Human Neuralized is a novel tumour suppressor targeting Wnt/ß-catenin signalling in colon cancer.

While there is growing evidence that many epigenetically silenced genes in cancer are tumour suppressor candidates, their significance in cancer biology remains unclear. Here, we identify human Neuralized (NEURL), which acts as a novel tumour suppressor targeting oncogenic Wnt/ß-catenin signalling in human cancers. The expression of NEURL is epigenetically regulated and markedly suppressed in human colorectal cancer. We, therefore, considered NEURL to be a bona fide tumour suppressor in colorectal cancer and demonstrate that this tumour suppressive function depends on NEURL-mediated oncogenic ß-catenin degradation. We find that NEURL acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase, interacting directly with oncogenic ß-catenin, and reducing its cytoplasmic levels in a GSK3ß- and ß-TrCP-independent manner, indicating that NEURL-ß-catenin interactions can lead to a disruption of the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. This study suggests that NEURL is a therapeutic target against human cancers and that it acts by regulating oncogenic Wnt/ß-catenin signalling.

Promoter Methylation of Cancer Stem Cell Surface Markers as an Epigenetic Biomarker for Prognosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Growing evidence suggests that genetic and epigenetic factors, including environmental factors, contribute to the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Here, we investigated the transcriptional silencing of the CD24, CD44, CD133, and CD147 genes, which are well-known cancer stem cell surface markers in various cancer types, including OSCC. We first examined the correlation between the transcriptional expression level and reactivation by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) and the promoter methylation levels of the four genes in several OSCC cell lines. We observed promoter hypermethylation for the CD24, CD133, and CD147 genes at 70%, 75%, and 70%, respectively, in OSCC cell lines compared to normal oral mucosa tissues (<53%), indicating that this methylation pattern is cancer-specific, which was confirmed by bisulfite sequencing analysis. More specifically, the expression and methylation profiles of CD133 and CD147 extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were negatively correlated, supporting their epigenetic regulation in primary OSCC tumors. The methylation status of CD133 and CD147 was associated with poor survival in patients with OSCC using the TCGA database. Our findings provide additional insight into the abnormal DNA methylation of CD133 and that CD147 could be used for the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of patients with OSCC.

Identification of DNA methylation biomarkers for evaluating cardiovascular disease risk from epigenome profiles altered by low-dose ionizing radiation.

BACKGROUND: Environmental exposure, medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications, and industrial utilization of radionuclides have prompted a growing focus on the risks associated with low-dose radiation (< 100 mGy). Current evidence suggests that such radiation can induce epigenetic changes. Nevertheless, whether exposure to low-dose radiation can disrupt endothelial cell function at the molecular level is unclear. Because endothelial cells play crucial roles in cardiovascular health and disease, we aimed to investigate whether low-dose radiation could lead to differential DNA methylation patterns at the genomic level in endothelial cell (EC) lines. METHODS: We screened for changes in DNA methylation patterns in primary human aortic (HAECs) and coronary artery endothelial cells following exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation. Using a subset of genes altered via DNA methylation by low-dose irradiation, we performed gene ontology (GO) analysis to predict the possible biological network mediating the effect of low-dose radiation. In addition, we performed comprehensive validation using methylation and gene expression analyses, and ChIP assay to identify useful biomarkers among candidate genes for use in detecting low-dose radiation exposure in human primary normal ECs. RESULTS: Low-dose radiation is sufficient to induce global DNA methylation alterations in normal EC lines. GO analysis demonstrated that these hyper- or hypo-methylated genes were linked to diverse biological pathways. Our findings indicated a robust correlation between promoter hypermethylation and transcriptional downregulation of four genes (PGRMC1, UNC119B, RERE, and FNDC3B) in response to low-dose ionizing radiation in HAECs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, the identified genes can serve as potential DNA methylation biomarkers for the assessment of cardiovascular risk upon exposure to low-dose radiation.

Characterization of a novel tyrosinase inhibitor, (2RS,4R)-2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (MHY384).

BACKGROUND: We synthesized (2RS,4R)-2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (MHY384) as a potential tyrosinase inhibitor and investigated its antityrosinase activity. METHODS: The structure of MHY384 was established using (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and mass spectral analyses. To investigate dual mechanisms of action of MHY384 for the inhibition of melanin synthesis, we confirmed the inhibitory effect of tyrosinase catalytic activity of MHY384. Then, we confirmed the inhibitory effect of MHY384 on transcription of tyrosinase mRNA through alpha-MSH-induced cAMP-PKA-MITF signaling. In addition, we supported the inhibitory mechanism of MHY384 against tyrosinase using a kinetic study and docking programs. RESULTS: To determine how MHY384 regulates melanogenesis, we measured melanin levels and expression of the genes for microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase in α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-induced B16F10 melanoma cells. MHY384 potently inhibited tyrosinase activity and melanin production in B16F10 melanoma cells. Through docking models, we were able to construct the tertiary structure of mushroom tyrosinase and simulate its docking with MHY384. The result supports that MHY384 strongly interacts with tyrosinase residues in the active site and it can directly inhibit tyrosinase. To investigate additional mechanisms of action of MHY384, we confirmed that the inhibition of tyrosinase activity was found to be due to the modulation of the expression of tyrosinase and its transcription factor, MITF, through cAMP, which regulates protein kinase A. CONCLUSIONS: This study strongly indicates that the depigmenting effect of MHY384 results from the down-regulation of MITF and tyrosinase through direct tyrosinase inhibition. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that MHY384 can be an effective skin-whitening agent.

A possible usage of a CDK4 inhibitor for breast cancer stem cell-targeted therapy.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are one of the main reasons behind cancer recurrence due to their resistance to conventional anti-cancer therapies. Thus, many efforts are being devoted to developing CSC-targeted therapies to overcome the resistance of CSCs to conventional anti-cancer therapies and decrease cancer recurrence. Differentiation therapy is one potential approach to achieve CSC-targeted therapies. This method involves inducing immature cancer cells with stem cell characteristics into more mature or differentiated cancer cells. In this study, we found that a CDK4 inhibitor sensitized MDA-MB-231 cells but not MCF7 cells to irradiation. This difference appeared to be associated with the relative percentage of CSC-population between the two breast cancer cells. The CDK4 inhibitor induced differentiation and reduced the cancer stem cell activity of MDA-MB-231 cells, which are shown by multiple marker or phenotypes of CSCs. Thus, these results suggest that radiosensitization effects may be caused by reducing the CSC-population of MDA-MB-231 through the use of the CDK4 inhibitor. Thus, further investigations into the possible application of the CDK4 inhibitor for CSC-targeted therapy should be performed to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy for breast cancer.

Enhancement of Radiosensitivity by DNA Hypomethylating Drugs through Apoptosis and Autophagy in Human Sarcoma Cells.

The targeting of DNA methylation in cancer using DNA hypomethylating drugs has been well known to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy and immunotherapy by affecting multiple pathways. Herein, we investigated the combinational effects of DNA hypomethylating drugs and ionizing radiation (IR) in human sarcoma cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Clonogenic assays were performed to determine the radiosensitizing properties of two DNA hypomethylating drugs on sarcoma cell lines we tested in this study with multiple doses of IR. We analyzed the effects of 5-aza-dC or SGI-110, as DNA hypomethylating drugs, in combination with IR in vitro on the proliferation, apoptosis, caspase-3/7 activity, migration/invasion, and Western blotting using apoptosis- or autophagy-related factors. To confirm the combined effect of DNA hypomethylating drugs and IR in our in vitro experiment, we generated the sarcoma cells in nude mouse xenograft models. Here, we found that the combination of DNA hypomethylating drugs and IR improved anticancer effects by inhibiting cell proliferation and by promoting synergistic cell death that is associated with both apoptosis and autophagy in vitro and in vivo. Our data demonstrated that the combination effects of DNA hypomethylating drugs with radiation exhibited greater cellular effects than the use of a single agent treatment, thus suggesting that the combination of DNA hypomethylating drugs and radiation may become a new radiotherapy to improve therapeutic efficacy for cancer treatment.

Synthesis and biological activity of hydroxy substituted phenyl-benzo[d]thiazole analogues for antityrosinase activity in B16 cells.

In this study, we synthesized hydroxy and/or alkoxy substituted phenyl-benzo[d]thiazole derivatives using substituted benzaldehydes and 2-aminothiophenol in MeOH. The structures of these compounds were established by (1)H and (13)CNMR and mass spectral analyzes. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for their mushroom tyrosinase inhibition activity. Out the 12 generated compounds, 2a and 2d exhibited much higher tyrosinase inhibition activity (45.36-73.07% and 49.94-94.17% at 0.01-20 µM, respectively) than kojic acid (9.29-50.80% at 1.25-20 µM), a positive control. The cytotoxicity of 2a and 2d was evaluated using B16 cells and the compounds were found to be nontoxic. Compounds 2a and 2d were also demonstrated to be potent mushroom tyrosinase inhibitors, displaying IC(50) values of 1.14±0.48 and 0.01±0.0002 µM, respectively, compared with kojic acid, which has an IC(50) value of 18.45±0.17 µM. We also predicted the tertiary structure of tyrosinase, simulated the docking with compounds 2a and 2d and confirmed that the compounds strongly interact with mushroom tyrosinase residues. Kinetic plots showed that 2a and 2d are competitive tyrosinase inhibitors. Substitutions with a hydroxy group at R(3) or both R(3) and R(1) of the phenyl ring indicated that these groups play a major role in the high binding affinity to tyrosinase. We further found that compounds 2a and 2d inhibit melanin production and tyrosinase activity in B16 cells. These results may assist in the development of new potent tyrosinase inhibitors against hyperpigmentation.

Hypermethylated promoters of tumor suppressor genes were identified in Crohn's disease patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Overwhelming evidence suggests that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is caused by a complicated interplay between the multiple genes and abnormal epigenetic regulation in response to environmental factors. It is becoming apparent that epigenetic factors are significantly associated with the development of the disease. DNA methylation remains the most studied epigenetic modification, and hypermethylation of gene promoters is associated with gene silencing. METHODS: DNA methylation alterations may contribute to the many complex diseases development by regulating the interplay between external and internal environmental factors and gene transcriptional expression. In this study, we used 15 tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), originally identified in colon cancer, to detect promoter methylation in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Methylation specific polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite sequencing analyses were performed to assess methylation level of TSGs in CD patients. RESULTS: We found 6 TSGs (sFRP1, sFRP2, sFRP5, TFPI2, Sox17, and GATA4) are robustly hypermethylated in CD patient samples. Bisulfite sequencing analysis confirmed the methylation levels of the sFRP1, sFRP2, sFRP5, TFPI2, Sox17, and GATA4 promoters in the representative CD patient samples. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the promoter hypermethylation of the TSGs observed indicates that CD exhibits specific DNA methylation signatures with potential clinical applications for the noninvasive diagnosis of IBD and the prognosis for patients with IBD.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the DNA Methylation Profile Identifies the Fragile Histidine Triad (FHIT) Gene as a New Promising Biomarker of Crohn's Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is known to be associated with a genetic predisposition involving multiple genes; however, there is growing evidence that abnormal interactions with environmental factors, particularly epigenetic factors, can also significantly contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although many genome-wide association studies have been performed to identify the genetic changes underlying the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease, the role of epigenetic alterations based on molecular complications arising from Crohn's disease (CD) is poorly understood. We employed an unbiased approach to define DNA methylation alterations in colonoscopy samples from patients with CD using the HumanMethylation450K BeadChip platform. Technical and functional validation was performed by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and bisulfite sequencing of a validation set of 207 patients with CD samples. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed in the representative sample sets. DNA methylation profile in CD revealed that 135 probes (24 hypermethylated and 111 hypomethylated probes) were differentially methylated. We validated the methylation levels of 19 genes that showed hypermethylation in patients with CD compared with normal controls. We uniquely identified that the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene was hypermethylated in a disease-specific manner and its protein level was downregulated in patients with CD. Pathway analysis of the hypermethylated candidates further suggested putative molecular interactions relevant to IBD pathology. Our data provide information on the biological and clinical implications of DNA hypermethylated genes in CD, identifying FHIT methylation as a promising new biomarker for CD. Further study of the role of FHIT in IBD pathogenesis may lead to the development of new therapeutic targets.

Aberrantly hypermethylated tumor suppressor genes were identified in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a genetic and epigenetic disease. There is growing evidence to suggest that environmental factors due to epigenetic changes can be involved in the OSCC pathogenesis. Although tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) are commonly inactivated by promoter hypermethylation in human cancers, the epigenetic changes and the mechanism of TSGs in human OSCC remain unclear. We therefore assessed the methylation status of the TSGs, which are associated with epigenetic silencing in human cancers, OSCC cell lines, primary tumors, and normal oral mucosa. RESULTS: We used 14 TSGs that were originally identified in colon cancer to investigate the aberrant hypermethylation of these genes associated with transcriptional silencing in 10 OSCC cell lines. We found three TSGs, TFPI2, SOX17, and GATA4, that are robustly hypermethylated and are associated with transcriptional silencing in OSCC cell lines. The re-expression of the three genes was induced by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) in cells in which these genes were not expressed or had a lack of expression. In 33 cases of primary OSCC tumors, promoter hypermethylation was detected for the TFPI2, SOX17, and GATA4 genes at (32/33) 97%, (22/33) 67%, and (11/33) 33%, respectively. Eleven normal oral mucosa samples showed no promoter hypermethylation for all three genes, which suggests that this promoter hypermethylation is cancer-specific. Bisulfite sequencing analysis confirmed the cancer-specific methylation of the TFPI2, SOX17, and GATA4 promoters in the OSCC cell lines and tumors but not in the normal oral mucosa samples. More importantly, the methylation status of TFPI2, GATA4, and SOX17 was significantly associated with OSCC patients' overall survival through TCGA DNA methylation database. CONCLUSIONS: We identified that TFPI2, SOX17, and GATA4 are frequently hypermethylated in human OSCC cells in a cancer-specific manner and that the transcriptional expression of these genes is regulated by promoter hypermethylation in OSCC. Our results highlight the great potential used as a synergistic biomarker set to improve the prognosis and therapeutic treatment for patients with OSCC.

Hypoxia induces immunogenic cell death of cancer cells by enhancing the exposure of cell surface calreticulin in an endoplasmic reticulum stress-dependent manner.

Hypoxia is associated with resistance to anticancer therapies. Additionally, it is involved in the immune evasion of cancer cells by inducing an immunosuppressive microenvironment. However, the role of hypoxia in modulating the immunogenicity of cancer cells remains unknown. Hypoxia is known to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which serves a key role in inducing the cell surface exposure of calreticulin, a marker of immunogenic cell death. The present study investigated whether hypoxia influenced the immunogenicity of cancer cells using FACS, western blot analysis and syngenic mouse tumor model. The results revealed that hypoxia induced the cell surface exposure of calreticulin in human and mouse breast cancer cell lines depending on ER stress. Enhanced cell surface exposure of calreticulin induced by hypoxia resulted in an increase in anticancer immunity in a mouse model, which suggested that hypoxia induced immunogenic cell death. Notably, hypoxia did not significantly modulate the cell surface exposure of CD47, an antagonist of calreticulin function in cancer immunogenicity. These results suggest that hypoxia may enhance the immunogenicity of cancer cells themselves, in addition to its role in inducing an immunosuppressive cancer microenvironment.

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid reduces the invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells by modulating matrix metalloproteinases 7 and 13.

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) is a conjugated form of UDCA that modulates several signaling pathways and acts as a chemical chaperone to relieve endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The present study showed that TUDCA reduced the invasion of the MDA-MB-231 metastatic breast cancer cell line under normoxic and hypoxic conditions using an in vitro invasion assay. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay revealed that the reduced invasion following TUDCA treatment was associated with a decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-7 and -13, which play important roles in invasion and metastasis. Inhibitors and short hairpin RNAs were used to show that the effect of TUDCA in the reduction of invasion appeared to be dependent on the protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase pathway, a downstream ER stress signaling pathway. Thus, TUDCA is a candidate anti-metastatic agent to target the ER stress pathway.

Bub1 is required for maintaining cancer stem cells in breast cancer cell lines.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women worldwide due to therapeutic resistance and cancer recurrence. Cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for resistance and recurrence. Many efforts to overcome resistance and recurrence by regulating cancer stem cells are ongoing. Bub1 (Budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1) is a mitotic checkpoint serine/threonine kinase that plays an important role in chromosome segregation. Bub1 expression is correlated with a poor clinical prognosis in patients with breast cancer. We identified that depleting Bub1 using shRNAs reduces cancer stem cell potential of the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line, resulting in inhibited formation of xenografts in immunocompromised mice. These results suggest that Bub1 may be associated with cancer stem cell potential and could be a target for developing anti-breast cancer stem cell therapies.

Effect of low dose radiation on differentiation of bone marrow cells into dendritic cells.

Low dose radiation has been shown to be beneficial to living organisms using several biological systems, including immune and hematopoietic systems. Chronic low dose radiation was shown to stimulate immune systems, resulting in controlling the proliferation of cancer cells, maintain immune balance and induce hematopoietic hormesis. Since dendritic cells are differentiated from bone marrow cells and are key players in maintaining the balance between immune activation and tolerance, it may be important to further characterize whether low dose radiation can influence the capacity of bone marrow cells to differentiate into dendritic cells. We have shown that bone marrow cells from low dose-irradiated (γ-radiation, 0.2Gy, 15.44mGy/h) mice can differentiate into dendritic cells that have several different characteristics, such as expression of surface molecules, cytokine secretion and antigen uptake capacity, when compared to dentritic cells differentiated from the control bone marrow cells. These differences observed in the low dose radiation group can be beneficial to living organisms either by activation of immune responses to foreign antigens or tumors, or maintenance of self-tolerance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing that total-body low dose radiation can modulate the capacity of bone marrow cells to differentiate into dendritic cells.

Molecular basis for age-related changes in ileum: involvement of Bax/caspase-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic signaling.

Previous studies indicate that in the elderly, a morphological change in the small intestine is accompanied by apoptosis. However, currently little information is available on the molecular events leading up to the apoptotic process in aged ileum. Our current study assessed mitochondrial apoptotic signaling along with key factors known to be involved in mitochondrial permeabilization in rat ileum. Experimentations were carried out utilizing Sprague-Dawley rats at 6 and 24 months of age. The histological analysis showed a significant loss in thickness of the intestinal mucosa during aging, which was accompanied by higher reactive species. Molecular analysis revealed the mitochondrial translocation of Bax showed a significant increase with aging. However, the expression of cyclophilin D, adenine nucleotide translocator, and the voltage-dependent anion channel that regulates the mitochondria permeability transition pore decreased or remained unchanged. Furthermore, the expression of caspase 3 was enhanced in aged ileum with increased DNA fragmentation, while nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G were decreased with aging. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the mitochondrial translocation of Bax by increased oxidative stress may result in cell death through caspase-dependent apoptosis in aged ileum, thereby leading to a decrease in intestinal mucosal thickness during aging.

5-Hydroxytrytophan inhibits tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative damage via the suppression of reactive species (RS) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation on human fibroblast.

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5HTP), an analogue of tryptophan, is a precursor of serotonin that also has effective antioxidative and anti-apoptotic properties (1) . However, the cellular mechanisms underlying these properties of 5HTP have not been explored. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that 5HTP exerts its antioxidative action against oxidative stress and inflammation by suppressing the activation of the key pro-inflammatory transcriptional pathways, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). The study was carried out using human fibroblast cells that were challenged by tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative damage. Results show that 5HTP significantly reduced t-BHP-induced oxidative damage in human fibroblast cells, as determined by cell cytotoxicity, intracellular reactive species (RS) and peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) generation, and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. Moreover, 5HTP protected human fibroblast cells against t-BHP-induced oxidative DNA damage, as determined by 4,6-diamidino-2-phenlylindole (DAPI) staining. Pretreatment of human fibroblast cells with 5HTP also dose-dependently inhibited glutathione (GSH) depletion, indicating that it protects cells against t-BHP-induced oxidative damage. Western blot analysis revealed that 5HTP also markedly increased Bcl-2 expression and suppressed both p38MAPK and NF-kappaB activation in the t-BHP-treated human fibroblast cells. When these results are taken together, they strongly indicate that 5HTP has beneficial and protective effects against t-BHP-induced cell death in vitro, as demonstrated by its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory actions. Data further showed that the protective mechanisms underlying the actions of 5HTP against oxidative stress-induced damage are associated with RS/ONOO(-) scavenging and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and GSH depletion.