Vascular Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Aging-Related Genes in Angiotensin â ¡-Induced Hypertensive Mouse Aortas.

Objective Angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ)-induced vascular damage is a major risk of hypertension. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of AngⅡ-induced vascular damage is still unclear. In this study, we explored the novel mechanism associated with Ang II-induced hypertension. Methods We treated 8- to 12-week-old C57BL/6J male mice with saline and Ang Ⅱ(0.72 mg/kg·d) for 28 days, respectively. Then the RNA of the media from the collected mice aortas was extracted for transcriptome sequencing. Principal component analysis was applied to show a clear separation of different samples and the distribution of differentially expressed genes was manifested by Volcano plot. Functional annotations including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway were performed to reveal the molecular mechanism of Ang Ⅱ-induced hypertension. Finally, the differentially expressed genes were validated by using quantitative real-time PCR. Results The result revealed that a total of 773 genes, including 599 up-regulated genes and 174 down-regulated genes, were differentially expressed in the aorta of Ang Ⅱ-induced hypertension mice model. Functional analysis of differentially expressed genes manifested that various cellular processes may be involved in the Ang Ⅱ-induced hypertension, including some pathways associated with hypertension such as extracellular matrix, inflammation and immune response. Interestingly, we also found that the differentially expressed genes were enriched in vascular aging pathway, and further validated that the expression levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 and adiponectin were significantly increased (P<0.05). Conclusion We identify that vascular aging is involved in Ang Ⅱ-induced hypertension, and insulin-like growth factor 1 and adiponectin may be important candidate genes leading to vascular aging.

SIRT2 Acts as a Cardioprotective Deacetylase in Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Pathological cardiac hypertrophy induced by stresses such as aging and neurohumoral activation is an independent risk factor for heart failure and is considered a target for the treatment of heart failure. However, the mechanisms underlying pathological cardiac hypertrophy remain largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the roles of SIRT2 in aging-related and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J wild-type and Sirt2 knockout mice were subjected to the investigation of aging-related cardiac hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy was also induced by Ang II (1.3 mg/kg/d for 4 weeks) in male C57BL/6J Sirt2 knockout mice, cardiac-specific SIRT2 transgenic (SIRT2-Tg) mice, and their respective littermates (8 to ≈12 weeks old). Metformin (200 mg/kg/d) was used to treat wild-type and Sirt2 knockout mice infused with Ang II. Cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiac function were examined in these mice. RESULTS: SIRT2 protein expression levels were downregulated in hypertrophic hearts from mice. Sirt2 knockout markedly exaggerated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and decreased cardiac ejection fraction and fractional shortening in aged (24-month-old) mice and Ang II-infused mice. Conversely, cardiac-specific SIRT2 overexpression protected the hearts against Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and rescued cardiac function. Mechanistically, SIRT2 maintained the activity of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in aged and Ang II-induced hypertrophic hearts in vivo as well as in cardiomyocytes in vitro. We identified the liver kinase B1 (LKB1), the major upstream kinase of AMPK, as the direct target of SIRT2. SIRT2 bound to LKB1 and deacetylated it at lysine 48, which promoted the phosphorylation of LKB1 and the subsequent activation of LKB1-AMPK signaling. Remarkably, the loss of SIRT2 blunted the response of AMPK to metformin treatment in mice infused with Ang II and repressed the metformin-mediated reduction of cardiac hypertrophy and protection of cardiac function. CONCLUSIONS: SIRT2 promotes AMPK activation by deacetylating the kinase LKB1. Loss of SIRT2 reduces AMPK activation, promotes aging-related and Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy, and blunts metformin-mediated cardioprotective effects. These findings indicate that SIRT2 will be a potential target for therapeutic interventions in aging- and stress-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

The long noncoding RNA Gm15055 represses Hoxa gene expression by recruiting PRC2 to the gene cluster.

The Hox genes encode transcription factors that determine embryonic pattern formation. In embryonic stem cells, the Hox genes are silenced by PRC2. Recent studies have reported a role for long noncoding RNAs in PRC2 recruitment in vertebrates. However, little is known about how PRC2 is recruited to the Hox genes in ESCs. Here, we used stable knockdown and knockout strategies to characterize the function of the long noncoding RNAGm15055 in the regulation of Hoxa genes in mouse ESCs. We found that Gm15055 is highly expressed in mESCs and its expression is maintained by OCT4.Gm15055 represses Hoxa gene expression by recruiting PRC2 to the cluster and maintaining the H3K27me3 modification on Hoxa promoters. A chromosome conformation capture assay revealed the close physical association of the Gm15055 locus to multiple sites at the Hoxa gene cluster in mESCs, which may facilitate the in cis targeting of Gm15055RNA to the Hoxa genes. Furthermore, an OCT4-responsive positive cis-regulatory element is found in the Gm15055 gene locus, which potentially regulates both Gm15055 itself and the Hoxa gene activation. This study suggests how PRC2 is recruited to the Hoxa locus in mESCs, and implies an elaborate mechanism for Hoxa gene regulation in mESCs.

SIRT4 accelerates Ang II-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting manganese superoxide dismutase activity.

AIMS: Oxidative stress contributes to the development of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. One of the mitochondrial sirtuins, Sirt4, is highly expressed in the heart, but its function remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of Sirt4 in the pathogenesis of pathological cardiac hypertrophy and the molecular mechanism by which Sirt4 regulates mitochondrial oxidative stress. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male C57BL/6 Sirt4 knockout mice, transgenic (Tg) mice exhibiting cardiac-specific overexpression of Sirt4 (Sirt4-Tg) and their respective controls were treated with angiotensin II (Ang II, 1.1 mg/kg/day). At 4 weeks, hypertrophic growth of cardiomyocytes, fibrosis and cardiac function were analysed. Sirt4 deficiency conferred resistance to Ang II infusion by significantly suppressing hypertrophic growth, and the deposition of fibrosis. In Sirt4-Tg mice, aggravated hypertrophy and reduced cardiac function were observed compared with non-Tg mice following Ang II treatment. Mechanistically, Sirt4 inhibited the binding of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) to Sirt3, another member of the mitochondrial sirtuins, and increased MnSOD acetylation levels to reduce its activity, resulting in elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation upon Ang II stimulation. Furthermore, inhibition of ROS with manganese 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis-(4-benzoic acid) porphyrin, a mimetic of SOD, blocked the Sirt4-mediated aggravation of the hypertrophic response in Ang II-treated Sirt4-Tg mice. CONCLUSIONS: Sirt4 promotes hypertrophic growth, the generation of fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction by increasing ROS levels upon pathological stimulation. These findings reveal a role of Sirt4 in pathological cardiac hypertrophy, providing a new potential therapeutic strategy for this disease.

PML4 facilitates erythroid differentiation by enhancing the transcriptional activity of GATA-1.

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) has been implicated as a participant in multiple cellular processes including senescence, apoptosis, proliferation, and differentiation. Studies of PML function in hematopoietic differentiation previously focused principally on its myeloid activities and also indicated that PML is involved in erythroid colony formation. However, the exact role that PML plays in erythropoiesis is essentially unknown. In this report, we found that PML4, a specific PML isoform expressed in erythroid cells, promotes endogenous erythroid genes expression in K562 and primary human erythroid cells. We show that the PML4 effect is GATA binding protein 1 (GATA-1) dependent using GATA-1 knockout/rescued G1E/G1E-ER4 cells. PML4, but not other detected PML isoforms, directly interacts with GATA-1 and can recruit it into PML nuclear bodies. Furthermore, PML4 facilitates GATA-1 trans-activation activity in an interaction-dependent manner. Finally, we present evidence that PML4 enhances GATA-1 occupancy within the globin gene cluster and stimulates cooperation between GATA-1 and its coactivator p300. These results demonstrate that PML4 is an important regulator of GATA-1 and participates in erythroid differention by enhancing GATA-1 trans-activation activity.

Sox2 Deacetylation by Sirt1 Is Involved in Mouse Somatic Reprogramming.

Mouse somatic cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells by defined factors known to regulate pluripotency, including Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. Together with Oct4, Sox2 plays a major role as a master endogenous pluripotent genes trigger in reprogramming. It has been reported that Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1), a member of the Sirtuin family of NAD(+) -dependent protein deacetylases, is involved in embryonic stem cell antioxidation, differentiation, and individual development. However, as a deacetylation enzyme, whether Sirt1 influences reprogramming through its post-translational modification function remains unknown. In this study, we provide evidence that deacetylation of Sox2 by Sirt1 is required for reprogramming. We found that a low level of Sox2 acetylation could significantly increase reprogramming efficiency. Furthermore, we found that Sox2 can be deacetylated by Sirt1 in an Oct4-mediated manner. Compared with wild-type cells, Sirt1-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts exhibit decreased reprogramming efficiency, and overexpression of Sirt1 rescues this defect. In addition, Sirt1 functions in the regulation of reprogramming through deacetylating Sox2. Taken together, we have identified a new regulatory role of Sirt1 in reprogramming and provided a link between deacetylation events and somatic cell reprogramming. Stem Cells 2015;33:2135-2147.

SIRT1 deacetylates SATB1 to facilitate MAR HS2-MAR ε interaction and promote ε-globin expression.

The higher order chromatin structure has recently been revealed as a critical new layer of gene transcriptional control. Changes in higher order chromatin structures were shown to correlate with the availability of transcriptional factors and/or MAR (matrix attachment region) binding proteins, which tether genomic DNA to the nuclear matrix. How posttranslational modification to these protein organizers may affect higher order chromatin structure still pending experimental investigation. The type III histone deacetylase silent mating type information regulator 2, S. cerevisiae, homolog 1 (SIRT1) participates in many physiological processes through targeting both histone and transcriptional factors. We show that MAR binding protein SATB1, which mediates chromatin looping in cytokine, MHC-I and ß-globin gene loci, as a new type of SIRT1 substrate. SIRT1 expression increased accompanying erythroid differentiation and the strengthening of ß-globin cluster higher order chromatin structure, while knockdown of SIRT1 in erythroid k562 cells weakened the long-range interaction between two SATB1 binding sites in the ß-globin locus, MAR(HS2) and MAR(ε). We also show that SIRT1 activity significantly affects ε-globin gene expression in a SATB1-dependent manner and that knockdown of SIRT1 largely blocks ε-globin gene activation during erythroid differentiation. Our work proposes that SIRT1 orchestrates changes in higher order chromatin structure during erythropoiesis, and reveals the dynamic higher order chromatin structure regulation at posttranslational modification level.

Enhancing homology-directed repair efficiency with HDR-boosting modular ssDNA donor.

Despite the potential of small molecules and recombinant proteins to enhance the efficiency of homology-directed repair (HDR), single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) donors, as currently designed and chemically modified, remain suboptimal for precise gene editing. Here, we screen the biased ssDNA binding sequences of DNA repair-related proteins and engineer RAD51-preferred sequences into HDR-boosting modules for ssDNA donors. Donors with these modules exhibit an augmented affinity for RAD51, thereby enhancing HDR efficiency across various genomic loci and cell types when cooperated with Cas9, nCas9, and Cas12a. By combining with an inhibitor of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or the HDRobust strategy, these modular ssDNA donors achieve up to 90.03% (median 74.81%) HDR efficiency. The HDR-boosting modules targeting an endogenous protein enable a chemical modification-free strategy to improve the efficacy of ssDNA donors for precise gene editing.

SIRT1 mediates the protective function of Nkx2.5 during stress in cardiomyocytes.

Nkx2.5 plays protective roles in cardiac homeostasis and survival in the postnatal hearts. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that mediate the protective functions of Nkx2.5 remain unknown. Here, we showed that Nkx2.5 was downregulated in response to various stresses and was required for protection against the stress-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. SIRT1, a member of the sirtuin family of proteins, was found to be a direct transcriptional target of Nkx2.5 and was required for the Nkx2.5-mediated protection of cardiomyocytes from doxorubicin (DOX)-induced apoptosis. Moreover, using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we found that Nkx2.5 was able to bind to the SIRT1 promoter and that this binding was significantly decreased in DOX-treated mouse hearts. Furthermore, the cardiac-specific overexpression of SIRT1 decreased the DOX-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in SIRT1 transgenic mouse hearts compared with the hearts of their wild-type littermates. These findings demonstrate that SIRT1 acts as a direct transcriptional target of Nkx2.5 that maintains cardiomyocyte homeostasis and survival.

SIRT6 is an epigenetic repressor of thoracic aortic aneurysms via inhibiting inflammation and senescence.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) develop asymptomatically and are characterized by dilatation of the aorta. This is considered a life-threating vascular disease due to the risk of aortic rupture and without effective treatments. The current understanding of the pathogenesis of TAA is still limited, especially for sporadic TAAs without known genetic mutation. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) expression was significantly decreased in the tunica media of sporadic human TAA tissues. Genetic knockout of Sirt6 in mouse vascular smooth muscle cells accelerated TAA formation and rupture, reduced survival, and increased vascular inflammation and senescence after angiotensin II infusion. Transcriptome analysis identified interleukin (IL)-1ß as a pivotal target of SIRT6, and increased IL-1ß levels correlated with vascular inflammation and senescence in human and mouse TAA samples. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that SIRT6 bound to the Il1b promoter to repress expression partly by reducing the H3K9 and H3K56 acetylation. Genetic knockout of Il1b or pharmacological inhibition of IL-1ß signaling with the receptor antagonist anakinra rescued Sirt6 deficiency mediated aggravation of vascular inflammation, senescence, TAA formation and survival in mice. The findings reveal that SIRT6 protects against TAA by epigenetically inhibiting vascular inflammation and senescence, providing insight into potential epigenetic strategies for TAA treatment.

Positive regulation of hepatic miR-122 expression by HNF4α.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: miR-122 is the most abundant microRNA in the liver and regulates metabolic pathways including cholesterol biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis, and oxidation. However, little is known about mechanisms that regulate the expression of miR-122 in the liver. The aim of this study was to identify key transcriptional regulators for miR-122 expression through intensively studying its primary transcript and promoter region. METHODS: Bioinformatics analysis, Northern blotting, RT-PCR, and 5'/3' RACE were performed to analyze miR-122 primary transcript structure, its promoter region, and potential transacting factor binding sites. Reporter gene assays integrated with truncation and site-mutation in miR-122 promoter were performed to determine the trans-activation effect of HNF4α to miR-122-promoter in vitro. ChIP and EMSA assays were performed to determine HNF4α binding to miR-122 promoter. Finally, forced expression and RNAi were performed to verify the regulatory roles of HNF4 to miR-122 expression in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Here, we show that miR-122 is processed from a long spliced primary transcript directed by a distal upstream promoter region conserved across species. We dissected this promoter region and identified putative binding sites for liver-enriched transcriptional factors that contribute to the regulation of miR-122 expression, including a putative binding site for hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α). We demonstrate that HNF4α binds to the miR-122 promoter region through the conserved DR-I element. We observed the DR-1-element-dependent activation effect of HNF4α on the conserved miR-122 promoter and the activation could be further enhanced by the addition of PGC1α. Using overexpression and knockdown strategies, we show that HNF4α positively regulates miR122 expression in both Huh7 cells and the mouse liver. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that HNF4α is a key regulator of miR-122 expression in the liver.

Caloric Restriction Induces MicroRNAs to Improve Mitochondrial Proteostasis.

Both caloric restriction (CR) and mitochondrial proteostasis are linked to longevity, but how CR maintains mitochondrial proteostasis in mammals remains elusive. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are well known for gene silencing in cytoplasm and have recently been identified in mitochondria, but knowledge regarding their influence on mitochondrial function is limited. Here, we report that CR increases miRNAs, which are required for the CR-induced activation of mitochondrial translation, in mouse liver. The ablation of miR-122, the most abundant miRNA induced by CR, or the retardation of miRNA biogenesis via Drosha knockdown significantly reduces the CR-induced activation of mitochondrial translation. Importantly, CR-induced miRNAs cause the overproduction of mtDNA-encoded proteins, which induces the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt), and consequently improves mitochondrial proteostasis and function. These findings establish a physiological role of miRNA-enhanced mitochondrial function during CR and reveal miRNAs as critical mediators of CR in inducing UPRmt to improve mitochondrial proteostasis.

Diurnal oscillations of endogenous H2O2 sustained by p66Shc regulate circadian clocks.

Redox balance, an essential feature of healthy physiological steady states, is regulated by circadian clocks, but whether or how endogenous redox signalling conversely regulates clockworks in mammals remains unknown. Here, we report circadian rhythms in the levels of endogenous H2O2 in mammalian cells and mouse livers. Using an unbiased method to screen for H2O2-sensitive transcription factors, we discovered that rhythmic redox control of CLOCK directly by endogenous H2O2 oscillations is required for proper intracellular clock function. Importantly, perturbations in the rhythm of H2O2 levels induced by the loss of p66Shc, which oscillates rhythmically in the liver and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of mice, disturb the rhythmic redox control of CLOCK function, reprogram hepatic transcriptome oscillations, lengthen the circadian period in mice and modulate light-induced clock resetting. Our findings suggest that redox signalling rhythms are intrinsically coupled to the circadian system through reversible oxidative modification of CLOCK and constitute essential mechanistic timekeeping components in mammals.

MafK/NF-E2 p18 is required for beta-globin genes activation by mediating the proximity of LCR and active beta-globin genes in MEL cell line.

Evidences indicate that locus control region (LCR) of beta-globin spatially closes to the downstream active gene promoter to mediate the transcriptional activation by looping. DNA binding proteins may play an important role in the looping formation. NF-E2 is one of the key transcription factors in beta-globin gene transcriptional activation. To shed light on whether NF-E2 is involved in this process, DS19MafKsiRNA cell pools were established by specifically knocked down the expression of MafK/NF-E2 p18, one subunit of NF-E2 heterodimer. In the above cell pools, it was observed that the occupancy efficiency of NF-E2 on beta-globin gene locus and the expression level of beta-globin genes were decreased. H3 acetylation, H3-K4 methylation and the deposition of RNA polymerase II, but not the recruitment of GATA-1, were also found reduced at the beta-globin gene cluster. Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) assay showed that the cross-linking frequency between the main NF-E2 binding site HS2 and downstream structural genes was reduced compared to the normal cell. This result demonstrated that MafK/NF-E2 p18 recruitment was involved in the physical proximity of LCR and active beta-globin genes upon beta-globin gene transcriptional activation.

Improvement of SSO-mediated gene repair efficiency by nonspecific oligonucleotides.

Targeted gene repair mediated by single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides (SSOs) is a promising method to correct the mutant gene precisely in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. We used a HeLa cell line, which was stably integrated with mutant enhanced green fluorescence protein gene (mEGFP) in the genome, to test the efficiency of SSO-mediated gene repair. We found that the mEGFP gene was successfully repaired by specific SSOs, but the efficiency was only approximately 0.1%. Then we synthesized a series of nonspecific oligonucleotides, which were single-stranded DNA with different lengths and no significant similarity with the SSOs. We found the efficiency of SSO-mediated gene repair was increased by 6-fold in nonspecific oligonucleotides-treated cells. And this improvement in repair frequency correlated with the doses of the nonspecific oligonucleotides, instead of the lengths. Our evidence suggested that this increased repair efficiency was achieved by the transient alterations of the cellular proteome. We also found the obvious strand bias that antisense SSOs were much more effective than sense SSOs in the repair experiments with nonspecific oligonucleotides. These results provide a fresh clue into the mechanism of SSO-mediated targeted gene repair in mammalian cells.

Exploring cellular memory molecules marking competent and active transcriptions.

BACKGROUND: Development in higher eukaryotes involves programmed gene expression. Cell type-specific gene expression is established during this process and is inherited in succeeding cell cycles. Higher eukaryotes have evolved elegant mechanisms by which committed gene-expression states are transmitted through numerous cell divisions. Previous studies have shown that both DNase I-sensitive sites and the basal transcription factor TFIID remain on silenced mitotic chromosomes, suggesting that certain trans-factors might act as bookmarks, maintaining the information and transmitting it to the next generation. RESULTS: We used the mouse globin gene clusters as a model system to examine the retention of active information on M-phase chromosomes and its contribution to the persistence of transcriptional competence of these gene clusters in murine erythroleukemia cells. In cells arrested in mitosis, the erythroid-specific activator NF-E2p45 remained associated with its binding sites on the globin gene loci, while the other major erythroid factor, GATA-1, was removed from chromosome. Moreover, despite mitotic chromatin condensation, the distant regulatory regions and promoters of transcriptionally competent globin gene loci are marked by a preserved histone code consisting in active histone modifications such as H3 acetylation, H3-K4 dimethylation and K79 dimethylation. Further analysis showed that other active genes are also locally marked by the preserved active histone code throughout mitotic inactivation of transcription. CONCLUSION: Our results imply that certain kinds of specific protein factors and active histone modifications function as cellular memory markers for both competent and active genes during mitosis, and serve as a reactivated core for the resumption of transcription when the cells exit mitosis.

Mechanisms of human gamma-globin transcriptional induction by apicidin involves p38 signaling to chromatin.

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are one of promising drugs to induce fetal hemoglobin (HbF) for treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia. The HDAC inhibitor apicidin was recently reported as a powerful inducer of HbF via a mechanism involving p38 signaling. In this study, we further investigated the signaling effects on the transcriptional activation of gamma-globin gene. First, we compared histone 3 (H3) acetylation patterns of approximately 70kb beta-globin loci in K562 erythroid versus HeLa cells upon apicidin treatment by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. The results showed that the level of H3 acetylation was globally increased from the LCR to the promoter of gamma-globin gene in K562 cells, but not in non-erythroid, HeLa cells. Inhibition of p38 signaling blocks the effects of apicidin-induced gamma-globin expression and H3 acetylation. In parallel, we assessed the recruitment of transcriptional complex to beta-globin locus following apicidin treatment. The binding of GATA-1, Sp1 and RNA polymerase II (pol II) were observed to increase over several regulatory regions of beta-globin locus. Inhibitor study revealed that p38 pathway was not involved in their recruitments by apicidin. Collectively, our results provide a molecular basis to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involving p38 signaling pathway in the inducement of gamma-globin transcriptional expression by apicidin.

Long noncoding RNA LINC00305 promotes inflammation by activating the AHRR-NF-κB pathway in human monocytes.

Accumulating data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have provided a collection of novel candidate genes associated with complex diseases, such as atherosclerosis. We identified an atherosclerosis-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the intron of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) LINC00305 by searching the GWAS database. Although the function of LINC00305 is unknown, we found that LINC00305 expression is enriched in atherosclerotic plaques and monocytes. Overexpression of LINC00305 promoted the expression of inflammation-associated genes in THP-1 cells and reduced the expression of contractile markers in co-cultured human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). We showed that overexpression of LINC00305 activated nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB) and that inhibition of NF-κB abolished LINC00305-mediated activation of cytokine expression. Mechanistically, LINC00305 interacted with lipocalin-1 interacting membrane receptor (LIMR), enhanced the interaction of LIMR and aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR), and promoted protein expression as well as nuclear localization of AHRR. Moreover, LINC00305 activated NF-κB exclusively in the presence of LIMR and AHRR. In light of these findings, we propose that LINC00305 promotes monocyte inflammation by facilitating LIMR and AHRR cooperation and the AHRR activation, which eventually activates NF-κB, thereby inducing HASMC phenotype switching.

Netrin-1 suppresses the MEK/ERK pathway and ITGB4 in pancreatic cancer.

The axon guidance factor netrin-1 promotes tumorigenesis in multiple types of cancers, particularly at their advanced stages. Here, we investigate whether netrin-1 is involved in the in vivo growth of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. We show that netrin-1 is significantly under-expressed in stage-I/II pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Netrin-1 over-expression effectively arrests the growth of xenografted PDAC cells without decreasing cell proliferation or increasing apoptosis in two-dimensional cultures in vitro. Integrin-beta4 (ITGB4) expression is significantly reduced, and ITGB4-knockdown mimics the tumor-suppressive effect of netrin-1, implying that ITGB4 is a main target of netrin-1 in constraining PDAC. We further show that netrin-1 signals to UNC5B/FAK to stimulate nitric oxide production, which promotes PP2A-mediated inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway and decreases phosphorylated-c-Jun recruitment to the ITGB4 promoter. Our findings suggest that netrin-1 can suppress the growth of PDAC and provide a mechanistic insight into this suppression.