KLF2-induced actin shear fibers control both alignment to flow and JNK signaling in vascular endothelium.

The shear stress-induced transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) confers antiinflammatory properties to endothelial cells through the inhibition of activator protein 1, presumably by interfering with mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. To gain insight into the regulation of these cascades by KLF2, we used antibody arrays in combination with time-course mRNA microarray analysis. No gross changes in MAPKs were detected; rather, phosphorylation of actin cytoskeleton-associated proteins, including focal adhesion kinase, was markedly repressed by KLF2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that KLF2-mediated inhibition of Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and its downstream targets ATF2/c-Jun is dependent on the cytoskeleton. Specifically, KLF2 directs the formation of typical short basal actin filaments, termed shear fibers by us, which are distinct from thrombin- or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced stress fibers. KLF2 is shown to be essential for shear stress-induced cell alignment, concomitant shear fiber assembly, and inhibition of JNK signaling. These findings link the specific effects of shear-induced KLF2 on endothelial morphology to the suppression of JNK MAPK signaling in vascular homeostasis via novel actin shear fibers.

Pharmacogenomics of interferon-beta therapy in multiple sclerosis: baseline IFN signature determines pharmacological differences between patients.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a heterogeneous disease. In order to understand the partial responsiveness to IFNbeta in Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS) we studied the pharmacological effects of IFNbeta therapy. METHODOLOGY: Large scale gene expression profiling was performed on peripheral blood of 16 RRMS patients at baseline and one month after the start of IFNbeta therapy. Differential gene expression was analyzed by Significance Analysis of Microarrays. Subsequent expression analyses on specific genes were performed after three and six months of treatment. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated and stimulated in vitro with IFNbeta. Genes of interest were measured and validated by quantitative realtime PCR. An independent group of 30 RRMS patients was used for validation. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Pharmacogenomics revealed a marked variation in the pharmacological response to IFNbeta between patients. A total of 126 genes were upregulated in a subset of patients whereas in other patients these genes were downregulated or unchanged after one month of IFNbeta therapy. Most interestingly, we observed that the extent of the pharmacological response correlates negatively with the baseline expression of a specific set of 15 IFN response genes (R = -0.7208; p = 0.0016). The negative correlation was maintained after three (R = -0.7363; p = 0.0027) and six (R = -0.8154; p = 0.0004) months of treatment, as determined by gene expression levels of the most significant correlating gene. Similar results were obtained in an independent group of patients (n = 30; R = -0.4719; p = 0.0085). Moreover, the ex vivo results could be confirmed by in vitro stimulation of purified PBMCs at baseline with IFNbeta indicating that differential responsiveness to IFNbeta is an intrinsic feature of peripheral blood cells at baseline. CONCLUSION: These data imply that the expression levels of IFN response genes in the peripheral blood of MS patients prior to treatment could serve a role as biomarker for the differential clinical response to IFNbeta.