Coagulation factor V G allele and HR2 haplotype: factor V activity, activated protein C resistance and risk of venous thrombosis.

Factor V Leiden is a well-known risk factor for venous thrombosis. The dual role of factor V as a coagulatory and anticoagulatory cofactor permits the assumption that further mutations in the factor V gene are of importance in the study of the risk of thrombosis. Relevant studies to date have given rise to a controversy over this risk for the HR2 haplotype. For the G allele, defined in our work group as a G at the nucleotide positions 2391, 2663, 2684 and 2863, there have been to date no other investigations of thrombotic risk. In a case-control study on 347 patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and 282 controls, we investigated the association of the HR2 haplotype and the G allele with DVT. We found no association between HR2 haplotype and DVT [odds ratio (OR) 0.87; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-1.30; P = 0.537]. The frequency of the G allele was, on the contrary, higher in the control group than among the patients (OR 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.89; P = 0.005). The factor V activity of the HR2 carriers was lower than that of the wild type and G allele carriers. The HR2 haplotype exhibited a moderate influence on activated protein C response. This study presented no evidence of thrombotic risk for the HR2 haplotype alone. The results here permit the assumption of a protective effect of the G allele. The source of a possible protective influence of the G allele on thrombotic risk is at present unclear.

Involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of secreted phospholipase A2 expressions in Jurkat leukemia cells.

Epigenetic changes provide a frequent mechanism for transcriptional silencing of genes in cancer cells. We previously established that epigenetic mechanisms are important for control of group IIA phospholipase A(2) (PLA2G2A) gene transcription in human DU-145 prostate cells. In this study, we analyzed the involvement of such mechanisms in the regulation of five sPLA(2) isozymes and the M-type receptor of sPLA(2) (sPLA(2)-R) in human leukemic Jurkat cells. These cells constitutively expressed sPLA(2)-IB, sPLA(2)-III, sPLA(2)-X, and sPLA(2)-R but not sPLA(2)-IIA and sPLA(2)-V. Transcription of sPLA(2)-IIA and sPLA(2)-V was, however, detected after exposure of cells to the DNA demethylating agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC). Expression of sPLA(2)-IIA was further enhanced by additional exposure to interferon-gamma and blocked by inhibitors of specificity protein 1, nuclear factor kappaB, and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription-dependent pathways. Sequence analysis and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction of bisulfite-modified genomic DNA revealed two 5'-CpG sites (-111 and -82) in the sPLA(2)-IIA proximal promoter that were demethylated after 5-aza-dC treatment. These sites may be involved in the DNA binding of specificity protein 1 and other transcription factors. Similar findings after treatment of human U937 leukemia cells with 5-aza-dC indicate that this mechanism of PLA2G2A gene silencing is not restricted to Jurkat and DU-145 cells. These data establish that regulation of sPLA(2)-IIA and sPLA(2)-V in Jurkat and other cells involves epigenetic silencing by DNA hypermethylation.

Differential expression of secretory phospholipases A2 in normal and malignant prostate cell lines: regulation by cytokines, cell signaling pathways, and epigenetic mechanisms.

Upregulation of group IIA phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)-IIA) correlates with prostate tumor progression suggesting prooncogenic properties of this protein. Here, we report data on expression of three different sPLA(2) isozymes (groups IIA, V, and X) in normal (PrEC) and malignant (DU-145, PC-3, and LNCaP) human prostate cell lines. All studied cell lines constitutively expressed sPLA(2)-X, whereas sPLA(2)-V transcripts were identified only in malignant cells. In contrast, no expression of sPLA(2)-IIA was found in PrEC and DU-145 cells, but it was constitutively expressed by IFN-gamma in LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Expression of sPLA(2)-IIA is upregulated in PC-3 and in PrEC cell in a signal transducer and activator of transcription-1-dependent manner, but not in LNCaP cell. Additional signaling pathways regulating sPLA(2)-IIA expression include cAMP/protein kinase A, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, protein kinase C, Rho-kinase, and mitogen-activated/extracellular response protein kinase / extracellular signal-regulated kinase. No deletions were revealed in the sPLA(2)-IIA gene from DU-145 cells lacking the expression of sPLA(2)-IIA. Reexpression of sPLA(2)-IIA was induced by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine demonstrating that DNA methylation is implicated in the regulation of sPLA(2)-II. Together, these data suggest that sPLA(2)-IIA and sPLA(2)-V, but not sPLA(2)-X, are differentially expressed in normal and malignant prostate cells under the control of proinflammatory cytokines; epigenetic mechanisms appear involved in the regulation of sPLA(2)-IIA expression, at least in DU-145 cells.

The impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) gene on TAFI antigen levels in healthy children and pediatric oncology patients.

The thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) influences the pathways regulating fibrin formation and deposition. The enormous TAFI plasma level variability present in adults may be explained by a combination of two polymorphisms in the TAFI gene (+1542C>G; 505G>A). We aimed to correlate these two polymorphisms with plasma TAFI antigen concentrations in healthy children and pediatric oncology patients with and without venous thrombosis who were supplied with Broviac central venous catheters. Polymorphisms were detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, whereas TAFI concentration was determined using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Samples from 57 controls and 67 pediatric patients (11 venous thrombotic complications) were studied. TAFI levels in healthy children and patients were not influenced by gender or age. Compared with the 505GG carriers (wild type), 505AA carriers as well as heterozygous 505GA carriers each exhibited significantly higher TAFI antigen concentrations. In contrast, the lowest TAFI levels were detected in homozygous carriers of the +1542GG polymorphism. A combination of the genotype 505AA (homozygous carrier) and +1542CC (wild type) was present in 13 probands and resulted in the highest TAFI levels. Although in oncologic patients the risk of thrombosis was markedly increased by the heterozygous factor V 1691G>A mutation, the two TAFI polymorphisms investigated exerted no thrombogenic influence.