Intestinal glucocorticoid synthesis enzymes in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are devastating chronic immunopathologies of the intestinal mucosa, which are frequently treated by immunosuppressive glucocorticoids. Endogenous glucocorticoids are not only produced by the adrenal glands, but also by the intestinal epithelium. Local glucocorticoid synthesis critically contributes to the immune homeostasis of the intestinal mucosa. As defective intestinal glucocorticoid synthesis has been associated with the development of IBD, we investigated the expression of steroidogenic enzymes and the key transcriptional regulator Liver Receptor Homolog-1 (LRH-1/NR5A2) in ileal and colonic biopsies human pediatric IBD and control patients. Furthermore, the induction of steroidogenic enzymes and their transcriptional regulation by LRH-1 was investigated in a mouse model of experimental colitis. These analyses revealed that colitis-induced expression of steroidogenic enzymes in the murine colon is dependent on the presence of LRH-1, as intestinal deletion of LRH-1 strongly reduced their colitis-induced expression. Similarly, a strong correlation between the expression of LRH-1 and different steroidogenic enzymes was seen in intestinal biopsies of human pediatric patients. Importantly, reduced expression of hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 11B1 (HSD11B1) was observed in IBD patients compared to control patients, suggesting that defective local reactivation of glucocorticoids could contribute to the pathogenesis of IBD.

Counting on Death - Quantitative aspects of Bcl-2 family regulation.

The Bcl-2 protein family members critically regulate mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), a point-of-no-return in the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways. The common view on qualitative interaction and activation patterns of the three subclasses, the BH3-only proteins, prosurvivals, and effectors, is static and currently being revolutionized by an emerging understanding of the complex dynamic equilibria that govern cellular fate. Recent experimental evidence on protein associations with the mitochondrial outer membrane, retrotranslocation to the cytosol, and differential binding affinities in aqueous and membranous environments instigate the development of a revised model of Bcl-2 family interplay. Likely, the dynamic processes and their respective timescales need to be taken into account to authentically understand and, by extension, to generate reliable predictions on cellular decision-making. Here, we review the quantitative aspects of Bcl-2 family-regulated MOMP. In particular, we discuss affinity binding constants of protein-protein associations and velocities of post-translational modifications, membrane (retro-) translocations, and effector oligomerization. Moreover, we provide insights into how these kinetic and network information enable systems biological approaches, further enhancing our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms governing MOMP.

Bax retrotranslocation potentiates Bcl-xL's antiapoptotic activity and is essential for switch-like transitions between MOMP competency and resistance.

The rapid, typically all-or-none process of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) constitutes a primary cell death decision that is controlled by the Bcl-2 family interactome. However, how strict all-or-none MOMP decisions are governed by and emanate from the dynamic interplay of pro- and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members remains incompletely understood. In particular, it is unclear to which extent the shuttling of Bcl-2 family species between lipid and aqueous phases contributes to regulating MOMP sensitivity. Here, we studied the interplay of tBid, Bax, and Bcl-xL, using a combined approach of deterministic mathematical modeling and retrospective as well as prospective experimental testing of model predictions. Systems modeling of the tBid-Bax interplay and their fluxes between cytosol and mitochondrial membranes reproduced experimental data on tBid-triggered Bax activation and oligomerization highly accurately. Extending these studies to analyze the cell-protective role of Bcl-xL strikingly revealed that the activity of Bcl-xL to retrotranslocate activated Bax from membranes back into the cytosol is essential to reproduce or correctly predict experimental outcomes. These included the potency of Bcl-xL in suppressing Bax oligomerization, its role in limiting Bax membrane recruitment, the resistance threshold to low concentrations of MOMP triggers as well as a response potentiaton arising from combinations of tBid and sensitizer BH3-only peptides. Importantly, retrotranslocation activity of Bcl-xL is necessary to strictly separate conditions of MOMP competency and resistance. Our results therefore identify Bax retrotranslocation by Bcl-xL as an indispensable component of the molecular switch by which Bcl-2 family members govern cellular death decisions.

Quantitative interactome of a membrane Bcl-2 network identifies a hierarchy of complexes for apoptosis regulation.

The Bcl-2 proteins form a complex interaction network that controls mitochondrial permeabilization and apoptosis. The relative importance of different Bcl-2 complexes and their spatio-temporal regulation is debated. Using fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy to quantify the interactions within a minimal Bcl-2 network, comprised by cBid, Bax, and Bcl-xL, we show that membrane insertion drastically alters the pattern of Bcl-2 complexes, and that the C-terminal helix of Bcl-xL determines its binding preferences. At physiological temperature, Bax can spontaneously activate in a self-amplifying process. Strikingly, Bax also recruits Bcl-xL to membranes, which is sufficient to retrotranslocate Bax back into solution to secure membrane integrity. Our study disentangles the hierarchy of Bcl-2 complex formation in relation to their environment: Bcl-xL association with cBid occurs in solution and in membranes, where the complex is stabilized, whereas Bcl-xL binding to Bax occurs only in membranes and with lower affinity than to cBid, leading instead to Bax retrotranslocation.The permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane to induce apoptosis is regulated by complex interactions between Bcl-2 family members. Here the authors develop a quantitative interactome of a membrane Bcl-2 network and identify a hierarchy of protein complexes in apoptosis induction.

Expanding the scope of human DNA polymerase λ and ß inhibitors.

The exact biological functions of individual DNA polymerases still await clarification, and therefore appropriate reagents to probe their respective functions are required. In the present study, we report the development of a highly potent series of human DNA polymerase λ and ß (pol λ and ß) inhibitors based on the rhodanine scaffold. Both enzymes are involved in DNA repair and are thus considered as future drug targets. We expanded the chemical diversity of the small-molecule inhibitors arising from a high content screening and designed and synthesized 30 novel analogues. By biochemical evaluation, we discovered 23 highly active compounds against pol λ. Importantly, 10 of these small-molecules selectively inhibited pol λ and not the homologous pol ß. We discovered 14 small-molecules that target pol ß and found out that they are more potent than known inhibitors. We also investigated whether the discovered compounds sensitize cancer cells toward DNA-damaging reagents. Thus, we cotreated human colorectal cancer cells (Caco-2) with the small-molecule inhibitors and hydrogen peroxide or the approved drug temozolomide. Interestingly, the tested compounds sensitized Caco-2 cells to both genotoxic agents in a DNA repair pathway-dependent manner.