migration, and cell polarity. Wnt proteins execute their multiple functions by activating distinct intracellular signaling cascades, although the mechanisms underlying this activation are not fully understood. We identified a novel Daple-like protein in Xenopus and named it xDal (Xenopus Daple-like). As with Daple, xDal contains several leucine zipper-like regions (LZLs) and a putative PDZ domain-binding motif, and can interact directly with the dishevelled protein. In contrast to mDaple, injection of xDal mRNA into the dorso-vegetal blastomere does not induce ventralization and acted synergistically with xdsh in secondary axis induction. XDal also induced expression of siamois and xnr-3, suggesting that XDal functions as a positive regulator of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Injection of xDal mRNA into the dorso-animal blastomere, however, induced gastrulation-defective phenotypes in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, xDal inhibited activin-induced elongation of animal caps and enhanced c-jun phosphorylation. Based on these findings, xDal is also thought to function in the Wnt/JNK pathway. Moreover, functional domain analysis with several deletion mutants indicated that xDal requires both a putative PDZ domain-binding motif and at least one LZL for its activity. These findings with xDal will provide new information on the Wnt signaling pathways.

Structure of the conserved cytoplasmic C-terminal domain of occludin: identification of the ZO-1 binding surface

Occludin is a transmembrane protein localized at tight junctions whose functions are complex yet poorly understood. Current evidence supports a role for occludin in both the formation of the paracellular barrier and in cell signaling. While the N-terminal extracellular domains of occludin mediate homotypic adhesion, the distal C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of occludin controls protein targeting and endocytosis. The C terminus can also bind to the scaffolding proteins ZO-1, ZO-2, ZO-3, cingulin, the membrane trafficking protein VAP33, and the cytoskeletal protein F-actin, suggesting an important role for this domain. This domain is highly homologous to an important functional domain in the C terminus of the ELL family of RNA polymerase II transcription factors. To explore the function of occludin, we determined the high-resolution crystal structure of its C-terminal distal cytoplasmic domain. The structure comprises three helices that form two separate anti-parallel coiled-coils and a loop that packs tightly against one of the coiled-coils. Using in vitro binding studies and site-directed mutagenesis, we have identified a large positively charged surface that contains the binding site for ZO-1, and this surface is required for proper localization of occludin to cell-cell junctions. On the basis of sequence conservation, we predict that occludin domains from different species and the C-terminal domain of the ELL transcription factors share a very similar structure. Our results provide a model to further test the function of occludin and its binding to other proteins.

The Elongation Factor ELL (Eleven-Nineteen Lysine-Rich Leukemia) Is a Selective Coregulator for Steroid Receptor Functions

The dynamic and coordinated recruitment of coregulators by steroid receptors is critical for specific gene transcriptional activation. To identify new cofactors of the human (h) mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), its highly specific N-terminal domain was used as bait in a yeast two-hybrid approach. We isolated ELL (eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia), a RNA polymerase II elongation factor which, when fused to MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) contributes to the pathogenesis of acute leukemia. Specific interaction between hMR and ELL was confirmed by glutathione-S-transferase pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Transient transfections demonstrated that ELL increased receptor transcriptional potency and hormonal efficacy, indicating that ELL behaves as a bona fide MR coactivator. Of major interest, ELL differentially modulates steroid receptor responses, with striking opposite effects on hMR and glucocorticoid receptor-mediated transactivation, without affecting that of androgen and progesterone receptors. Furthermore, the MLL-ELL fusion protein, as well as several ELL truncated mutants and the ELL L214V mutant, lost their ability to potentiate MR transcriptional activities, suggesting that both the elongation domain and the ELL-associated factor 1 interaction domains are required for ELL to fulfill its selector activity on steroid receptors. This study is the first direct demonstration of a functional interaction between a nuclear receptor and an elongation factor. These results provide further evidence that the selectivity of the mineralo vs. glucocorticoid signaling pathways also occurs at the transcriptional complex level and may have major pathophysiological implications, most notably in leukemogenesis and corticosteroid-induced apoptosis. These findings allow us to propose the concept of "transcriptional selector" for ELL on steroid receptor transcriptional functions.