Histone H3Y99sulf regulates hepatocellular carcinoma responding to hypoxia.

Histone H3 tyrosine-99 sulfation (H3Y99sulf) is a recently identified histone mark that can cross-talk with H4R3me2a to regulate gene transcription, but its role in cancer biology is less studied. Here, we report that H3Y99sulf is a cancer-associated histone mark that can mediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells responding to hypoxia. Hypoxia-stimulated SNAIL pathway elevates the expression of PAPSS2, which serves as a source of adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phos-phosulfate for histone sulfation and results in upregulation of H3Y99sulf. The transcription factor TDRD3 is the downstream effector of H3Y99sulf-H4R3me2a axis in HCC. It reads and co-localizes with the H3Y99sulf-H4R3me2a dual mark in the promoter regions of HIF1A and PDK1 to regulate gene transcription. Depletion of SULT1B1 can effectively reduce the occurrence of H3Y99sulf-H4R3me2a-TDRD3 axis in gene promoter regions and lead to downregulation of targeted gene transcription. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha and PDK1 are master regulators for hypoxic responses and cancer metabolism. Disruption of the H3Y99sulf-H4R3me2a-TDRD3 axis can inhibit the expression and functions of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha and PDK1, resulting in suppressed proliferation, tumor growth, and survival of HCC cells suffering hypoxia stress. The present study extends the regulatory and functional mechanisms of H3Y99sulf and improves our understanding of its role in cancer biology.

Histone tyrosine sulfation by SULT1B1 regulates H4R3me2a and gene transcription.

Tyrosine sulfation is a common posttranslational modification in mammals. To date, it has been thought to be limited to secreted and transmembrane proteins, but little is known about tyrosine sulfation on nuclear proteins. Here we report that SULT1B1 is a histone sulfotransferase that can sulfate the tyrosine 99 residue of nascent histone H3 in cytosol. The sulfated histone H3 can be transported into the nucleus and majorly deposited in the promoter regions of genes in chromatin. While the H3Y99 residue is buried inside octameric nucleosome, dynamically regulated subnucleosomal structures provide chromatin-H3Y99sulf the opportunity of being recognized and bound by PRMT1, which deposits H4R3me2a in chromatin. Disruption of H3Y99sulf reduces PRMT1 binding to chromatin, H4R3me2a level and gene transcription. These findings reveal the mechanisms underlying H3Y99 sulfation and its cross-talk with H4R3me2a to regulate gene transcription. This study extends the spectrum of tyrosine sulfation on nuclear proteins and the repertoire of histone modifications regulating chromatin functions.

Osr1 regulates hepatic inflammation and cell survival in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Odd-skipped related 1 (Osr1) is a novel tumor suppressor gene in several cancer cell lines. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is considered as a high-risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study is aimed to investigate the novel role of Osr1 in promoting the progression of hepatic steatosis to NASH. Following 12 weeks of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and high-fat diet (HFD), wildtype (WT) and Osr1 heterozygous (Osr1+/-) male mice were examined for liver injuries. Osr1+/- mice displayed worsen liver injury with higher serum alanine aminotransferase levels than the WT mice. The Osr1+/- mice also revealed early signs of collagen deposition with increased hepatic Tgfb and Fn1 expression. There was overactivation of both JNK and NF-κB signaling in the Osr1+/- liver, along with accumulation of F4/80+ cells and enhanced hepatic expression of Il-1b and Il-6. Moreover, the Osr1+/- liver displayed hyperphosphorylation of AKT/mTOR signaling, associated with overexpression of Bcl-2. In addition, Osr1+/- and WT mice displayed differences in the DNA methylome of the liver cells. Specifically, Osr1-responsible CpG islands of Ccl3 and Pcgf2, genes for inflammation and macrophage infiltration, were further identified. Taken together, Osr1 plays an important role in regulating cell inflammation and survival through multiple signaling pathways and DNA methylation modification for NAFLD progression.

Midline-1 regulates effector T cell motility in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis via mTOR/microtubule pathway.

Background: Effector T cell activation, migration, and proinflammatory cytokine production are crucial steps in autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). While several therapeutic approaches targeting T cell activation and proinflammatory cytokines have been developed for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, there are no therapeutic agents targeting the migration of effector T cells, largely due to our limited understanding of regulatory mechanisms of T cell migration in autoimmune disease. Here we reported that midline-1 (Mid1) is a key regulator of effector T cell migration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a widely used animal model of MS. Methods: Mid1-/- mice were generated by Crispr-Cas9 technology. T cell-specific Mid1 knockout chimeric mice were generated by adoptive transfer of Mid1-/- T cells into lymphocyte deficient Rag2-/- mice. Mice were either immunized with MOG35-55 (active EAE) or received adoptive transfer of pathogenic T cells (passive EAE) to induce EAE. In vitro Transwell® assay or in vivo footpad injection were used to assess the migration of T cells. Results: Mid1 was significantly increased in the spinal cord of wild-type (Wt) EAE mice and disruption of Mid1 in T cells markedly suppressed the development of both active and passive EAE. Transcriptomic and flow cytometric analyses revealed a marked reduction in effector T cell number in the central nervous system of Mid1-/- mice after EAE induction. Conversely, an increase in the number of T cells was observed in the draining lymph nodes of Mid1-/- mice. Mice that were adoptively transferred with pathogenic Mid1-/- T cells also exhibited milder symptoms of EAE, along with a lower T cell count in the spinal cord. Additionally, disruption of Mid1 significantly inhibited T-cell migration both in vivo and in vitro. RNA sequencing suggests a suppression in multiple inflammatory pathways in Mid1-/- mice, including mTOR signaling that plays a critical role in cell migration. Subsequent experiments confirmed the interaction between Mid1 and mTOR. Suppression of mTOR with rapamycin or microtubule spindle formation with colcemid blunted the regulatory effect of Mid1 on T cell migration. In addition, mTOR agonists MHY1485 and 3BDO restored the migratory deficit caused by Mid1 depletion. Conclusion: Our data suggests that Mid1 regulates effector T cell migration to the central nervous system via mTOR/microtubule pathway in EAE, and thus may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of MS.

Remarkably reduced expression of FoxO3a in metaplastic colorectum, primary colorectal cancer and liver metastasis.

The forkhead family members of transcription factors (FoxOs) are expected to be potential cancer-related drug targets and thus are being extremely studied recently. In the present study, FoxO3a, one major member of this family, was identified to be down-regulated in colorectal cancer through micro-array analysis, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot in 28 patients. Moreover, immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed that the expression levels of FoxO3a were remarkably reduced in 99 cases of primary colorectal cancer, liver metastasis, and even in metaplastic colorectal tissue. IHC also revealed an exclusion of FoxO3a from the nucleus of most cells of tumor-associated tissues. Silencing FoxO3a by siRNA led to elevation of G2-M phase cells. We conclude that the downregulation of FoxO3a may greatly contribute to tumor development, and thus FoxO3a may represent a novel therapeutic target in colorectal cancer.

Offspring NAFLD liver phospholipid profiles are differentially programmed by maternal high-fat diet and maternal one carbon supplement.

Little is known if and how maternal diet affects the liver phospholipid profiles that contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development in offspring. We examined NAFLD phenotypes in male offspring mice of either maternal normal-fat diet (NF group), maternal high-fat diet (HF group), maternal methionine supplement (H1S group), or complete one-carbon supplement (H2S group) added to the maternal HF diet during gestation and lactation. HF offspring displayed worsened NAFLD phenotypes induced by post-weaning HF diet, however, maternal one-carbon supplement prevented such outcome. HF offspring also showed a distinct phospholipid profile from the offspring exposed to H1S or H2S diet. Whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) analysis further identified five pathways involved in phospholipid metabolism altered by different maternal diet interventions. Furthermore, differential methylated regions (DMRs) on Prkca, Dgkh, Plcb1 and Dgki were identified comparing between HF and NF offspring; most of these DMRs were recovered in H2S offspring. These methylation pattern changes were associated with gene expression changes: HF diet significantly reduced while H1S and H2S diet recovered their levels. Maternal HF diet disrupted offspring phospholipid profiles contributing to worsened hepatic steatosis. The maternal one-carbon supplement prevented such effects, probably through DNA methylation modification.

Deleting Gata4 in hepatocytes promoted the progression of NAFLD via increasing steatosis and apoptosis, and desensitizing insulin signaling.

Gata4 is a member of the zinc finger GATA transcription factor family and is required for liver development during the embryonic stage. Gata4 expression is repressed during NAFLD progression, however how it functions in this situation remains unclear. Here, Gata4 was deleted specifically in hepatocytes via Cre recombinase driven by the Alb promoter region. Under a high-fat diet (HFD) or methionine and choline deficient diet (MCD), Gata4 knockout (KO) male, but not female, mice displayed more severe NAFLD or NASH, evidenced by increased steatosis, fibrosis, as well as a higher NAS score and serum ALT level. The Gata4KO male liver exposed to a HFD or MCD had a reduced ratio of pACC/ACC, similar to the Gata4KO hepatocytes treated with palmitic acid. More cell apoptosis, which is associated with activated JNK signaling and inhibited NFκB signaling, was observed in the Gata4KO male liver and isolated hepatocytes. However, the inflammatory status in the Gata4KO male liver was similar to the control liver. Importantly, lower activation of AKT signaling in the liver, which is consistent with de-sensitized insulin signaling in isolated hepatocytes, was found in the Gata4KO male. In summary, our data demonstrated that loss of Gata4 in hepatocytes promoted NAFLD progression in male mice.

Osr1 Regulates Macrophage-mediated Liver Inflammation in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Progression.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver macrophage-mediated inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Odd skipped-related 1 (Osr1) is a putative transcription factor previously reported to be involved in NASH progression; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The current study focused on the role of Osr1 in macrophage polarization and metabolism and its associated functions in the inflammation-induced pathogenesis of NASH. METHODS: OSR1/Osr1 expression patterns were compared in normal and NASH patients and mouse livers. NASH was established and compared between hepatocyte-specific Osr1 knockout (Osr1ΔHep), macrophage-specific Osr1 knockout (Osr1ΔMφ), and wild-type (Osr1F) mice fed with 3 different chronic obesogenic diets and methionine choline-deficient diet. Using genetic and therapeutic strategies in vitro and in vivo, the downstream targets of Osr1 and the associated mechanisms in inflammation-induced NASH were established. RESULTS: Osr1 was expressed in both hepatocytes and macrophages and exhibited different expression patterns in NASH. In NAFLD and NASH murine models, deleting Osr1 in myeloid cells (Osr1ΔMφ), but not hepatocytes, aggravated steatohepatitis with pronounced liver inflammation. Myeloid Osr1 deletion resulted in a polarization switch toward a pro-inflammatory phenotype associated with reduced oxidative phosphorylation activity. These inflamed Osr1ΔMφ macrophages promoted steatosis and inflammation in hepatocytes via cytokine secretion. We identified 2 downstream transcriptional targets of Osr1, c-Myc, and PPARγ and established the Osr1-PPARγ cascade in macrophage polarization and liver inflammation by genetic study and rosiglitazone treatment in vivo. We tested a promising intervention strategy targeting Osr1-PPARγ by AAV8L-delivered Osr1 expression or rosiglitazone that significantly repressed NAFLD/NASH progression in Osr1F and Osr1ΔMφ mice. CONCLUSIONS: Myeloid Osr1 mediates liver immune homeostasis and disrupting Osr1 aggravates the progression of NAFLD/NASH.

CD44 is of functional importance for colorectal cancer stem cells.

PURPOSE: Both CD44 and CD133 were reported as putative markers for isolating colorectal cancer stem cells (CSC). It remains to be resolved if both of these markers are of functional importance for colorectal CSC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The expression of CD44 and CD133 in normal colonic tissues and primary colorectal cancer was assessed by immunohistochemistry in a series of 60 patients on tissue microarray sections. Both in vitro clonogenic and in vivo tumorigenic assay were applied to measure CSC activities from the cells isolated from patients. Lentiviral RNA interference was used to stably knock down CD44 or CD133 in colorectal cancer cells from patients. RESULTS: We found that CD44(+) cells displayed clustered growth and they did not colocalize with CD133(+) cells within colorectal cancer. As few as 100 CD44(+) cells from a patients' tumor initiated a xenograft tumor in vivo. A single CD44(+) cell from a tumor could form a sphere in vitro which has characteristic stem cell properties and was able to generate a xenograft tumor resembling the properties of the primary tumor. Knockdown of CD44, but not CD133, strongly prevented clonal formation and inhibited tumorigenicity in xenograft model. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that CD44 is a robust marker and is of functional importance for colorectal CSC for cancer initiation.

Threonine 32 (Thr32) of FoxO3 is critical for TGF-ß-induced apoptosis via Bim in hepatocarcinoma cells.

Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) exerts apoptotic effects on various types of malignant cells, including liver cancer cells. However, the precise mechanisms by which TGF-ß induces apoptosis remain poorly known. In the present study, we have showed that threonine 32 (Thr32) residue of FoxO3 is critical for TGF-ß to induce apoptosis via Bim in hepatocarcinoma Hep3B cells. Our data demonstrated that TGF-ß induced FoxO3 activation through specific de-phosphorylation at Thr32. TGF-ß-activated FoxO3 cooperated with Smad2/3 to mediate Bim up-regulation and apoptosis. FoxO3 (de)phosphorylation at Thr32 was regulated by casein kinase I-ε (CKI-ε). CKI inhibition by small molecule D4476 could abrogate TGF-ß-induced FoxO/Smad activation, reverse Bim up-regulation, and block the sequential apoptosis. More importantly, the deregulated levels of CKI-ε and p32FoxO3 were found in human malignant liver tissues. Taken together, our findings suggest that there might be a CKI-FoxO/Smad-Bim engine in which Thr32 of FoxO3 is pivotal for TGF-ß-induced apoptosis, making it a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer treatment.

CD44-positive cancer stem cells expressing cellular prion protein contribute to metastatic capacity in colorectal cancer.

Cancer stem cells are implicated in tumor progression, metastasis, and recurrence, although the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the expression of cellular prion protein (PrPc, PRNP) is positively correlated with an increased risk of metastasis in colorectal cancer. PrPc defines a subpopulation of CD44-positive cancer stem cells that contributes to metastatic capacity. PrPc(+)CD44(+) colorectal cancer stem cells displayed high liver metastatic capability, unlike PrPc(-)CD44(+) stem cells, that was inhibited by RNAi-mediated attenuation of PrPc. Notably, administration of PrPc monoclonal antibodies significantly inhibited tumorigenicity and metastasis of colorectal cancer stem cells in mouse models of orthotopic metastasis. PrPc promoted epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) via the ERK2 (MAPK1) pathway, thereby conferring high metastatic capacity. Our findings reveal the function of PrPc in regulating EMT in cancer stem cells, and they identify PrPc as candidate therapeutic target in metastatic colorectal cancer.