The Mammalian circadian clock gene per2 modulates cell death in response to oxidative stress.

Living in the earth's oxygenated environment forced organisms to develop strategies to cope with the damaging effects of molecular oxygen known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we show that Per2, a molecular component of the mammalian circadian clock, is involved in regulating a cell's response to oxidative stress. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) containing a mutation in the Per2 gene are more resistant to cytotoxic effects mediated by ROS than wild-type cells, which is paralleled by an altered regulation of bcl-2 expression in Per2 mutant MEFs. The elevated survival rate and alteration of NADH/NAD(+) ratio in the mutant cells is reversed by introduction of the wild-type Per2 gene. Interestingly, clock synchronized cells display a time dependent sensitivity to paraquat, a ROS inducing agent. Our observations indicate that the circadian clock is involved in regulating the fate of a cell to survive or to die in response to oxidative stress, which could have implications for cancer development and the aging process.

Interaction of circadian clock proteins PER2 and CRY with BMAL1 and CLOCK.

BACKGROUND: Circadian oscillation of clock-controlled gene expression is mainly regulated at the transcriptional level. Heterodimers of CLOCK and BMAL1 act as activators of target gene transcription; however, interactions of PER and CRY proteins with the heterodimer abolish its transcriptional activation capacity. PER and CRY are therefore referred to as negative regulators of the circadian clock. To further elucidate the mechanism how positive and negative components of the clock interplay, we characterized the interactions of PER2, CRY1 and CRY2 with BMAL1 and CLOCK using a mammalian two-hybrid system and co-immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: Both PER2 and the CRY proteins were found to interact with BMAL1 whereas only PER2 interacts with CLOCK. CRY proteins seem to have a higher affinity to BMAL1 than PER2. Moreover, we provide evidence that PER2, CRY1 and CRY2 bind to different domains in the BMAL1 protein. CONCLUSION: The regulators of clock-controlled transcription PER2, CRY1 and CRY2 differ in their capacity to interact with each single component of the BMAL1-CLOCK heterodimer and, in the case of BMAL1, also in their interaction sites. Our data supports the hypothesis that CRY proteins, especially CRY1, are stronger repressors than PER proteins.

A role for skeletal muscle stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 in control of thermogenesis.

An enhanced metabolic efficiency for accelerating the recovery of fat mass (or catch-up fat) is a characteristic feature of body weight regulation after weight loss or growth retardation and is the outcome of an "adipose-specific" suppression of thermogenesis, i.e., a feedback control system in which signals from the depleted adipose tissue fat stores exert a suppressive effect on thermogenesis. Using a previously described rat model of semistarvation-refeeding in which catch-up fat results from suppressed thermogenesis per se, we report here that the gene expression of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1) is elevated in skeletal muscle after 2 wk of semistarvation and remains elevated in parallel to the phase of suppressed thermogenesis favoring catch-up fat during refeeding. These elevations in the SCD1 transcript are skeletal muscle specific and are associated with elevations in microsomal Delta9 desaturase enzyme activity, in the Delta9 desaturation index, and in the relative content of SCD1-derived monounsaturates in several lipid fractions extracted from skeletal muscle. An elevated skeletal muscle SCD1, by desaturating the products of de novo lipogenesis and diverting them away from mitochondrial oxidation, would inhibit substrate cycling between de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation, thereby leading to a state of suppressed thermogenesis that regulates the body's fat stores.

Thrombin stimulates human endothelial arginase enzymatic activity via RhoA/ROCK pathway: implications for atherosclerotic endothelial dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Arginase competes with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) for the substrate l-arginine and decreases NO production. This study investigated regulatory mechanisms of arginase activity in endothelial cells and its role in atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: In human endothelial cells isolated from umbilical veins, thrombin concentration- and time-dependently stimulated arginase enzymatic activity, reaching a 1.9-fold increase (P<0.001) at 1 U/mL for 24 hours. The effect of thrombin was prevented by C3 exoenzyme or the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor fluvastatin, which inhibit RhoA, or by the ROCK inhibitors Y-27632 and HA-1077. Adenoviral expression of constitutively active RhoA or ROCK mutants enhanced arginase activity (approximately 3-fold, P<0.001), and the effect of active RhoA mutant was inhibited by the ROCK inhibitors. Neither thrombin nor the active RhoA/ROCK mutants affected arginase II protein level, the only isozyme detectable in the cells. Moreover, a significantly higher arginase II activity (1.5-fold, not the protein level) and RhoA protein level (4-fold) were observed in atherosclerotic aortas of apoE-/- compared with wild-type mice. Interestingly, l-arginine (1 mmol/L), despite a significantly higher eNOS expression in aortas of apoE-/- mice, evoked a more pronounced contraction, which was reverted to a greater vasodilation by the arginase inhibitor l-norvaline (20 mmol/L) compared with the wild-type animals (n=5, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombin enhances arginase activity via RhoA/ROCK in human endothelial cells. Higher arginase enzymatic activity is involved in atherosclerotic endothelial dysfunction in apoE-/- mice. Targeting vascular arginase may represent a novel therapeutic possibility for atherosclerosis.

The direct effect of leptin on skeletal muscle thermogenesis is mediated by substrate cycling between de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation.

We report here studies that integrate data of respiration rate from mouse skeletal muscle in response to leptin and pharmacological interference with intermediary metabolism, together with assays for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Our results suggest that the direct effect of leptin in stimulating thermogenesis in skeletal muscle is mediated by substrate cycling between de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation, and that this cycle requires both PI3K and AMPK signaling. This substrate cycling linking glucose and lipid metabolism to thermogenesis provides a novel thermogenic mechanism by which leptin protects skeletal muscle from excessive fat storage and lipotoxicity.

Reconstituted high-density lipoprotein inhibits thrombin-induced endothelial tissue factor expression through inhibition of RhoA and stimulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase but not Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

Endothelial cells express negligible amounts of tissue factor (TF) that can be induced by thrombin, which is important for acute coronary syndromes. Recent research suggests that endothelial TF expression is positively regulated by RhoA and p38mapk, but negatively by Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) pathway. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is atheroprotective and exerts antiatherothrombotic effect. This study investigated the effect of a reconstituted HDL (rHDL) on endothelial TF expression induced by thrombin and the underlying mechanisms. In cultured human umbilical vein and aortic endothelial cells, thrombin (4 U/mL, 4 hours) increased TF protein level, which was reduced by rHDL (0.1 mg/mL, 43% inhibition, n=3 to 7, P<0.01). Activation of RhoA but not p38mapk by thrombin was prevented by rHDL. rHDL stimulated Akt/eNOS pathway. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors wortmannin or LY294002 abolished the activation of Akt/eNOS and reversed the inhibitory effect of rHDL on TF expression. Adenoviral expression of the active PI3K mutant (p110) reduced TF expression stimulated by thrombin without inhibiting RhoA activation, whereas expression of the active Akt mutant (m/p) further facilitated TF upregulation by thrombin. Moreover, a dominant-negative Akt mutant (KA) reduced thrombin's effect and did not reverse the rHDL's inhibitory effect on TF expression. Inhibition of eNOS by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 micromol/L) did not affect the rHDL's effect. In conclusion, rHDL inhibits thrombin-induced human endothelial TF expression through inhibition of RhoA and activation of PI3K but not Akt/eNOS. These findings implicate a novel mechanism of antiatherothrombotic effects of HDL.

Expression of myotubularin by an adenoviral vector demonstrates its function as a phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] phosphatase in muscle cell lines: involvement of PtdIns(3)P in insulin-stimulated glucose transport.

X-linked myotubular myopathy is a muscle disorder caused by mutations on the myotubular myopathy-1 (MTM-1) gene, coding for myotubularin a 65-kDa polypeptide similar to protein phosphatases. Biochemical and in vivo studies define myotubularin as a phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] phosphatase. To efficiently express myotubularin in muscle cell lines and adipocytes, we used an adenoviral genome recombinogenic to pcDNA3, and to other widely used expression vectors, to produce adenoviruses expressing wild-type (wt), catalytically inactive C375S, and substrate trap D278A myotubularin.[32P]Orthophosphate labeling followed by phosphoinositide analysis of differentiated L6 and C2C12 cells expressing myotubularin demonstrated increased PtdIns(3)P levels upon expression of the C375S and D278A mutants. In keeping with its biochemical function, overexpression of wt myotubularin as an enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion disrupted the endosomal punctuated staining of the FYVE (Fab1p/YOTB Vac1p/EEA1)-domain-containing PtdIns(3)P binding protein early endosomal antigen 1 as well as of a gluathione-S-transferase-FYVE probe directed to PtdIns(3)P. Expression of wt myotubularin, although not affecting activation of proximal insulin signal transduction targets such as protein kinase B and MAPK, induced a decrease in insulin-induced glucose uptake, whereas basal glucose uptake was augmented by expression of D278A (DA) and C375S (CS) mutants. Moreover, overexpression of myotubularin in 3T3-L1 adipocytes impaired insulin-induced translocation at the plasma membrane of green fluorescent protein-tagged glucose transporter 4. These data indicate that PtdIns(3)P is required to direct glucose transporter 4 to insulin-responsive compartments and/or to allow the translocation of the latter at the plasma membrane. We conclude that myotubularin, by modulating the intracellular levels of PtdIns(3)P, plays a role in the control of vesicular traffic related to glucose transport, by counteracting the activities of the PtdIns(3)P-producing phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases.

PKC is required for activation of ROCK by RhoA in human endothelial cells.

Rho/Rho-kinase (ROCK) complex formation is the only proposed mechanism for ROCK activation. Rho/ROCK and PKC can exhibit a convergence of cellular effects such as suppression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression. We, therefore, investigated the role of PKC in RhoA/ROCK complex formation and activation linked to eNOS expression in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. We showed that expression of constitutively active RhoA (Rho63) or ROCK (CAT) suppressed eNOS gene expression. This effect of Rho63 but not that of CAT was abolished by phorbol ester-sensitive PKC depletion. Accordingly, depletion or inhibition of PKC prevented ROCK activation by Rho63 without affecting RhoA/ROCK complex formation. Similarly, suppression of eNOS expression and activation of ROCK, but not RhoA by thrombin were prevented by PKC inhibition or depletion. These results indicate that RhoA/ROCK complex formation alone is not sufficient and PKC is required for RhoA-induced ROCK activation leading to eNOS gene suppression.

Mutations flanking the polyglutamine repeat in the modulatory domain of rat glucocorticoid receptor lead to an increase in affinity for hormone.

A polyglutamine repeat in the N-terminus of the rat glucocorticoid receptor shows polymorphism, with variants of Q2RQ5, Q2RQ15-21. We investigated whether these natural polymorphisms affect receptor function, and whether alleles with polyglutamine repeats shorter than Q2RQ5, between Q2RQ6-14, or longer than Q2RQ21 are not found naturally because they encode a dysfunctional receptor. Ligand binding and transactivation properties of sets of natural (Q2RQ5-Q2RQ21) and artificial (Q4-Q80) alleles were compared following expression in CV-1 cells. The sequence of artificial alleles at sites flanking the repeat region was altered slightly to facilitate cloning. Western blotting showed that all constructs expressed GR protein in CV-1 cells. When co-expressed with an MMTV-lacZ reporter plasmid, all GR proteins were shown to be transcriptionally active in the presence of hormone. Scatchard analysis of ligand binding curves showed that affinities for dexamethasone and corticosterone were not affected by variation in the polyglutamine repeat either the natural or artificial sets of alleles. However, affinities were greater for the artificial compared with the natural alleles (2-3-fold for dexametasone, p < 0.001; and 4-fold for corticosterone,p < 0.001). These differences provide evidence of a direct or indirect interaction within GR between the ligand binding domain and residues flanking the polyglutamine repeat of the N-terminal domain.

Rho GTPase/Rho kinase negatively regulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation through the inhibition of protein kinase B/Akt in human endothelial cells.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is an important regulator of cardiovascular homeostasis by production of nitric oxide (NO) from vascular endothelial cells. It can be activated by protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt via phosphorylation at Ser-1177. We are interested in the role of Rho GTPase/Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway in regulation of eNOS expression and activation. Using adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), we show here that both active RhoA and ROCK not only downregulate eNOS gene expression as reported previously but also inhibit eNOS phosphorylation at Ser-1177 and cellular NO production with concomitant suppression of PKB activation. Moreover, coexpression of a constitutive active form of PKB restores the phosphorylation but not gene expression of eNOS in the presence of active RhoA. Furthermore, we show that thrombin inhibits eNOS phosphorylation, as well as expression via Rho/ROCK pathway. Expression of the active PKB reverses eNOS phosphorylation but has no effect on downregulation of eNOS expression induced by thrombin. Taken together, these data demonstrate that Rho/ROCK pathway negatively regulates eNOS phosphorylation through inhibition of PKB, whereas it downregulates eNOS expression independent of PKB.