Small Molecules with Big Impacts on Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although in recent years there has been a significant progress in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of CVD, but due to their complex pathobiology, developing novel biomarkers and therapeutic interventions are still in need. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a fraction of non-coding RNAs that act as micro-regulators of gene expression. Mounting evidences over the last decade confirmed that microRNAs were deregulated in several CVDs and manipulating their expression could affect homeostasis, differentiation, and function of cardiovascular system. Here, we review the current knowledge concerning the roles of miRNAs in cardiovascular diseases with more details on cardiac remodeling, arrhythmias, and atherosclerosis. In addition, we discuss the latest findings on the potential therapeutic applications of miRNAs in cardiovascular diseases.

Anti-differentiation non-coding RNA, ANCR, is differentially expressed in different types of brain tumors.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important modulators of various cellular and molecular events, including cancer-associated pathways. The Anti-differentiation ncRNA (ANCR) is a key regulator of keratinocyte differentiation, where its expression is necessary to maintain epidermal progenitor's cells. Herein, we investigated the expression pattern of ANCR in the course of neural differentiation. Moreover, we used published RNAseq data and clinical samples to evaluate the alteration of ANCR expression in different cell types and brain tumors. Furthermore, we manipulated ANCR expression in glioma cell lines to clarify a potential functional role for ANCR in tumorigenesis. Our qRT-PCR results revealed a significant upregulation of ANCR in more malignant and less differentiated types of brain tumors (P = 0.03). This data was in accordance with down regulation of ANCR during neural differentiation. ANCR suppression caused an elevation in apoptosis rate, as well as a G1 cell cycle arrest in glioblastoma cell line. Altogether, our data demonstrated that ANCR may play a role in glioma genesis and that it could be considered as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target to combat brain cancers.

Spic regulates one-carbon metabolism and histone methylation in ground-state pluripotency.

Understanding mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is of fundamental importance for stem cell and developmental biology. Here, we identify Spic, a member of the ETS family of transcription factors (TFs), as a marker of ground state pluripotency. We show that Spic is rapidly induced in ground state ESCs and in response to extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) inhibition. We find that SPIC binds to enhancer elements and stabilizes NANOG binding to chromatin, particularly at genes involved in choline/one-carbon (1C) metabolism such as Bhmt, Bhmt2, and Dmgdh. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments revealed that Spic controls 1C metabolism and the flux of S-adenosyl methionine to S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAM-to-SAH), thereby, modulating the levels of H3R17me2 and H3K4me3 histone marks in ESCs. Our findings highlight betaine-dependent 1C metabolism as a hallmark of ground state pluripotency primarily activated by SPIC. These findings underscore the role of uncharacterized auxiliary TFs in linking cellular metabolism to epigenetic regulation in ESCs.

Differential Expression Pattern of linc-ROR Spliced Variants in Pluripotent and Non-Pluripotent Cell Lines.

OBJECTIVE: The human large intergenic non-coding RNA-regulator of reprogramming program (linc-ROR) is known as a stem cell specific linc-RNA. linc-ROR counteracts differentiation via sequestering microRNA-145 (miR-145) that targets OCT4 transcript. Despite the research on the expression and function, the exact structure of linc-ROR transcripts is not clear. Considering the contribution of alternative splicing in transcripts structures and function, identifying different spliced variants of linc-ROR is necessary for further functional analyses. We aimed to find the alternatively spliced transcripts of linc-ROR and investigate their expression pattern in stem and cancer cell lines and during neural differentiation of NT2 cells as a model for understanding linc-ROR role in stem cell and differentiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, linc-ROR locus was scanned for identifying novel exons. Different primer sets were used to detect new spliced variants by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and direct sequencing. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and RT-PCR were employed to profile expression of linc-ROR transcripts in different cell lines and during neural differentiation of stem cells. RESULTS: We could discover 13 novel spliced variants of linc-ROR harboring unique array of exons. Our work uncovered six novel exons, some of which were the product of exonized transposable elements. Monitoring expression profile of the linc-ROR spliced variants in a panel of pluripotent and non-pluripotent cells exhibited that all transcripts were primarily expressed in pluripotent cells. Moreover, the examined linc-ROR spliced variants showed a similar downregulation during neural differentiation of NT2 cells. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our data showed despite the difference in the structure and composition of exons, various spliced variants of linc-ROR showed similar expression pattern in stem cells and through differentiation.

WNT-Regulated Transcriptional Enhancers and Stem Cell Plasticity.

Enhancer reprogramming lies at the heart of dynamic cellular processes such as differentiation and tumorigenesis. WNT signaling is an evolutionary conserved pathway that exploits transcriptional enhancers to control the state-specific transcriptional program. Recent evidences suggest several mechanisms that govern this state-specific enhancer regulation in stem cells and cancer.

Deregulation of Transcriptional Enhancers in Cancer.

Epigenetic regulations can shape a cell's identity by reversible modifications of the chromatin that ultimately control gene expression in response to internal and external cues. In this review, we first discuss the concept of cell plasticity in cancer, a process that is directly controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, with a particular focus on transcriptional enhancers as the cornerstone of epigenetic regulation. In the second part, we discuss mechanisms of enhancer deregulation in adult stem cells and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as two paradigms of cell plasticity that are dependent on epigenetic regulation and serve as major sources of tumour heterogeneity. Finally, we review how genetic variations at enhancers and their epigenetic modifiers contribute to tumourigenesis, and we highlight examples of cancer drugs that target epigenetic modifications at enhancers.

Long Noncoding RNAs in Human Stemness and Differentiation.

There is increasing evidence that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are among the main regulatory factors of stem cell maintenance and differentiation. They act through various mechanisms and interactions with proteins, DNA, and RNA. This heterogeneity in function increases the capabilities of the lncRNome toolkit but also makes it difficult to predict the function of novel lncRNAs or even rely on biological information produced in animal models. As lncRNAs are species- and tissue-specific, the recent technical advances in self-renewal and differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) make these cells the ideal system to identify key regulatory lncRNAs and study their molecular functions. Here we provide an overview of the functional versatility of lncRNA mechanistic heterogeneity in regulating pluripotency maintenance and human differentiation.

Insights into role of microRNAs in cardiac development, cardiac diseases, and developing novel therapies.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a subfamily of small noncoding RNAs that play a variety of roles in regulating gene expression in nearly all organisms. They affect different biological pathways by post-transcriptionally regulating mRNAs. Aside from miRNAs' role in maintaining cellular homeostasis, their perturbation is related to several pathologic states and diseases. Cardiovascular disorders are considered some of the most mortal multifactorial diseases that are caused by the deregulation of network of genes and effects of environmental factors. In this review, we discuss the role of miRNAs in cardiac homeostasis and malfunctions. We reviewed published research on association and role of miRNAs in cardiac development and diseases and investigated the possible links between regulatory miRNAs and different cardiac disorders. Research shows that manipulating miRNAs expression affects the integrity and functionality of the cardiovascular system. Moreover, deregulation of miRNAs, is observed in many cardiac diseases. These findings intensify the pivotal role of miRNAs in the development and specific pathological disorders of the cardiovascular system. In this review, we summarized the latest findings on the involvement of miRNAs in cardiac development, and continued by their role in congenital heart diseases and rheumatic heart disease, which are some of the leading causes of infant death and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Considering the significance of miRNAs in cardiac homeostasis and malfunctions, they are considered as promising therapeutic targets in cardiovascular diseases.

lncRNA PSORS1C3 is regulated by glucocorticoids and fine-tunes OCT4 expression in non-pluripotent cells.

OCT4 is a transcription factor known for its regulatory roles in stemness, tumorigenesis and stress response. Considering its versatile functions, expression of OCT4 is regulated at different levels. PSORS1C3, a long non-coding RNA overlapped with OCT4, has a putative association with immune mediated diseases; however, its exact functions remained to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated that PSORS1C3 is regulated by glucocorticoids (GC), has two endogenously active promoters, promoter 0 and 1, and two sets of transcripts, short and long variants. According to our findings, PSORS1C3 promoters behaved differently during neural differentiation of NT2 cells and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. In both processes the expression pattern of short variants differed from that of long variants and was similar to OCT4 expression. Furthermore, our data revealed that PSORS1C3's promoter 0 could act as an enhancer for OCT4 in non-pluripotent cells, where its deletion caused a significant decrease in OCT4 expression. Meanwhile, during GR activation promoter 0 functioned as a negative regulator and alleviated transcription induction of OCT4 after GC treatment. Altogether, our work clarified the structure and regulation of PSORS1C3, explained its relation to immune-related disease through GR signaling and introduced it as a novel fine-tuner of OCT4 expression in non-pluripotent cells.

Post-transcriptional Regulation of PCSK9 by miR-191, miR-222, and miR-224.

Since proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) discovery, a gene involved in LDL metabolism regulation and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), many therapeutic strategies have been introduced for direct targeting of PCSK9. The main goal of these strategies has been to reduce PCSK9 protein level either by application of antibodies or inhibition of its production. In this study, we have tried to discover microRNAs (miRNAs) which can target, and hence regulate, PCSK9 expression. Using bioinformatics tools, we selected three microRNAs with binding sites on 3'-UTR of PCSK9. The expression level of these miRNAs was examined in three different cell lines using real-time RT-PCR. We observed a reciprocal expression pattern between expression level of miR-191, miR-222, and miR-224 with that of PCSK9. Accordingly, the expression levels were highest in Huh7 cells which expressed the lowest level of PCSK9, compared to HepG2 and A549 cell lines. PCSK9 mRNA level also showed a significant decline in HepG2 cells transfected with the vectors overexpressing the aforementioned miRNAs. Furthermore, the miRNAs target sites were cloned in psiCHECK-2 vector, and a direct interaction of the miRNAs and the PCSK9 3'-UTR putative target sites was investigated by means of luciferase assay. Our findings revealed that miR-191, miR-222, and miR-224 can directly interact with PCSK9 3'-UTR and regulate its expression. In conclusion, our data introduces a role for miRNAs to regulate PCSK9 expression.

Novel spliced variants of OCT4, OCT4C and OCT4C1, with distinct expression patterns and functions in pluripotent and tumor cell lines.

OCT4 is a major regulator of pluripotency which has several spliced variants and expressed pseudogenes. Here, we are reporting the existence of two additional novel spliced variants of OCT4, OCT4C and OCT4C1, which lack Exon1 (E1) but start at a novel exon (E0) located ∼14kb upstream of E2. OCT4C/C1 is highly expressed in ES and iPS cells, and their expression was sharply turned off, upon the induction of neural differentiation. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) PSORS1C3, is located ∼9kb downstream of the E0 of OCT4C/C1. PSORS1C3 is vigorously spliced to generate nine novel variants, however, none of its exons incorporated in alternatively spliced variants of OCT4. Interestingly, the exons of OCT4 and PSORS1C3 are intertwined, with a novel exon (E0) of PSORS1C3 located ∼4kb upstream of OCT4 E0. This exon participates in generating some more variants of PSORS1C3 (variants 10-24). OCT4C/C1 knock-down in ES and iPS cell lines caused a slight downregulation of PSORS1C3 and OCT4A, a slight upregulation of OCT4B1, and a dramatic upregulation of OCT4B. Altogether, our data revisited the current view of OCT4 gene structure and regulation, and revealed its complex genomic features and expression regulation in stem and tumor cells.