Combined Knockdown Research Articles

Sphingolipid biosynthesis and inflammatory signaling in asthma (605.21)

Objective‐ SNPs located within human chromosomal region 17q21 are strongly associated with the incidence of inherited asthma and have been correlated by others to elevated transcript levels of nearby genes, including ORMDL3. Studies in yeast have identified the yeast ORMDL3 orthologs, as negative regulators of the serine palmitoyl‐CoA transferase (SPT) enzyme complex. This study investigates the role of mammalian ORMDL3. Methods and Results‐ To further understand the function ORMDL3, a stable doxycycline‐inducible human embryonic kidney (HEK) cell line was developed that overproduces ORMDL3 up to 40‐fold compared to control cells. SPT activity in ORMDL3 overexpressing cells was reduced to 40‐60% compared to that of control cells. Sphingolipidomic analysis revealed that all sphingolipid species, were reduced in these cells, consistent with significant inhibition of SPT activity. Conversely, combined RNAi‐mediated knockdown of all ORMDL isoforms resulted in higher SPT activity and increased sphingolipids. However, knockdown of any single ORMDL isoform did not alter SPT activity, suggesting that they serve a redundant function in inhibiting SPT. Additionally, individual knockdown of the two, different, small non‐catalytic subunits of SPT_ SPTSSA and SPTSSB _did not alter ORMDL3‐mediated inhibition of SPT. Furthermore, to attempt to determine the consequence of increased ORMDL3 expression in asthma, LPS‐induced TLR4 endocytosis was measured in RAW macrophages overproducing ORMDL3. There was a very modest increase in the fraction of cells displaying cell surface TLR4 in the ORMDL3 overexpressing macrophages as compared to control cells. This result may due to inefficient transfection of the cell population. Conclusions‐ Taken together, these findings suggest that, although Ormdl3 demonstrably impacts sphingolipid biosynthesis at the level of SPT, overproduction ORMDL3 does not dramatically affect at least one arm of the innate immune response.

EP News: Basic and Translational

2-pore potassium channel K2P3.1 (TASK-1) modulates background conductance in human atrial cells and could be a drug target for atrial fibrillation (AF). The effects of TASK-1 inactivation on atrial structure and function have not been demonstrated in vivo. Genetic variation in KCNK3, which encodes TASK-1, which might be a determinant of susceptibility to AF is also unknown. Liang et al (J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013, PMID 24374141) evaluated the effects of knockdown of the cardiac zebrafish kcnk3a and kcnk3b genes. Combined kcnk3a and kcnk3b knockdown in embryos resulted in lower heart rate and increase in atrial diameter and end-diastolic ventricular diameter as compared with controls. Screening of KCNK3 in 2 independent AF cohorts (373 participants) identified 3 novel KCNK3 variants. Two present in 1 proband with familial AF were located at adjacent nucleotides in the Kozak sequence and reduced expression of an engineered reporter. A third missense variant, V123L, reduced RP and altered pH sensitivity in patch-clamp experiments, with structural modeling predicting instability in the TASK-1 pore and loss-of-function. Cardiac AP modeling predicted that reduced TASK prolongs atrial APD. Thus, TASK in the atrium and its inactivation have diverse effects on atrial size and electrophysiological properties that can contribute to AF substrate.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Enhancer-binding Protein 3 Is Essential for the Expression of Asparagine-linked Glycosylation 2 in the Regulation of Osteoblast and Chondrocyte Differentiation

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 enhancer-binding protein 3 (Hivep3) suppresses osteoblast differentiation by inducing proteasomal degradation of the osteogenesis master regulator Runx2. In this study, we tested the possibility of cooperation of Hivep1, Hivep2, and Hivep3 in osteoblast and/or chondrocyte differentiation. Microarray analyses with ST-2 bone stroma cells demonstrated that expression of any known osteochondrogenesis-related genes was not commonly affected by the three Hivep siRNAs. Only Hivep3 siRNA promoted osteoblast differentiation in ST-2 cells, whereas all three siRNAs cooperatively suppressed differentiation in ATDC5 chondrocytes. We further used microarray analysis to identify genes commonly down-regulated in both MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts and ST-2 cells upon knockdown of Hivep3 and identified asparagine-linked glycosylation 2 (Alg2), which encodes a mannosyltransferase residing on the endoplasmic reticulum. The Hivep3 siRNA-mediated promotion of osteoblast differentiation was negated by forced Alg2 expression. Alg2 suppressed osteoblast differentiation and bone formation in cultured calvarial bone. Alg2 was immunoprecipitated with Runx2, whereas the combined transfection of Runx2 and Alg2 interfered with Runx2 nuclear localization, which resulted in suppression of Runx2 activity. Chondrocyte differentiation was promoted by Hivep3 overexpression, in concert with increased expression of Creb3l2, whose gene product is the endoplasmic reticulum stress transducer crucial for chondrogenesis. Alg2 silencing suppressed Creb3l2 expression and chondrogenesis of ATDC5 cells, whereas infection of Alg2-expressing virus promoted chondrocyte maturation in cultured cartilage rudiments. Thus, Alg2, as a downstream mediator of Hivep3, suppresses osteogenesis, whereas it promotes chondrogenesis. To our knowledge, this study is the first to link a mannosyltransferase gene to osteochondrogenesis.

Pou5f1/Oct4 Promotes Cell Survival via Direct Activation of mych Expression during Zebrafish Gastrulation

Myc proteins control cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis, and play important roles in cancer as well in establishment of pluripotency. Here we investigated the control of myc gene expression by the Pou5f1/Oct4 pluripotency factor in the early zebrafish embryo. We analyzed the expression of all known zebrafish Myc family members, myca, mycb, mych, mycl1a, mycl1b, and mycn, by whole mount in situ hybridization during blastula and gastrula stages in wildtype and maternal plus zygotic pou5f1 mutant (MZspg) embryos, as well as by quantitative PCR and in time series microarray data. We found that the broad blastula and gastrula stage mych expression, as well as late gastrula stage mycl1b expression, both depend on Pou5f1 activity. We analyzed ChIP-Seq data and found that both Pou5f1 and Sox2 bind to mych and mycl1b control regions. The regulation of mych by Pou5f1 appears to be direct transcriptional activation, as overexpression of a Pou5f1 activator fusion protein in MZspg embryos induced strong mych expression even when translation of zygotically expressed mRNAs was suppressed. We further showed that MZspg embryos develop enhanced apoptosis already during early gastrula stages, when apoptosis was not be detected in wildtype embryos. However, Mych knockdown alone did not induce early apoptosis, suggesting potentially redundant action of several early expressed myc genes, or combination of several pathways affected in MZspg. Experimental mych overexpression in MZspg embryos did significantly, but not completely suppress the apoptosis phenotype. Similarly, p53 knockdown only partially suppressed apoptosis in MZspg gastrula embryos. However, combined knockdown of p53 and overexpression of Mych completely rescued the MZspg apoptosis phenotype. These results reveal that Mych has anti-apoptotic activity in the early zebrafish embryo, and that p53-dependent and Myc pathways are likely to act in parallel to control apoptosis at these stages.

STARD6 is expressed in steroidogenic cells of the ovary and can enhance de novo steroidogenesis

STARD6 is a member of the StAR-related lipid transfer (START) domain family of proteins whose function thus far remains obscure. While it recently was shown to facilitate steroidogenesis in a cell-free setting, it has not been localized to steroidogenic cells of normal reproductive tissues. In a recent microarray study, we detected STARD6 mRNA in cultured porcine ovarian granulosa cells which are steroidogenic. In the present study, we examined regulation of STARD6 mRNA in porcine granulosa cultures, and found that it was not regulated by cyclic AMP, but it was reduced by combined knockdown of the transcription factors GATA4 and GATA6. We detected both STARD6 mRNA and protein in fresh granulosa cells and whole antral follicles and different stage corpora lutea of pig. The highest levels were discovered in the mid-luteal phase corpus luteum. Immunolocalization within ovarian tissues indicated robust STARD6 immunoreactivity in steroidogenic cells of the corpus luteum. Relatively lesser amounts of STARD6 signal were found in granulosa cells, theca cells, and oocytes. To test the ability of STARD6 to facilitate de novo steroidogenesis, non-steroidogenic COS-1 cells were co-transfected with components of the P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage system, enabling them to make pregnenolone, and STARD6. STARD6 increased pregnenolone production by two- to three-fold over the empty vector control. In summary, STARD6 is found in the pig ovary, exhibits the strongest expression in highly steroidogenic luteal cells, and significantly enhances pregnenolone production in transfected COS cells independent of cyclic AMP treatment. Collectively, these findings indicate that STARD6 may contribute to steroidogenesis in ovarian cells, but also suggests other cellular functions that require cholesterol trafficking.

LC3B is indispensable for selective autophagy of p62 but not basal autophagy

Autophagy is a unique intracellular protein degradation system accompanied by autophagosome formation. Besides its important role through bulk degradation in supplying nutrients, this system has an ability to degrade certain proteins, organelles, and invading bacteria selectively to maintain cellular homeostasis. In yeasts, Atg8p plays key roles in both autophagosome formation and selective autophagy based on its membrane fusion property and interaction with autophagy adaptors/specific substrates. In contrast to the single Atg8p in yeast, mammals have 6 homologs of Atg8p comprising LC3 and GABARAP families. However, it is not clear these two families have different or similar functions. The aim of this study was to determine the separate roles of LC3 and GABARAP families in basal/constitutive and/or selective autophagy. While the combined knockdown of LC3 and GABARAP families caused a defect in long-lived protein degradation through lysosomes, knockdown of each had no effect on the degradation. Meanwhile, knockdown of LC3B but not GABARAPs resulted in significant accumulation of p62/Sqstm1, one of the selective substrate for autophagy. Our results suggest that while mammalian Atg8 homologs are functionally redundant with regard to autophagosome formation, selective autophagy is regulated by specific Atg8 homologs.

Munc18-2 and Syntaxin 3 Control Distinct Essential Steps in Mast Cell Degranulation

Mast cell degranulation requires N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) and mammalian uncoordinated18 (Munc18) fusion accessory proteins for membrane fusion. However, it is still unknown how their interaction supports fusion. In this study, we found that small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of the isoform Munc18-2 in mast cells inhibits cytoplasmic secretory granule (SG) release but not CCL2 chemokine secretion. Silencing of its SNARE-binding partner syntaxin 3 (STX3) also markedly inhibited degranulation, whereas combined knockdown produced an additive inhibitory effect. Strikingly, while Munc18-2 silencing impaired SG translocation, silencing of STX3 inhibited fusion, demonstrating unique roles of each protein. Immunogold studies showed that both Munc18-2 and STX3 are located on the granule surface, but also within the granule matrix and in small nocodazole-sensitive clusters of the cytoskeletal meshwork surrounding SG. After stimulation, clusters containing both effectors were detected at fusion sites. In resting cells, Munc18-2, but not STX3, interacted with tubulin. This interaction was sensitive to nocodazole treatment and decreased after stimulation. Our results indicate that Munc18-2 dynamically couples the membrane fusion machinery to the microtubule cytoskeleton and demonstrate that Munc18-2 and STX3 perform distinct, but complementary, functions to support, respectively, SG translocation and membrane fusion in mast cells.

Mutant p53 Cooperates with Knockdown of Endogenous Wild-Type p53 to Disrupt Tubulogenesis in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells

Mutation of the p53 gene is the most common genetic alteration in human malignances and associated clinically with tumor progression and metastasis. To determine the effect of mutant p53 on epithelial differentiation, we developed three-dimensional culture (3-D) of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. We found that parental MDCK cells undergo a series of morphological changes and form polarized and growth-arrested cysts with hollow lumen, which resembles branching tubules in vitro. We also found that upon knockdown of endogenous wild-type p53 (p53-KD), MDCK cells still form normal cysts in 3-D culture, indicating that p53-KD alone is not sufficient to disrupt cysts formation. However, we found that ectopic expression of mutant R163H (human equivalent R175H) or R261H (human equivalent R273H) in MDCK cells leads to disruption of cyst polarity and formation of invasive aggregates, which is further compounded by knockdown of endogenous wild-type p53. Consistently, we found that expression of E-cadherin, β-catenin, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) transcription factors (Snail-1, Slug and Twist) is altered by mutant p53, which is also compounded by knockdown of wild-type p53. Moreover, the expression level of c-Met, the hepatocyte growth factor receptor and a key regulator of kidney cell tubulogenesis, is enhanced by combined knockdown of endogenous wild-type p53 and ectopic expression of mutant R163H or R261H but not by each individually. Together, our data suggest that upon inactivating mutation of the p53 gene, mutant p53 acquires its gain of function by altering morphogenesis and promoting cell migration and invasion in part by upregulating EMT and c-Met.

Aberrant DNA methyltransferase expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development and progression

BackgroundAltered gene methylation, regulated by DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) 1, 3a and 3b, contributes to tumorigenesis. However, the role of DNMT in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unknown.MethodsExpression of DNMT 1, 3a and 3b was detected in 88 Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and 10 normal tissue samples by immunohistochemistry. Changes in cell viability, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis of PDAC cell lines (Panc-1 and SW1990) were assessed after transfection with DNMT1 and 3b siRNA. Levels of CDKN1A, Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA were assessed by qRT-PCR, and methylation of the Bax gene promoter was assayed by methylation-specific PCR (MSP).ResultsDNMT1, 3a and 3b proteins were expressed in 46.6%, 23.9%, and 77.3% of PDAC tissues, respectively, but were not expressed in normal pancreatic tissues. There was a co-presence of DNMT3a and DNMT3b expression and an association of DNMT1 expression with alcohol consumption and poor overall survival. Moreover, knockdown of DNMT1 and DNMT3b expression significantly inhibited PDAC cell viability, decreased S-phase but increased G1-phase of the cell cycle, and induced apoptosis. Molecularly, expression of CDKN1A and Bax mRNA was upregulated, and the Bax gene promoter was demethylated. However, a synergistic effect of combined DNMT1 and 3b knockdown was not observed.ConclusionExpression of DNMT1, 3a and 3b proteins is increased in PDAC tissues, and DNMT1 expression is associated with poor prognosis of patients. Knockdown of DNMT1 and 3b expression arrests tumor cells at the G1 phase of the cell cycle and induces apoptosis. The data suggest that DNMT knockdown may be a novel treatment strategy for PDAC.

MicroRNA-146 function in the innate immune transcriptome response of zebrafish embryos to Salmonella typhimurium infection

BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been shown to play important roles in development of the immune system and in fine-tuning of immune responses. Human miR-146 family members are known as inflammation-inducible miRNAs involved in negative feedback regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling. Dysregulation of the miR-146 family has often been linked to inflammatory diseases and malignancies. This study reports on miR-146a and miR-146b as infection-inducible miRNAs in zebrafish, which has emerged as a model species for human disease.ResultsUsing a custom-designed microarray platform for miRNA expression we found that both members of the zebrafish miR-146 family, miR-146a and miR-146b, were commonly induced by infection of zebrafish embryos with Salmonella typhimurium and by infection of adult fish with Mycobacterium marinum. The induction of these miRNAs was confirmed by Taqman miRNA assays. Subsequently, we used zebrafish embryos, in which adaptive immunity is not yet active, as an in vivo system to investigate the role of miR-146 in the innate immune response to S. typhimurium infection. Knockdown of traf6 and use of myd88 mutants demonstrated that the induction of miR-146a and miR-146b by S. typhimurium infection was affected by disruption of the MyD88-Traf6 pathway that mediates transduction of TLR signals and cytokine responses. In turn, knockdown of miR-146 itself had no major effects on the expression of known targets of MyD88-Traf6 signalling. Instead, RNA sequencing analysis showed that miR-146 knockdown led to an increased induction of six members of the apolipoprotein gene family in S. typhimurium-infected embryos.ConclusionBased on microarray analysis and Taqman miRNA assays we conclude that members of the miR-146 family, which is highly conserved between fish and human, are induced by bacterial infection in zebrafish in a MyD88 and Traf6 dependent manner. The combined knockdown of miR-146a and miR-146b in zebrafish embryos infected with S. typhimurium had no major effect on the expression of pro-inflammatory genes and transcription factors known to be downstream of the MyD88-Traf6 pathway. In contrast, apolipoprotein-mediated lipid transport emerged as an infection-inducible pathway under miR-146 knockdown conditions, suggesting a possible function of miR-146 in regulating lipid metabolism during inflammation.

Deadpan Contributes to the Robustness of the Notch Response

Notch signaling regulates many fundamental events including lateral inhibition and boundary formation to generate very reproducible patterns in developing tissues. Its targets include genes of the bHLH hairy and Enhancer of split [E(spl)] family, which contribute to many of these developmental decisions. One member of this family in Drosophila, deadpan (dpn), was originally found to have functions independent of Notch in promoting neural development. Employing genome-wide chromatin-immunoprecipitation we have identified several Notch responsive enhancers in dpn, demonstrating its direct regulation by Notch in a range of contexts including the Drosophila wing and eye. dpn expression largely overlaps that of several E(spl) genes and the combined knock-down leads to more severe phenotypes than either alone. In addition, Dpn contributes to the establishment of Cut expression at the wing dorsal-ventral (D/V) boundary; in its absence Cut expression is delayed. Furthermore, over-expression of Dpn inhibits expression from E(spl) gene enhancers, but not vice versa, suggesting that dpn contributes to a feed-back mechanism that limits E(spl) gene expression following Notch activation. Thus the combined actions of dpn and E(spl) appear to provide a mechanism that confers an initial rapid output from Notch activity which becomes self-limited via feedback between the targets.

Evidence for tankyrases as antineoplastic targets in lung cancer

BackgroundNew pharmacologic targets are urgently needed to treat or prevent lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer death for men and women. This study identified one such target. This is the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which is deregulated in cancers, including those lacking adenomatous polyposis coli or β-catenin mutations. Two poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) enzymes regulate canonical Wnt activity: tankyrase (TNKS) 1 and TNKS2. These enzymes poly-ADP-ribosylate (PARsylate) and destabilize axin, a key component of the β-catenin phosphorylation complex.MethodsThis study used comprehensive gene profiles to uncover deregulation of the Wnt pathway in murine transgenic and human lung cancers, relative to normal lung. Antineoplastic consequences of genetic and pharmacologic targeting of TNKS in murine and human lung cancer cell lines were explored, and validated in vivo in mice by implantation of murine transgenic lung cancer cells engineered with reduced TNKS expression relative to controls.ResultsMicroarray analyses comparing Wnt pathway members in malignant versus normal tissues of a murine transgenic cyclin E lung cancer model revealed deregulation of Wnt pathway components, including TNKS1 and TNKS2. Real-time PCR assays independently confirmed these results in paired normal-malignant murine and human lung tissues. Individual treatments of a panel of human and murine lung cancer cell lines with the TNKS inhibitors XAV939 and IWR-1 dose-dependently repressed cell growth and increased cellular axin 1 and tankyrase levels. These inhibitors also repressed expression of a Wnt-responsive luciferase construct, implicating the Wnt pathway in conferring these antineoplastic effects. Individual or combined knockdown of TNKS1 and TNKS2 with siRNAs or shRNAs reduced lung cancer cell growth, stabilized axin, and repressed tumor formation in murine xenograft and syngeneic lung cancer models.ConclusionsFindings reported here uncovered deregulation of specific components of the Wnt pathway in both human and murine lung cancer models. Repressing TNKS activity through either genetic or pharmacological approaches antagonized canonical Wnt signaling, reduced murine and human lung cancer cell line growth, and decreased tumor formation in mouse models. Taken together, these findings implicate the use of TNKS inhibitors to target the Wnt pathway to combat lung cancer.

CDK2 knockdown enhances head and neck cancer cell radiosensitivity

Purpose: Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is critically involved in cell cycling and has been proposed as a potential cancer target. It remains largely elusive whether CDK2 targeting alters the tumor cell radiosensitivity.Materials and methods: CDK2−/− and wild type (WT) mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) as well as six human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines (SAS, FaDu, Cal-33, HSC-4, UTSCC-5, UTSCC-8) were used. Upon CDK2 knockdown using small interfering technology, colony formation, DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), cell cycle distribution and expression and phosphorylation of major proteins regulating cell cycle and DNA damage repair were examined.Results: CDK2−/− MEF and CDK2 HNSCC knockdown cell cultures were more radiosensitive than the corresponding controls. Repair of DSB was attenuated under CDK2 knockout or knockdown. In contrast to data in MEF, combined CDK2 knockdown with irradiation showed no cell cycling alterations in SAS and FaDu cultures. Importantly, CDK2 knockdown failed to radiosensitize SAS and FaDu when cultured in a more physiological three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix environment.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that targeting of CDK2 radiosensitizes HNSCC cells growing as monolayer. Additional studies performed under more physiological conditions are warranted to clarify the potential of CDK2 as target in radiotherapy.

Abstract 3144: shRNA library screening by dual shRNA technique identifies CHEK1 as a synthetic lethal gene in the absence of IKKε in ovarian cancer.

Abstract Background: IKKε was previously identified as an oncogene in breast cancer and was associated with poor clinical outcome in ovarian cancer. Recently, we demonstrated that IKKε is a key regulator of invasion and metastasis programs in ovarian cancer. Therefore, we developed a rapid and robust dual shRNA technique to create IKKε-matched cell line pairs and performed synthetic lethality screens to identify the key molecular targets influenced by the loss of IKKε expression in ovarian cancer. Material and methods: To create an IKKε-matched cell line pair, we utilized a retroviral bicistronic vector containing the transmembrane and extracellular domains of the mouse T-cell surface glycoprotein CD8 alpha, co-expressed with either IKKε or negative control shRNAs. The positively transduced cells were isolated using mouse CD8a-specific microbeads. After recovery from beads purification, the human kinome shRNA library, containing a puromycin selectable marker fused to GFP, was introduced. To identify shRNAs that sensitized ovarian cancer cells to IKKε depletion, we harvested each shRNA library infected control and IKKε- depleted cells at two time points. This screening was performed in two different ovarian cancer cell lines, one with and one without p53 mutation. Results: We prioritized the genes consistently depleted at two different time points, depending on their doubling times (A2780 at Days 4 and 7, Ovcar5 at Days 7 and 14). In order to generalize this synthetic lethality to ovarian cancers expressing a high level of IKKε, we first focused on the genes identified in both ovarian cancer cell lines, yielding 29 candidate genes. We examined the expression levels of these 29 candidate genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal containing more than 500 ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma. Most of these 29 genes were overexpressed in a subset of TCGA ovarian cancers. Strikingly, CHEK1 was overexpressed by more than 2 fold in 98% of TCGA ovarian cancers. The combination knockdown with IKKε and CHEK1 resulted in a further decrease in cellular proliferation and a further increase in G0/G1 arrest compared to individual depletion of either gene. Consistently, we observed the same biological effect using pharmacological inhibitors of IKKε (BX795) and CHEK1 (PF00477736). Conclusion: Our dual shRNA technique efficiently identified CHEK1 as an IKKε synthetic lethal gene in ovarian cancer. Identification of IKKε dependent signaling will lead to development of context-specific therapeutics in the poor prognostic group of patients with a high level of IKKε expression. Citation Format: Marianne K H Kim, George Wright, Louis Staudt, Christina Annunziata. shRNA library screening by dual shRNA technique identifies CHEK1 as a synthetic lethal gene in the absence of IKKε in ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3144. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3144

Bisphenol A delays the perinatal chloride shift in cortical neurons by epigenetic effects on the Kcc2 promoter

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous compound that is emerging as a possible toxicant during embryonic development. BPA has been shown to epigenetically affect the developing nervous system, but the molecular mechanisms are not clear. Here we demonstrate that BPA exposure in culture led to delay in the perinatal chloride shift caused by significant decrease in potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (Kcc2) mRNA expression in developing rat, mouse, and human cortical neurons. Neuronal chloride increased correspondingly. Treatment with epigenetic compounds decitabine and trichostatin A rescued the BPA effects as did knockdown of histone deacetylase 1 and combined knockdown histone deacetylase 1 and 2. Furthermore, BPA evoked increase in tangential interneuron migration and increased chloride in migrating neurons. Interestingly, BPA exerted its effect in a sexually dimorphic manner, with a more accentuated effect in females than males. By chromatin immunoprecipitation, we found a significant increase in binding of methyl-CpG binding protein 2 to the "cytosine-phosphate-guanine shores" of the Kcc2 promoter, and decrease in binding of acetylated histone H3K9 surrounding the transcriptional start site. Methyl-CpG binding protein 2-expressing neurons were more abundant resulting from BPA exposure. The sexually dimorphic effect of BPA on Kcc2 expression was also demonstrated in cortical neurons cultured from the offspring of BPA-fed mouse dams. In these neurons and in cortical slices, decitabine was found to rescue the effect of BPA on Kcc2 expression. Overall, our results indicate that BPA can disrupt Kcc2 gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. Beyond increase in basic understanding, our findings have relevance for identifying unique neurodevelopmental toxicity mechanisms of BPA, which could possibly play a role in pathogenesis of human neurodevelopmental disorders.

Knockdown of RLIP76 expression by RNA interference inhibits invasion, induces cell cycle arrest, and increases chemosensitivity to the anticancer drug temozolomide in glioma cells

RLIP76, a GTPase-activating protein, is a central regulator in multiple pathways that respond to redox states and control cell growth, motility, division, and apoptosis in many malignant cancer cells. In this study, human glioblastoma cell lines U87 and U251 were stably transfected with a lentivirus vector expressing a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting RLIP76. shRNA knockdown of RLIP76 induced cell cycle arrest in U87 and U251 cells and inhibited their invasiveness. Quantitative Western blot analysis revealed that cells stably underexpressing RLIP76 showed lower expression of cyclin D1 and decreased expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase 2 compared to cells stably transfected with a control vector. Furthermore, RLIP76 expression levels were correlated with IC(50) values for the antitumor drug temozolomide (TMZ). Compared with TMZ alone (17.19 ± 1.78 and 22.18 ± 1.99 μg/mL in U87 and U251 cells, respectively) or combined shGFP and TMZ (18.04 ± 1.07 and 23.040 ± 1.77 μg/mL in U87 and U251 cells, respectively), combined shRNA and TMZ therapy resulted in a significant decrease in IC(50) value (7.61 ± 2.99 and 6.91 ± 2.59 μg/mL in U87 and U251 cells, respectively). Combined RLIP76 knockdown and TMZ treatment inhibited cell proliferation in vitro more effectively than either treatment alone. Furthermore, RLIP76 downregulation enhanced chemosensitivity to TMZ without affecting protein expression of MDR1 and MRP1. The results indicate that inhibition of RLIP76 expression may be an effective means for overcoming RLIP76-associated chemoresistance in human malignant glioma cells and may represent a potential gene-targeting approach for glioma treatment.

Abstract A24: Enhancing chemotherapy efficacy and antitumor immune activity by combined antisense downregulation of TS and IDO.

Abstract Chemotherapy plays a major role in treatment of many common cancers. However, it is limited by intrinsic and/or acquired tumor cell resistance to anticancer drugs, often mediated by increased expression of genes mediating that resistance. An approach to increase chemotherapy effectiveness is to reduce expression of such genes using small molecules or RNAi to silence specific targets that cancer cells rely on for escape from death due to exogenous treatment or immune cell attack. We have previously shown that siRNA downregulation of thymidylate synthase (TS), the enzyme responsible for the de novo synthesis of thymidylate and a common target for some anti-cancer drugs (5FUdR, pemetrexed, and others) enhances the activity of these drugs in vitro. Using lower concentrations of anticancer drugs has the potential to decrease deleterious side effects, including therapy-induced toxicity to T cells capable of recognizing and killing tumor cells. In addition, certain tumor proteins including indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase [IDO] can regulate immunosurveillance by inhibiting antitumor T and NK cell activity. IDO can also mediate tumor cell resistance to some anticancer drugs, such as imatinib. To assess the capacity of combined siRNA knockdown of TS and IDO in human tumor cells to increase sensitivity to anticancer drugs, we report that: a) TS siRNA downregulates TS by 90% in HCT-15 colon carcinoma cells, over 90% percent in A549 lung carcinoma cells, and by 80% in H441 lung carcinoma cells, b) shRNA expression vectors stably expressing IDO siRNA in multiple clonally-derived populations of A549 reduces IFNγ-induced IDO protein expression by over 95%. Transiently-transfected TS siRNA is being used, alone and in combination with stable shRNA-mediated reduction in IDO, to assess the utility of targeting both mRNAs to enhance sensitivity to TS-targeting drugs (5-FU, 5-FUdR, pemetrexed), DNA-damaging anticancer drugs (cisplatin, melphalan) and both, both in vitro and against human A549-derived tumour xenografts in immunocompromised mice without T cells but competent with respect to NK cell activity. Combined antisense targeting of both TS and IDO in human tumor cells has the potential to increase the effectiveness of anti-TS and other drugs, both by increasing tumor cell drug sensitivity and by combined enhancement of sensitivity to drug treatment and reduced inhibition of NK cell activity. Citation Format: Saman Maleki Vareki, James Koropatnick. Enhancing chemotherapy efficacy and antitumor immune activity by combined antisense downregulation of TS and IDO. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A24.

MicroRNAs regulate methionine adenosyltransferase 1A expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and methionine adenosyltransferase 1A (MAT1A) are dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and reduced MAT1A expression correlates with worse HCC prognosis. Expression of miR-664, miR-485-3p, and miR-495, potential regulatory miRNAs of MAT1A, is increased in HCC. Knockdown of these miRNAs individually in Hep3B and HepG2 cells induced MAT1A expression, reduced growth, and increased apoptosis, while combined knockdown exerted additional effects on all parameters. Subcutaneous and intraparenchymal injection of Hep3B cells stably overexpressing each of this trio of miRNAs promoted tumorigenesis and metastasis in mice. Treatment with miRNA-664 (miR-664), miR-485-3p, and miR-495 siRNAs reduced tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis in an orthotopic liver cancer model. Blocking MAT1A induction significantly reduced the antitumorigenic effect of miR-495 siRNA, whereas maintaining MAT1A expression prevented miRNA-mediated enhancement of growth and metastasis. Knockdown of these miRNAs increased total and nuclear level of MAT1A protein, global CpG methylation, lin-28 homolog B (Caenorhabditis elegans) (LIN28B) promoter methylation, and reduced LIN28B expression. The opposite occurred with forced expression of these miRNAs. In conclusion, upregulation of miR-664, miR-485-3p, and miR-495 contributes to lower MAT1A expression in HCC, and enhanced tumorigenesis may provide potential targets for HCC therapy.

Deficiency in Metabolic Regulators PPARγ and PTEN Cooperates to Drive Keratinizing Squamous Metaplasia in Novel Models of Human Tissue Regeneration

Hindgut-derived endoderm can differentiate into rectal, prostatic, and bladder phenotypes. Stromal-epithelial interactions are crucial for this development; however, the precise mechanisms by which epithelium responds to stromal cues remain unknown. We have previously reported ectopic expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 (PPARγ2) increased androgen receptor expression and promoted differentiation of mouse prostate epithelium. PPARγ is also implicated in urothelial differentiation. Herein we demonstrate that knockdown of PPARγ2 in benign human prostate epithelial cells (BHPrEs) promotes urothelial transdifferentiation. Furthermore, invitro and invivo heterotypic tissue regeneration models with embryonic bladder mesenchyme promoted urothelial differentiation of PPARγ2-deficient BHPrE cells, and deficiency of both PPARγ isoforms 1 and 2 arrested differentiation. Because PTEN deficiency is cooperative in urothelial pathogenesis, we engineered BHPrE cells with combined knockdown of PPARγ and PTEN and performed heterotypic recombination experiments using embryonic bladder mesenchyme. Whereas PTEN deficiency alone induced latent squamous differentiation in BHPrE cells, combined PPARγ and PTEN deficiency accelerated the development of keratinizing squamous metaplasia (KSM). We further confirmed via immunohistochemistry that gene expression changes in metaplastic recombinants reflected human urothelium undergoing KSM. In summary, these data suggest that PPARγ isoform expression provides a molecular basis for observations that adult human epithelium can be transdifferentiated on the basis of heterotypic mesenchymal induction. These dataalso implicate PPARγ and PTEN inactivation in the development of KSM.

Inhibition of rhabdomyosarcoma cell and tumor growth by targeting specificity protein (Sp) transcription factors

Specificity protein (Sp) transcription factors Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 are highly expressed in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) cells. In tissue arrays of RMS tumor cores from 71 patients, 80% of RMS patients expressed high levels of Sp1 protein, whereas low expression of Sp1 was detected in normal muscle tissue. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) tolfenamic acid (TA) inhibited growth and migration of RD and RH30 RMS cell lines and also inhibited tumor growth in vivo using a mouse xenograft (RH30 cells) model. The effects of TA were accompanied by downregulation of Sp1, Sp3, Sp4 and Sp-regulated genes in RMS cells and tumors, and the role of Sp protein downregulation in mediating inhibition of RD and RH30 cell growth and migration was confirmed by individual and combined knockdown of Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 proteins by RNA interference. TA treatment and Sp knockdown in RD and RH30 cells also showed that four genes that are emerging as individual drug targets for treating RMS, namely c-MET, insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFR), PDGFRα and CXCR4, are also Sp-regulated genes. These results suggest that NSAIDs such as TA may have potential clinical efficacy in drug combinations for treating RMS patients.