CPEB1 orchestrates a fine-tuning of miR-145-5p tumor-suppressive activity on TWIST1 translation in prostate cancer cells.

TWIST1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, and one of the master Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) regulators. We show that tumor suppressor miR-145-5p controls TWIST1 expression in an immortalized prostate epithelial cell line and in a tumorigenic prostate cancer-derived cell line. Indeed, shRNA-mediated miR-145-5p silencing enhanced TWIST1 expression and induced EMT-associated malignant properties in these cells. However, we discovered that the translational inhibitory effect of miR-145-5p on TWIST1 is lost in 22Rv1, another prostate cancer cell line that intrinsically expresses high levels of the CPEB1 cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein. This translational regulator typically reduces TWIST1 translation efficiency by shortening the TWIST1 mRNA polyA tail. However, our results indicate that the presence of CPEB1 also interferes with the binding of miR-145-5p to the TWIST1 mRNA 3'UTR. Mechanistically, CPEB1 binding to its first cognate site either directly hampers the access to the miR-145-5p response element or redirects the cleavage/polyadenylation machinery to an intermediate polyadenylation site, resulting in the elimination of the miR-145-5p binding site. Taken together, our data support the notion that the tumor suppressive activity of miR-145-5p on TWIST1 translation, consequently on EMT, self-renewal, and migration, depends on the CPEB1 expression status of the cancer cell. A preliminary prospective study using clinical samples suggests that reconsidering the relative status of miR-145-5p/TWIST1 and CPEB1 in the tumors of prostate cancer patients may bear prognostic value.

Chromatin recruitment of OGG1 requires cohesin and mediator and is essential for efficient 8-oxoG removal.

One of the most abundant DNA lesions induced by oxidative stress is the highly mutagenic 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), which is specifically recognized by 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1) to initiate its repair. How DNA glycosylases find small non-helix-distorting DNA lesions amongst millions of bases packaged in the chromatin-based architecture of the genome remains an open question. Here, we used a high-throughput siRNA screening to identify factors involved in the recognition of 8-oxoG by OGG1. We show that cohesin and mediator subunits are required for re-localization of OGG1 and other base excision repair factors to chromatin upon oxidative stress. The association of OGG1 with euchromatin is necessary for the removal of 8-oxoG. Mediator subunits CDK8 and MED12 bind to chromatin and interact with OGG1 in response to oxidative stress, suggesting they participate in the recruitment of the DNA glycosylase. The oxidative stress-induced association between the cohesin and mediator complexes and OGG1 reveals an unsuspected function of those complexes in the maintenance of genomic stability.

Glucocorticoids delay RAF-induced senescence promoted by EGR1.

Expression of hyperactive RAF kinases, such as the oncogenic B-RAF-V600E mutant, in normal human cells triggers a proliferative arrest that blocks tumor formation. We discovered that glucocorticoids delayed the entry into senescence induced by B-RAF-V600E in human fibroblasts, and allowed senescence bypass when the cells were regularly passaged, but that they did not allow proliferation of cells that were already senescent. Transcriptome and siRNA analyses revealed that the EGR1 gene is one target of glucocorticoid action. Transcription of the EGR1 gene is activated by the RAF-MEK-ERK MAPK pathway and acts as a sensor of hyper-mitogenic pathway activity. The EGR1 transcription factor regulates the expression of p15 and p21 (encoded by CDKN2B and CDKN1A, respectively) that are redundantly required for the proliferative arrest of BJ fibroblasts upon expression of B-RAF-V600E. Our results highlight the need to evaluate the action of glucocorticoid on cancer progression in melanoma, thyroid and colon carcinoma in which B-RAF-V600E is a frequent oncogene, and cancers in which evasion from senescence has been shown.

Tuning the cationic interface of simple polydiacetylene micelles to improve siRNA delivery at the cellular level.

Polydiacetylene micelles were assembled from four different cationic amphiphiles and photopolymerized to reinforce their architecture. The produced micelles were systematically investigated, in interaction with siRNAs, for intracellular delivery of the silencing nucleic acids. The performances of the carrier systems were rationalized based on the cell penetrating properties of the micelles and the nature of their cationic complexing group, responsible for efficient siRNA binding and further endosomal escape.

The WEE1 regulators CPEB1 and miR-15b switch from inhibitor to activators at G2/M.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the AGO-containing RISC complex control messenger RNA (mRNA) translation by binding to mRNA 3' untranslated region (3'UTR). The relationship between miRNAs and other regulatory factors that also bind to mRNA 3'UTR, such as CPEB1 (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein), remains elusive. We found that both CPEB1 and miR-15b control the expression of WEE1, a key mammalian cell cycle regulator. Together, they repress WEE1 protein expression during G1 and S-phase. Interestingly, the 2 factors lose their inhibitory activity at the G2/M transition, at the time of the cell cycle when WEE1 expression is maximal, and, moreover, rather activate WEE1 translation in a synergistic manner. Our data show that translational regulation by RISC and CPEB1 is essential in cell cycle control and, most importantly, is coordinated, and can be switched from inhibition to activation during the cell cycle.

miRNA expression in control and FSHD fetal human muscle biopsies.

BACKGROUND: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal-dominant disorder and is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy. We have recently shown that some hallmarks of FSHD are already expressed in fetal FSHD biopsies, thus opening a new field of investigation for mechanisms leading to FSHD. As microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in myogenesis and muscle disorders, in this study we compared miRNAs expression levels during normal and FSHD muscle development. METHODS: Muscle biopsies were obtained from quadriceps of both healthy control and FSHD1 fetuses with ages ranging from 14 to 33 weeks of development. miRNA expression profiles were analyzed using TaqMan Human MicroRNA Arrays. RESULTS: During human skeletal muscle development, in control muscle biopsies we observed changes for 4 miRNAs potentially involved in secondary muscle fiber formation and 5 miRNAs potentially involved in fiber maturation. When we compared the miRNA profiles obtained from control and FSHD biopsies, we did not observe any differences in the muscle specific miRNAs. However, we identified 8 miRNAs exclusively expressed in FSHD1 samples (miR-330, miR-331-5p, miR-34a, miR-380-3p, miR-516b, miR-582-5p, miR-517* and miR-625) which could represent new biomarkers for this disease. Their putative targets are mainly involved in muscle development and morphogenesis. Interestingly, these FSHD1 specific miRNAs do not target the genes previously described to be involved in FSHD. CONCLUSIONS: This work provides new candidate mechanisms potentially involved in the onset of FSHD pathology. Whether these FSHD specific miRNAs cause deregulations during fetal development, or protect against the appearance of the FSHD phenotype until the second decade of life still needs to be investigated.

Genome-wide exploration of miRNA function in mammalian muscle cell differentiation.

MiRNAs impact on the control of cell fate by regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Here, using mammalian muscle differentiation as a model and a phenotypic loss-of-function screen, we explored the function of miRNAs at the genome-wide level. We found that the depletion of a high number of miRNAs (63) impacted on differentiation of human muscle precursors, underscoring the importance of this post-transcriptional mechanism of gene regulation. Interestingly, a comparison with miRNA expression profiles revealed that most of the hit miRNAs did not show any significant variations of expression during differentiation. These constitutively expressed miRNAs might be required for basic and/or essential cell function, or else might be regulated at the post-transcriptional level. MiRNA inhibition yielded a variety of phenotypes, reflecting the widespread miRNA involvement in differentiation. Using a functional screen (the STarS--Suppressor Target Screen--approach, i. e. concomitant knockdown of miRNAs and of candidate target proteins), we discovered miRNA protein targets that are previously uncharacterized controllers of muscle-cell terminal differentiation. Our results provide a strategy for functional annotation of the human miRnome.

Prognostic impact of vitamin B6 metabolism in lung cancer.

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are routinely treated with cytotoxic agents such as cisplatin. Through a genome-wide siRNA-based screen, we identified vitamin B6 metabolism as a central regulator of cisplatin responses in vitro and in vivo. By aggravating a bioenergetic catastrophe that involves the depletion of intracellular glutathione, vitamin B6 exacerbates cisplatin-mediated DNA damage, thus sensitizing a large panel of cancer cell lines to apoptosis. Moreover, vitamin B6 sensitizes cancer cells to apoptosis induction by distinct types of physical and chemical stress, including multiple chemotherapeutics. This effect requires pyridoxal kinase (PDXK), the enzyme that generates the bioactive form of vitamin B6. In line with a general role of vitamin B6 in stress responses, low PDXK expression levels were found to be associated with poor disease outcome in two independent cohorts of patients with NSCLC. These results indicate that PDXK expression levels constitute a biomarker for risk stratification among patients with NSCLC.

Analysis of growth factor expression in affected and unaffected muscles of oculo-pharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) patients: a pilot study.

Oculo-pharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is characterised by progressive eyelid drooping (ptosis) and difficulties with swallowing (dysphagia). In order to determine the role of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in the physiopathology of muscle disease we have compared the level of expression of 174 factors in both the affected (cricopharyngeal) and non-affected (sternocleidomastoid) muscles of 8 OPMD patients by means of antibody arrays. Despite an important inter-individual variability the expression of sixty factors was found to be persistently different between affected and non-affected muscles. Many of the differentially expressed factors in our study are known to be involved in the formation of fibrosis in both the liver and the lung, indicating the possibility that treatments such as those used in hepatic fibrosis may have a beneficial effect in OPMD patients.

Establishment of a reliable method for direct proteome characterization of human articular cartilage.

Articular cartilage consists mainly of extracellular matrix, mostly made of collagens and proteoglycans. These macromolecules have so far impaired the detailed two-dimensional electrophoresis-based proteomic analysis of articular cartilage. Here we describe a method for selective protein extraction from cartilage, which excludes proteoglycans and collagen species, thus allowing direct profiling of the protein content of cartilage by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Consistent electrophoretic patterns of more than 600 protein states were reproducibly obtained after silver staining from 500 mg of human articular cartilage from joints with diverse pathologies. The extraction yield increased when the method was applied to a chondrosarcoma sample, consistent with selective extraction of cellular components. Nearly 200 of the most intensely stained protein spots were analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry after trypsin digestion. They represented 127 different proteins with diverse functions. Our method provides a rapid, efficient, and pertinent alternative to previously proposed approaches for proteomic characterization of cartilage phenotypes. It will be useful for detecting protein expression patterns that relate pathophysiological processes of cartilaginous tissues such as osteoarthritis and chondrosarcoma.

Myocyte apoptosis during acute myocardial infarction in rats is related to early sarcolemmal translocation of annexin A5 in border zone.

Annexin A5 is a Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding protein well known for its high phosphatidylserine affinity. In vitro, translocation to sarcolemma and externalization of endogenous annexin A5 in the cardiomyocyte has recently been demonstrated to exert a proapoptotic effect. To determine whether these in vitro findings occurred in vivo, we performed myocardial infarction (MI) and studied the time course of apoptosis and annexin A5 localization (0.5 to 8 h) in the border zone around the infarcted area. This zone that was defined as Evans blue unstained and triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stained, represented 42.3 +/- 5.5% of the area at risk and showed apoptotic characteristics (significant increases in caspase 3 activity 2.3-fold at 0.5 h; P < 0.05), transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive cardiomyocytes (15.8 +/- 0.8% at 8 h), and DNA ladder. When compared with sham-operated rats, we found that in this area, annexin A5 was translocated to the sarcolemma as early as 0.5 h after MI and that translocation increased with time. Moreover, the amount of annexin A5 was unchanged in the border zone and decreased in the infarcted area after 1 h (77.1 +/- 4.8%; P < 0.01 vs. perfused area), suggesting a release in the latter but not in the former. In conclusion, we demonstrated that annexin A5 translocation is an early and rapid event of the whole border zone, likely due to Ca2+ increase. Part of this translocation occurred in areas where apoptosis was later detected and suggests that in vivo as in vitro annexin A5 might be involved in the regulation of early apoptotic events during cardiac pathological situations.

Externalization of endogenous annexin A5 participates in apoptosis of rat cardiomyocytes.

OBJECTIVE: Annexins are Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid binding proteins. Externalized annexin A5 has been recently suggested to have a proapoptotic effect. Our aim was to determine whether annexin A5, which is intracellular in cardiomyocytes, could be translocated and/or externalized and play a role during the apoptotic process. METHODS: Apoptosis was induced in rat cardiomyocytes by continuous incubation with staurosporine or 30 min treatment with H(2)O(2) and was measured by phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization, TUNEL staining and DNA ladder. Immunofluorescence labeling of annexin A5 was performed on permeabilized or nonpermeabilized cardiomyocytes. RESULTS: Staurosporine or H(2)O(2) treatment of neonatal cardiomyocytes resulted in significant increases of apoptosis at 24 h, but H(2)O(2) treatment led to a faster and higher PS externalization than that observed with ST. In both neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes, annexin A5 was intracellular in control conditions but was found at the external face of sarcolemma during apoptosis. Furthermore, neonatal cardiomyocytes with externalized annexin A5 have apoptotic characteristics and their number increased with time. Interestingly, immediately after H(2)O(2) induction, the number of annexin A5-positive cells was higher than that of PS-positive cells (p