Orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR56 plays a role in cell transformation and tumorigenesis involving the cell adhesion pathway.

GPR56 is an orphan G protein - coupled receptor, mutations of which have recently been associated with bilateral frontoparietal polymicrogyria, a rare neurologic disease that has implications in brain development. However, no phenotype beyond central nervous system has yet been described for the GPR56-null mutations despite abundant GPR56 expression in many non - central nervous system adult tissues. In the present study, we show that higher GPR56 expression is correlated with the cellular transformation phenotypes of several cancer tissues compared with their normal counterparts, implying a potential oncogenic function. RNA interference-mediated GPR56 silencing results in apoptosis induction and reduced anchorage-independent growth of cancer cells via increased anoikis, whereas cDNA overexpression resulted in increased foci formation in mouse fibroblast NIH3T3 cell line. When GPR56 silencing was induced in vivo in several xenograft tumor models, significant tumor responses (including regression) were observed, suggesting the potential of targeting GPR56 in the development of tumor therapies. The expression profiling of GPR56-silenced A2058 melanoma cell line revealed several genes whose expression was affected by GPR56 silencing, particularly those in the integrin-mediated signaling and cell adhesion pathways. The potential role of GPR56 in cancer cell adhesion was further confirmed by the observation that GPR56 silencing also reduced cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, which is consistent with the observed increase in anoikis and reduction in anchorage-independent growth phenotypes. The oncogenic potential and apparent absence of physiologic defects in adult human tissues lacking GPR56, as well as the targetable nature of G protein - coupled receptor by small molecule or antibody, make GPR56 an attractive drug target for the development of cancer therapies.

Isoginkgetin enhances adiponectin secretion from differentiated adiposarcoma cells via a novel pathway involving AMP-activated protein kinase.

Adiponectin is an anti-diabetic hormone secreted by adipocytes. Circulating adiponectin levels are lower in obese and type II diabetic patients than in healthy people. Weight loss or thiazolidinedione treatment increases plasma adiponectin levels. Animal models and human studies suggest that elevated adiponectin levels increase insulin sensitivity. We screened a library of drug-like compounds and natural products for novel agents enhancing adiponectin production. We identified isoginkgetin, a compound derived from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba, to up-regulate adiponectin secretion with potency comparable to that of rosiglitazone, a known modulator of adiponectin production. However, unlike rosiglitazone, peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma activity seems not required for the action of isoginkgetin, and isoginkgetin has only a slight effect on adipogenesis, which makes it an attractive candidate for anti-diabetic treatment. Further investigation revealed that both isoginkgetin and rosiglitazone activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in adipocytes. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism for the elevation of adiponectin by isoginkgetin, which is different from that of rosiglitazone. Furthermore, this novel mechanism for adiponectin regulation involving AMPK can potentially facilitate new understanding of metabolic diseases and identification of new targets, as well as agents that increase plasma adiponectin levels.

Nuclear hormone receptor NR4A2 is involved in cell transformation and apoptosis.

HeLaHF cells are transformation revertants of cervical cancer HeLa cells and have lost anchorage-independent growth potential and tumorigenicity. Activation of tumor suppressor(s) was implicated previously in this transformation reversion. In this study, expression profiling analysis was carried out to identify potential oncogenes that are down-regulated in HeLaHF cells. We found that all three members of the NR4A1/Nur77/NGFIB orphan nuclear hormone receptor subfamily (NR4A1, NR4A2, and NR4A3) were down-regulated in the HeLaHF revertant. Small interfering RNA-mediated down-regulation of NR4A2 in HeLa cells, either transiently or stably, resulted in reduced anchorage-independent growth that was largely attributable to increased anoikis. Furthermore, down-regulation of NR4A2 as well as NR4A1 promoted intrinsic apoptosis. These phenotypes were also observed in several other experimental cancer cells, suggesting the observed apoptosis suppression is a more general property of NR4A2 and NR4A1. These phenotypes also suggest that the Nur77/NGFIB subfamily of orphan receptors exhibit certain oncogenic functionalities with regards to cell proliferation and apoptosis and could therefore be evaluated as potential cancer therapeutic targets.

Gene delivery to the mammalian heart using AAV vectors.

There are a large number of cardiovascular diseases that could be treated by myocardial gene transfer. These include congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and cardiomyopathy. In addition to its potential for treatment of disease, myocardial gene transfer is useful for the analysis of gene expression and promoter function and for generating animal models of human disease such as pulmonary hypertension. The ideal vector for myocardial gene therapy should give efficient and stable transduction of cardiomyocytes in vivo. Recombinant adenovirus vectors have been used to transduce cardiomyocytes in rodents, rabbits, pigs, and humans by both intramyocardial injection and intracoronary infusion (3-5). Although efficient transduction can be obtained with adenovirus vectors, immune responses and elimination of transduced cells results in only transient expression in immunocompetent hosts. Vectors based on recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) offer a number of attractive features and are emerging as promising gene transfer vehicles for many in vivo applications.

Mineralocorticoid receptor is involved in the regulation of genes responsible for hepatic glucose production.

The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is expressed in kidney and plays a central role in the control of sodium, homeostatic fluid, and blood pressure. It has also been implicated in other functions in cardiovascular system, central nervous system, and adipose tissue. This study revealed a novel role of MR in the gene regulation related to hepatic glucose production. RNAi-mediated MR silencing led to a decrease in the expression of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase 1, the enzymes known to be involved in glucose production in liver. The MR-specific antagonists also down-regulated the expression of G6Pase, while the specific agonist enhanced G6Pase expression. These observations, for the first time, revealed a novel role for MR and its ligands in the regulation of de novo glucose synthesis in hepatocytes. It also suggests the potential of liver-specific MR modulation for the treatment of hyperglycemia.