Molecular mechanisms responsible for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown. Using genetically engineered mouse models, we show that hepatocyte-specific expression of unconventional ...prefoldin RPB5 interactor (URI) leads to a multistep process of HCC development, whereas its genetic reduction in hepatocytes protects against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC. URI inhibits aryl hydrocarbon (AhR)- and estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated transcription of enzymes implicated in L-tryptophan/kynurenine/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism, thereby causing DNA damage at early stages of tumorigenesis. Restoring NAD+ pools with nicotinamide riboside (NR) prevents DNA damage and tumor formation. Consistently, URI expression in human HCC is associated with poor survival and correlates negatively with L-tryptophan catabolism pathway. Our results suggest that boosting NAD+ can be prophylactic or therapeutic in HCC.
•URI causes NAD+ depletion-dependent DNA damage leading to HCC development•Restoring NAD+ pools in vivo protects from DNA damage and HCC•URI inhibits AhR/ER transcriptional activity-mediated de novo NAD+ synthesis•URI-mediated de novo NAD+ synthesis inhibition may occur in human HCC
Tummala et al. show that overexpression of URI in mouse liver inhibits NAD+ metabolism, thereby causing DNA damage and tumorigenesis. Importantly, restoring NAD+ pools prevents DNA damage and tumor formation. URI expression in human HCC correlates negatively with L-tryptophan catabolism and patient survival.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has heterogeneous clinical and biological behavior. Whole-genome and -exome sequencing has contributed to the characterization of the mutational spectrum of the ...disease, but the underlying transcriptional profile is still poorly understood. We have performed deep RNA sequencing in different subpopulations of normal B-lymphocytes and CLL cells from a cohort of 98 patients, and characterized the CLL transcriptional landscape with unprecedented resolution. We detected thousands of transcriptional elements differentially expressed between the CLL and normal B cells, including protein-coding genes, noncoding RNAs, and pseudogenes. Transposable elements are globally derepressed in CLL cells. In addition, two thousand genes-most of which are not differentially expressed-exhibit CLL-specific splicing patterns. Genes involved in metabolic pathways showed higher expression in CLL, while genes related to spliceosome, proteasome, and ribosome were among the most down-regulated in CLL. Clustering of the CLL samples according to RNA-seq derived gene expression levels unveiled two robust molecular subgroups, C1 and C2. C1/C2 subgroups and the mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) region were the only independent variables in predicting time to treatment in a multivariate analysis with main clinico-biological features. This subdivision was validated in an independent cohort of patients monitored through DNA microarrays. Further analysis shows that B-cell receptor (BCR) activation in the microenvironment of the lymph node may be at the origin of the C1/C2 differences.
Distinct DNA methylomes of newborns and centenarians Heyn, Holger; Li, Ning; Ferreira, Humberto J. ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
06/2012, Letnik:
109, Številka:
26
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Human aging cannot be fully understood in terms of the constrained genetic setting. Epigenetic drift is an alternative means of explaining age-associated alterations. To address this issue, we ...performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) of newborn and centenarian genomes. The centenarian DNA had a lower DNA methylation content and a reduced correlation in the methylation status of neighboring cytosine—phosphate—guanine (CpGs) throughout the genome in comparison with the more homogeneously methylated newborn DNA. The more hypomethylated CpGs observed in the centenarian DNA compared with the neonate covered all genomic compartments, such as promoters, exonic, intronic, and intergenic regions. For regulatory regions, the most hypomethylated sequences in the centenarian DNA were present mainly at CpG-poor promoters and in tissue-specific genes, whereas a greater level of DNA methylation was observed in CpG island promoters. We extended the study to a larger cohort of newborn and nonagenarian samples using a 450,000 CpG-site DNA methylation microarray that reinforced the observation of more hypomethylated DNA sequences in the advanced age group. WGBS and 450,000 analyses of middle-age individuals demonstrated DNA methylomes in the crossroad between the newborn and the nonagenarian/centenarian groups. Our study constitutes a unique DNA methylation analysis of the extreme points of human life at a single-nucleotide resolution level.
Rap1 is a component of the shelterin complex at mammalian telomeres, but its in vivo role in telomere biology has remained largely unknown to date. Here we show that Rap1 deficiency is dispensable ...for telomere capping but leads to increased telomere recombination and fragility. We generated cells and mice deleted for Rap1; mice with Rap1 deletion in stratified epithelia were viable but had shorter telomeres and developed skin hyperpigmentation in adulthood. By performing chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with ultrahigh-throughput sequencing, we found that Rap1 binds to both telomeres and to extratelomeric sites through the (TTAGGG)(2) consensus motif. Extratelomeric Rap1-binding sites were enriched at subtelomeric regions, in agreement with preferential deregulation of subtelomeric genes in Rap1-deficient cells. More than 70% of extratelomeric Rap1-binding sites were in the vicinity of genes, and 31% of the genes deregulated in Rap1-null cells contained Rap1-binding sites, suggesting a role for Rap1 in transcriptional control. These findings place a telomere protein at the interface between telomere function and transcriptional regulation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a frequent disease in which the genetic alterations determining the clinicobiological behaviour are not fully understood. Here we describe a comprehensive ...evaluation of the genomic landscape of 452 CLL cases and 54 patients with monoclonal B-lymphocytosis, a precursor disorder. We extend the number of CLL driver alterations, including changes in ZNF292, ZMYM3, ARID1A and PTPN11. We also identify novel recurrent mutations in non-coding regions, including the 3' region of NOTCH1, which cause aberrant splicing events, increase NOTCH1 activity and result in a more aggressive disease. In addition, mutations in an enhancer located on chromosome 9p13 result in reduced expression of the B-cell-specific transcription factor PAX5. The accumulative number of driver alterations (0 to ≥4) discriminated between patients with differences in clinical behaviour. This study provides an integrated portrait of the CLL genomic landscape, identifies new recurrent driver mutations of the disease, and suggests clinical interventions that may improve the management of this neoplasia.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Activated B cells reshape their primary antibody repertoire after antigen encounter by two molecular mechanisms: somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR). SHM and CSR are ...initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) through the deamination of cytosine residues on the immunoglobulin loci, which leads to the generation of DNA mutations or double-strand break intermediates. As a bystander effect, endogenous AID levels can also promote the generation of chromosome translocations, suggesting that the fine tuning of AID expression may be critical to restrict B cell lymphomagenesis. To determine whether microRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in the regulation of AID expression, we performed a functional screening of an miRNA library and identified miRNAs that regulate CSR. One such miRNA, miR-181b, impairs CSR when expressed in activated B cells, and results in the down-regulation of AID mRNA and protein levels. We found that the AID 3' untranslated region contains multiple putative binding sequences for miR-181b and that these sequences can be directly targeted by miR-181b. Overall, our results provide evidence for a new regulatory mechanism that restricts AID activity and can therefore be relevant to prevent B cell malignant transformation.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major health concern. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with high CRC incidence and mortality, suggesting a protective effect of vitamin D against this disease. Given ...the strong influence of tumour stroma on cancer progression, we investigated the potential effects of the active vitamin D metabolite 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
(1,25(OH)
D
) on CRC stroma.
Expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and two 1,25(OH)
D
target genes was analysed in 658 patients with CRC with prolonged clinical follow-up. 1,25(OH)
D
effects on primary cultures of patient-derived colon normal fibroblasts (NFs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were studied using collagen gel contraction and migration assays and global gene expression analyses. Publicly available data sets (n=877) were used to correlate the 1,25(OH)
D
-associated gene signature in CAFs with CRC outcome.
High VDR expression in tumour stromal fibroblasts was associated with better overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival in CRC, independently of its expression in carcinoma cells. 1,25(OH)
D
inhibited the protumoural activation of NFs and CAFs and imposed in CAFs a 1,25(OH)
D
-associated gene signature that correlated with longer OS and disease-free survival in CRC. Furthermore, expression of two genes from the signature, CD82 and S100A4, correlated with stromal VDR expression and clinical outcome in our cohort of patients with CRC.
1,25(OH)
D
has protective effects against CRC through the regulation of stromal fibroblasts. Accordingly, expression of VDR and 1,25(OH)
D
-associated gene signature in stromal fibroblasts predicts a favourable clinical outcome in CRC. Therefore, treatment of patients with CRC with VDR agonists could be explored even in the absence of VDR expression in carcinoma cells.
Telomeric RNAs (TERRAs) are UUAGGG repeat-containing RNAs that are transcribed from the subtelomere towards the telomere. The precise genomic origin of TERRA has remained elusive. Using a ...whole-genome RNA-sequencing approach, we identify novel mouse transcripts arising mainly from the subtelomere of chromosome 18, and to a lesser extend chromosome 9, that resemble TERRA in several key aspects. Those transcripts contain UUAGGG-repeats and are heterogeneous in size, fluctuate in abundance in a TERRA-like manner during the cell cycle, are bound by TERRA RNA-binding proteins and are regulated in a manner similar to TERRA in response to stress and the induction of pluripotency. These transcripts are also found to associate with nearly all chromosome ends and downregulation of the transcripts that originate from chromosome 18 causes a reduction in TERRA abundance. Interestingly, downregulation of either chromosome 18 transcripts or TERRA results in increased number of telomere dysfunction-induced foci, suggesting a protective role at telomeres.
Small RNAs can guide chromatin remodeling in mammalian cells, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Previous reports have shown a requirement for overlapping transcription and the ...involvement of Argonaute (Ago) proteins. Here, we use the Regulatory Domain (RD) of the INK4/ARF locus as an experimental platform susceptible to siRNA-guided chromatin remodeling to interrogate about the mechanisms involved. We show that siRNA-guided chromatin remodeling of RD requires overlapping transcription and targets the transcribed strand, and not to the template strand, supporting an RNA:RNA recognition mechanism between the small RNA and the nascent RNA transcript. We found that heterochromatin formation can be triggered both by perfectly-matched double-stranded RNAs, as well as, by imperfectly-matched double-stranded RNAs. The latter observation, together with the fact that promoters are often subjected to overlapping transcription, suggest that miRNAs could also be able to guide heterochromatin formation at promoters. We proof this possibility using showing that miRNAs miR17-5p and miR20a from the oncomiR cluster miR-17-92 can induce heterochromatic features in promoters that undergo overlapping transcription and possess sequence complementarity to the miRNA seed region. These results unveil a new level of gene regulation by miRNAs.
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