Correction: Telomere length-dependent transcription and epigenetic modifications in promoters remote from telomere ends.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007782.].

Telomere length-dependent transcription and epigenetic modifications in promoters remote from telomere ends.

Telomere-binding proteins constituting the shelterin complex have been studied primarily for telomeric functions. However, mounting evidence shows non-telomeric binding and gene regulation by shelterin factors. This raises a key question-do telomeres impact binding of shelterin proteins at distal non-telomeric sites? Here we show that binding of the telomere-repeat-binding-factor-2 (TRF2) at promoters ~60 Mb from telomeres depends on telomere length in human cells. Promoter TRF2 occupancy was depleted in cells with elongated telomeres resulting in altered TRF2-mediated transcription of distal genes. In addition, histone modifications-activation (H3K4me1 and H3K4me3) as well as silencing marks (H3K27me3)-at distal promoters were telomere length-dependent. These demonstrate that transcription, and the epigenetic state, of telomere-distal promoters can be influenced by telomere length. Molecular links between telomeres and the extra-telomeric genome, emerging from findings here, might have important implications in telomere-related physiology, particularly ageing and cancer.

Epigenetic suppression of human telomerase (hTERT) is mediated by the metastasis suppressor NME2 in a G-quadruplex-dependent fashion.

Transcriptional activation of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene, which remains repressed in adult somatic cells, is critical during tumorigenesis. Several transcription factors and the epigenetic state of the hTERT promoter are known to be important for tight control of hTERT in normal tissues, but the molecular mechanisms leading to hTERT reactivation in cancer are not well-understood. Surprisingly, here we found occupancy of the metastasis suppressor non-metastatic 2 (NME2) within the hTERT core promoter in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells and HCT116 colon cancer cells and NME2-mediated transcriptional repression of hTERT in these cells. We also report that loss of NME2 results in up-regulated hTERT expression. Mechanistically, additional results indicated that the RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST)-lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 (LSD1) co-repressor complex associates with the hTERT promoter in an NME2-dependent way and that this assembly is required for maintaining repressive chromatin at the hTERT promoter. Interestingly, a G-quadruplex motif at the hTERT promoter was essential for occupancy of NME2 and the REST repressor complex on the hTERT promoter. In light of this mechanistic insight, we studied the effects of G-quadruplex-binding ligands on hTERT expression and observed that several of these ligands repressed hTERT expression. Together, our results support a mechanism of hTERT epigenetic control involving a G-quadruplex promoter motif, which potentially can be targeted by tailored small molecules.

miR-216b suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis by targeting SDCBP.

Breast cancer is the most deadly cancer among women and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Treatment effectiveness is complicated with tumor invasiveness/drug resistance. To tailor treatments more effectively to individual patients, it is important to define tumor growth and metastasis at molecular levels. SDCBP is highly overexpressed and associated with a strikingly poor prognosis in breast cancer. However the post transcriptional regulation of SDCBP overexpression remains to be an unexplored area. Our study reveals that miR-216b directly regulates SDCBP expression by binding to its 3'UTR region. miR-216b is a tumor suppressive miRNA and it is underexpressed during metastatic breast cancer. Consequently, overexpression of miR-216b resulted in decreased proliferation, migration and invasion in BC cell lines by modulating the expression of SDCBP. Inhibition of miR-216b divergent the tumor suppressive role by inducing the growth proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. There is therefore a negative correlation between the expression of miR-216b and its target gene SDCBP in the BC tissue samples as well as cell lines. Simultaneous expression of miR-216b and SDCBP rescued the growth, migration and invasion effect suggesting that tumor suppressive action of miR-216b may be directly mediated by SDCBP. In summary, the study identifies miR-216b as a regulator of SDCBP expression in breast cancer which can potentially be targeted for developing newer therapies for the effective treatment of this killer disease.

Low fucose containing bacterial polysaccharide facilitate mitochondria-dependent ROS-induced apoptosis of human lung epithelial carcinoma via controlled regulation of MAPKs-mediated Nrf2/Keap1 homeostasis signaling.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), the key mediators of cellular oxidative stress and redox dysregulation involved in cancer initiation and progression, have recently emerged as promising targets for anticancer drug discovery. Continuous free radical assault upsets homeostasis in cellular redox system and regulates the associated signaling pathways to mediate stress-induced cell death. This study investigates the dose-specific pro-oxidative behavior of a bacterial fucose polysaccharide, which attenuated proliferation of different cancer cells. In the fermentation process, Bacillus megaterium RB-05 [GenBank Accession Number HM371417] was found to biosynthesize a polysaccharide with low-fucose content (4.9%), which conferred the maximum anti-proliferative activity (750 µg/mL) against human lung cancer epithelial cells (A549) during preliminary screening. Structural elucidation and morphological characterization of the duly purified polysaccharide was done using HPLC, GC-MS, (1)H/(13)C NMR, and microscopy. The polysaccharide exhibited concentration- and time-dependent anti-proliferative effects against A549 cells by inducing intracellular ROS level and regulating the mitochondrial membrane-permeability following the apoptotic pathway. This process encompasses activation of caspase-8/9/3/7, increase in the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 ratio, translocation of Bcl2-associated X protein (Bax) and cytochrome c, decrease in expression of anti-apoptotic members of Bcl2 family, and phosphorylation of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Apoptosis was attenuated upon pretreatment with specific caspase-inhibitors. Simultaneously, during apoptosis, the ROS-mediated stress as well as activated MAPKs triggered nuclear translocation of transcription factors like nuclear factor (erythroid-derived)-like 2 (Nrf2) and promoted further transcription of downstream cytoprotective genes, which somehow perturbed the chemotherapeutic efficacy of the polysaccharide, although using CuPP, a chemical inhibitor of HO-1, apoptosis increased significantly (P < 0.05).

CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expression regulates epithelial to mesenchymal transition of breast cancer cells during lymph node metastasis.

We investigated the expression of -CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) and its receptor -CXC chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5) in 98 breast cancer (BC) patients with infiltrating duct carcinoma, out of which 56 were found lymph node metastasis (LNM) positive. Interestingly, co-expression of CXCL13 and CXCR5 showed a significant correlation with LNM. Since, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is highly associated with metastasis we investigated EMT-inducing potential of CXCL13 in BC cell lines. In CXCL13-stimulated BC cells, expression of various mesenchymal markers (Vimentin, N-cadherin), EMT regulators (Snail, Slug), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) was increased, whereas the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin was found to be decreased. In addition, expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), which is known to regulate MMP9 expression via Src activation, was also significantly increased after CXCL13 stimulation. Using specific protein kinase inhibitors, we confirmed that CXCL13 stimulated EMT and MMP9 expression via RANKL-Src axis in BC cell lines. To further validate this observation, we examined gene expression patterns in primary breast tumors and detected significantly higher expression of various mesenchymal markers and regulators in CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expressing patients. Therefore, this study showed the EMT-inducing potential of CXCL13 as well as demonstrated the prognostic value of CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expression in primary BC. Moreover, CXCL13-CXCR5-RANKL-Src axis may present a therapeutic target in LNM positive BC patients.

Attenuation of Smad2 activity shows resistance to TGF-ß signalling in mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells.

Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) is a potent inhibitor of the growth of normal mammary epithelial cells, and has a pleiotropic, context-dependent, concentration-dependent action. We found attenuation of TGF-ß signalling in mammary adenoma carcinoma cells. Phosphorylation at the linker site of Smad2 occurred in a cooperative way during the attenuation of TGF-ß signalling, and was associated with upregulation of CDK2 and cyclin D1. CDK2 inhibitor restored the anti-proliferative effect of TGF-ß by upregulating p21, with inhibition of linker phosphorylation of Smad2. CDK2-mediated linker phosphorylation of Smad2 may be a plausible mechanism for the attenuation of TGF-ß signalling in breast cancer.

NF-κB acts downstream of EGFR in regulating low dose cadmium induced primary lung cell proliferation.

Apart from cytotoxicity cadmium has no special attributes towards cell's physiological function. The role of cadmium with respect to cell growth is still under debate. Mitogen activated protein kinase and Ca(2+)/calmodulin dependent protein kinase dependent pathways are the two elaborately studied concerning cadmium induced cell proliferation. Low concentration of cadmium chloride (2.5 µM) was applied to mice primary lung epithelial cells and cell proliferation was measured both by cell cycle analysis and Brdu incorporation assay. Effects of differential dose of cadmium chloride on lung epithelial cells were evaluated morphologically by atomic force microscopy. RT-PCR and western blot altogether corroborated the specific signalling pathways concerning cadmium induced lung cell proliferation. Cadmium induced lung epithelial cells which over-expressed EGFR, were transfected with siEGFR, revealed downstream molecules and RNAi induced EGFR silencing. Use of siEGFR effectively prevents expression of proinflammatory and cell proliferative markers. Moreover N-acetyl cysteine and ascorbic acid mediated inhibition of EGFR and downstream signalling molecules indicate the involvement of reactive oxygen species. Exposure to low concentration of cadmium promotes the growth of primary mice lung epithelial cell by EGFR signalling. We have also transfected the primary lung epithelial cell with siRNA against the regulatory subunit of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and the data shows that cadmium induced lung cell proliferation is the effect of EGFR mediated NF-κB activation.

EGFR upregulates inflammatory and proliferative responses in human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549), induced by lower dose of cadmium chloride.

Exposure to cadmium is associated with the development of pulmonary damage such as emphysema and lung cancer. This metal is also a powerful inducer of different proinflammatory and cell cycle regulatory proteins in many biologic models. Previously, we showed that prolonged exposure of low concentration of cadmium resulted in upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and cell cycle regulatory molecules in mice lung cell. The present study was undertaken to determine molecular mechanism of inflammation and its relation to cell proliferation in a transformed human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line (A549) in response to cadmium chloride. In comparative studies, we examine that short-duration exposure to lower doses of cadmium significantly increase the growth of A549 cells, whereas higher doses are toxic and cause cell death. We also observed that cadmium induced elevated expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) along with different proinflammatory cytokines like interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The possible occurrence of cell proliferation events was evaluated via analysis of the physical state of the DNA and the expression of Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). We also checked the pattern of expression of different cell cycle regulatory molecules involved in the onset of cell proliferation. Our results indicate that cadmium treatment appears to induce inflammatory and growth responses in transformed A549 cell line by activating EGFR and its downstream modulators. These results may contribute to better understand the toxic mechanism of cadmium; moreover, the expression profile of cadmium-induced regulatory molecules could provide potential biomarkers for cadmium exposure.

Divergence to apoptosis from ROS induced cell cycle arrest: effect of cadmium.

Recently, the role of cadmium (Cd) in immunosupression has gained importance. Nevertheless, the signaling pathways underlying cadmium-induced immune cell death remains largely unclear. In accordance to our previous in vivo report, and to evaluate the further details of the mechanism, we have investigated the effects of cadmium (CdCl(2), H(2)O) on cell cycle regulation and apoptosis in splenocytes in vitro. Our results have revealed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and p21 are involved in cell cycle arrest in a p53 independent manner but late hour apoptotic response was accompanied by the p53 up-regulation, loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MTP), down-regulation of Bcl-xl, activation of caspase-3 and release of cytochrome c (Cyt c). However, pifithrin alfa (PFT-alpha), an inhibitor of p53, fails to rescue the cells from the cadmium-induced cell cycle arrest but prevents Bcl-xl down-regulation and loss of Deltapsi(m), which indicates that there is an involvement of p53 in apoptosis. In contrast, treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) can prevent cell cycle arrest and p21 up-regulation at early hours. Although it is clear that, NAC has no effect on apoptosis, p53 expression and MPT changes at late stage events. Taken together, we have demonstrated that cadmium promotes ROS generation, which potently initiates the cell cycle arrest at early hours and finally induces p53-dependent apoptosis at later part of the event.

Novel internal regulators and candidate miRNAs within miR-379/miR-656 miRNA cluster can alter cellular phenotype of human glioblastoma.

Clustered miRNAs can affect functioning of downstream pathways due to possible coordinated function. We observed 78-88% of the miR-379/miR-656 cluster (C14MC) miRNAs were downregulated in three sub-types of diffuse gliomas, which was also corroborated with analysis from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets. The miRNA expression levels decreased with increasing tumor grade, indicating this downregulation as an early event in gliomagenesis. Higher expression of the C14MC miRNAs significantly improved glioblastioma prognosis (Pearson's r = 0.62; p < 3.08e-22). ENCODE meta-data analysis, followed by reporter assays validated existence of two novel internal regulators within C14MC. CRISPR activation of the most efficient internal regulator specifically induced members of the downstream miRNA sub-cluster and apoptosis in glioblastoma cells. Luciferase assays validated novel targets for miR-134 and miR-485-5p, two miRNAs from C14MC with the most number of target genes relevant for glioma. Overexpression of miR-134 and miR-485-5p in human glioblastoma cells suppressed invasion and proliferation, respectively. Furthermore, apoptosis was induced by both miRs, individually and in combination. The results emphasize the tumor suppressive role of C14MC in diffuse gliomas, and identifies two specific miRNAs with potential therapeutic value and towards better disease management and therapy.

Transcription regulation of CDKN1A (p21/CIP1/WAF1) by TRF2 is epigenetically controlled through the REST repressor complex.

We observed extra-telomeric binding of the telomere repeat binding factor TRF2 within the promoter of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDKNIA (p21/CIP1/WAF1). This result in TRF2 induced transcription repression of p21. Interestingly, p21 repression was through engagement of the REST-coREST-LSD1-repressor complex and altered histone marks at the p21 promoter in a TRF2-dependent fashion. Furthermore, mutational analysis shows p21 repression requires interaction of TRF2 with a p21 promoter G-quadruplex. Physiologically, TRF2-mediated p21 repression attenuated drug-induced activation of cellular DNA damage response by evading G2/M arrest in cancer cells. Together these reveal for the first time role of TRF2 in REST- repressor complex mediated transcription repression.

TGF-ß-Smad2 dependent activation of CDC 25A plays an important role in cell proliferation through NFAT activation in metastatic breast cancer cells.

In late stages of cancer, TGF-ß promotes the metastasis process by enhancing the invasiveness of cancer cells and inducing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that is concomitantly associated with breast cancer metastasis. Metastasis comprises of multiple steps with the regulation of complex network of signaling. Metastasis is associated with both the EMT and cell proliferation, but yet it has not been clearly distinguished how the balance between the cell proliferation and EMT is maintained together. Recently, it has been accounted that a transcription factor, NFAT has an important role for switching tumor suppressive to progressive effect of TGF-ß and NFAT has a role in TGF-ß mediated EMT by regulating N-cadherin. CDC 25A phosphatase, an important cell cycle regulator is overexpressed in breast cancer. Our results demonstrate that TGF-ß regulating the CDC 25A in a Smad2 dependent way, translocates NFAT to nucleus and NFAT in co-operation with Smad2 promotes the tumor progression by upregulating the CDK2, CDK4, and cyclin E. This result signifies that TGF-ß by regulating NFAT in different ways maintains the balance between EMT and cell proliferation mechanism concurrently during the late stage of breast cancer.

Bacterial fucose-rich polysaccharide stabilizes MAPK-mediated Nrf2/Keap1 signaling by directly scavenging reactive oxygen species during hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis of human lung fibroblast cells.

Continuous free radical assault upsets cellular homeostasis and dysregulates associated signaling pathways to promote stress-induced cell death. In spite of the continuous development and implementation of effective therapeutic strategies, limitations in treatments for stress-induced toxicities remain. The purpose of the present study was to determine the potential therapeutic efficacy of bacterial fucose polysaccharides against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced stress in human lung fibroblast (WI38) cells and to understand the associated molecular mechanisms. In two different fermentation processes, Bacillus megaterium RB-05 biosynthesized two non-identical fucose polysaccharides; of these, the polysaccharide having a high-fucose content (∼ 42%) conferred the maximum free radical scavenging efficiency in vitro. Structural characterizations of the purified polysaccharides were performed using HPLC, GC-MS, and (1)H/(13)C/2D-COSY NMR. H2O2 (300 µM) insult to WI38 cells showed anti-proliferative effects by inducing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and by disrupting mitochondrial membrane permeability, followed by apoptosis. The polysaccharide (250 µg/mL) attenuated the cell death process by directly scavenging intracellular ROS rather than activating endogenous antioxidant enzymes. This process encompasses inhibition of caspase-9/3/7, a decrease in the ratio of Bax/Bcl2, relocalization of translocated Bax and cytochrome c, upregulation of anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl2 family and a decrease in the phosphorylation of MAPKs (mitogen activated protein kinases). Furthermore, cellular homeostasis was re-established via stabilization of MAPK-mediated Nrf2/Keap1 signaling and transcription of downstream cytoprotective genes. This molecular study uniquely introduces a fucose-rich bacterial polysaccharide as a potential inhibitor of H2O2-induced stress and toxicities.

Cooperative involvement of NFAT and SnoN mediates transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) induced EMT in metastatic breast cancer (MDA-MB 231) cells.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a secondary phenomenon concomitantly associated with the tumor progression. The regulatory signals and mechanistic details of EMT are not fully elucidated. Here, we shared a TGF-ß mediated mechanism of EMT in breast cancer (MDA-MB 231) cells. Initial exposure of TGF-ß for 48 h, enhanced the rate of cell proliferation and associated with EMT of MDA-MB 231 cells. The EMT was characterized by observing the increased N-cadherin, fibronectin, Snail expression and associated with the morphological change with a reduced E-cadherin expression. NFAT, a transcription factor, alters tumor suppressive function of TGF-ß towards tumor progression. Up regulation of NFAT, coupled with a foremost translocation of one oncogenic protein SnoN from cytoplasm to nucleus was noticed during this TGF-ß mediated EMT. Silencing of NFAT also showed the inhibition of TGF-ß mediated EMT characterized by down regulation of N-cadherin and associated with reduced expression of SnoN. In addition, it was also observed that NFAT sequestering the Smad3 prevents the proteasome mediated degradation of SnoN and this SnoN has a role on the regulation of MMP-2, MMP-9 activity. Increased Smad3-SnoN interaction and proteasome mediated degradation of SnoN were detected after silencing of NFAT with a reduced MMP-2, MMP-9 activity. All of these observations provide a fresh mechanism in which by a twofold involvement of NFAT and SnoN plays a crucial role in TGF-ß mediated EMT by recruiting the effector molecules N-cadherin and MMP-2, MMP-9.

Cadmium induces lung inflammation independent of lung cell proliferation: a molecular approach.

BACKGROUND: Cadmium is one of the inflammation-related xenobiotics and has been regarded as a potent carcinogen. The relationship between inflammation and cell proliferation due to chronic infection has been studied, but the mechanism is not fully clear. Though the mode of cadmium toxicity is well characterized in animal cells, still it requires some further investigations. Previously we reported that cadmium induces immune cell death in Swiss albino mice. In the present study we showed that instead of inducing cell death mechanism, cadmium in low concentration triggers proliferation in mice lung cell and our results reveals that prior to the induction of proliferation it causes severe inflammation. METHODS: Swiss albino mice were treated with different concentrations of cadmium to determine the LD50. Mice were subdivided (5 mice each) according to the exposure period (15, 30, 45, 60 days) and were given sub lethal dose (5 mg/Kg body weight) of cadmium chloride and ibuprofen (50 mg/Kg body weight, recommended dose) once in a week. SEM and histology were performed as evidence of changes in cellular morphology. Inflammation was measured by the expression of Cox-2 and MMPs. Expression of proinflammatory cytokines (Cox-2, IL-6), signaling and cell cycle regulatory molecules (STAT3, Akt, CyclinD1) were measured by western blot, ELISA and immunoprecipitation. Mutagenecity was evidenced by comet assay. Cell proliferation was determined by cell count, cell cycle and DNA analysis. RESULTS: Prolonged exposure of low concentration of cadmium resulted in up regulation of proinflammatory cytokines and cell cycle regulatory molecules. Though NSAIDs like Ibuprofen reduces the expression of inflammatory cytokines, but it did not show any inhibitory effect on cadmium adopted lung cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Our results prove that cadmium causes both inflammation and cell proliferation when applied in a low dose but proliferative changes occur independent of inflammation.

Pyridylazole chelation of oxorhenium(V) and imidorhenium(V). Rates and trends of oxygen atom transfer from Re(V)O to tertiary phosphines.

The concerned azoles are 2-(2-pyridyl)benzoxazole (pbo) and 2-(2-pyridyl)benzthiazole (pbt). These react with ReOCl(3)(PPh(3))(2) in benzene, affording Re(V)OCl(3)(pbo) and Re(V)OCl(3)(pbt), which undergo facile oxygen atom transfer to PPh(2)R (R = Ph, Me) in dichloromethane solution, furnishing Re(III)(OPPh(2)R)Cl(3)(pbo) and Re(III)(OPPh(2)R)Cl(3)(pbt). The oxo species react with aniline in toluene solution, yielding the imido complexes Re(V)(NPh)Cl(3)(pbo) and Re(V)(NPh)Cl(3)(pbt). The X-ray structures of pbt, ReOCl(3)(pbt), Re(OPPh(3))Cl(3)(pbt), and Re(NPh)Cl(3)(pbo) are reported. The lattice of pbt consists of stacked dimers. In all the complexes the azole ligand is N,N-chelated and the ReCl(3) moiety is meridionally disposed. In ReOCl(3)(pbt) the metal-oxo bond length is 1.607(9) A. The second-order rates and the associated activation parameters of the oxygen atom transfer reactions of the Re(V)O chelates with PPh(2)R are reported. The large and negative entropy of activation (approximately -24 eu) is consistent with an associative pathway involving nucleophilic phosphine attack. The rate increases with phosphine basicity (PPh(2)Me > PPh(3)) and azole heteroatom electronegativity (O(pbo) > S(pbt)). Logarithmic rate constants for ReOCl(3)(pbo), ReOCl(3)(pbt), and ReOCl(3)(pal) are found to correlate linearly with Re(VI)O/Re(V)O reduction potentials (pal is pyridine-2-(N-p-tolyl)aldimine). The relatively low rate constant of ReOCl(3)(pbt) compared to that of ReOCl(3)(pal) is consistent with the observed shortness of the metal-oxo bond in the former. Crystal data are as follows: (pbt) empirical formula C(12)H(8)N(2)S, crystal system orthorhombic, space group Pca2(1), a = 13.762(9) A, b = 12.952(8) A, c = 11.077(4) A, V = 1974(2) A(3), Z = 8; (ReOCl(3)(pbt)) empirical formula C(12)H(8)Cl(3)N(2)OSRe, crystal system monoclinic, space group P2(1)/c, a = 11.174(7) A, b = 16.403(10) A, c = 7.751(2) A, beta = 99.35(4) degrees, V = 1401.8(13) A(3), Z = 4; (Re(NPh)Cl(3)(pbo)) empirical formula C(18)H(13)Cl(3)N(3)ORe, crystal system monoclinic, space group P2(1)/c, a = 9.566(6) A, b = 16.082(8) A, c = 11.841(5) A, beta = 94.03(4) degrees, V = 1817(2) A(3), Z = 4.