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  1. Mutual repression enhances the steepness and precision of gene expression boundaries.

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    Thomas R Sokolowski

    Full Text Available Embryonic development is driven by spatial patterns of gene expression that determine the fate of each cell in the embryo. While gene expression is often highly erratic, embryonic development is usually exceedingly precise. In particular, gene expression boundaries are robust not only against intra-embryonic fluctuations such as noise in gene expression and protein diffusion, but also against embryo-to-embryo variations in the morphogen gradients, which provide positional information to the differentiating cells. How development is robust against intra- and inter-embryonic variations is not understood. A common motif in the gene regulation networks that control embryonic development is mutual repression between pairs of genes. To assess the role of mutual repression in the robust formation of gene expression patterns, we have performed large-scale stochastic simulations of a minimal model of two mutually repressing gap genes in Drosophila, hunchback (hb and knirps (kni. Our model includes not only mutual repression between hb and kni, but also the stochastic and cooperative activation of hb by the anterior morphogen Bicoid (Bcd and of kni by the posterior morphogen Caudal (Cad, as well as the diffusion of Hb and Kni between neighboring nuclei. Our analysis reveals that mutual repression can markedly increase the steepness and precision of the gap gene expression boundaries. In contrast to other mechanisms such as spatial averaging and cooperative gene activation, mutual repression thus allows for gene-expression boundaries that are both steep and precise. Moreover, mutual repression dramatically enhances their robustness against embryo-to-embryo variations in the morphogen levels. Finally, our simulations reveal that diffusion of the gap proteins plays a critical role not only in reducing the width of the gap gene expression boundaries via the mechanism of spatial averaging, but also in repairing patterning errors that could arise because of the

  2. Genomic Analysis Reveals Contrasting PIFq Contribution to Diurnal Rhythmic Gene Expression in PIF-Induced and -Repressed Genes.

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    Martin, Guiomar; Soy, Judit; Monte, Elena

    2016-01-01

    Members of the PIF quartet (PIFq; PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5) collectively contribute to induce growth in Arabidopsis seedlings under short day (SD) conditions, specifically promoting elongation at dawn. Their action involves the direct regulation of growth-related and hormone-associated genes. However, a comprehensive definition of the PIFq-regulated transcriptome under SD is still lacking. We have recently shown that SD and free-running (LL) conditions correspond to "growth" and "no growth" conditions, respectively, correlating with greater abundance of PIF protein in SD. Here, we present a genomic analysis whereby we first define SD-regulated genes at dawn compared to LL in the wild type, followed by identification of those SD-regulated genes whose expression depends on the presence of PIFq. By using this sequential strategy, we have identified 349 PIF/SD-regulated genes, approximately 55% induced and 42% repressed by both SD and PIFq. Comparison with available databases indicates that PIF/SD-induced and PIF/SD-repressed sets are differently phased at dawn and mid-morning, respectively. In addition, we found that whereas rhythmicity of the PIF/SD-induced gene set is lost in LL, most PIF/SD-repressed genes keep their rhythmicity in LL, suggesting differential regulation of both gene sets by the circadian clock. Moreover, we also uncovered distinct overrepresented functions in the induced and repressed gene sets, in accord with previous studies in other examined PIF-regulated processes. Interestingly, promoter analyses showed that, whereas PIF/SD-induced genes are enriched in direct PIF targets, PIF/SD-repressed genes are mostly indirectly regulated by the PIFs and might be more enriched in ABA-regulated genes.

  3. The base pairing RNA Spot 42 participates in a multi-output feedforward loop to help enact catabolite repression in Escherichia coli

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    Beisel, Chase L.; Storz, Gisela

    2011-01-01

    SUMMARY Bacteria selectively consume some carbon sources over others through a regulatory mechanism termed catabolite repression. Here, we show that the base pairing RNA Spot 42 plays a broad role in catabolite repression in Escherichia coli by directly repressing genes involved in central and secondary metabolism, redox balancing, and the consumption of diverse non-preferred carbon sources. Many of the genes repressed by Spot 42 are transcriptionally activated by the global regulator CRP. Since CRP represses Spot 42, these regulators participate in a specific regulatory circuit called a multi-output feedforward loop. We found that this loop can reduce leaky expression of target genes in the presence of glucose and can maintain repression of target genes under changing nutrient conditions. Our results suggest that base pairing RNAs in feedforward loops can help shape the steady-state levels and dynamics of gene expression. PMID:21292161

  4. Nuclear AXIN2 represses MYC gene expression

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    Rennoll, Sherri A.; Konsavage, Wesley M.; Yochum, Gregory S., E-mail: gsy3@psu.edu

    2014-01-03

    Highlights: •AXIN2 localizes to cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments in colorectal cancer cells. •Nuclear AXIN2 represses the activity of Wnt-responsive luciferase reporters. •β-Catenin bridges AXIN2 to TCF transcription factors. •AXIN2 binds the MYC promoter and represses MYC gene expression. -- Abstract: The β-catenin transcriptional coactivator is the key mediator of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. In the absence of Wnt, β-catenin associates with a cytosolic and multi-protein destruction complex where it is phosphorylated and targeted for proteasomal degradation. In the presence of Wnt, the destruction complex is inactivated and β-catenin translocates into the nucleus. In the nucleus, β-catenin binds T-cell factor (TCF) transcription factors to activate expression of c-MYC (MYC) and Axis inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2). AXIN2 is a member of the destruction complex and, thus, serves in a negative feedback loop to control Wnt/β-catenin signaling. AXIN2 is also present in the nucleus, but its function within this compartment is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that AXIN2 localizes to the nuclei of epithelial cells within normal and colonic tumor tissues as well as colorectal cancer cell lines. In the nucleus, AXIN2 represses expression of Wnt/β-catenin-responsive luciferase reporters and forms a complex with β-catenin and TCF. We demonstrate that AXIN2 co-occupies β-catenin/TCF complexes at the MYC promoter region. When constitutively localized to the nucleus, AXIN2 alters the chromatin structure at the MYC promoter and directly represses MYC gene expression. These findings suggest that nuclear AXIN2 functions as a rheostat to control MYC expression in response to Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

  5. Nuclear AXIN2 represses MYC gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rennoll, Sherri A.; Konsavage, Wesley M.; Yochum, Gregory S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: •AXIN2 localizes to cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments in colorectal cancer cells. •Nuclear AXIN2 represses the activity of Wnt-responsive luciferase reporters. •β-Catenin bridges AXIN2 to TCF transcription factors. •AXIN2 binds the MYC promoter and represses MYC gene expression. -- Abstract: The β-catenin transcriptional coactivator is the key mediator of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. In the absence of Wnt, β-catenin associates with a cytosolic and multi-protein destruction complex where it is phosphorylated and targeted for proteasomal degradation. In the presence of Wnt, the destruction complex is inactivated and β-catenin translocates into the nucleus. In the nucleus, β-catenin binds T-cell factor (TCF) transcription factors to activate expression of c-MYC (MYC) and Axis inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2). AXIN2 is a member of the destruction complex and, thus, serves in a negative feedback loop to control Wnt/β-catenin signaling. AXIN2 is also present in the nucleus, but its function within this compartment is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that AXIN2 localizes to the nuclei of epithelial cells within normal and colonic tumor tissues as well as colorectal cancer cell lines. In the nucleus, AXIN2 represses expression of Wnt/β-catenin-responsive luciferase reporters and forms a complex with β-catenin and TCF. We demonstrate that AXIN2 co-occupies β-catenin/TCF complexes at the MYC promoter region. When constitutively localized to the nucleus, AXIN2 alters the chromatin structure at the MYC promoter and directly represses MYC gene expression. These findings suggest that nuclear AXIN2 functions as a rheostat to control MYC expression in response to Wnt/β-catenin signaling

  6. Targeted repression of AXIN2 and MYC gene expression using designer TALEs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rennoll, Sherri A.; Scott, Samantha A.; Yochum, Gregory S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We designed TALE–SID fusion proteins to target AXIN2 and MYC. • TALE–SIDs bound the chromosomal AXIN2 and MYC genes and repressed their expression. • TALE–SIDs repress β-catenin S45F -dependent AXIN2 and MYC transcription. - Abstract: Designer TALEs (dTALEs) are chimeric transcription factors that can be engineered to regulate gene expression in mammalian cells. Whether dTALEs can block gene transcription downstream of signal transduction cascades, however, has yet to be fully explored. Here we tested whether dTALEs can be used to target genes whose expression is controlled by Wnt/β-catenin signaling. TALE DNA binding domains were engineered to recognize sequences adjacent to Wnt responsive enhancer elements (WREs) that control expression of axis inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2) and c-MYC (MYC). These custom DNA binding domains were linked to the mSin3A interaction domain (SID) to generate TALE–SID chimeric repressors. The TALE–SIDs repressed luciferase reporter activity, bound their genomic target sites, and repressed AXIN2 and MYC expression in HEK293 cells. We generated a novel HEK293 cell line to determine whether the TALE–SIDs could function downstream of oncogenic Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Treating these cells with doxycycline and tamoxifen stimulates nuclear accumulation of a stabilized form of β-catenin found in a subset of colorectal cancers. The TALE–SIDs repressed AXIN2 and MYC expression in these cells, which suggests that dTALEs could offer an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of colorectal cancer

  7. Targeted repression of AXIN2 and MYC gene expression using designer TALEs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rennoll, Sherri A.; Scott, Samantha A.; Yochum, Gregory S., E-mail: gsy3@psu.edu

    2014-04-18

    Highlights: • We designed TALE–SID fusion proteins to target AXIN2 and MYC. • TALE–SIDs bound the chromosomal AXIN2 and MYC genes and repressed their expression. • TALE–SIDs repress β-catenin{sup S45F}-dependent AXIN2 and MYC transcription. - Abstract: Designer TALEs (dTALEs) are chimeric transcription factors that can be engineered to regulate gene expression in mammalian cells. Whether dTALEs can block gene transcription downstream of signal transduction cascades, however, has yet to be fully explored. Here we tested whether dTALEs can be used to target genes whose expression is controlled by Wnt/β-catenin signaling. TALE DNA binding domains were engineered to recognize sequences adjacent to Wnt responsive enhancer elements (WREs) that control expression of axis inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2) and c-MYC (MYC). These custom DNA binding domains were linked to the mSin3A interaction domain (SID) to generate TALE–SID chimeric repressors. The TALE–SIDs repressed luciferase reporter activity, bound their genomic target sites, and repressed AXIN2 and MYC expression in HEK293 cells. We generated a novel HEK293 cell line to determine whether the TALE–SIDs could function downstream of oncogenic Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Treating these cells with doxycycline and tamoxifen stimulates nuclear accumulation of a stabilized form of β-catenin found in a subset of colorectal cancers. The TALE–SIDs repressed AXIN2 and MYC expression in these cells, which suggests that dTALEs could offer an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

  8. Repression of meiotic genes by antisense transcription and by Fkh2 transcription factor in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

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    Chen, Huei-Mei; Rosebrock, Adam P; Khan, Sohail R; Futcher, Bruce; Leatherwood, Janet K

    2012-01-01

    In S. pombe, about 5% of genes are meiosis-specific and accumulate little or no mRNA during vegetative growth. Here we use Affymetrix tiling arrays to characterize transcripts in vegetative and meiotic cells. In vegetative cells, many meiotic genes, especially those induced in mid-meiosis, have abundant antisense transcripts. Disruption of the antisense transcription of three of these mid-meiotic genes allowed vegetative sense transcription. These results suggest that antisense transcription represses sense transcription of meiotic genes in vegetative cells. Although the mechanism(s) of antisense mediated transcription repression need to be further explored, our data indicates that RNAi machinery is not required for repression. Previously, we and others used non-strand specific methods to study splicing regulation of meiotic genes and concluded that 28 mid-meiotic genes are spliced only in meiosis. We now demonstrate that the "unspliced" signal in vegetative cells comes from the antisense RNA, not from unspliced sense RNA, and we argue against the idea that splicing regulates these mid-meiotic genes. Most of these mid-meiotic genes are induced in mid-meiosis by the forkhead transcription factor Mei4. Interestingly, deletion of a different forkhead transcription factor, Fkh2, allows low levels of sense expression of some mid-meiotic genes in vegetative cells. We propose that vegetative expression of mid-meiotic genes is repressed at least two independent ways: antisense transcription and Fkh2 repression.

  9. RNAi mediates post-transcriptional repression of gene expression in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

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    Smialowska, Agata; Djupedal, Ingela; Wang, Jingwen; Kylsten, Per; Swoboda, Peter; Ekwall, Karl

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Protein coding genes accumulate anti-sense sRNAs in fission yeast S. pombe. • RNAi represses protein-coding genes in S. pombe. • RNAi-mediated gene repression is post-transcriptional. - Abstract: RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism conserved from fungi to mammals. Small interfering RNAs are products and mediators of the RNAi pathway and act as specificity factors in recruiting effector complexes. The Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome encodes one of each of the core RNAi proteins, Dicer, Argonaute and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (dcr1, ago1, rdp1). Even though the function of RNAi in heterochromatin assembly in S. pombe is established, its role in controlling gene expression is elusive. Here, we report the identification of small RNAs mapped anti-sense to protein coding genes in fission yeast. We demonstrate that these genes are up-regulated at the protein level in RNAi mutants, while their mRNA levels are not significantly changed. We show that the repression by RNAi is not a result of heterochromatin formation. Thus, we conclude that RNAi is involved in post-transcriptional gene silencing in S. pombe

  10. Acute TNF-induced repression of cell identity genes is mediated by NFκB-directed redistribution of cofactors from super-enhancers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Søren Fisker; Larsen, Bjørk Ditlev; Loft, Anne

    2015-01-01

    The proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role in low-grade adipose tissue inflammation and development of insulin resistance during obesity. In this context, nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) is directly involved and required for the...... specifically repressing super-enhancer-associated cell identity genes....... binding to the associated enhancers but rather loss of cofactors and enhancer RNA (eRNA) selectively from high-occupancy sites within super-enhancers. Based on these data, we have developed models that, with high accuracy, predict which enhancers and genes are repressed by TNF in adipocytes. We show...... that these models are applicable to other cell types where TNF represses genes associated with super-enhancers in a highly cell-type-specific manner. Our results propose a novel paradigm for NFκB-mediated repression, whereby NFκB selectively redistributes cofactors from high-occupancy enhancers, thereby...

  11. Repression of Meiotic Genes by Antisense Transcription and by Fkh2 Transcription Factor in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

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    Chen, Huei-Mei; Rosebrock, Adam P.; Khan, Sohail R.; Futcher, Bruce; Leatherwood, Janet K.

    2012-01-01

    In S. pombe, about 5% of genes are meiosis-specific and accumulate little or no mRNA during vegetative growth. Here we use Affymetrix tiling arrays to characterize transcripts in vegetative and meiotic cells. In vegetative cells, many meiotic genes, especially those induced in mid-meiosis, have abundant antisense transcripts. Disruption of the antisense transcription of three of these mid-meiotic genes allowed vegetative sense transcription. These results suggest that antisense transcription represses sense transcription of meiotic genes in vegetative cells. Although the mechanism(s) of antisense mediated transcription repression need to be further explored, our data indicates that RNAi machinery is not required for repression. Previously, we and others used non-strand specific methods to study splicing regulation of meiotic genes and concluded that 28 mid-meiotic genes are spliced only in meiosis. We now demonstrate that the “unspliced” signal in vegetative cells comes from the antisense RNA, not from unspliced sense RNA, and we argue against the idea that splicing regulates these mid-meiotic genes. Most of these mid-meiotic genes are induced in mid-meiosis by the forkhead transcription factor Mei4. Interestingly, deletion of a different forkhead transcription factor, Fkh2, allows low levels of sense expression of some mid-meiotic genes in vegetative cells. We propose that vegetative expression of mid-meiotic genes is repressed at least two independent ways: antisense transcription and Fkh2 repression. PMID:22238674

  12. Repression of meiotic genes by antisense transcription and by Fkh2 transcription factor in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huei-Mei Chen

    Full Text Available In S. pombe, about 5% of genes are meiosis-specific and accumulate little or no mRNA during vegetative growth. Here we use Affymetrix tiling arrays to characterize transcripts in vegetative and meiotic cells. In vegetative cells, many meiotic genes, especially those induced in mid-meiosis, have abundant antisense transcripts. Disruption of the antisense transcription of three of these mid-meiotic genes allowed vegetative sense transcription. These results suggest that antisense transcription represses sense transcription of meiotic genes in vegetative cells. Although the mechanism(s of antisense mediated transcription repression need to be further explored, our data indicates that RNAi machinery is not required for repression. Previously, we and others used non-strand specific methods to study splicing regulation of meiotic genes and concluded that 28 mid-meiotic genes are spliced only in meiosis. We now demonstrate that the "unspliced" signal in vegetative cells comes from the antisense RNA, not from unspliced sense RNA, and we argue against the idea that splicing regulates these mid-meiotic genes. Most of these mid-meiotic genes are induced in mid-meiosis by the forkhead transcription factor Mei4. Interestingly, deletion of a different forkhead transcription factor, Fkh2, allows low levels of sense expression of some mid-meiotic genes in vegetative cells. We propose that vegetative expression of mid-meiotic genes is repressed at least two independent ways: antisense transcription and Fkh2 repression.

  13. Dopamine signaling leads to loss of Polycomb repression and aberrant gene activation in experimental parkinsonism.

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    Erik Södersten

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Polycomb group (PcG proteins bind to and repress genes in embryonic stem cells through lineage commitment to the terminal differentiated state. PcG repressed genes are commonly characterized by the presence of the epigenetic histone mark H3K27me3, catalyzed by the Polycomb repressive complex 2. Here, we present in vivo evidence for a previously unrecognized plasticity of PcG-repressed genes in terminally differentiated brain neurons of parkisonian mice. We show that acute administration of the dopamine precursor, L-DOPA, induces a remarkable increase in H3K27me3S28 phosphorylation. The induction of the H3K27me3S28p histone mark specifically occurs in medium spiny neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors and is dependent on Msk1 kinase activity and DARPP-32-mediated inhibition of protein phosphatase-1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP experiments showed that increased H3K27me3S28p was accompanied by reduced PcG binding to regulatory regions of genes. An analysis of the genome wide distribution of L-DOPA-induced H3K27me3S28 phosphorylation by ChIP sequencing (ChIP-seq in combination with expression analysis by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq showed that the induction of H3K27me3S28p correlated with increased expression of a subset of PcG repressed genes. We found that induction of H3K27me3S28p persisted during chronic L-DOPA administration to parkisonian mice and correlated with aberrant gene expression. We propose that dopaminergic transmission can activate PcG repressed genes in the adult brain and thereby contribute to long-term maladaptive responses including the motor complications, or dyskinesia, caused by prolonged administration of L-DOPA in Parkinson's disease.

  14. Polycomb complexes act redundantly to repress genomic repeats and genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leeb, Martin; Pasini, Diego; Novatchkova, Maria

    2010-01-01

    Polycomb complexes establish chromatin modifications for maintaining gene repression and are essential for embryonic development in mice. Here we use pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells to demonstrate an unexpected redundancy between Polycomb-repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and PRC2 during...... the formation of differentiated cells. ES cells lacking the function of either PRC1 or PRC2 can differentiate into cells of the three germ layers, whereas simultaneous loss of PRC1 and PRC2 abrogates differentiation. On the molecular level, the differentiation defect is caused by the derepression of a set...

  15. A study of the evolution of human microRNAs by their apparent repression effectiveness on target genes.

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    Yong Huang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Even though the genomes of many model species have already been sequenced, our knowledge of gene regulation in evolution is still very limited. One big obstacle is that it is hard to predict the target genes of transcriptional factors accurately from sequences. In this respect, microRNAs (miRNAs are different from transcriptional factors, as target genes of miRNAs can be readily predicted from sequences. This feature of miRNAs offers an unprecedented vantage point for evolutionary analysis of gene regulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we analyzed a particular aspect of miRNA evolution, the differences in the "apparent repression effectiveness (ARE" between human miRNAs of different conservational levels. ARE is a measure we designed to evaluate the repression effect of miRNAs on target genes based on publicly available gene expression data in normal tissues and miRNA targeting and expression data. We found that ARE values of more conserved miRNAs are significantly higher than those of less conserved miRNAs in general. We also found the gain in expression abundance and broadness of miRNAs in evolution contributed to the gain in ARE. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The ARE measure quantifies the repressive effects of miRNAs and enables us to study the influences of many factors on miRNA-mediated repression, such as conservational levels and expression levels of miRNAs. The gain in ARE can be explained by the existence of a trend of miRNAs in evolution to effectively control more target genes, which is beneficial to the miRNAs but not necessarily to the organism at all times. Our results from miRNAs gave us an insight of the complex interplay between regulators and target genes in evolution.

  16. Gene Repression in Haloarchaea Using the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas I-B System.

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    Stachler, Aris-Edda; Marchfelder, Anita

    2016-07-15

    The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system is used by bacteria and archaea to fend off foreign genetic elements. Since its discovery it has been developed into numerous applications like genome editing and regulation of transcription in eukaryotes and bacteria. For archaea currently no tools for transcriptional repression exist. Because molecular biology analyses in archaea become more and more widespread such a tool is vital for investigating the biological function of essential genes in archaea. Here we use the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii to demonstrate that its endogenous CRISPR-Cas system I-B can be harnessed to repress gene expression in archaea. Deletion of cas3 and cas6b genes results in efficient repression of transcription. crRNAs targeting the promoter region reduced transcript levels down to 8%. crRNAs targeting the reading frame have only slight impact on transcription. crRNAs that target the coding strand repress expression only down to 88%, whereas crRNAs targeting the template strand repress expression down to 8%. Repression of an essential gene results in reduction of transcription levels down to 22%. Targeting efficiencies can be enhanced by expressing a catalytically inactive Cas3 mutant. Genes can be targeted on plasmids or on the chromosome, they can be monocistronic or part of a polycistronic operon. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  17. Gene Repression in Haloarchaea Using the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas I-B System*

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    Stachler, Aris-Edda; Marchfelder, Anita

    2016-01-01

    The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system is used by bacteria and archaea to fend off foreign genetic elements. Since its discovery it has been developed into numerous applications like genome editing and regulation of transcription in eukaryotes and bacteria. For archaea currently no tools for transcriptional repression exist. Because molecular biology analyses in archaea become more and more widespread such a tool is vital for investigating the biological function of essential genes in archaea. Here we use the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii to demonstrate that its endogenous CRISPR-Cas system I-B can be harnessed to repress gene expression in archaea. Deletion of cas3 and cas6b genes results in efficient repression of transcription. crRNAs targeting the promoter region reduced transcript levels down to 8%. crRNAs targeting the reading frame have only slight impact on transcription. crRNAs that target the coding strand repress expression only down to 88%, whereas crRNAs targeting the template strand repress expression down to 8%. Repression of an essential gene results in reduction of transcription levels down to 22%. Targeting efficiencies can be enhanced by expressing a catalytically inactive Cas3 mutant. Genes can be targeted on plasmids or on the chromosome, they can be monocistronic or part of a polycistronic operon. PMID:27226589

  18. The MSX1 homeoprotein recruits G9a methyltransferase to repressed target genes in myoblast cells.

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    Jingqiang Wang

    Full Text Available Although the significance of lysine modifications of core histones for regulating gene expression is widely appreciated, the mechanisms by which these modifications are incorporated at specific regulatory elements during cellular differentiation remains largely unknown. In our previous studies, we have shown that in developing myoblasts the Msx1 homeoprotein represses gene expression by influencing the modification status of chromatin at its target genes. We now show that genomic binding by Msx1 promotes enrichment of the H3K9me2 mark on repressed target genes via recruitment of G9a histone methyltransferase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing this histone mark. Interaction of Msx1 with G9a is mediated via the homeodomain and is required for transcriptional repression and regulation of cellular differentiation, as well as enrichment of the H3K9me2 mark in proximity to Msx1 binding sites on repressed target genes in myoblast cells as well as the developing limb. We propose that regulation of chromatin status by Msx1 recruitment of G9a and other histone modifying enzymes to regulatory regions of target genes represents an important means of regulating the gene expression during development.

  19. Interferon-Stimulated Genes Are Transcriptionally Repressed by PR in Breast Cancer.

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    Walter, Katherine R; Goodman, Merit L; Singhal, Hari; Hall, Jade A; Li, Tianbao; Holloran, Sean M; Trinca, Gloria M; Gibson, Katelin A; Jin, Victor X; Greene, Geoffrey L; Hagan, Christy R

    2017-10-01

    The progesterone receptor (PR) regulates transcriptional programs that drive proliferation, survival, and stem cell phenotypes. Although the role of native progesterone in the development of breast cancer remains controversial, PR clearly alters the transcriptome in breast tumors. This study identifies a class of genes, Interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs), potently downregulated by ligand-activated PR which have not been previously shown to be regulated by PR. Progestin-dependent transcriptional repression of ISGs was observed in breast cancer cell line models and human breast tumors. Ligand-independent regulation of ISGs was also observed, as basal transcript levels were markedly higher in cells with PR knockdown. PR repressed ISG transcription in response to IFN treatment, the canonical mechanism through which these genes are activated. Liganded PR is robustly recruited to enhancer regions of ISGs, and ISG transcriptional repression is dependent upon PR's ability to bind DNA. In response to PR activation, key regulatory transcription factors that are required for IFN-activated ISG transcription, STAT2 and IRF9, exhibit impaired recruitment to ISG promoter regions, correlating with PR/ligand-dependent ISG transcriptional repression. IFN activation is a critical early step in nascent tumor recognition and destruction through immunosurveillance. As the large majority of breast tumors are PR positive at the time of diagnosis, PR-dependent downregulation of IFN signaling may be a mechanism through which early PR-positive breast tumors evade the immune system and develop into clinically relevant tumors. Implications: This study highlights a novel transcriptional mechanism through which PR drives breast cancer development and potentially evades the immune system. Mol Cancer Res; 15(10); 1331-40. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  20. Dissecting miRNA gene repression on single cell level with an advanced fluorescent reporter system

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    Lemus-Diaz, Nicolas; Böker, Kai O.; Rodriguez-Polo, Ignacio; Mitter, Michael; Preis, Jasmin; Arlt, Maximilian; Gruber, Jens

    2017-01-01

    Despite major advances on miRNA profiling and target predictions, functional readouts for endogenous miRNAs are limited and frequently lead to contradicting conclusions. Numerous approaches including functional high-throughput and miRISC complex evaluations suggest that the functional miRNAome differs from the predictions based on quantitative sRNA profiling. To resolve the apparent contradiction of expression versus function, we generated and applied a fluorescence reporter gene assay enabling single cell analysis. This approach integrates and adapts a mathematical model for miRNA-driven gene repression. This model predicts three distinct miRNA-groups with unique repression activities (low, mid and high) governed not just by expression levels but also by miRNA/target-binding capability. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of the system by applying controlled concentrations of synthetic siRNAs and in parallel, altering target-binding capability on corresponding reporter-constructs. Furthermore, we compared miRNA-profiles with the modeled predictions of 29 individual candidates. We demonstrate that expression levels only partially reflect the miRNA function, fitting to the model-projected groups of different activities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that subcellular localization of miRNAs impacts functionality. Our results imply that miRNA profiling alone cannot define their repression activity. The gene regulatory function is a dynamic and complex process beyond a minimalistic conception of “highly expressed equals high repression”. PMID:28338079

  1. Timing is critical for effective glucocorticoid receptor mediated repression of the cAMP-induced CRH gene.

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    Siem van der Laan

    Full Text Available Glucocorticoid negative feedback of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is mediated in part by direct repression of gene transcription in glucocorticoid receptor (GR expressing cells. We have investigated the cross talk between the two main signaling pathways involved in activation and repression of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH mRNA expression: cyclic AMP (cAMP and GR. We report that in the At-T20 cell-line the glucocorticoid-mediated repression of the cAMP-induced human CRH proximal promoter activity depends on the relative timing of activation of both signaling pathways. Activation of the GR prior to or in conjunction with cAMP signaling results in an effective repression of the cAMP-induced transcription of the CRH gene. In contrast, activation of the GR 10 minutes after onset of cAMP treatment, results in a significant loss of GR-mediated repression. In addition, translocation of ligand-activated GR to the nucleus was found as early as 10 minutes after glucocorticoid treatment. Interestingly, while both signaling cascades counteract each other on the CRH proximal promoter, they synergize on a synthetic promoter containing 'positive' response elements. Since the order of activation of both signaling pathways may vary considerably in vivo, we conclude that a critical time-window exists for effective repression of the CRH gene by glucocorticoids.

  2. Genetic interactions of MAF1 identify a role for Med20 in transcriptional repression of ribosomal protein genes.

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    Ian M Willis

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Transcriptional repression of ribosomal components and tRNAs is coordinately regulated in response to a wide variety of environmental stresses. Part of this response involves the convergence of different nutritional and stress signaling pathways on Maf1, a protein that is essential for repressing transcription by RNA polymerase (pol III in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we identify the functions buffering yeast cells that are unable to down-regulate transcription by RNA pol III. MAF1 genetic interactions identified in screens of non-essential gene-deletions and conditionally expressed essential genes reveal a highly interconnected network of 64 genes involved in ribosome biogenesis, RNA pol II transcription, tRNA modification, ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis and other processes. A survey of non-essential MAF1 synthetic sick/lethal (SSL genes identified six gene-deletions that are defective in transcriptional repression of ribosomal protein (RP genes following rapamycin treatment. This subset of MAF1 SSL genes included MED20 which encodes a head module subunit of the RNA pol II Mediator complex. Genetic interactions between MAF1 and subunits in each structural module of Mediator were investigated to examine the functional relationship between these transcriptional regulators. Gene expression profiling identified a prominent and highly selective role for Med20 in the repression of RP gene transcription under multiple conditions. In addition, attenuated repression of RP genes by rapamycin was observed in a strain deleted for the Mediator tail module subunit Med16. The data suggest that Mediator and Maf1 function in parallel pathways to negatively regulate RP mRNA and tRNA synthesis.

  3. Promoter DNA hypermethylation and gene repression in undifferentiated Arabidopsis cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Berdasco

    Full Text Available Maintaining and acquiring the pluripotent cell state in plants is critical to tissue regeneration and vegetative multiplication. Histone-based epigenetic mechanisms are important for regulating this undifferentiated state. Here we report the use of genetic and pharmacological experimental approaches to show that Arabidopsis cell suspensions and calluses specifically repress some genes as a result of promoter DNA hypermethylation. We found that promoters of the MAPK12, GSTU10 and BXL1 genes become hypermethylated in callus cells and that hypermethylation also affects the TTG1, GSTF5, SUVH8, fimbrin and CCD7 genes in cell suspensions. Promoter hypermethylation in undifferentiated cells was associated with histone hypoacetylation and primarily occurred at CpG sites. Accordingly, we found that the process specifically depends on MET1 and DRM2 methyltransferases, as demonstrated with DNA methyltransferase mutants. Our results suggest that promoter DNA methylation may be another important epigenetic mechanism for the establishment and/or maintenance of the undifferentiated state in plant cells.

  4. PPARγ partial agonist GQ-16 strongly represses a subset of genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milton, Flora Aparecida [Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Laboratório de Farmacologia Molecular, Universidade de Brasília (Brazil); Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX (United States); Cvoro, Aleksandra [Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX (United States); Amato, Angelica A. [Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Laboratório de Farmacologia Molecular, Universidade de Brasília (Brazil); Sieglaff, Douglas H.; Filgueira, Carly S.; Arumanayagam, Anithachristy Sigamani [Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX (United States); Caro Alves de Lima, Maria do; Rocha Pitta, Ivan [Laboratório de Planejamento e Síntese de Fármacos – LPSF, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Brazil); Assis Rocha Neves, Francisco de [Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Laboratório de Farmacologia Molecular, Universidade de Brasília (Brazil); Webb, Paul, E-mail: pwebb@HoustonMethodist.org [Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX (United States)

    2015-08-28

    Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists that improve insulin resistance but trigger side effects such as weight gain, edema, congestive heart failure and bone loss. GQ-16 is a PPARγ partial agonist that improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in mouse models of obesity and diabetes without inducing weight gain or edema. It is not clear whether GQ-16 acts as a partial agonist at all PPARγ target genes, or whether it displays gene-selective actions. To determine how GQ-16 influences PPARγ activity on a gene by gene basis, we compared effects of rosiglitazone (Rosi) and GQ-16 in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes using microarray and qRT-PCR. Rosi changed expression of 1156 genes in 3T3-L1, but GQ-16 only changed 89 genes. GQ-16 generally showed weak effects upon Rosi induced genes, consistent with partial agonist actions, but a subset of modestly Rosi induced and strongly repressed genes displayed disproportionately strong GQ-16 responses. PPARγ partial agonists MLR24 and SR1664 also exhibit disproportionately strong effects on transcriptional repression. We conclude that GQ-16 displays a continuum of weak partial agonist effects but efficiently represses some negatively regulated PPARγ responsive genes. Strong repressive effects could contribute to physiologic actions of GQ-16. - Highlights: • GQ-16 is an insulin sensitizing PPARγ ligand with reduced harmful side effects. • GQ-16 displays a continuum of weak partial agonist activities at PPARγ-induced genes. • GQ-16 exerts strong repressive effects at a subset of genes. • These inhibitor actions should be evaluated in models of adipose tissue inflammation.

  5. PPARγ partial agonist GQ-16 strongly represses a subset of genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milton, Flora Aparecida; Cvoro, Aleksandra; Amato, Angelica A.; Sieglaff, Douglas H.; Filgueira, Carly S.; Arumanayagam, Anithachristy Sigamani; Caro Alves de Lima, Maria do; Rocha Pitta, Ivan; Assis Rocha Neves, Francisco de; Webb, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists that improve insulin resistance but trigger side effects such as weight gain, edema, congestive heart failure and bone loss. GQ-16 is a PPARγ partial agonist that improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in mouse models of obesity and diabetes without inducing weight gain or edema. It is not clear whether GQ-16 acts as a partial agonist at all PPARγ target genes, or whether it displays gene-selective actions. To determine how GQ-16 influences PPARγ activity on a gene by gene basis, we compared effects of rosiglitazone (Rosi) and GQ-16 in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes using microarray and qRT-PCR. Rosi changed expression of 1156 genes in 3T3-L1, but GQ-16 only changed 89 genes. GQ-16 generally showed weak effects upon Rosi induced genes, consistent with partial agonist actions, but a subset of modestly Rosi induced and strongly repressed genes displayed disproportionately strong GQ-16 responses. PPARγ partial agonists MLR24 and SR1664 also exhibit disproportionately strong effects on transcriptional repression. We conclude that GQ-16 displays a continuum of weak partial agonist effects but efficiently represses some negatively regulated PPARγ responsive genes. Strong repressive effects could contribute to physiologic actions of GQ-16. - Highlights: • GQ-16 is an insulin sensitizing PPARγ ligand with reduced harmful side effects. • GQ-16 displays a continuum of weak partial agonist activities at PPARγ-induced genes. • GQ-16 exerts strong repressive effects at a subset of genes. • These inhibitor actions should be evaluated in models of adipose tissue inflammation

  6. pH-Dependent DNA Distortion and Repression of Gene Expression by Pectobacterium atrosepticum PecS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deochand, Dinesh K; Meariman, Jacob K; Grove, Anne

    2016-07-15

    Transcriptional activity is exquisitely sensitive to changes in promoter DNA topology. Transcription factors may therefore control gene activity by modulating the relative positioning of -10 and -35 promoter elements. The plant pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum, which causes soft rot in potatoes, must alter gene expression patterns to ensure growth in planta. In the related soft-rot enterobacterium Dickeya dadantii, PecS functions as a master regulator of virulence gene expression. Here, we report that P. atrosepticum PecS controls gene activity by altering promoter DNA topology in response to pH. While PecS binds the pecS promoter with high affinity regardless of pH, it induces significant DNA distortion only at neutral pH, the pH at which the pecS promoter is repressed in vivo. At pH ∼8, DNA distortions are attenuated, and PecS no longer represses the pecS promoter. A specific histidine (H142) located in a crevice between the dimerization- and DNA-binding regions is required for pH-dependent changes in DNA distortion and repression of gene activity, and mutation of this histidine renders the mutant protein incapable of repressing the pecS promoter. We propose that protonated PecS induces a DNA conformation at neutral pH in which -10 and -35 promoter elements are suboptimally positioned for RNA polymerase binding; on deprotonation of PecS, binding is no longer associated with significant changes in DNA conformation, allowing gene expression. We suggest that this mode of gene regulation leads to differential expression of the PecS regulon in response to alkalinization of the plant apoplast.

  7. Light represses transcription of asparagine synthetase genes in photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic organs of plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsai, Fongying; Coruzzi, G. (Rockefeller Univ., New York, NY (United States))

    1991-10-01

    Asparagine synthetase (AS) mRNA in Pisum sativum accumulates preferentially in plants grown in the dark. Nuclear run-on experiments demonstrate that expression of both the AS1 and AS2 genes is negatively regulated by light at the level of transcription. A decrease in the transcriptional rate of the AS1 gene can be detected as early as 20 min after exposure to light. Time course experiments reveal that the levels of AS mRNA fluctuate dramatically during a normal light/dark cycle. This is due to a direct effect of light and not to changes associated with circadian rhythm. A novel finding is that the light-repressed expression of the AS1 gene is as dramatic nonphotosynthetic organs such as roots as it is in leaves. Experiments demonstrate that the small amount of light which passes through the soil is sufficient to repress AS1 expression in roots, indicating that light has a direct effect on AS1 gene expression in roots. The negative regulation of AS gene expression by light was shown to be a general phenomenon in plants which also occurs in nonlegumes such as Nicotiana plumbaginifolia and Nicotiana tabacum. Thus, the AS genes can serve as a model with which to dissect the molecular basis for light-regulated transcriptional repression in plants.

  8. Direct Repression of Evening Genes by CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 in the Arabidopsis Circadian Clock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamioka, Mari; Takao, Saori; Suzuki, Takamasa; Taki, Kyomi; Higashiyama, Tetsuya; Kinoshita, Toshinori; Nakamichi, Norihito

    2016-03-01

    The circadian clock is a biological timekeeping system that provides organisms with the ability to adapt to day-night cycles. Timing of the expression of four members of the Arabidopsis thaliana PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR(PRR) family is crucial for proper clock function, and transcriptional control of PRRs remains incompletely defined. Here, we demonstrate that direct regulation of PRR5 by CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1) determines the repression state of PRR5 in the morning. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses indicated that CCA1 associates with three separate regions upstream of PRR5 CCA1 and its homolog LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) suppressed PRR5 promoter activity in a transient assay. The regions bound by CCA1 in the PRR5 promoter gave rhythmic patterns with troughs in the morning, when CCA1 and LHY are at high levels. Furthermore,ChIP-seq revealed that CCA1 associates with at least 449 loci with 863 adjacent genes. Importantly, this gene set contains genes that are repressed but upregulated incca1 lhy double mutants in the morning. This study shows that direct binding by CCA1 in the morning provides strong repression of PRR5, and repression by CCA1 also temporally regulates an evening-expressed gene set that includes PRR5. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  9. Epigenetic repression of male gametophyte-specific genes in the Arabidopsis sporophyte

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoffmann, Robert D; Palmgren, Michael Broberg

    2013-01-01

    Tissue formation, the identity of cells, and the functions they fulfill, are results of gene regulation. The male gametophyte of plants, pollen, is outstanding in this respect as several hundred genes expressed in pollen are not expressed in the sporophyte. How pollen-specific genes are down......-regulated in the sporophyte has yet to be established. In this study, we have performed a bioinformatics analysis of publicly available genome-wide epigenetics data of several sporophytic tissues. By combining this analysis with DNase I footprinting data, we assessed means by which the repression of pollen-specific genes...

  10. Msx1 Homeodomain Protein Represses the αGSU and GnRH Receptor Genes During Gonadotrope Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Huimin; Cherrington, Brian D.; Meadows, Jason D.; Witham, Emily A.

    2013-01-01

    Multiple homeodomain transcription factors are crucial for pituitary organogenesis and cellular differentiation. A homeodomain repressor, Msx1, is expressed from the ventral aspect of the developing anterior pituitary and implicated in gonadotrope differentiation. Here, we find that Msx1 represses transcription of lineage-specific pituitary genes such as the common α-glycoprotein subunit (αGSU) and GnRH receptor (GnRHR) promoters in the mouse gonadotrope-derived cell lines, αT3-1 and LβT2. Repression of the mouse GnRHR promoter by Msx1 is mediated through a consensus-binding motif in the downstream activin regulatory element (DARE). Truncation and mutation analyses of the human αGSU promoter map Msx1 repression to a site at −114, located at the junctional regulatory element (JRE). Dlx activators are closely related to the Msx repressors, acting through the same elements, and Dlx3 and Dlx2 act as transcriptional activators for GnRHR and αGSU, respectively. Small interfering RNA knockdown of Msx1 in αT3-1 cells increases endogenous αGSU and GnRHR mRNA expression. Msx1 gene expression reaches its maximal expression at the rostral edge at e13.5. The subsequent decline in Msx1 expression specifically coincides with the onset of expression of both αGSU and GnRHR. The expression levels of both αGSU and GnRHR in Msx1-null mice at e18.5 are higher compared with wild type, further confirming a role for Msx1 in the repression of αGSU and GnRHR. In summary, Msx1 functions as a negative regulator early in pituitary development by repressing the gonadotrope-specific αGSU and GnRHR genes, but a temporal decline in Msx1 expression alleviates this repression allowing induction of GnRHR and αGSU, thus serving to time the onset of gonadotrope-specific gene program. PMID:23371388

  11. Msx1 homeodomain protein represses the αGSU and GnRH receptor genes during gonadotrope development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Huimin; Cherrington, Brian D; Meadows, Jason D; Witham, Emily A; Mellon, Pamela L

    2013-03-01

    Multiple homeodomain transcription factors are crucial for pituitary organogenesis and cellular differentiation. A homeodomain repressor, Msx1, is expressed from the ventral aspect of the developing anterior pituitary and implicated in gonadotrope differentiation. Here, we find that Msx1 represses transcription of lineage-specific pituitary genes such as the common α-glycoprotein subunit (αGSU) and GnRH receptor (GnRHR) promoters in the mouse gonadotrope-derived cell lines, αT3-1 and LβT2. Repression of the mouse GnRHR promoter by Msx1 is mediated through a consensus-binding motif in the downstream activin regulatory element (DARE). Truncation and mutation analyses of the human αGSU promoter map Msx1 repression to a site at -114, located at the junctional regulatory element (JRE). Dlx activators are closely related to the Msx repressors, acting through the same elements, and Dlx3 and Dlx2 act as transcriptional activators for GnRHR and αGSU, respectively. Small interfering RNA knockdown of Msx1 in αT3-1 cells increases endogenous αGSU and GnRHR mRNA expression. Msx1 gene expression reaches its maximal expression at the rostral edge at e13.5. The subsequent decline in Msx1 expression specifically coincides with the onset of expression of both αGSU and GnRHR. The expression levels of both αGSU and GnRHR in Msx1-null mice at e18.5 are higher compared with wild type, further confirming a role for Msx1 in the repression of αGSU and GnRHR. In summary, Msx1 functions as a negative regulator early in pituitary development by repressing the gonadotrope-specific αGSU and GnRHR genes, but a temporal decline in Msx1 expression alleviates this repression allowing induction of GnRHR and αGSU, thus serving to time the onset of gonadotrope-specific gene program.

  12. Very low amounts of glucose cause repression of the stress-responsive gene HSP12 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Groot, E; Bebelman, J P; Mager, W H; Planta, R J

    2000-02-01

    Changing the growth mode of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by adding fermentable amounts of glucose to cells growing on a non-fermentable carbon source leads to rapid repression of general stress-responsive genes like HSP12. Remarkably, glucose repression of HSP12 appeared to occur even at very low glucose concentrations, down to 0.005%. Although these low levels of glucose do not induce fermentative growth, they do act as a growth signal, since upon addition of glucose to a concentration of 0.02%, growth rate increased and ribosomal protein gene transcription was up-regulated. In an attempt to elucidate how this type of glucose signalling may operate, several signalling mutants were examined. Consistent with the low amounts of glucose that elicit HSP12 repression, neither the main glucose-repression pathway nor cAMP-dependent activation of protein kinase A appeared to play a role in this regulation. Using mutants involved in glucose metabolism, evidence was obtained suggesting that glucose 6-phosphate serves as a signalling molecule. To identify the target for glucose repression on the promoter of the HSP12 gene, a promoter deletion series was used. The major transcription factors governing (stress-induced) transcriptional activation of HSP12 are Msn2p and Msn4p, binding to the general stress-responsive promoter elements (STREs). Surprisingly, glucose repression of HSP12 appeared to be independent of Msn2/4p: HSP12 transcription in glycerol-grown cells was unaffected in a deltamsn2deltamsn4 strain. Nevertheless, evidence was obtained that STRE-mediated transcription is the target of repression by low amounts of glucose. These data suggest that an as yet unidentified factor is involved in STRE-mediated transcriptional regulation of HSP12.

  13. EBNA3C Directs Recruitment of RBPJ (CBF1) to Chromatin during the Process of Gene Repression in EBV Infected B Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalchschmidt, Jens S; Gillman, Adam C T; Paschos, Kostas; Bazot, Quentin; Kempkes, Bettina; Allday, Martin J

    2016-01-01

    It is well established that Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3C (EBNA3C) can act as a potent repressor of gene expression, but little is known about the sequence of events occurring during the repression process. To explore further the role of EBNA3C in gene repression-particularly in relation to histone modifications and cell factors involved-the three host genes previously reported as most robustly repressed by EBNA3C were investigated. COBLL1, a gene of unknown function, is regulated by EBNA3C alone and the two co-regulated disintegrin/metalloproteases, ADAM28 and ADAMDEC1 have been described previously as targets of both EBNA3A and EBNA3C. For the first time, EBNA3C was here shown to be the main regulator of all three genes early after infection of primary B cells. Using various EBV-recombinants, repression over orders of magnitude was seen only when EBNA3C was expressed. Unexpectedly, full repression was not achieved until 30 days after infection. This was accurately reproduced in established LCLs carrying EBV-recombinants conditional for EBNA3C function, demonstrating the utility of the conditional system to replicate events early after infection. Using this system, detailed chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that the initial repression was associated with loss of activation-associated histone modifications (H3K9ac, H3K27ac and H3K4me3) and was independent of recruitment of polycomb proteins and deposition of the repressive H3K27me3 modification, which were only observed later in repression. Most remarkable, and in contrast to current models of RBPJ in repression, was the observation that this DNA-binding factor accumulated at the EBNA3C-binding sites only when EBNA3C was functional. Transient reporter assays indicated that repression of these genes was dependent on the interaction between EBNA3C and RBPJ. This was confirmed with a novel EBV-recombinant encoding a mutant of EBNA3C unable to bind RBPJ, by showing this virus was incapable of

  14. Epigenetic involvement of Alien/ESET complex in thyroid hormone-mediated repression of E2F1 gene expression and cell proliferation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Wei; Li, Jinru; Wang, Bo; Chen, Linfeng; Niu, Wenyan; Yao, Zhi; Baniahmad, Aria

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► Corepressor Alien interacts with histone methyltransferase ESET in vivo. ► Alien/ESET complex is recruited to nTRE of T3-responsive gene by liganded TRβ1. ► ESET-mediated H3K9 methylation is required for liganded TRβ1-repressed transcription. ► ESET is involved in T3-repressed G1/S phase transition and proliferation. -- Abstract: The ligand-bound thyroid hormone receptor (TR) is known to repress via a negative TRE (nTRE) the expression of E2F1, a key transcription factor that controls the G1/S phase transition. Alien has been identified as a novel interacting factor of E2F1 and acts as a corepressor of E2F1. The detailed molecular mechanism by which Alien inhibits E2F1 gene expression remains unclear. Here, we report that the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase (HMT) ESET is an integral component of the corepressor Alien complex and the Alien/ESET complex is recruited to both sites, the E2F1 and the nTRE site of the E2F1 gene while the recruitment to the negative thyroid hormone response element (nTRE) is induced by the ligand-bound TRβ1 within the E2F1 gene promoter. We show that, overexpression of ESET promotes, whereas knockdown of ESET releases, the inhibition of TRβ1-regulated gene transcription upon T3 stimulation; and H3K9 methylation is required for TRβ1-repressed transcription. Furthermore, depletion of ESET impairs thyroid hormone-repressed proliferation as well as the G1/S transition of the cell cycle. Taken together, our data indicate that ESET is involved in TRβ1-mediated transcription repression and provide a molecular basis of thyroid hormone-induced repression of proliferation.

  15. Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A; Shang, Mei; Odin, Ramjie; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Zhang, Dan; Abass, Nermeen; Dunham, Rex A

    2017-05-31

    Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus . Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end , were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa , was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS) and zebrafish racemase (Rm), were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5' end (N1) or 3' end (N2) of channel catfish nanos , full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA) and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P₁ fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P₁ fish, most F₁ individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F₂ or F₃ are needed for evaluation.

  16. Arabidopsis ETR1 and ERS1 Differentially Repress the Ethylene Response in Combination with Other Ethylene Receptor Genes1[W

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Qian; Wen, Chi-Kuang

    2012-01-01

    The ethylene response is negatively regulated by a family of five ethylene receptor genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The five members of the ethylene receptor family can physically interact and form complexes, which implies that cooperativity for signaling may exist among the receptors. The ethylene receptor gene mutations etr1-1(C65Y)(for ethylene response1-1), ers1-1(I62P) (for ethylene response sensor1-1), and ers1C65Y are dominant, and each confers ethylene insensitivity. In this study, the repression of the ethylene response by these dominant mutant receptor genes was examined in receptor-defective mutants to investigate the functional significance of receptor cooperativity in ethylene signaling. We showed that etr1-1(C65Y), but not ers1-1(I62P), substantially repressed various ethylene responses independent of other receptor genes. In contrast, wild-type receptor genes differentially supported the repression of ethylene responses by ers1-1(I62P); ETR1 and ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE4 (EIN4) supported ers1-1(I62P) functions to a greater extent than did ERS2, ETR2, and ERS1. The lack of both ETR1 and EIN4 almost abolished the repression of ethylene responses by ers1C65Y, which implied that ETR1 and EIN4 have synergistic effects on ers1C65Y functions. Our data indicated that a dominant ethylene-insensitive receptor differentially repressed ethylene responses when coupled with a wild-type ethylene receptor, which supported the hypothesis that the formation of a variety of receptor complexes may facilitate differential receptor signal output, by which ethylene responses can be repressed to different extents. We hypothesize that plants can respond to a broad ethylene concentration range and exhibit tissue-specific ethylene responsiveness with differential cooperation of the multiple ethylene receptors. PMID:22227969

  17. nilR is necessary for co-ordinate repression of Xenorhabdus nematophila mutualism genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowles, Charles E; Goodrich-Blair, Heidi

    2006-11-01

    The bacterial mutualist Xenorhabdus nematophila colonizes a specific region of its nematode host Steinernema carpocapsae. We previously reported the identification of a chromosomal locus encoding three X. nematophila genes of unknown function, nilA, B and C, that are each necessary for colonization. Subsequent work indicated the global regulator Lrp is a repressor of nilC: nilC transcription is elevated in an lrp mutant and Lrp interacts directly with the nilC promoter. In this manuscript, we report the identification of an additional gene, nilR, required for repression of nilC transcription. We show that nilR and lrp mutants also have elevated expression of nilA and nilB, demonstrating that nilA, B and C are co-ordinately regulated. nil gene expression is derepressed most strongly when both nilR and lrp are lacking, suggesting NilR and Lrp synergistically repress nil transcription. NilR contains a helix-turn-helix-type DNA binding domain and likely acts directly at promoters. A comparison of the wild type and nilR proteomes indicates that NilR, unlike Lrp, regulates a small number of genes. Finally, X. nematophila carrying an ectopic copy of nilR colonizes at approximately 60-fold lower levels than the control strain, suggesting that derepression of nil gene expression is necessary for nematode colonization.

  18. Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanbo Li

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Two primordial germ cell (PGC marker genes, nanos and dead end, were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa, was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS and zebrafish racemase (Rm, were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5′ end (N1 or 3′ end (N2 of channel catfish nanos, full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND. Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P1 fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P1 fish, most F1 individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F2 or F3 are needed for evaluation.

  19. Epigenetic involvement of Alien/ESET complex in thyroid hormone-mediated repression of E2F1 gene expression and cell proliferation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Wei, E-mail: hongwei@tijmu.edu.cn [Department of Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, 300070 Tianjin (China); College of Basic Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, 300070 Tianjin (China); Li, Jinru; Wang, Bo [College of Basic Medicine, Tianjin Medical University, 300070 Tianjin (China); Chen, Linfeng [Department of Medical Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, 02115 MA (United States); Niu, Wenyan; Yao, Zhi [Department of Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, 300070 Tianjin (China); Baniahmad, Aria, E-mail: aban@mti.uni-jena.de [Institute for Human Genetics, Jena University Hospital, 07740 Jena (Germany)

    2011-12-02

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Corepressor Alien interacts with histone methyltransferase ESET in vivo. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Alien/ESET complex is recruited to nTRE of T3-responsive gene by liganded TR{beta}1. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ESET-mediated H3K9 methylation is required for liganded TR{beta}1-repressed transcription. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ESET is involved in T3-repressed G1/S phase transition and proliferation. -- Abstract: The ligand-bound thyroid hormone receptor (TR) is known to repress via a negative TRE (nTRE) the expression of E2F1, a key transcription factor that controls the G1/S phase transition. Alien has been identified as a novel interacting factor of E2F1 and acts as a corepressor of E2F1. The detailed molecular mechanism by which Alien inhibits E2F1 gene expression remains unclear. Here, we report that the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase (HMT) ESET is an integral component of the corepressor Alien complex and the Alien/ESET complex is recruited to both sites, the E2F1 and the nTRE site of the E2F1 gene while the recruitment to the negative thyroid hormone response element (nTRE) is induced by the ligand-bound TR{beta}1 within the E2F1 gene promoter. We show that, overexpression of ESET promotes, whereas knockdown of ESET releases, the inhibition of TR{beta}1-regulated gene transcription upon T3 stimulation; and H3K9 methylation is required for TR{beta}1-repressed transcription. Furthermore, depletion of ESET impairs thyroid hormone-repressed proliferation as well as the G1/S transition of the cell cycle. Taken together, our data indicate that ESET is involved in TR{beta}1-mediated transcription repression and provide a molecular basis of thyroid hormone-induced repression of proliferation.

  20. 3'UTR Shortening Potentiates MicroRNA-Based Repression of Pro-differentiation Genes in Proliferating Human Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonit Hoffman

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Most mammalian genes often feature alternative polyadenylation (APA sites and hence diverse 3'UTR lengths. Proliferating cells were reported to favor APA sites that result in shorter 3'UTRs. One consequence of such shortening is escape of mRNAs from targeting by microRNAs (miRNAs whose binding sites are eliminated. Such a mechanism might provide proliferation-related genes with an expression gain during normal or cancerous proliferation. Notably, miRNA sites tend to be more active when located near both ends of the 3'UTR compared to those located more centrally. Accordingly, miRNA sites located near the center of the full 3'UTR might become more active upon 3'UTR shortening. To address this conjecture we performed 3' sequencing to determine the 3' ends of all human UTRs in several cell lines. Remarkably, we found that conserved miRNA binding sites are preferentially enriched immediately upstream to APA sites, and this enrichment is more prominent in pro-differentiation/anti-proliferative genes. Binding sites of the miR17-92 cluster, upregulated in rapidly proliferating cells, are particularly enriched just upstream to APA sites, presumably conferring stronger inhibitory activity upon shortening. Thus 3'UTR shortening appears not only to enable escape from inhibition of growth promoting genes but also to potentiate repression of anti-proliferative genes.

  1. Adenovirus small E1A employs the lysine acetylases p300/CBP and tumor suppressor Rb to repress select host genes and promote productive virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrari, Roberto; Gou, Dawei; Jawdekar, Gauri; Johnson, Sarah A; Nava, Miguel; Su, Trent; Yousef, Ahmed F; Zemke, Nathan R; Pellegrini, Matteo; Kurdistani, Siavash K; Berk, Arnold J

    2014-11-12

    Oncogenic transformation by adenovirus small e1a depends on simultaneous interactions with the host lysine acetylases p300/CBP and the tumor suppressor RB. How these interactions influence cellular gene expression remains unclear. We find that e1a displaces RBs from E2F transcription factors and promotes p300 acetylation of RB1 K873/K874 to lock it into a repressing conformation that interacts with repressive chromatin-modifying enzymes. These repressing p300-e1a-RB1 complexes specifically interact with host genes that have unusually high p300 association within the gene body. The TGF-β, TNF-, and interleukin-signaling pathway components are enriched among such p300-targeted genes. The p300-e1a-RB1 complex condenses chromatin in a manner dependent on HDAC activity, p300 lysine acetylase activity, the p300 bromodomain, and RB K873/K874 and e1a K239 acetylation to repress host genes that would otherwise inhibit productive virus infection. Thus, adenovirus employs e1a to repress host genes that interfere with viral replication. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Real-time PCR analysis of carbon catabolite repression of cellobiose gene transcription in Trametes versicolor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stapleton, P. C.; O' Mahoney, J.; Dobson, A. D. W. [National University of Ireland, Microbiology Department, Cork (Ireland)

    2004-02-01

    Previous reports indicate that in white rot fungi such as Trametes versicolor, the production of cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH), an extracellular haemo-flavo-enzyme, is subject to carbon catabolite repression by both glucose and maltose, and that the repression is mediated at the transcriptional level. This paper describes the results of an investigation of CDH gene transcription in cellulolytic cultures of T. versicolor, in the presence of other additional carbon sources such as glucose, arabinose, and xylose. Using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay methods in the presence of these other additional carbon sources, the levels of repression observed are quantitatively determined in an effort to obtain more accurate measurements of carbon catabolite repression of CDH production in this ligninolytic fungus. Ninety-six hours after addition, results of the analysis showed reduction in CDH transcript levels of 19-fold for galactose, 92-fold for arabinose and 114-fold for xylose. The greatest repressive effect was exhibited by glucose. In this case the reduction in CDH transcript levels was 3400-fold. CDH plays an important role in lignin degradation, and there is also substantial interest in the biotechnological applications of CDH, most particularly in the pulp and paper industry. 24 refs., 4 figs.

  3. Insulators target active genes to transcription factories and polycomb-repressed genes to polycomb bodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua-Bing Li

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Polycomb bodies are foci of Polycomb proteins in which different Polycomb target genes are thought to co-localize in the nucleus, looping out from their chromosomal context. We have shown previously that insulators, not Polycomb response elements (PREs, mediate associations among Polycomb Group (PcG targets to form Polycomb bodies. Here we use live imaging and 3C interactions to show that transgenes containing PREs and endogenous PcG-regulated genes are targeted by insulator proteins to different nuclear structures depending on their state of activity. When two genes are repressed, they co-localize in Polycomb bodies. When both are active, they are targeted to transcription factories in a fashion dependent on Trithorax and enhancer specificity as well as the insulator protein CTCF. In the absence of CTCF, assembly of Polycomb bodies is essentially reduced to those representing genomic clusters of Polycomb target genes. The critical role of Trithorax suggests that stable association with a specialized transcription factory underlies the cellular memory of the active state.

  4. Gene activation by UV light, fungal elicitor or fungal infection in Petroselinum crispum is correlated with repression of cell cycle-related genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logemann, E.; Wu ShengCheng; Schröder, J.; Schmelzer, E.; Somssich, I.E.; Hahlbrock, K.

    1995-01-01

    The effects of UV light or fungal elicitors on plant cells have so far been studied mostly with respect to defense-related gene activation. Here, an inverse correlation of these stimulatory effects with the activities of several cell cycle-related genes is demonstrated. Concomitant with the induction of flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes in UV-irradiated cell suspension cultures of parsley (Petroselinum crispum), total histone synthesis declined to about half the initial rate. A subclass of the histone H3 gene family was selected to demonstrate the close correlation of its expression with cell division, both in intact plants and cultured cells. Using RNA-blot and run-on transcription assays, it was shown that one arbitrarily selected subclass of each of the histone H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 gene families and of the genes encoding a p34cdc2 protein kinase and a mitotic cyclin were transcriptionally repressed in UV-irradiated as well as fungal elicitor-treated parsley cells. The timing and extent of repression differed between the two stimuli; the response to light was more transient and smaller in magnitude. These differential responses to light and elicitor were inversely correlated with the induction of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, a key enzyme of phenylpropanoid metabolism. Essentially the same result was obtained with a defined oligopeptide elicitor, indicating that the same signaling pathway is responsible for defense-related gene activation and cell cycle-related gene repression. A temporary (UV light) or long-lasting (fungal elicitor) cessation of cell culture growth is most likely due to an arrest of cell division which may be a prerequisite for full commitment of the cells to transcriptional activation of full commitment of the cells to transcriptional activation of pathways involved in UV protection or pathogen defense. This conclusion is corroborated by the observation that the histone H3 mRNA level greatly declined around fungal infection sites in young parsley

  5. 3’UTR Shortening Potentiates MicroRNA-Based Repression of Pro-differentiation Genes in Proliferating Human Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Yonit; Bublik, Debora Rosa; P. Ugalde, Alejandro; Elkon, Ran; Biniashvili, Tammy; Agami, Reuven; Oren, Moshe; Pilpel, Yitzhak

    2016-01-01

    Most mammalian genes often feature alternative polyadenylation (APA) sites and hence diverse 3’UTR lengths. Proliferating cells were reported to favor APA sites that result in shorter 3’UTRs. One consequence of such shortening is escape of mRNAs from targeting by microRNAs (miRNAs) whose binding sites are eliminated. Such a mechanism might provide proliferation-related genes with an expression gain during normal or cancerous proliferation. Notably, miRNA sites tend to be more active when located near both ends of the 3’UTR compared to those located more centrally. Accordingly, miRNA sites located near the center of the full 3’UTR might become more active upon 3'UTR shortening. To address this conjecture we performed 3' sequencing to determine the 3' ends of all human UTRs in several cell lines. Remarkably, we found that conserved miRNA binding sites are preferentially enriched immediately upstream to APA sites, and this enrichment is more prominent in pro-differentiation/anti-proliferative genes. Binding sites of the miR17-92 cluster, upregulated in rapidly proliferating cells, are particularly enriched just upstream to APA sites, presumably conferring stronger inhibitory activity upon shortening. Thus 3’UTR shortening appears not only to enable escape from inhibition of growth promoting genes but also to potentiate repression of anti-proliferative genes. PMID:26908102

  6. De-repressing LncRNA-Targeted Genes to Upregulate Gene Expression: Focus on Small Molecule Therapeutics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roya Pedram Fatemi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Non-protein coding RNAs (ncRNAs make up the overwhelming majority of transcripts in the genome and have recently gained attention for their complex regulatory role in cells, including the regulation of protein-coding genes. Furthermore, ncRNAs play an important role in normal development and their expression levels are dysregulated in several diseases. Recently, several long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs have been shown to alter the epigenetic status of genomic loci and suppress the expression of target genes. This review will present examples of such a mechanism and focus on the potential to target lncRNAs for achieving therapeutic gene upregulation by de-repressing genes that are epigenetically silenced in various diseases. Finally, the potential to target lncRNAs, through their interactions with epigenetic enzymes, using various tools, such as small molecules, viral vectors and antisense oligonucleotides, will be discussed. We suggest that small molecule modulators of a novel class of drug targets, lncRNA-protein interactions, have great potential to treat some cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders.

  7. Gene repressive mechanisms in the mouse brain involved in memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Nam-Kyung; Kaang, Bong-Kiun

    2016-04-01

    Gene regulation in the brain is essential for long-term plasticity and memory formation. Despite this established notion, the quantitative translational map in the brain during memory formation has not been reported. To systematically probe the changes in protein synthesis during memory formation, our recent study exploited ribosome profiling using the mouse hippocampal tissues at multiple time points after a learning event. Analysis of the resulting database revealed novel types of gene regulation after learning. First, the translation of a group of genes was rapidly suppressed without change in mRNA levels. At later time points, the expression of another group of genes was downregulated through reduction in mRNA levels. This reduction was predicted to be downstream of inhibition of ESR1 (Estrogen Receptor 1) signaling. Overexpressing Nrsn1, one of the genes whose translation was suppressed, or activating ESR1 by injecting an agonist interfered with memory formation, suggesting the functional importance of these findings. Moreover, the translation of genes encoding the translational machineries was found to be suppressed, among other genes in the mouse hippocampus. Together, this unbiased approach has revealed previously unidentified characteristics of gene regulation in the brain and highlighted the importance of repressive controls. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(4): 199-200].

  8. Translational Repression in Malaria Sporozoites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turque, Oliver; Tsao, Tiffany; Li, Thomas; Zhang, Min

    2016-01-01

    Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals. It is caused by the parasitic protozoan, Plasmodium. Sporozoites, the infectious form of malaria parasites, are quiescent when they remain in the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito until transmission into a mammalian host. Metamorphosis of the dormant sporozoite to its active form in the liver stage requires transcriptional and translational regulations. Here, we summarize recent advances in the translational repression of gene expression in the malaria sporozoite. In sporozoites, many mRNAs that are required for liver stage development are translationally repressed. Phosphorylation of eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2α (eIF2α) leads to a global translational repression in sporozoites. The eIF2α kinase, known as Upregulated in Infectious Sporozoite 1 (UIS1), is dominant in the sporozoite. The eIF2α phosphatase, UIS2, is translationally repressed by the Pumilio protein Puf2. This translational repression is alleviated when sporozoites are delivered into the mammalian host. PMID:28357358

  9. Translational repression in malaria sporozoites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Turque

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals. It is caused by the parasitic protozoan, Plasmodium. Sporozoites, the infectious form of malaria parasites, are quiescent when they remain in the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito until transmission into a mammalian host. Metamorphosis of the dormant sporozoite to its active form in the liver stage requires transcriptional and translational regulations. Here, we summarize recent advances in the translational repression of gene expression in the malaria sporozoite. In sporozoites, many mRNAs that are required for liver stage development are translationally repressed. Phosphorylation of eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2α (eIF2α leads to a global translational repression in sporozoites. The eIF2α kinase, known as Upregulated in Infectious Sporozoite 1 (UIS1, is dominant in the sporozoite. The eIF2α phosphatase, UIS2, is translationally repressed by the Pumilio protein Puf2. This translational repression is alleviated when sporozoites are delivered into the mammalian host.

  10. Interplay between EZH2 and G9a Regulates CXCL10 Gene Repression in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coward, William R; Brand, Oliver J; Pasini, Alice; Jenkins, Gisli; Knox, Alan J; Pang, Linhua

    2018-04-01

    Selective repression of the antifibrotic gene CXCL10 contributes to tissue remodeling in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We have previously reported that histone deacetylation and histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation are involved in CXCL10 repression. In this study, we explored the role of H3K27 methylation and the interplay between the two histone lysine methyltransferases enhancer of zest homolog 2 (EZH2) and G9a in CXCL10 repression in IPF. By applying chromatin immunoprecipitation, Re-ChIP, and proximity ligation assays, we demonstrated that, like G9a-mediated H3K9 methylation, EZH2-mediated histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) was significantly enriched at the CXCL10 promoter in fibroblasts from IPF lungs (F-IPF) compared with fibroblasts from nonfibrotic lungs, and we also found that EZH2 and G9a physically interacted with each other. EZH2 knockdown reduced not only EZH2 and H3K27me3 but also G9a and H3K9me3, and G9a knockdown reduced not only G9 and H3K9me3 but also EZH2 and H3K27me3. Depletion and inhibition of EZH2 and G9a also reversed histone deacetylation and restored CXCL10 expression in F-IPF. Furthermore, treatment of fibroblasts from nonfibrotic lungs with the profibrotic cytokine transforming growth factor-β1 increased EZH2, G9a, H3K27me3, H3K9me3, and histone deacetylation at the CXCL10 promoter, similar to that observed in F-IPF, which was correlated with CXCL10 repression and was prevented by EZH2 and G9a knockdown. These findings suggest that a novel and functionally interdependent interplay between EZH2 and G9a regulates histone methylation-mediated epigenetic repression of the antifibrotic CXCL10 gene in IPF. This interdependent interplay may prove to be a target for epigenetic intervention to restore the expression of CXCL10 and other antifibrotic genes in IPF.

  11. H-NS represses transcription of the flagellin gene lafA of lateral flagella in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yan; Zhang, Yiquan; Yin, Zhe; Wang, Jie; Zhu, Yongzhe; Peng, Haoran; Zhou, Dongsheng; Qi, Zhongtian; Yang, Wenhui

    2018-01-01

    Swarming motility is ultimately mediated by the proton-powered lateral flagellar (laf) system in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Expression of laf genes is tightly regulated by a number of environmental conditions and regulatory factors. The nucleoid-associated DNA-binding protein H-NS is a small and abundant protein that is widely distributed in bacteria, and H-NS-like protein-dependent expression of laf genes has been identified in Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus. The data presented here show that H-NS acts as a repressor of the swarming motility in V. parahaemolyticus. A single σ 28 -dependent promoter was detected for lafA encoding the flagellin of the lateral flagella, and its activity was directly repressed by H-NS. Thus, H-NS represses swarming motility by directly acting on lafA. Briefly, this work revealed a novel function for H-NS as a repressor of the expression of lafA and swarming motility in V. parahaemolyticus.

  12. Mechanisms of transcriptional repression by EWS-FLl1 in Ewing Sarcoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niedan, S.

    2012-01-01

    The EWS-FLI1 chimeric oncoprotein characterizing Ewing Sarcoma (ES) is a prototypic aberrant ETS transcription factor with activating and repressive gene regulatory functions. Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, especially transcriptional repression by EWS-FLI1, are poorly understood. We report that EWS-FLI1 repressed promoters are enriched in forkhead box recognition motifs, and identify FOXO1 as a EWS-FLI1 suppressed master regulator responsible for a significant subset of EWS-FLI1 repressed genes. In addition to transcriptional FOXO1 regulation by direct promoter binding of EWS-FLI1, its subcellular localization and activity is regulated by CDK2 and AKT mediated phosphorylation downstream of EWS-FLI1. Functional restoration of nuclear FOXO1 expression in ES cells impaired proliferation and significantly reduced clonogenicity. Gene-expression profiling revealed a significant overlap between EWS-FLI1 repressed and FOXO1-activated genes. Treatment of ES cell lines with Methylseleninic acid (MSA) evoked reactivation of endogenous FOXO1 in the presence of EWS-FLI1 in a dose- and time-dependent manner and induced massive cell death which was found to be partially FOXO1-dependent. In an orthotopic xenograft mouse model, MSA increased FOXO1 expression in the tumor paralleled by a significant decrease in ES tumor growth. Together, these data suggest that a repressive sub-signature of EWS-FLI1 repressed genes precipitates suppression of FOXO1. FOXO1 re-activation by small molecules may therefore constitute a novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of ES. (author) [de

  13. 9-cis-retinoic acid represses estrogen-induced expression of the very low density apolipoprotein II gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schippers, I J; Kloppenburg, M; Snippe, L; Ab, G

    1994-11-01

    The chicken very low density apolipoprotein II (apoVLDLII) gene is estrogen-inducible and specifically expressed in liver. We examined the possible involvement of the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and its ligand 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA) in the activation of the apoVLDLII promoter. We first concentrated on a potential RXR recognition site, which deviates at only one position from a perfect direct A/GGGTCA repeat spaced by one nucleotide (DR-1) and was earlier identified as a common HNF-4/COUP-TF recognition site. However, band shift analysis revealed that this imperfect DR-1 motif does not interact with RXR alpha-homodimers. In accordance with this observation we found that this regulatory element does not mediate transactivation through RXR alpha in the presence of 9-cis-RA. However, our experiments revealed another, unexpected, effect of 9-cis-RA. Instead of stimulating, 9-cis-RA attenuated estrogen-induced expression of transfected estrogen-responsive VLDL-CAT reporter plasmids. This repression appeared to take place through the main estrogen response element (ERE) of the gene. Importantly, 9-cis-RA also strongly repressed the estrogen-induced expression of the endogenous apoVLDLII gene in cultured chicken hepatoma cells.

  14. Mitosis-associated repression in development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esposito, Emilia; Lim, Bomyi; Guessous, Ghita; Falahati, Hanieh; Levine, Michael

    2016-07-01

    Transcriptional repression is a pervasive feature of animal development. Here, we employ live-imaging methods to visualize the Snail repressor, which establishes the boundary between the presumptive mesoderm and neurogenic ectoderm of early Drosophila embryos. Snail target enhancers were attached to an MS2 reporter gene, permitting detection of nascent transcripts in living embryos. The transgenes exhibit initially broad patterns of transcription but are refined by repression in the mesoderm following mitosis. These observations reveal a correlation between mitotic silencing and Snail repression. We propose that mitosis and other inherent discontinuities in transcription boost the activities of sequence-specific repressors, such as Snail. © 2016 Esposito et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  15. Proto-oncogene FBI-1 (Pokemon/ZBTB7A) Represses Transcription of the Tumor Suppressor Rb Gene via Binding Competition with Sp1 and Recruitment of Co-repressors*S⃞

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Bu-Nam; Yoo, Jung-Yoon; Choi, Won-Il; Lee, Choong-Eun; Yoon, Ho-Geun; Hur, Man-Wook

    2008-01-01

    FBI-1 (also called Pokemon/ZBTB7A) is a BTB/POZ-domain Krüppel-like zinc-finger transcription factor. Recently, FBI-1 was characterized as a proto-oncogenic protein, which represses tumor suppressor ARF gene transcription. The expression of FBI-1 is increased in many cancer tissues. We found that FBI-1 potently represses transcription of the Rb gene, a tumor suppressor gene important in cell cycle arrest. FBI-1 binds to four GC-rich promoter elements (FREs) located at bp –308 to –188 of the Rb promoter region. The Rb promoter also contains two Sp1 binding sites: GC-box 1 (bp –65 to –56) and GC-box 2 (bp –18 to –9), the latter of which is also bound by FBI-1. We found that FRE3 (bp –244 to –236) is also a Sp1 binding element. FBI-1 represses transcription of the Rb gene not only by binding to the FREs, but also by competing with Sp1 at the GC-box 2 and the FRE3. By binding to the FREs and/or the GC-box, FBI-1 represses transcription of the Rb gene through its POZ-domain, which recruits a co-repressor-histone deacetylase complex and deacetylates histones H3 and H4 at the Rb gene promoter. FBI-1 inhibits C2C12 myoblast cell differentiation by repressing Rb gene expression. PMID:18801742

  16. Repression of the albumin gene in Novikoff hepatoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capetanaki, Y.G.; Flytzanis, C.N.; Alonso, A.

    1982-01-01

    Novikoff hepatoma cells have lost their capacity to synthesize albumin. As a first approach to study the mechanisms underlying this event, in vitro translation in a reticulocyte system was performed using total polyadenylated mRNA from rat liver and Novikoff hepatoma cells. Immunoprecipitation of the in vitro translation products with albumin-specific antibody revealed a total lack of albumin synthesis in Novikoff hepatoma, suggesting the absence of functional albumin mRNA in these cells. Titration experiments using as probe albumin cDNA cloned in pBR322 plasmid demonstrated the absence of albumin-specific sequences in both polysomal and nuclear polyadenylated and total RNA from Novikoff cells. This albumin recombinant plasmid was obtained by screening a rat liver cDNA library with albumin [/sup 32/P]cDNA reverse transcribed from immuno-precipitated mRNA. The presence of an albumin-specific gene insert was documented with translation assays as well as by restriction mapping. Repression of the albumin gene at the transcriptional level was further demonstrated by RNA blotting experiments using the cloned albumin cDNA probe. Genomic DNA blots using the cloned albumin cDNA as probe did not reveal any large-scale deletions, insertions, or rearrangements in the albumin gene, suggesting that the processes involved in the suppression of albumin mRNA synthesis do not involve extensive genomic rearrangements

  17. The defense-responsive genes showing enhanced and repressed expression after pathogen infection in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHOU; Bin(周斌); PENG; Kaiman(彭开蔓); CHU; Zhaohui(储昭晖); WANG; Shiping(王石平); ZHANG; Qifa(张启发)

    2002-01-01

    Despite large numbers of studies about defense response, processes involved in the resistance of plants to incompatible pathogens are still largely uncharacterized. The objective of this study was to identify genes involved in defense response by cDNA array analysis and to gain knowledge about the functions of the genes involved in defense response. Approximately 20000 rice cDNA clones were arrayed on nylon filters. RNA samples isolated from different rice lines after infection with incompatible strains or isolates of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae or Pyricularia grisea, respectively, were used to synthesize cDNA as probes for screening the cDNA arrays. A total of 100 differentially expressed unique sequences were identified from 5 pathogen-host combinations. Fifty-three sequences were detected as showing enhanced expression and 47 sequences were detected as showing repressed expression after pathogen infection. Sequence analysis revealed that most of the 100 sequences had various degrees of homology with genes in databases which encode or putatively encode transcription regulating proteins, translation regulating proteins, transport proteins, kinases, metabolic enzymes, and proteins involved in other functions. Most of the genes have not been previously reported as being involved in the disease resistance response in rice. The results from cDNA arrays, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and RNA gel blot analysis suggest that activation or repression of most of these genes might occur commonly in the defense response.

  18. Repression of Middle Sporulation Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by the Sum1-Rfm1-Hst1 Complex Is Maintained by Set1 and H3K4 Methylation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaiswal, Deepika; Jezek, Meagan; Quijote, Jeremiah; Lum, Joanna; Choi, Grace; Kulkarni, Rushmie; Park, DoHwan; Green, Erin M.

    2017-01-01

    The conserved yeast histone methyltransferase Set1 targets H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) for mono, di, and trimethylation and is linked to active transcription due to the euchromatic distribution of these methyl marks and the recruitment of Set1 during transcription. However, loss of Set1 results in increased expression of multiple classes of genes, including genes adjacent to telomeres and middle sporulation genes, which are repressed under normal growth conditions because they function in meiotic progression and spore formation. The mechanisms underlying Set1-mediated gene repression are varied, and still unclear in some cases, although repression has been linked to both direct and indirect action of Set1, associated with noncoding transcription, and is often dependent on the H3K4me2 mark. We show that Set1, and particularly the H3K4me2 mark, are implicated in repression of a subset of middle sporulation genes during vegetative growth. In the absence of Set1, there is loss of the DNA-binding transcriptional regulator Sum1 and the associated histone deacetylase Hst1 from chromatin in a locus-specific manner. This is linked to increased H4K5ac at these loci and aberrant middle gene expression. These data indicate that, in addition to DNA sequence, histone modification status also contributes to proper localization of Sum1. Our results also show that the role for Set1 in middle gene expression control diverges as cells receive signals to undergo meiosis. Overall, this work dissects an unexplored role for Set1 in gene-specific repression, and provides important insights into a new mechanism associated with the control of gene expression linked to meiotic differentiation. PMID:29066473

  19. Polycomb group protein-mediated repression of transcription

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morey, Lluís; Helin, Kristian

    2010-01-01

    The polycomb group (PcG) proteins are essential for the normal development of multicellular organisms. They form multi-protein complexes that work as transcriptional repressors of several thousand genes controlling differentiation pathways during development. How the PcG proteins work as transcri......The polycomb group (PcG) proteins are essential for the normal development of multicellular organisms. They form multi-protein complexes that work as transcriptional repressors of several thousand genes controlling differentiation pathways during development. How the PcG proteins work...... as transcriptional repressors is incompletely understood, but involves post-translational modifications of histones by two major PcG protein complexes: polycomb repressive complex 1 and polycomb repressive complex 2....

  20. L-rhamnose induction of Aspergillus nidulans α-L-rhamnosidase genes is glucose repressed via a CreA-independent mechanism acting at the level of inducer uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamayo-Ramos, Juan A; Flipphi, Michel; Pardo, Ester; Manzanares, Paloma; Orejas, Margarita

    2012-02-21

    Little is known about the structure and regulation of fungal α-L-rhamnosidase genes despite increasing interest in the biotechnological potential of the enzymes that they encode. Whilst the paradigmatic filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans growing on L-rhamnose produces an α-L-rhamnosidase suitable for oenological applications, at least eight genes encoding putative α-L-rhamnosidases have been found in its genome. In the current work we have identified the gene (rhaE) encoding the former activity, and characterization of its expression has revealed a novel regulatory mechanism. A shared pattern of expression has also been observed for a second α-L-rhamnosidase gene, (AN10277/rhaA). Amino acid sequence data for the oenological α-L-rhamnosidase were determined using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and correspond to the amino acid sequence deduced from AN7151 (rhaE). The cDNA of rhaE was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and yielded pNP-rhamnohydrolase activity. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed this eukaryotic α-L-rhamnosidase to be the first such enzyme found to be more closely related to bacterial rhamnosidases than other α-L-rhamnosidases of fungal origin. Northern analyses of diverse A. nidulans strains cultivated under different growth conditions indicate that rhaA and rhaE are induced by L-rhamnose and repressed by D-glucose as well as other carbon sources, some of which are considered to be non-repressive growth substrates. Interestingly, the transcriptional repression is independent of the wide domain carbon catabolite repressor CreA. Gene induction and glucose repression of these rha genes correlate with the uptake, or lack of it, of the inducing carbon source L-rhamnose, suggesting a prominent role for inducer exclusion in repression. The A. nidulans rhaE gene encodes an α-L-rhamnosidase phylogenetically distant to those described in filamentous fungi, and its expression is regulated by a novel CreA-independent mechanism. The identification of

  1. Repression of BLADE-ON-PETIOLE genes by KNOX homeodomain protein BREVIPEDICELLUS is essential for differentiation of secondary xylem in Arabidopsis root.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woerlen, Natalie; Allam, Gamalat; Popescu, Adina; Corrigan, Laura; Pautot, Véronique; Hepworth, Shelley R

    2017-06-01

    Repression of boundary genes by KNOTTED1-like homeodomain transcription factor BREVIPEDICELLUS promotes the differentiation of phase II secondary xylem in Arabidopsis roots. Plant growth and development relies on the activity of meristems. Boundaries are domains of restricted growth that separate forming organs and the meristem. Class I KNOX homeodomain transcription factors are important regulators of meristem maintenance. Members of this class including BREVIDICELLUS also called KNOTTED-LIKE FROM ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA1 (BP/KNAT1) fulfill this function in part by spatially regulating boundary genes. The vascular cambium is a lateral meristem that allows for radial expansion of organs during secondary growth. We show here that BP/KNAT1 repression of boundary genes plays a crucial role in root secondary growth. In particular, exclusion of BLADE-ON-PETIOLE1/2 (BOP1/2) and other members of this module from xylem is required for the differentiation of lignified fibers and vessels during the xylem expansion phase of root thickening. These data reveal a previously undiscovered role for boundary genes in the root and shed light on mechanisms controlling wood development in trees.

  2. Molecular mechanism underlying juvenile hormone-mediated repression of precocious larval-adult metamorphosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayukawa, Takumi; Jouraku, Akiya; Ito, Yuka; Shinoda, Tetsuro

    2017-01-31

    Juvenile hormone (JH) represses precocious metamorphosis of larval to pupal and adult transitions in holometabolous insects. The early JH-inducible gene Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1) plays a key role in the repression of metamorphosis as a mediator of JH action. Previous studies demonstrated that Kr-h1 inhibits precocious larval-pupal transition in immature larva via direct transcriptional repression of the pupal specifier Broad-Complex (BR-C). JH was recently reported to repress the adult specifier gene Ecdysone-induced protein 93F (E93); however, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we found that JH suppressed ecdysone-inducible E93 expression in the epidermis of the silkworm Bombyx mori and in a B. mori cell line. Reporter assays in the cell line revealed that the JH-dependent suppression was mediated by Kr-h1. Genome-wide ChIP-seq analysis identified a consensus Kr-h1 binding site (KBS, 14 bp) located in the E93 promoter region, and EMSA confirmed that Kr-h1 directly binds to the KBS. Moreover, we identified a C-terminal conserved domain in Kr-h1 essential for the transcriptional repression of E93 Based on these results, we propose a mechanism in which JH-inducible Kr-h1 directly binds to the KBS site upstream of the E93 locus to repress its transcription in a cell-autonomous manner, thereby preventing larva from bypassing the pupal stage and progressing to precocious adult development. These findings help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating the metamorphic genetic network, including the functional significance of Kr-h1, BR-C, and E93 in holometabolous insect metamorphosis.

  3. L-Rhamnose induction of Aspergillus nidulans α-L-rhamnosidase genes is glucose repressed via a CreA-independent mechanism acting at the level of inducer uptake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamayo-Ramos Juan A

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the structure and regulation of fungal α-L-rhamnosidase genes despite increasing interest in the biotechnological potential of the enzymes that they encode. Whilst the paradigmatic filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans growing on L-rhamnose produces an α-L-rhamnosidase suitable for oenological applications, at least eight genes encoding putative α-L-rhamnosidases have been found in its genome. In the current work we have identified the gene (rhaE encoding the former activity, and characterization of its expression has revealed a novel regulatory mechanism. A shared pattern of expression has also been observed for a second α-L-rhamnosidase gene, (AN10277/rhaA. Results Amino acid sequence data for the oenological α-L-rhamnosidase were determined using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and correspond to the amino acid sequence deduced from AN7151 (rhaE. The cDNA of rhaE was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and yielded pNP-rhamnohydrolase activity. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed this eukaryotic α-L-rhamnosidase to be the first such enzyme found to be more closely related to bacterial rhamnosidases than other α-L-rhamnosidases of fungal origin. Northern analyses of diverse A. nidulans strains cultivated under different growth conditions indicate that rhaA and rhaE are induced by L-rhamnose and repressed by D-glucose as well as other carbon sources, some of which are considered to be non-repressive growth substrates. Interestingly, the transcriptional repression is independent of the wide domain carbon catabolite repressor CreA. Gene induction and glucose repression of these rha genes correlate with the uptake, or lack of it, of the inducing carbon source L-rhamnose, suggesting a prominent role for inducer exclusion in repression. Conclusions The A. nidulans rhaE gene encodes an α-L-rhamnosidase phylogenetically distant to those described in filamentous fungi, and its expression is regulated by a

  4. Cyclic di-GMP regulation of the bvg-repressed genes and the orphan response regulator RisA in Bordetella pertussis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Expression of Bordetella pertussis virulence factors is activated by the BvgAS two-component system. Under modulating growth conditions BvgAS indirectly represses another set of genes through the action of BvgR, a bvg-activated protein. BvgR blocks activation of the response regulator RisA which is ...

  5. Discrimination of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer cultivar Chunpoong and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius using the auxin repressed protein gene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jong-Hak Kim

    2016-10-01

    Conclusion: These results suggest that great impact to prevent authentication of precise Chunpoong and other cultivars using the auxin repressed protein gene. We therefore present an effective method for the authentication of the Chunpoong cultivar of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius.

  6. The Ku Protein Complex Interacts with YY1, Is Up-Regulated in Human Heart Failure, and Represses α Myosin Heavy-Chain Gene Expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sucharov, Carmen C.; Helmke, Steve M.; Langer, Stephen J.; Perryman, M. Benjamin; Bristow, Michael; Leinwand, Leslie

    2004-01-01

    Human heart failure is accompanied by repression of genes such as α myosin heavy chain (αMyHC) and SERCA2A and the induction of fetal genes such as βMyHC and atrial natriuretic factor. It seems likely that changes in MyHC isoforms contribute to the poor contractility seen in heart failure, because small changes in isoform composition can have a major effect on the contractility of cardiac myocytes and the heart. Our laboratory has recently shown that YY1 protein levels are increased in human heart failure and that YY1 represses the activity of the human αMyHC promoter. We have now identified a region of the αMyHC promoter that binds a factor whose expression is increased sixfold in failing human hearts. Through peptide mass spectrometry, we identified this binding activity to be a heterodimer of Ku70 and Ku80. Expression of Ku represses the human αMyHC promoter in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Moreover, overexpression of Ku70/80 decreases αMyHC mRNA expression and increases skeletal α-actin. Interestingly, YY1 interacts with Ku70 and Ku80 in HeLa cells. Together, YY1, Ku70, and Ku80 repress the αMyHC promoter to an extent that is greater than that with YY1 or Ku70/80 alone. Our results suggest that Ku is an important factor in the repression of the human αMyHC promoter during heart failure. PMID:15367688

  7. Evolutionary-conserved telomere-linked helicase genes of fission yeast are repressed by silencing factors, RNAi components and the telomere-binding protein Taz1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, K. R.; Ibarra, P. T.; Thon, G.

    2006-01-01

    . Mutations and conditions perturbing histone acetylation had similar effects further demonstrating that the tlh genes are normally repressed by heterochromatin. In contrast, mutations in the RNAi factors Dcr1, Ago1 or Rdp1 led only to a modest derepression of the tlh genes indicating an alternate pathway...

  8. Repression of calcitonin gene-related peptide expression in trigeminal neurons by a Theobroma cacao extract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbey, Marcie J; Patil, Vinit V; Vause, Carrie V; Durham, Paul L

    2008-01-17

    Cocoa bean preparations were first used by the ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations of South America to treat a variety of medical ailments involving the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Diets rich in foods containing abundant polyphenols, as found in cocoa, underlie the protective effects reported in chronic inflammatory diseases. Release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from trigeminal nerves promotes inflammation in peripheral tissues and nociception. To determine whether a methanol extract of Theobroma cacao L. (Sterculiaceae) beans enriched for polyphenols could inhibit CGRP expression, both an in vitro and an in vivo approach was taken. Treatment of rat trigeminal ganglia cultures with depolarizing stimuli caused a significant increase in CGRP release that was repressed by pretreatment with Theobroma cacao extract. Pretreatment with Theobroma cacao was also shown to block the KCl- and capsaicin-stimulated increases in intracellular calcium. Next, the effects of Theobroma cacao on CGRP levels were determined using an in vivo model of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) inflammation. Capsaicin injection into the TMJ capsule caused an ipsilateral decrease in CGRP levels. Theobroma cacao extract injected into the TMJ capsule 24h prior to capsaicin treatment repressed the stimulatory effects of capsaicin. Our results demonstrate that Theobroma cacao extract can repress stimulated CGRP release by a mechanism that likely involves blockage of calcium channel activity. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of diets rich in cocoa may include suppression of sensory trigeminal nerve activation.

  9. The X protein of hepatitis B virus activates hepatoma cell proliferation through repressing melanoma inhibitory activity 2 gene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Yilin; Yang, Yang; Cai, Yanyan; Liu, Fang; Liu, Yingle; Zhu, Ying [State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, and Chinese-French Liver Disease Research Institute at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Wu, Jianguo, E-mail: jwu@whu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, and Chinese-French Liver Disease Research Institute at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China)

    2011-12-16

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We demonstrated that HBV represses MIA2 gene expression both invitro and in vivo. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The X protein of HBV plays a major role in such regulation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Knock-down of MIA2 in HepG2 cells activates cell growth and proliferation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer HBx activates cell proliferation, over-expression of MIA2 impaired such regulation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer HBx activates hepatoma cell proliferation through repressing MIA2 expression. -- Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection accounts for over 75% of all HCC cases; however, the molecular pathogenesis of HCC is not well understood. In this study, we found that the expression of the newly identified gene melanoma inhibitory activity 2 (MIA2) was reduced by HBV infection invitro and invivo, and that HBV X protein (HBx) plays a major role in this regulation. Recent studies have revealed that MIA2 is a potential tumor suppressor, and that, in most HCCs, MIA2 expression is down-regulated or lost. We found that the knock-down of MIA2 in HepG2 cells activated cell growth and proliferation, suggesting that MIA2 inhibits HCC cell growth and proliferation. In addition, the over-expression of HBx alone induced cell proliferation, whereas MIA2 over-expression impaired the HBx-mediated induction of proliferation. Taken together, our results suggest that HBx activates hepatoma cell growth and proliferation through repression of the potential tumor suppressor MIA2.

  10. Functional Analysis of the Nitrogen Metabolite Repression Regulator Gene nmrA in Aspergillus flavus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyun Han

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In Aspergillus nidulans, the nitrogen metabolite repression regulator NmrA plays a major role in regulating the activity of the GATA transcription factor AreA during nitrogen metabolism. However, the function of nmrA in Aspergillus flavus has notbeen previously studied. Here, we report the identification and functional analysis of nmrA in A. flavus. Our work showed that the amino acid sequences of NmrA are highly conserved among Aspergillus species and that A. flavus NmrA protein contains a canonical Rossmann fold motif. Deletion of nmrA slowed the growth of A. flavus but significantly increased conidiation and sclerotia production. Moreover, seed infection experiments indicated that nmrA is required for the invasive virulence of A. flavus. In addition, the ΔnmrA mutant showed increased sensitivity to rapamycin and methyl methanesulfonate, suggesting that nmrA could be responsive to target of rapamycin signaling and DNA damage. Furthermore, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis suggested that nmrA might interact with other nitrogen regulatory and catabolic genes. Our study provides a better understanding of nitrogen metabolite repression and the nitrogen metabolism network in fungi.

  11. Allele-Specific DNA Methylation and Its Interplay with Repressive Histone Marks at Promoter-Mutant TERT Genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh Lewis Stern

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A mutation in the promoter of the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT gene is the most frequent noncoding mutation in cancer. The mutation drives unusual monoallelic expression of TERT, allowing immortalization. Here, we find that DNA methylation of the TERT CpG island (CGI is also allele-specific in multiple cancers. The expressed allele is hypomethylated, which is opposite to cancers without TERT promoter mutations. The continued presence of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2 on the inactive allele suggests that histone marks of repressed chromatin may be causally linked to high DNA methylation. Consistent with this hypothesis, TERT promoter DNA containing 5-methyl-CpG has much increased affinity for PRC2 in vitro. Thus, CpG methylation and histone marks appear to collaborate to maintain the two TERT alleles in different epigenetic states in TERT promoter mutant cancers. Finally, in several cancers, DNA methylation levels at the TERT CGI correlate with altered patient survival.

  12. Reconstruction and logical modeling of glucose repression signaling pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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    Oliveira Ana

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the presence of high levels of glucose leads to an array of down-regulatory effects known as glucose repression. This process is complex due to the presence of feedback loops and crosstalk between different pathways, complicating the use of intuitive approaches to analyze the system. Results We established a logical model of yeast glucose repression, formalized as a hypergraph. The model was constructed based on verified regulatory interactions and it includes 50 gene transcripts, 22 proteins, 5 metabolites and 118 hyperedges. We computed the logical steady states of all nodes in the network in order to simulate wildtype and deletion mutant responses to different sugar availabilities. Evaluation of the model predictive power was achieved by comparing changes in the logical state of gene nodes with transcriptome data. Overall, we observed 71% true predictions, and analyzed sources of errors and discrepancies for the remaining. Conclusion Though the binary nature of logical (Boolean models entails inherent limitations, our model constitutes a primary tool for storing regulatory knowledge, searching for incoherencies in hypotheses and evaluating the effect of deleting regulatory elements involved in glucose repression.

  13. Dimethylated H3K27 Is a Repressive Epigenetic Histone Mark in the Protist Entamoeba histolytica and Is Significantly Enriched in Genes Silenced via the RNAi Pathway*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foda, Bardees M.; Singh, Upinder

    2015-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) is a fundamental biological process that plays a crucial role in regulation of gene expression in many organisms. Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) is one of the important nuclear roles of RNAi. Our previous data show that Entamoeba histolytica has a robust RNAi pathway that links to TGS via Argonaute 2-2 (Ago2-2) associated 27-nucleotide small RNAs with 5′-polyphosphate termini. Here, we report the first repressive histone mark to be identified in E. histolytica, dimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27Me2), and demonstrate that it is enriched at genes that are silenced by RNAi-mediated TGS. An RNAi-silencing trigger can induce H3K27Me2 deposits at both episomal and chromosomal loci, mediating gene silencing. Our data support two phases of RNAi-mediated TGS: an active silencing phase where the RNAi trigger is present and both H3K27Me2 and Ago2-2 concurrently enrich at chromosomal loci; and an established silencing phase in which the RNAi trigger is removed, but gene silencing with H3K27Me2 enrichment persist independently of Ago2-2 deposition. Importantly, some genes display resistance to chromosomal silencing despite induction of functional small RNAs. In those situations, the RNAi-triggering plasmid that is maintained episomally gets partially silenced and has H3K27Me2 enrichment, but the chromosomal copy displays no repressive histone enrichment. Our data are consistent with a model in which H3K27Me2 is a repressive histone modification, which is strongly associated with transcriptional repression. This is the first example of an epigenetic histone modification that functions to mediate RNAi-mediated TGS in the deep-branching eukaryote E. histolytica. PMID:26149683

  14. Dimethylated H3K27 Is a Repressive Epigenetic Histone Mark in the Protist Entamoeba histolytica and Is Significantly Enriched in Genes Silenced via the RNAi Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foda, Bardees M; Singh, Upinder

    2015-08-21

    RNA interference (RNAi) is a fundamental biological process that plays a crucial role in regulation of gene expression in many organisms. Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) is one of the important nuclear roles of RNAi. Our previous data show that Entamoeba histolytica has a robust RNAi pathway that links to TGS via Argonaute 2-2 (Ago2-2) associated 27-nucleotide small RNAs with 5'-polyphosphate termini. Here, we report the first repressive histone mark to be identified in E. histolytica, dimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27Me2), and demonstrate that it is enriched at genes that are silenced by RNAi-mediated TGS. An RNAi-silencing trigger can induce H3K27Me2 deposits at both episomal and chromosomal loci, mediating gene silencing. Our data support two phases of RNAi-mediated TGS: an active silencing phase where the RNAi trigger is present and both H3K27Me2 and Ago2-2 concurrently enrich at chromosomal loci; and an established silencing phase in which the RNAi trigger is removed, but gene silencing with H3K27Me2 enrichment persist independently of Ago2-2 deposition. Importantly, some genes display resistance to chromosomal silencing despite induction of functional small RNAs. In those situations, the RNAi-triggering plasmid that is maintained episomally gets partially silenced and has H3K27Me2 enrichment, but the chromosomal copy displays no repressive histone enrichment. Our data are consistent with a model in which H3K27Me2 is a repressive histone modification, which is strongly associated with transcriptional repression. This is the first example of an epigenetic histone modification that functions to mediate RNAi-mediated TGS in the deep-branching eukaryote E. histolytica. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  15. ABA Represses the Expression of Cell Cycle Genes and May Modulate the Development of Endodormancy in Grapevine Buds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Vergara

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA has been implicated as a key player in the regulation of endodormancy (ED in grapevine buds (Vitis vinifera L. In this study, we show that in the vine, the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of ABA (VvNCED1; VvNCED2 and the content of ABA are significantly higher in the latent bud than at the shoot apex, while the expression of an ABA catabolic gene (VvA8H3 showed no significant difference between either organ. A negative correlation between the content of ABA and transcript levels of cell cycle genes (CCG was found in both tissues. This result suggested that ABA may negatively regulate the expression of CCG in meristematic tissues of grapevines. To test this proposition, the effect of ABA on the expression of CCG was analyzed in two meristematic tissues of the vine: somatic embryos and shoot apexes. The results indicated that cell cycle progression is repressed by ABA in both organs, since it down-regulated the expression of genes encoding cyclin-dependent kinases (VvCDKB1, VvCDKB2 and genes encoding cyclins of type A (VvCYCA1, VvCYCA2, VvCYCA3, B (VvCYCB, and D (VvCYCD3.2a and up-regulated the expression of VvICK5, a gene encoding an inhibitor of CDKs. During ED, the content of ABA increased, and the expression of CCG decreased. Moreover, the dormancy-breaking compound hydrogen cyanamide (HC reduced the content of ABA and up-regulated the expression of CCG, this last effect was abolished when HC and ABA were co-applied. Taken together, these results suggest that ABA-mediated repression of CCG transcription may be part of the mechanism through which ABA modulates the development of ED in grapevine buds.

  16. Identification of the rctA Gene, Which Is Required for Repression of Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Symbiotic Megaplasmids†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Mendoza, Daniel; Sepúlveda, Edgardo; Pando, Victoria; Muñoz, Socorro; Nogales, Joaquina; Olivares, José; Soto, Maria J.; Herrera-Cervera, José A.; Romero, David; Brom, Susana; Sanjuán, Juan

    2005-01-01

    An analysis of the conjugative transfer of pRetCFN42d, the symbiotic plasmid (pSym) of Rhizobium etli, has revealed a novel gene, rctA, as an essential element of a regulatory system for silencing the conjugative transfer of R. etli pSym by repressing the transcription of conjugal transfer genes in standard laboratory media. The rctA gene product lacks sequence conservation with other proteins of known function but may belong to the winged-helix DNA-binding subfamily of transcriptional regulators. Similar to that of many transcriptional repressors, rctA transcription seems to be positively autoregulated. rctA expression is greatly reduced upon overexpression of another gene, rctB, previously identified as a putative activator of R. etli pSym conjugal transfer. Thus, rctB seems to counteract the repressive action of rctA. rctA homologs are present in at least three other bacterial genomes within the order Rhizobiales, where they are invariably located adjacent to and divergently transcribed from putative virB-like operons. We show that similar to that of R. etli pSym, conjugative transfer of the 1.35-Mb symbiotic megaplasmid A of Sinorhizobium meliloti is also subjected to the inhibitory action of rctA. Our data provide strong evidence that the R. etli and S. meliloti pSym plasmids are indeed self-conjugative plasmids and that this property would only be expressed under optimal, as yet unknown conditions that entail inactivation of the rctA function. The rctA gene seems to represent novel but probably widespread regulatory systems controlling the transfer of conjugative elements within the order Rhizobiales. PMID:16237017

  17. Freud-2/CC2D1B mediates dual repression of the serotonin-1A receptor gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjighassem, Mahmoud R; Galaraga, Kimberly; Albert, Paul R

    2011-01-01

    The serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) receptor functions as a pre-synaptic autoreceptor in serotonin neurons that regulates their activity, and is also widely expressed on non-serotonergic neurons as a post-synaptic heteroreceptor to mediate serotonin action. The 5-HT1A receptor gene is strongly repressed by a dual repressor element (DRE), which is recognized by two proteins: Freud-1/CC2D1A and another unknown protein. Here we identify mouse Freud-2/CC2D1B as the second repressor of the 5-HT1A-DRE. Freud-2 shares 50% amino acid identity with Freud-1, and contains conserved structural domains. Mouse Freud-2 bound specifically to the rat 5-HT1A-DRE adjacent to, and partially overlapping, the Freud-1 binding site. By supershift assay using nuclear extracts from L6 myoblasts, Freud-2-DRE complexes were distinguished from Freud-1-DRE complexes. Freud-2 mRNA and protein were detected throughout mouse brain and peripheral tissues. Freud-2 repressed 5-HT1A promoter-reporter constructs in a DRE-dependent manner in non-neuronal (L6) or 5-HT1A-expressing neuronal (NG108-15, RN46A) cell models. In NG108-15 cells, knockdown of Freud-2 using a specific short-interfering RNA reduced endogenous Freud-2 protein levels and decreased Freud-2 bound to the 5-HT1A-DRE as detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, but increased 5-HT1A promoter activity and 5-HT1A protein levels. Taken together, these data show that Freud-2 is the second component that, with Freud-1, mediates dual repression of the 5-HT1A receptor gene at the DRE. © 2010 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2010 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Derangement of a factor upstream of RARalpha triggers the repression of a pleiotropic epigenetic network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Corlazzoli

    Full Text Available Chromatin adapts and responds to extrinsic and intrinsic cues. We hypothesize that inheritable aberrant chromatin states in cancer and aging are caused by genetic/environmental factors. In previous studies we demonstrated that either genetic mutations, or loss, of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha, can impair the integration of the retinoic acid (RA signal at the chromatin of RA-responsive genes downstream of RARalpha, and can lead to aberrant repressive chromatin states marked by epigenetic modifications. In this study we tested whether the mere interference with the availability of RA signal at RARalpha, in cells with an otherwise functional RARalpha, can also induce epigenetic repression at RA-responsive genes downstream of RARalpha.To hamper the availability of RA at RARalpha in untransformed human mammary epithelial cells, we targeted the cellular RA-binding protein 2 (CRABP2, which transports RA from the cytoplasm onto the nuclear RARs. Stable ectopic expression of a CRABP2 mutant unable to enter the nucleus, as well as stable knock down of endogenous CRABP2, led to the coordinated transcriptional repression of a few RA-responsive genes downstream of RARalpha. The chromatin at these genes acquired an exacerbated repressed state, or state "of no return". This aberrant state is unresponsive to RA, and therefore differs from the physiologically repressed, yet "poised" state, which is responsive to RA. Consistent with development of homozygosis for epigenetically repressed loci, a significant proportion of cells with a defective CRABP2-mediated RA transport developed heritable phenotypes indicative of loss of function.Derangement/lack of a critical factor necessary for RARalpha function induces epigenetic repression of a RA-regulated gene network downstream of RARalpha, with major pleiotropic biological outcomes.

  19. Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangel-Salazar, Rubén; Wickström-Lindholm, Marie; Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A; Alvarado-Caudillo, Yolanda; Døssing, Kristina B V; Esteller, Manel; Labourier, Emmanuel; Lund, Gertrud; Nielsen, Finn C; Rodríguez-Ríos, Dalia; Solís-Martínez, Martha O; Wrobel, Katarzyna; Wrobel, Kazimierz; Zaina, Silvio

    2011-11-25

    We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, i.e. de novo DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20) hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages. Here, we: 1) ask what gene expression changes accompany these epigenetic responses; 2) test the involvement of candidate factors mediating the latter. We exploited genome expression arrays to identify target genes for lipoprotein-induced silencing, in addition to RNAi and expression studies to test the involvement of candidate mediating factors. The study was conducted in human THP-1 macrophages. Native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation was associated with a general repression of various critical genes for macrophage function, including pro-inflammatory genes. Lipoproteins showed differential effects on epigenetic marks, as de novo DNA methylation was induced by VLDL and to a lesser extent by LDL, but not by HDL, and VLDL induced H4K20 hypermethylation, while HDL caused H4 deacetylation. The analysis of candidate factors mediating VLDL-induced DNA hypermethylation revealed that this response was: 1) surprisingly, mediated exclusively by the canonical maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, and 2) independent of the Dicer/micro-RNA pathway. Our work provides novel insights into epigenetic gene regulation by native lipoproteins. Furthermore, we provide an example of DNMT1 acting as a de novo DNA methyltransferase independently of canonical de novo enzymes, and show proof of principle that de novo DNA methylation can occur independently of a functional Dicer/micro-RNA pathway in mammals.

  20. Repression of calcitonin gene-related peptide expression in trigeminal neurons by a Theobroma cacao extract☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbey, Marcie J.; Patil, Vinit V.; Vause, Carrie V.; Durham, Paul L.

    2008-01-01

    Ethnopharmacological relevance Cocoa bean preparations were first used by the ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations of South America to treat a variety of medical ailments involving the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Diets rich in foods containing abundant polyphenols, as found in cocoa, underlie the protective effects reported in chronic inflammatory diseases. Release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from trigeminal nerves promotes inflammation in peripheral tissues and nociception. Aim of the study To determine whether a methanol extract of Theobroma cacao L. (Sterculiaceae) beans enriched for polyphenols could inhibit CGRP expression, both an in vitro and an in vivo approach was taken. Results Treatment of rat trigeminal ganglia cultures with depolarizing stimuli caused a significant increase in CGRP release that was repressed by pretreatment with Theobroma cacao extract. Pretreatment with Theobroma cacao was also shown to block the KCl- and capsaicin-stimulated increases in intracellular calcium. Next, the effects of Theobroma cacao on CGRP levels were determined using an in vivo model of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) inflammation. Capsaicin injection into the TMJ capsule caused an ipsilateral decrease in CGRP levels. Theobroma cacao extract injected into the TMJ capsule 24 h prior to capsaicin treatment repressed the stimulatory effects of capsaicin. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that Theobroma cacao extract can repress stimulated CGRP release by a mechanism that likely involves blockage of calcium channel activity. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of diets rich in cocoa may include suppression of sensory trigeminal nerve activation. PMID:17997062

  1. The phosphotransferase VanU represses expression of four qrr genes antagonizing VanO-mediated quorum-sensing regulation in Vibrio anguillarum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Barbara; Lindell, Kristoffer; El Qaidi, Samir; Hjerde, Erik; Willassen, Nils-Peder; Milton, Debra L

    2011-12-01

    Vibrio anguillarum utilizes quorum sensing to regulate stress responses required for survival in the aquatic environment. Like other Vibrio species, V. anguillarum contains the gene qrr1, which encodes the ancestral quorum regulatory RNA Qrr1, and phosphorelay quorum-sensing systems that modulate the expression of small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) that destabilize mRNA encoding the transcriptional regulator VanT. In this study, three additional Qrr sRNAs were identified. All four sRNAs were positively regulated by σ(54) and the σ(54)-dependent response regulator VanO, and showed a redundant activity. The Qrr sRNAs, together with the RNA chaperone Hfq, destabilized vanT mRNA and modulated expression of VanT-regulated genes. Unexpectedly, expression of all four qrr genes peaked at high cell density, and exogenously added N-acylhomoserine lactone molecules induced expression of the qrr genes at low cell density. The phosphotransferase VanU, which phosphorylates and activates VanO, repressed expression of the Qrr sRNAs and stabilized vanT mRNA. A model is presented proposing that VanU acts as a branch point, aiding cross-regulation between two independent phosphorelay systems that activate or repress expression of the Qrr sRNAs, giving flexibility and precision in modulating VanT expression and inducing a quorum-sensing response to stresses found in a constantly changing aquatic environment.

  2. Chorion gene activation and repression is dependent on BmC/EBP expression and binding to cognate cis-elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papantonis, Argyris; Sourmeli, Sissy; Lecanidou, Rena

    2008-05-09

    From the different cis-elements clustered on silkmoth chorion gene promoters, C/EBP binding sites predominate. Their sequence composition and dispersal vary amongst promoters of diverse developmental specificity. Occupancy of these sites by BmC/EBP was examined through Southwestern and ChIP assays modified to suit ovarian follicular cells. For the genes studied, binding of BmC/EBP coincided with the respective stages of transcriptional activation. However, the factor was reloaded on promoter sequences long after individual gene repression. Furthermore, suppression of BmC/EBP transcription in developing follicles resulted in de-regulation of chorion gene expression. A biphasic function of BmC/EBP, according to which it may act as both an activator and a repressor during silkmoth choriogenesis, is considered under the light of the presented data.

  3. Glucose-mediated repression of autolysis and conidiogenesis in Emericella nidulans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emri, Tamás; Molnár, Zsolt; Veres, Tünde; Pusztahelyi, Tünde; Dudás, Gábor; Pócsi, István

    2006-10-01

    Glucose-mediated repression of autolysis and sporulation was studied in submerged Emericellanidulans (anam. Aspergillus nidulans) cultures. Null mutation of the creA gene, which encodes the major carbon catabolite repressor CreA in E. nidulans, resulted in a hyperautolytic phenotype characterized by increased extracellular hydrolase production and dry cell mass declination. Interestingly, glucose, as well as the glucose antimetabolite 2-deoxy-d-glucose, repressed autolysis and sporulation in both the control and the creA null mutant strains suggesting that these processes were also subjected to CreA-independent carbon regulation. For example, the glucose-mediated, but CreA-independent, repression of the sporulation transcription factor BrlA was likely to contribute to the negative regulation of conidiogenesis by glucose. Although CreA played a prominent role in the regulation of autolysis via the repression of genes encoding important autolytic hydrolases like ChiB chitinase and PrtA protease the age-related production of the chitinase activity was also negatively affected by the down-regulation of brlA expression. However, neither CreA-dependent nor CreA-independent elements of carbon regulation affected the initiation and regulation of cell death in E. nidulans under carbon starvation.

  4. IL-1β-specific recruitment of GCN5 histone acetyltransferase induces the release of PAF1 from chromatin for the de-repression of inflammatory response genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Nari; Sun, Hwa-Young; Youn, Min-Young; Yoo, Joo-Yeon

    2013-04-01

    To determine the functional specificity of inflammation, it is critical to orchestrate the timely activation and repression of inflammatory responses. Here, we explored the PAF1 (RNA polymerase II associated factor)-mediated signal- and locus-specific repression of genes induced through the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β. Using microarray analysis, we identified the PAF1 target genes whose expression was further enhanced by PAF1 knockdown in IL-1β-stimulated HepG2 hepatocarcinomas. PAF1 bound near the transcription start sites of target genes and dissociated on stimulation. In PAF1-deficient cells, more elongating RNA polymerase II and acetylated histones were observed, although IL-1β-mediated activation and recruitment of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were not altered. Under basal conditions, PAF1 blocked histone acetyltransferase general control non-depressible 5 (GCN5)-mediated acetylation on H3K9 and H4K5 residues. On IL-1β stimulation, activated GCN5 discharged PAF1 from chromatin, allowing productive transcription to occur. PAF1 bound to histones but not to acetylated histones, and the chromatin-binding domain of PAF1 was essential for target gene repression. Moreover, IL-1β-induced cell migration was similarly controlled through counteraction between PAF1 and GCN5. These results suggest that the IL-1β signal-specific exchange of PAF1 and GCN5 on the target locus limits inappropriate gene induction and facilitates the timely activation of inflammatory responses.

  5. Allele-Specific DNA Methylation and Its Interplay with Repressive Histone Marks at Promoter-Mutant TERT Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Josh Lewis; Paucek, Richard D; Huang, Franklin W; Ghandi, Mahmoud; Nwumeh, Ronald; Costello, James C; Cech, Thomas R

    2017-12-26

    A mutation in the promoter of the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) gene is the most frequent noncoding mutation in cancer. The mutation drives unusual monoallelic expression of TERT, allowing immortalization. Here, we find that DNA methylation of the TERT CpG island (CGI) is also allele-specific in multiple cancers. The expressed allele is hypomethylated, which is opposite to cancers without TERT promoter mutations. The continued presence of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) on the inactive allele suggests that histone marks of repressed chromatin may be causally linked to high DNA methylation. Consistent with this hypothesis, TERT promoter DNA containing 5-methyl-CpG has much increased affinity for PRC2 in vitro. Thus, CpG methylation and histone marks appear to collaborate to maintain the two TERT alleles in different epigenetic states in TERT promoter mutant cancers. Finally, in several cancers, DNA methylation levels at the TERT CGI correlate with altered patient survival. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Deciphering of the Human Interferon-Regulated Proteome by Mass Spectrometry-Based Quantitative Analysis Reveals Extent and Dynamics of Protein Induction and Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Megger, Dominik A; Philipp, Jos; Le-Trilling, Vu Thuy Khanh; Sitek, Barbara; Trilling, Mirko

    2017-01-01

    Interferons (IFNs) are pleotropic cytokines secreted upon encounter of pathogens and tumors. Applying their antipathogenic, antiproliferative, and immune stimulatory capacities, recombinant IFNs are frequently prescribed as drugs to treat different diseases. IFNs act by changing the gene expression profile of cells. Due to characteristics such as rapid gene induction and signaling, IFNs also represent prototypical model systems for various aspects of biomedical research (e.g., signal transduction). In regard to the signaling and activated promoters, IFNs can be subdivided into two groups. Here, alterations of the cellular proteome of human cells treated with IFNα and IFNγ were elucidated in a time-resolved manner by quantitative proteome analysis. The majority of protein regulations were strongly IFN type and time dependent. In addition to the expected upregulation of IFN-responsive proteins, an astonishing number of proteins became profoundly repressed especially by IFNγ. Thus, our comprehensive analysis revealed important insights into the human IFN-regulated proteome and its dynamics of protein induction and repression. Interestingly, the new class of IFN-repressed genes comprises known host factors for highly relevant pathogens such as HIV, dengue virus, and hepatitis C virus.

  7. Deciphering of the Human Interferon-Regulated Proteome by Mass Spectrometry-Based Quantitative Analysis Reveals Extent and Dynamics of Protein Induction and Repression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominik A. Megger

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Interferons (IFNs are pleotropic cytokines secreted upon encounter of pathogens and tumors. Applying their antipathogenic, antiproliferative, and immune stimulatory capacities, recombinant IFNs are frequently prescribed as drugs to treat different diseases. IFNs act by changing the gene expression profile of cells. Due to characteristics such as rapid gene induction and signaling, IFNs also represent prototypical model systems for various aspects of biomedical research (e.g., signal transduction. In regard to the signaling and activated promoters, IFNs can be subdivided into two groups. Here, alterations of the cellular proteome of human cells treated with IFNα and IFNγ were elucidated in a time-resolved manner by quantitative proteome analysis. The majority of protein regulations were strongly IFN type and time dependent. In addition to the expected upregulation of IFN-responsive proteins, an astonishing number of proteins became profoundly repressed especially by IFNγ. Thus, our comprehensive analysis revealed important insights into the human IFN-regulated proteome and its dynamics of protein induction and repression. Interestingly, the new class of IFN-repressed genes comprises known host factors for highly relevant pathogens such as HIV, dengue virus, and hepatitis C virus.

  8. A Hexose Transporter Homologue Controls Glucose Repression in the Methylotrophic Yeast Hansenula polymorpha

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stasyk, Oleh V.; Stasyk, Olena G.; Komduur, Janet; Veenhuis, Marten; Cregg, James M.; Sibirny, Andrei A.

    2004-01-01

    Peroxisome biogenesis and synthesis of peroxisomal enzymes in the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha are under the strict control of glucose repression. We identified an H. polymorpha glucose catabolite repression gene (HpGCR1) that encodes a hexose transporter homologue. Deficiency in GCR1

  9. Transcription and replication result in distinct epigenetic marks following repression of early gene expression

    OpenAIRE

    Kallestad, Les; Woods, Emily; Christensen, Kendra; Gefroh, Amanda; Balakrishnan, Lata; Milavetz, Barry

    2013-01-01

    Simian Virus 40 (SV40) early transcription is repressed when the product of early transcription, T-antigen, binds to its cognate regulatory sequence, Site I, in the promoter of the SV40 minichromosome. Because SV40 minichromosomes undergo replication and transcription potentially repression could occur during active transcription or during DNA replication. Since repression is frequently epigenetically marked by the introduction of specific forms of methylated histone H3, we characterized th...

  10. Gene set-based module discovery in the breast cancer transcriptome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Michael Q

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although microarray-based studies have revealed global view of gene expression in cancer cells, we still have little knowledge about regulatory mechanisms underlying the transcriptome. Several computational methods applied to yeast data have recently succeeded in identifying expression modules, which is defined as co-expressed gene sets under common regulatory mechanisms. However, such module discovery methods are not applied cancer transcriptome data. Results In order to decode oncogenic regulatory programs in cancer cells, we developed a novel module discovery method termed EEM by extending a previously reported module discovery method, and applied it to breast cancer expression data. Starting from seed gene sets prepared based on cis-regulatory elements, ChIP-chip data, and gene locus information, EEM identified 10 principal expression modules in breast cancer based on their expression coherence. Moreover, EEM depicted their activity profiles, which predict regulatory programs in each subtypes of breast tumors. For example, our analysis revealed that the expression module regulated by the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2 is downregulated in triple negative breast cancers, suggesting similarity of transcriptional programs between stem cells and aggressive breast cancer cells. We also found that the activity of the PRC2 expression module is negatively correlated to the expression of EZH2, a component of PRC2 which belongs to the E2F expression module. E2F-driven EZH2 overexpression may be responsible for the repression of the PRC2 expression modules in triple negative tumors. Furthermore, our network analysis predicts regulatory circuits in breast cancer cells. Conclusion These results demonstrate that the gene set-based module discovery approach is a powerful tool to decode regulatory programs in cancer cells.

  11. Neurospora crassa glucose - repressible gene -1(Grg-1) promoter controls the expression of neurospora tyrosinase gene in a clock-controlled manner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarawneh, A. K

    1997-01-01

    In this study sphareroplastes of white Neurospora crassa mutant auxotroph for aromatic am no acids a rom 9 q a-2 inv, was transformed by the pKF-Tyr7-wt DNA construct. This construct contains the promoter of neurospora crassa glucose-repressible gene-1 (G rg-1) usp stream of Neurospora tyrosinase gene. The co transformation of this mutant with pKF-Tyr-7-wt cincture's and the pKAL-1, a plasmid which contains the Neurospora q a-2+ gene transform it to photophor. The transform ant contains the tyrosinase gene which catalyzes the unique step in the synthesis of the black pigment melanin. The activity of the tyrosinase in this transform ant was followed by measuring the absorbance of the dark coloured pigment at 332 nm. The maximum of the tyrosinase activity was shown at 16.36 and 56 hours after the shift of the transformed mycelia from constant light (L L) to constant dark (Dd). The rate of the enzyme activity was changed according to ci radian cycle of 20 hours. This G rg 1/tyrosinase construct provides a good system to study to study the temporal control of gene expression and the interaction between the different environmental c uses that affects gene expression. (author). 20 refs., 4 figs

  12. Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rangel-Salazar Rubén

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, i.e. de novo DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20 hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages. Here, we: 1 ask what gene expression changes accompany these epigenetic responses; 2 test the involvement of candidate factors mediating the latter. We exploited genome expression arrays to identify target genes for lipoprotein-induced silencing, in addition to RNAi and expression studies to test the involvement of candidate mediating factors. The study was conducted in human THP-1 macrophages. Results Native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation was associated with a general repression of various critical genes for macrophage function, including pro-inflammatory genes. Lipoproteins showed differential effects on epigenetic marks, as de novo DNA methylation was induced by VLDL and to a lesser extent by LDL, but not by HDL, and VLDL induced H4K20 hypermethylation, while HDL caused H4 deacetylation. The analysis of candidate factors mediating VLDL-induced DNA hypermethylation revealed that this response was: 1 surprisingly, mediated exclusively by the canonical maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, and 2 independent of the Dicer/micro-RNA pathway. Conclusions Our work provides novel insights into epigenetic gene regulation by native lipoproteins. Furthermore, we provide an example of DNMT1 acting as a de novo DNA methyltransferase independently of canonical de novo enzymes, and show proof of principle that de novo DNA methylation can occur independently of a functional Dicer/micro-RNA pathway in mammals.

  13. Drosophila DNA-Binding Proteins in Polycomb Repression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maksim Erokhin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The formation of individual gene expression patterns in different cell types is required during differentiation and development of multicellular organisms. Polycomb group (PcG proteins are key epigenetic regulators responsible for gene repression, and dysregulation of their activities leads to developmental abnormalities and diseases. PcG proteins were first identified in Drosophila, which still remains the most convenient system for studying PcG-dependent repression. In the Drosophila genome, these proteins bind to DNA regions called Polycomb response elements (PREs. A major role in the recruitment of PcG proteins to PREs is played by DNA-binding factors, several of which have been characterized in detail. However, current knowledge is insufficient for comprehensively describing the mechanism of this process. In this review, we summarize and discuss the available data on the role of DNA-binding proteins in PcG recruitment to chromatin.

  14. H-NS mediated repression of CRISPR-based immunity in Escherichia coli K12 can be relieved by the transcription activator LeuO

    OpenAIRE

    2010-01-01

    Abstract The recently discovered prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas defense system provides immunity against viral infections and plasmid conjugation. It has been demonstrated that in Escherichia coli transcription of the Cascade genes (casABCDE) and to some extent the CRISPR array, is repressed by heat-stable nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) protein, a global transcriptional repressor. Here we elaborate on the control of the E. coli CRISPR/Cas system, and study the effect on CRISPR-based anti-vira...

  15. Control of transcriptional repression of the vitellogenin receptor gene in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) by select estrogen receptors isotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominguez, Gustavo A; Bisesi, Joseph H; Kroll, Kevin J; Denslow, Nancy D; Sabo-Attwood, Tara

    2014-10-01

    The vitellogenin receptor (Vtgr) plays an important role in fish reproduction. This receptor functions to incorporate vitellogenin (Vtg), a macromolecule synthesized and released from the liver in the bloodstream, into oocytes where it is processed into yolk. Although studies have focused on the functional role of Vtgr in fish, the mechanistic control of this gene is still unexplored. Here we report the identification and analysis of the first piscine 5' regulatory region of the vtgr gene which was cloned from largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Using this putative promoter sequence, we investigated a role for hormones, including insulin and 17β-estradiol (E2), in transcriptional regulation through cell-based reporter assays. No effect of insulin was observed, however, E2 was able to repress transcriptional activity of the vtgr promoter through select estrogen receptor subtypes, Esr1 and Esr2a but not Esr2b. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that Esr1 likely interacts with the vtgr promoter region through half ERE and/or SP1 sites, in part. Finally we also show that ethinylestradiol (EE2), but not bisphenol-A (BPA), represses promoter activity similarly to E2. These results reveal for the first time that the Esr1 isoform may play an inhibitory role in the expression of LMB vtgr mRNA under the influence of E2, and potent estrogens such as EE2. In addition, this new evidence suggests that vtgr may be a target of select endocrine disrupting compounds through environmental exposures. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. NATURAL MUTATION IN THE GENE OF RESPONSE REGULATOR BgrR RESULTING IN REPRESSION OF Bac PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, A PATHOGENICITY FACTOR OF STREPTOCOCCUS AGALACTIAE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Rozhdestvenskaya

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Streptococcus agalactiae can cause variety of diseases of newborns and adults. For successful colonization of different human tissues and organs as well as for suppression of the host immune system S. agalactiae expresses numerous virulence factors. For coordinated expression of the virulence genes S. agalactiae employs regulatory molecules including regulatory proteins of two-component systems. Results of the present study demonstrated that in S. agalactiae strain A49V the natural mutation in the brgR gene encoding for BgrR regulatory protein, which is component of regulatory system BgrRS, resulted in the repression of Bac protein synthesis, a virulence factor of S. agalactiae. A single nucleotide deletion in the bgrR gene has caused a shift of the reading frame and the changes in the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of the BgrR protein. The loss of functional activity of BgrR protein in A49V strain and repression of Bac protein synthesis have increased virulence of the strain in experimental animal streptococcal infection.

  17. Expression of bvg-repressed genes in Bordetella pertussis is controlled by RisA through a novel c-di-GMP signaling pathway

    Science.gov (United States)

    The BvgAS two component system of Bordetella pertussis controls virulence factor expression. In addition, BvgAS controls expression of the bvg-repressed genes through the action of the repressor, BvgR. The transcription factor RisA is inhibited by BvgR, and when BvgR is not expressed RisA induces th...

  18. Stability of XIST repression in relation to genomic imprinting following global genome demethylation in a human cell line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araújo, E.S.S. de; Vasques, L.R.; Stabellini, R.; Krepischi, A.C.V.; Pereira, L.V.

    2014-01-01

    DNA methylation is essential in X chromosome inactivation and genomic imprinting, maintaining repression of XIST in the active X chromosome and monoallelic repression of imprinted genes. Disruption of the DNA methyltransferase genes DNMT1 and DNMT3B in the HCT116 cell line (DKO cells) leads to global DNA hypomethylation and biallelic expression of the imprinted gene IGF2 but does not lead to reactivation of XIST expression, suggesting that XIST repression is due to a more stable epigenetic mark than imprinting. To test this hypothesis, we induced acute hypomethylation in HCT116 cells by 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR) treatment (HCT116-5-aza-CdR) and compared that to DKO cells, evaluating DNA methylation by microarray and monitoring the expression of XIST and imprinted genes IGF2, H19, and PEG10. Whereas imprinted genes showed biallelic expression in HCT116-5-aza-CdR and DKO cells, the XIST locus was hypomethylated and weakly expressed only under acute hypomethylation conditions, indicating the importance of XIST repression in the active X to cell survival. Given that DNMT3A is the only active DNMT in DKO cells, it may be responsible for ensuring the repression of XIST in those cells. Taken together, our data suggest that XIST repression is more tightly controlled than genomic imprinting and, at least in part, is due to DNMT3A

  19. Stability of XIST repression in relation to genomic imprinting following global genome demethylation in a human cell line

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Araújo, E.S.S. de [Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Centro Internacional de Pesquisa, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Vasques, L.R. [Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Stabellini, R.; Krepischi, A.C.V. [Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Centro Internacional de Pesquisa, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Pereira, L.V. [Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2014-10-17

    DNA methylation is essential in X chromosome inactivation and genomic imprinting, maintaining repression of XIST in the active X chromosome and monoallelic repression of imprinted genes. Disruption of the DNA methyltransferase genes DNMT1 and DNMT3B in the HCT116 cell line (DKO cells) leads to global DNA hypomethylation and biallelic expression of the imprinted gene IGF2 but does not lead to reactivation of XIST expression, suggesting that XIST repression is due to a more stable epigenetic mark than imprinting. To test this hypothesis, we induced acute hypomethylation in HCT116 cells by 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR) treatment (HCT116-5-aza-CdR) and compared that to DKO cells, evaluating DNA methylation by microarray and monitoring the expression of XIST and imprinted genes IGF2, H19, and PEG10. Whereas imprinted genes showed biallelic expression in HCT116-5-aza-CdR and DKO cells, the XIST locus was hypomethylated and weakly expressed only under acute hypomethylation conditions, indicating the importance of XIST repression in the active X to cell survival. Given that DNMT3A is the only active DNMT in DKO cells, it may be responsible for ensuring the repression of XIST in those cells. Taken together, our data suggest that XIST repression is more tightly controlled than genomic imprinting and, at least in part, is due to DNMT3A.

  20. Dopamine signaling leads to loss of Polycomb repression and aberrant gene activation in experimental parkinsonism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Södersten, Erik; Feyder, Michael; Lerdrup, Mads

    2014-01-01

    . Here, we present in vivo evidence for a previously unrecognized plasticity of PcG-repressed genes in terminally differentiated brain neurons of parkisonian mice. We show that acute administration of the dopamine precursor, L-DOPA, induces a remarkable increase in H3K27me3S28 phosphorylation....... The induction of the H3K27me3S28p histone mark specifically occurs in medium spiny neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors and is dependent on Msk1 kinase activity and DARPP-32-mediated inhibition of protein phosphatase-1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments showed that increased H3K27me3S28p...

  1. EWS/FLI mediates transcriptional repression via NKX2.2 during oncogenic transformation in Ewing's sarcoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leah A Owen

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available EWS/FLI is a master regulator of Ewing's sarcoma formation. Gene expression studies in A673 Ewing's sarcoma cells have demonstrated that EWS/FLI downregulates more genes than it upregulates, suggesting that EWS/FLI, and/or its targets, function as transcriptional repressors. One critical EWS/FLI target, NKX2.2, is a transcription factor that contains both transcriptional activation and transcriptional repression domains, raising the possibility that it mediates portions of the EWS/FLI transcriptional signature. We now report that microarray analysis demonstrated that the transcriptional profile of NKX2.2 consists solely of downregulated genes, and overlaps with the EWS/FLI downregulated signature, suggesting that NKX2.2 mediates oncogenic transformation via transcriptional repression. Structure-function analysis revealed that the DNA binding and repressor domains in NKX2.2 are required for oncogenesis in Ewing's sarcoma cells, while the transcriptional activation domain is completely dispensable. Furthermore, blockade of TLE or HDAC function, two protein families thought to mediate the repressive function of NKX2.2, inhibited the transformed phenotype and reversed the NKX2.2 transcriptional profile in Ewing's sarcoma cells. Whole genome localization studies (ChIP-chip revealed that a significant portion of the NKX2.2-repressed gene expression signature was directly mediated by NKX2.2 binding. These data demonstrate that the transcriptional repressive function of NKX2.2 is necessary, and sufficient, for the oncogenic phenotype of Ewing's sarcoma, and suggest a therapeutic approach to this disease.

  2. Genome-Wide Identification of Polycomb Target Genes Reveals a Functional Association of Pho with Scm in Bombyx mori

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Zhiqing; Cheng, Daojun; Mon, Hiroaki; Tatsuke, Tsuneyuki; Zhu, Li; Xu, Jian; Lee, Jae Man; Xia, Qingyou; Kusakabe, Takahiro

    2012-01-01

    Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are evolutionarily conserved chromatin modifiers and act together in three multimeric complexes, Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and Pleiohomeotic repressive complex (PhoRC), to repress transcription of the target genes. Here, we identified Polycomb target genes in Bombyx mori with holocentric centromere using genome-wide expression screening based on the knockdown of BmSCE, BmESC, BmPHO, or BmSCM gene, which represent ...

  3. A negative regulator encoded by a rice WRKY gene represses both abscisic acid and gibberellins signaling in aleurone cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhong-Lin; Shin, Margaret; Zou, Xiaolu; Huang, Jianzhi; Ho, Tun-hua David; Shen, Qingxi J

    2009-05-01

    Abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs) control several developmental processes including seed maturation, dormancy, and germination. The antagonism of these two hormones is well-documented. However, recent data from transcription profiling studies indicate that they can function as agonists in regulating the expression of many genes although the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here we report a rice WRKY gene, OsWRKY24, which encodes a protein that functions as a negative regulator of both GA and ABA signaling. Overexpression of OsWRKY24 via particle bombardment-mediated transient expression in aleurone cells represses the expression of two reporter constructs: the beta-glucuronidase gene driven by the GA-inducible Amy32b alpha-amylase promoter (Amy32b-GUS) and the ABA-inducible HVA22 promoter (HVA22-GUS). OsWRKY24 is unlikely a general repressor because it has little effect on the expression of the luciferase reporter gene driven by a constitutive ubiquitin promoter (UBI-Luciferase). As to the GA signaling, OsWRKY24 differs from OsWRKY51 and -71, two negative regulators specifically function in the GA signaling pathway, in several ways. First, OsWRKY24 contains two WRKY domains while OsWRKY51 and -71 have only one; both WRKY domains are essential for the full repressing activity of OsWRKY24. Second, binding of OsWRKY24 to the Amy32b promoter appears to involve sequences in addition to the TGAC cores of the W-boxes. Third, unlike OsWRKY71, OsWRKY24 is stable upon GA treatment. Together, these data demonstrate that OsWRKY24 is a novel type of transcriptional repressor that inhibits both GA and ABA signaling.

  4. Repression of mitochondrial translation, respiration and a metabolic cycle-regulated gene, SLF1, by the yeast Pumilio-family protein Puf3p.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Chatenay-Lapointe

    Full Text Available Synthesis and assembly of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS system requires genes located both in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, but how gene expression is coordinated between these two compartments is not fully understood. One level of control is through regulated expression mitochondrial ribosomal proteins and other factors required for mitochondrial translation and OXPHOS assembly, which are all products of nuclear genes that are subsequently imported into mitochondria. Interestingly, this cadre of genes in budding yeast has in common a 3'-UTR element that is bound by the Pumilio family protein, Puf3p, and is coordinately regulated under many conditions, including during the yeast metabolic cycle. Multiple functions have been assigned to Puf3p, including promoting mRNA degradation, localizing nucleus-encoded mitochondrial transcripts to the outer mitochondrial membrane, and facilitating mitochondria-cytoskeletal interactions and motility. Here we show that Puf3p has a general repressive effect on mitochondrial OXPHOS abundance, translation, and respiration that does not involve changes in overall mitochondrial biogenesis and largely independent of TORC1-mitochondrial signaling. We also identified the cytoplasmic translation factor Slf1p as yeast metabolic cycle-regulated gene that is repressed by Puf3p at the post-transcriptional level and promotes respiration and extension of yeast chronological life span when over-expressed. Altogether, these results should facilitate future studies on which of the many functions of Puf3p is most relevant for regulating mitochondrial gene expression and the role of nuclear-mitochondrial communication in aging and longevity.

  5. Glucocorticoid and cytokine crosstalk: Feedback, feedforward, and co-regulatory interactions determine repression or resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newton, Robert; Shah, Suharsh; Altonsy, Mohammed O; Gerber, Antony N

    2017-04-28

    Inflammatory signals induce feedback and feedforward systems that provide temporal control. Although glucocorticoids can repress inflammatory gene expression, glucocorticoid receptor recruitment increases expression of negative feedback and feedforward regulators, including the phosphatase, DUSP1, the ubiquitin-modifying enzyme, TNFAIP3, or the mRNA-destabilizing protein, ZFP36. Moreover, glucocorticoid receptor cooperativity with factors, including nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), may enhance regulator expression to promote repression. Conversely, MAPKs, which are inhibited by glucocorticoids, provide feedforward control to limit expression of the transcription factor IRF1, and the chemokine, CXCL10. We propose that modulation of feedback and feedforward control can determine repression or resistance of inflammatory gene expression toglucocorticoid. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  6. Recruitment by the Repressor Freud-1 of Histone Deacetylase-Brg1 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes to Strengthen HTR1A Gene Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souslova, Tatiana; Mirédin, Kim; Millar, Anne M; Albert, Paul R

    2017-12-01

    Five-prime repressor element under dual repression binding protein-1 (Freud-1)/CC2D1A is genetically linked to intellectual disability and implicated in neuronal development. Freud-1 represses the serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) receptor gene HTR1A by histone deacetylase (HDAC)-dependent or HDAC-independent mechanisms in 5-HT1A-negative (e.g., HEK-293) or 5-HT1A-expressing cells (SK-N-SH), respectively. To identify the underlying mechanisms, Freud-1-associated proteins were affinity-purified from HEK-293 nuclear extracts and members of the Brg1/SMARCCA chromatin remodeling and Sin3A-HDAC corepressor complexes were identified. Pull-down assays using recombinant proteins showed that Freud-1 interacts directly with the Brg1 carboxyl-terminal domain; interaction with Brg1 required the carboxyl-terminal of Freud-1. Freud-1 complexes in HEK-293 and SK-N-SH cells differed, with low levels of BAF170/SMARCC2 and BAF57/SMARCE1 in HEK-293 cells and low-undetectable BAF155/SMARCC1, Sin3A, and HDAC1/2 in SK-N-SH cells. Similarly, by quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation, Brg1-BAF170/57 and Sin3A-HDAC complexes were observed at the HTR1A promoter in HEK-293 cells, whereas in SK-N-SH cells, Sin3A-HDAC proteins were not detected. Quantifying 5-HT1A receptor mRNA levels in cells treated with siRNA to Freud-1, Brg1, or both RNAs addressed the functional role of the Freud-1-Brg1 complex. In HEK-293 cells, 5-HT1A receptor mRNA levels were increased only when both Freud-1 and Brg1 were depleted, but in SK-N-SH cells, depletion of either protein upregulated 5-HT1A receptor RNA. Thus, recruitment by Freud-1 of Brg1, BAF155, and Sin3A-HDAC complexes appears to strengthen repression of the HTR1A gene to prevent its expression inappropriate cell types, while recruitment of the Brg1-BAF170/57 complex is permissive to 5-HT1A receptor expression. Alterations in Freud-1-Brg1 interactions in mutants associated with intellectual disability could impair gene repression leading to altered neuronal

  7. Epigenetic regulation of puberty via Zinc finger protein-mediated transcriptional repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomniczi, Alejandro; Wright, Hollis; Castellano, Juan Manuel; Matagne, Valerie; Toro, Carlos A; Ramaswamy, Suresh; Plant, Tony M; Ojeda, Sergio R

    2015-12-16

    In primates, puberty is unleashed by increased GnRH release from the hypothalamus following an interval of juvenile quiescence. GWAS implicates Zinc finger (ZNF) genes in timing human puberty. Here we show that hypothalamic expression of several ZNFs decreased in agonadal male monkeys in association with the pubertal reactivation of gonadotropin secretion. Expression of two of these ZNFs, GATAD1 and ZNF573, also decreases in peripubertal female monkeys. However, only GATAD1 abundance increases when gonadotropin secretion is suppressed during late infancy. Targeted delivery of GATAD1 or ZNF573 to the rat hypothalamus delays puberty by impairing the transition of a transcriptional network from an immature repressive epigenetic configuration to one of activation. GATAD1 represses transcription of two key puberty-related genes, KISS1 and TAC3, directly, and reduces the activating histone mark H3K4me2 at each promoter via recruitment of histone demethylase KDM1A. We conclude that GATAD1 epitomizes a subset of ZNFs involved in epigenetic repression of primate puberty.

  8. The transcription factor Mlc promotes Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation through repression of phosphotransferase system components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickering, Bradley S; Lopilato, Jane E; Smith, Daniel R; Watnick, Paula I

    2014-07-01

    The phosphoenol phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a multicomponent signal transduction cascade that regulates diverse aspects of bacterial cellular physiology in response to the availability of high-energy sugars in the environment. Many PTS components are repressed at the transcriptional level when the substrates they transport are not available. In Escherichia coli, the transcription factor Mlc (for makes large colonies) represses transcription of the genes encoding enzyme I (EI), histidine protein (HPr), and the glucose-specific enzyme IIBC (EIIBC(Glc)) in defined media that lack PTS substrates. When glucose is present, the unphosphorylated form of EIIBC(Glc) sequesters Mlc to the cell membrane, preventing its interaction with DNA. Very little is known about Vibrio cholerae Mlc. We found that V. cholerae Mlc activates biofilm formation in LB broth but not in defined medium supplemented with either pyruvate or glucose. Therefore, we questioned whether V. cholerae Mlc functions differently than E. coli Mlc. Here we have shown that, like E. coli Mlc, V. cholerae Mlc represses transcription of PTS components in both defined medium and LB broth and that E. coli Mlc is able to rescue the biofilm defect of a V. cholerae Δmlc mutant. Furthermore, we provide evidence that Mlc indirectly activates transcription of the vps genes by repressing expression of EI. Because activation of the vps genes by Mlc occurs under only a subset of the conditions in which repression of PTS components is observed, we conclude that additional inputs present in LB broth are required for activation of vps gene transcription by Mlc. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  9. Nitrogen Metabolite Repression of Metabolism and Virulence in the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, I. Russel; Chow, Eve W. L.; Morrow, Carl A.; Djordjevic, Julianne T.; Fraser, James A.

    2011-01-01

    Proper regulation of metabolism is essential to maximizing fitness of organisms in their chosen environmental niche. Nitrogen metabolite repression is an example of a regulatory mechanism in fungi that enables preferential utilization of easily assimilated nitrogen sources, such as ammonium, to conserve resources. Here we provide genetic, transcriptional, and phenotypic evidence of nitrogen metabolite repression in the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. In addition to loss of transcriptional activation of catabolic enzyme-encoding genes of the uric acid and proline assimilation pathways in the presence of ammonium, nitrogen metabolite repression also regulates the production of the virulence determinants capsule and melanin. Since GATA transcription factors are known to play a key role in nitrogen metabolite repression, bioinformatic analyses of the C. neoformans genome were undertaken and seven predicted GATA-type genes were identified. A screen of these deletion mutants revealed GAT1, encoding the only global transcription factor essential for utilization of a wide range of nitrogen sources, including uric acid, urea, and creatinine—three predominant nitrogen constituents found in the C. neoformans ecological niche. In addition to its evolutionarily conserved role in mediating nitrogen metabolite repression and controlling the expression of catabolic enzyme and permease-encoding genes, Gat1 also negatively regulates virulence traits, including infectious basidiospore production, melanin formation, and growth at high body temperature (39°–40°). Conversely, Gat1 positively regulates capsule production. A murine inhalation model of cryptococcosis revealed that the gat1Δ mutant is slightly more virulent than wild type, indicating that Gat1 plays a complex regulatory role during infection. PMID:21441208

  10. REST mediates androgen receptor actions on gene repression and predicts early recurrence of prostate cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, Charlotte; Ceder, Jens; Iglesias Gato, Diego

    2014-01-01

    The androgen receptor (AR) is a key regulator of prostate tumorgenesis through actions that are not fully understood. We identified the repressor element (RE)-1 silencing transcription factor (REST) as a mediator of AR actions on gene repression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that AR binds...... in cell cycle progression, including Aurora Kinase A, that has previously been implicated in the growth of NE-like castration-resistant tumors. The analysis of prostate cancer tissue microarrays revealed that tumors with reduced expression of REST have higher probability of early recurrence, independently...... of their Gleason score. The demonstration that REST modulates AR actions in prostate epithelia and that REST expression is negatively correlated with disease recurrence after prostatectomy, invite a deeper characterization of its role in prostate carcinogenesis....

  11. Transcription factors AS1 and AS2 interact with LHP1 to repress KNOX genes in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhongfei; Li, Bin; Liu, Jian; Guo, Zhihao; Liu, Yuhao; Li, Yan; Shen, Wen-Hui; Huang, Ying; Huang, Hai; Zhang, Yijing; Dong, Aiwu

    2016-12-01

    Polycomb group proteins are important repressors of numerous genes in higher eukaryotes. However, the mechanism by which Polycomb group proteins are recruited to specific genes is poorly understood. In Arabidopsis, LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (LHP1), also known as TERMINAL FLOWER 2, was originally proposed as a subunit of polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) that could bind the tri-methylated lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27me3) established by the PRC2. In this work, we show that LHP1 mainly functions with PRC2 to establish H3K27me3, but not with PRC1 to catalyze monoubiquitination at lysine 119 of histone H2A. Our results show that complexes of the transcription factors ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 1 (AS1) and AS2 could help to establish the H3K27me3 modification at the chromatin regions of Class-I KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX) genes BREVIPEDICELLUS and KNAT2 via direct interactions with LHP1. Additionally, our transcriptome analysis indicated that there are probably more common target genes of AS1 and LHP1 besides Class-I KNOX genes during leaf development in Arabidopsis. © 2016 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  12. A central regulatory system largely controls transcriptional activation and repression responses to phosphate starvation in Arabidopsis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regla Bustos

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Plants respond to different stresses by inducing or repressing transcription of partially overlapping sets of genes. In Arabidopsis, the PHR1 transcription factor (TF has an important role in the control of phosphate (Pi starvation stress responses. Using transcriptomic analysis of Pi starvation in phr1, and phr1 phr1-like (phl1 mutants and in wild type plants, we show that PHR1 in conjunction with PHL1 controls most transcriptional activation and repression responses to phosphate starvation, regardless of the Pi starvation specificity of these responses. Induced genes are enriched in PHR1 binding sequences (P1BS in their promoters, whereas repressed genes do not show such enrichment, suggesting that PHR1(-like control of transcriptional repression responses is indirect. In agreement with this, transcriptomic analysis of a transgenic plant expressing PHR1 fused to the hormone ligand domain of the glucocorticoid receptor showed that PHR1 direct targets (i.e., displaying altered expression after GR:PHR1 activation by dexamethasone in the presence of cycloheximide corresponded largely to Pi starvation-induced genes that are highly enriched in P1BS. A minimal promoter containing a multimerised P1BS recapitulates Pi starvation-specific responsiveness. Likewise, mutation of P1BS in the promoter of two Pi starvation-responsive genes impaired their responsiveness to Pi starvation, but not to other stress types. Phylogenetic footprinting confirmed the importance of P1BS and PHR1 in Pi starvation responsiveness and indicated that P1BS acts in concert with other cis motifs. All together, our data show that PHR1 and PHL1 are partially redundant TF acting as central integrators of Pi starvation responses, both specific and generic. In addition, they indicate that transcriptional repression responses are an integral part of adaptive responses to stress.

  13. ME31B globally represses maternal mRNAs by two distinct mechanisms during the Drosophila maternal-to-zygotic transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Miranda; Ly, Michael; Lugowski, Andrew; Laver, John D; Lipshitz, Howard D; Smibert, Craig A; Rissland, Olivia S

    2017-09-06

    In animal embryos, control of development is passed from exclusively maternal gene products to those encoded by the embryonic genome in a process referred to as the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). We show that the RNA-binding protein, ME31B, binds to and represses the expression of thousands of maternal mRNAs during the Drosophila MZT. However, ME31B carries out repression in different ways during different phases of the MZT. Early, it represses translation while, later, its binding leads to mRNA destruction, most likely as a consequence of translational repression in the context of robust mRNA decay. In a process dependent on the PNG kinase, levels of ME31B and its partners, Cup and Trailer Hitch (TRAL), decrease by over 10-fold during the MZT, leading to a change in the composition of mRNA-protein complexes. We propose that ME31B is a global repressor whose regulatory impact changes based on its biological context.

  14. The co-repressor SMRT delays DNA damage-induced caspase activation by repressing pro-apoptotic genes and modulating the dynamics of checkpoint kinase 2 activation.

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    Claudio Scafoglio

    Full Text Available Checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2 is a major regulator of DNA damage response and can induce alternative cellular responses: cell cycle arrest and DNA repair or programmed cell death. Here, we report the identification of a new role of Chk2 in transcriptional regulation that also contributes to modulating the balance between survival and apoptosis following DNA damage. We found that Chk2 interacts with members of the NCoR/SMRT transcriptional co-regulator complexes and serves as a functional component of the repressor complex, being required for recruitment of SMRT on the promoter of pro-apoptotic genes upon DNA damage. Thus, the co-repressor SMRT exerts a critical protective action against genotoxic stress-induced caspase activation, repressing a functionally important cohort of pro-apoptotic genes. Amongst them, SMRT is responsible for basal repression of Wip1, a phosphatase that de-phosphorylates and inactivates Chk2, thus affecting a feedback loop responsible for licensing the correct timing of Chk2 activation and the proper execution of the DNA repair process.

  15. HSI2/VAL1 PHD-like domain promotes H3K27 trimethylation to repress the expression of seed maturation genes and complex transgenes in Arabidopsis seedlings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veerappan, Vijaykumar; Chen, Naichong; Reichert, Angelika I; Allen, Randy D

    2014-11-01

    The novel mutant allele hsi2-4 was isolated in a genetic screen to identify Arabidopsis mutants with constitutively elevated expression of a glutathione S-transferase F8::luciferase (GSTF8::LUC) reporter gene in Arabidopsis. The hsi2-4 mutant harbors a point mutation that affects the plant homeodomain (PHD)-like domain in HIGH-LEVEL EXPRESSION OF SUGAR-INDUCIBLE GENE2 (HSI2)/VIVIPAROUS1/ABI3-LIKE1 (VAL1). In hsi2-4 seedlings, expression of this LUC transgene and certain endogenous seed-maturation genes is constitutively enhanced. The parental reporter line (WT LUC ) that was used for mutagenesis harbors two independent transgene loci, Kan R and Kan S . Both loci express luciferase whereas only the Kan R locus confers resistance to kanamycin. Here we show that both transgene loci harbor multiple tandem insertions at single sites. Luciferase expression from these sites is regulated by the HSI2 PHD-like domain, which is required for the deposition of repressive histone methylation marks (H3K27me3) at both Kan R and Kan S loci. Expression of LUC and Neomycin Phosphotransferase II transgenes is associated with dynamic changes in H3K27me3 levels, and the activation marks H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 but does not appear to involve repressive H3K9me2 marks, DNA methylation or histone deacetylation. However, hsi2-2 and hsi2-4 mutants are partially resistant to growth inhibition associated with exposure to the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. HSI2 is also required for the repression of a subset of regulatory and structural seed maturation genes in vegetative tissues and H3K27me3 marks associated with most of these genes are also HSI2-dependent. These data implicate HSI2 PHD-like domain in the regulation of gene expression involving histone modifications and DNA methylation-mediated epigenetic mechanisms.

  16. H-NS-mediated repression of CRISPR-based immunity in Escherichia coli K12 can be relieved by the transcription activator LeuO

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westra, E.R.; Pul, Ü.; Heidrich, N.; Jore, M.M.; Lundgren, N.M.J.; Stratmann, T.; Wurm, R.; Raine, A.; Mescher, M.; Heereveld, van L.; Mastop, M.; Wagner, E.G.H.; Schnetz, K.; Oost, van der J.; Wagner, R.; Brouns, S.J.J.

    2010-01-01

    The recently discovered prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas defence system provides immunity against viral infections and plasmid conjugation. It has been demonstrated that in Escherichia coli transcription of the Cascade genes (casABCDE) and to some extent the CRISPR array is repressed by heat-stable

  17. Global transcriptional analysis of nitrogen fixation and ammonium repression in root-associated Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Wei

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Biological nitrogen fixation is highly controlled at the transcriptional level by regulatory networks that respond to the availability of fixed nitrogen. In many diazotrophs, addition of excess ammonium in the growth medium results in immediate repression of nif gene transcription. Although the regulatory cascades that control the transcription of the nif genes in proteobacteria have been well investigated, there are limited data on the kinetics of ammonium-dependent repression of nitrogen fixation. Results Here we report a global transcriptional profiling analysis of nitrogen fixation and ammonium repression in Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501, a root-associated and nitrogen-fixing bacterium. A total of 166 genes, including those coding for the global nitrogen regulation (Ntr and Nif-specific regulatory proteins, were upregulated under nitrogen fixation conditions but rapidly downregulated as early as 10 min after ammonium shock. Among these nitrogen fixation-inducible genes, 95 have orthologs in each of Azoarcus sp. BH72 and Azotobacter vinelandii AvoP. In particular, a 49-kb expression island containing nif and other associated genes was markedly downregulated by ammonium shock. Further functional characterization of pnfA, a new NifA-σ54-dependent gene chromosomally linked to nifHDK, is reported. This gene encodes a protein product with an amino acid sequence similar to that of five hypothetical proteins found only in diazotrophic strains. No noticeable differences in the transcription of nifHDK were detected between the wild type strain and pnfA mutant. However, the mutant strain exhibited a significant decrease in nitrogenase activity under microaerobic conditions and lost its ability to use nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor for the support of nitrogen fixation under anaerobic conditions. Conclusions Based on our results, we conclude that transcriptional regulation of nif gene expression in A1501 is mediated by the nif

  18. Pluripotency factors and Polycomb Group proteins repress aryl hydrocarbon receptor expression in murine embryonic stem cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-I Ko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR is a transcription factor and environmental sensor that regulates expression of genes involved in drug-metabolism and cell cycle regulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses, Ahr ablation in mice and studies with orthologous genes in invertebrates suggest that AHR may also play a significant role in embryonic development. To address this hypothesis, we studied the regulation of Ahr expression in mouse embryonic stem cells and their differentiated progeny. In ES cells, interactions between OCT3/4, NANOG, SOX2 and Polycomb Group proteins at the Ahr promoter repress AHR expression, which can also be repressed by ectopic expression of reprogramming factors in hepatoma cells. In ES cells, unproductive RNA polymerase II binds at the Ahr transcription start site and drives the synthesis of short abortive transcripts. Activation of Ahr expression during differentiation follows from reversal of repressive marks in Ahr promoter chromatin, release of pluripotency factors and PcG proteins, binding of Sp factors, establishment of histone marks of open chromatin, and engagement of active RNAPII to drive full-length RNA transcript elongation. Our results suggest that reversible Ahr repression in ES cells holds the gene poised for expression and allows for a quick switch to activation during embryonic development.

  19. miRNA-dependent translational repression in the Drosophila ovary.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Reich

    Full Text Available The Drosophila ovary is a tissue rich in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Many of the regulatory factors are proteins identified via genetic screens. The more recent discovery of microRNAs, which in other animals and tissues appear to regulate translation of a large fraction of all mRNAs, raised the possibility that they too might act during oogenesis. However, there has been no direct demonstration of microRNA-dependent translational repression in the ovary.Here, quantitative analyses of transcript and protein levels of transgenes with or without synthetic miR-312 binding sites show that the binding sites do confer translational repression. This effect is dependent on the ability of the cells to produce microRNAs. By comparison with microRNA-dependent translational repression in other cell types, the regulated mRNAs and the protein factors that mediate repression were expected to be enriched in sponge bodies, subcellular structures with extensive similarities to the P bodies found in other cells. However, no such enrichment was observed.Our results reveal the variety of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that operate in the Drosophila ovary, and have implications for the mechanisms of miRNA-dependent translational control used in the ovary.

  20. Threshold-dependent repression of SPL gene expression by miR156/miR157 controls vegetative phase change in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia He

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Vegetative phase change is regulated by a decrease in the abundance of the miRNAs, miR156 and miR157, and the resulting increase in the expression of their targets, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL transcription factors. To determine how miR156/miR157 specify the quantitative and qualitative changes in leaf morphology that occur during vegetative phase change, we measured their abundance in successive leaves and characterized the phenotype of mutations in different MIR156 and MIR157 genes. miR156/miR157 decline rapidly between leaf 1&2 and leaf 3 and decrease more slowly after this point. The amount of miR156/miR157 in leaves 1&2 greatly exceeds the threshold required to specify their identity. Subsequent leaves have relatively low levels of miR156/miR157 and are sensitive to small changes in their abundance. In these later-formed leaves, the amount of miR156/miR157 is close to the threshold required to specify juvenile vs. adult identity; a relatively small decrease in the abundance of miR156/157 in these leaves produces a disproportionately large increase in SPL proteins and a significant change in leaf morphology. miR157 is more abundant than miR156 but has a smaller effect on shoot morphology and SPL gene expression than miR156. This may be attributable to the inefficiency with which miR157 is loaded onto AGO1, as well as to the presence of an extra nucleotide at the 5' end of miR157 that is mis-paired in the miR157:SPL13 duplex. miR156 represses different targets by different mechanisms: it regulates SPL9 by a combination of transcript cleavage and translational repression and regulates SPL13 primarily by translational repression. Our results offer a molecular explanation for the changes in leaf morphology that occur during shoot development in Arabidopsis and provide new insights into the mechanism by which miR156 and miR157 regulate gene expression.

  1. Fate of the H-NS-repressed bgl operon in evolution of Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T Sabari Sankar

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available In the enterobacterial species Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, expression of horizontally acquired genes with a higher than average AT content is repressed by the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS. A classical example of an H-NS-repressed locus is the bgl (aryl-beta,D-glucoside operon of E. coli. This locus is "cryptic," as no laboratory growth conditions are known to relieve repression of bgl by H-NS in E. coli K12. However, repression can be relieved by spontaneous mutations. Here, we investigated the phylogeny of the bgl operon. Typing of bgl in a representative collection of E. coli demonstrated that it evolved clonally and that it is present in strains of the phylogenetic groups A, B1, and B2, while it is presumably replaced by a cluster of ORFans in the phylogenetic group D. Interestingly, the bgl operon is mutated in 20% of the strains of phylogenetic groups A and B1, suggesting erosion of bgl in these groups. However, bgl is functional in almost all B2 isolates and, in approximately 50% of them, it is weakly expressed at laboratory growth conditions. Homologs of bgl genes exist in Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Erwinia species and also in low GC-content Gram-positive bacteria, while absent in E. albertii and Salmonella sp. This suggests horizontal transfer of bgl genes to an ancestral Enterobacterium. Conservation and weak expression of bgl in isolates of phylogenetic group B2 may indicate a functional role of bgl in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli.

  2. The Transcription Factor STAT6 Mediates Direct Repression of Inflammatory Enhancers and Limits Activation of Alternatively Polarized Macrophages

    OpenAIRE

    Czimmerer, Zsolt; Daniel, Bence; Horvath, Attila; Rückerl, Dominik; Nagy, Gergely; Kiss, Mate; Peloquin, Matthew; Budai, Marietta M.; Cuaranta-Monroy, Ixchelt; Simandi, Zoltan; Steiner, Laszlo; Nagy, Bela; Poliska, Szilard; Banko, Csaba; Bacso, Zsolt

    2018-01-01

    Summary The molecular basis of signal-dependent transcriptional activation has been extensively studied in macrophage polarization, but our understanding remains limited regarding the molecular determinants of repression. Here we show that IL-4-activated STAT6 transcription factor is required for the direct transcriptional repression of a large number of genes during in vitro and in vivo alternative macrophage polarization. Repression results in decreased lineage-determining transcription fac...

  3. An upstream open reading frame represses expression of Lc, a member of the R/B family of maize transcriptional activators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Damiani, R.D. Jr.; Wessler, S.R. (Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States))

    1993-09-01

    The R/B genes of maize encode a family of basic helix-loop-helix proteins that determine where and when the anthocyanin-pigment pathway will be expressed in the plant. Previous studies showed that allelic diversity among family members reflects differences in gene expression, specifically in transcription initiation. The authors present evidence that the R gene Lc is under translational control. They demonstrate that the 235-nt transcript leader of Lc represses expression 25- to 30-fold in an in vivo assay. Repression is mediated by the presence in cis of a 38-codon upstream open reading frame. Furthermore, the coding capacity of the upstream open reading frame influences the magnitude of repression. It is proposed that translational control does not contribute to tissue specificity but prevents overexpression of the Lc protein. The diversity of promoter and 5' untranslated leader sequences among the R/B genes provides an opportunity to study the coevolution of transcriptional and translational mechanisms of gene regulation. 36 refs., 5 figs.

  4. ATF3 represses PPARγ expression and inhibits adipocyte differentiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jang, Min-Kyung; Jung, Myeong Ho, E-mail: jung0603@pusan.ac.kr

    2014-11-07

    Highlights: • ATF3 decrease the expression of PPARγ and its target gene in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. • ATF3 represses the promoter activity of PPARγ2 gene. • ATF/CRE (−1537/−1530) is critical for ATF3-mediated downregulation of PPARγ. • ATF3 binds to the promoter region containing the ATF/CRE. • ER stress inhibits adipocyte differentiation through downregulation of PPARγ by ATF3. - Abstract: Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a stress-adaptive transcription factor that mediates cellular stress response signaling. We previously reported that ATF3 represses CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) expression and inhibits 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation. In this study, we explored potential role of ATF3 in negatively regulating peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ). ATF3 decreased the expression of PPARγ and its target gene in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. ATF3 also repressed the activity of −2.6 Kb promoter of mouse PPARγ2. Overexpression of PPARγ significantly prevented the ATF3-mediated inhibition of 3T3-L1 differentiation. Transfection studies with 5′ deleted-reporters showed that ATF3 repressed the activity of −2037 bp promoter, whereas it did not affect the activity of −1458 bp promoter, suggesting that ATF3 responsive element is located between the −2037 and −1458. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that ATF3 binds to ATF/CRE site (5′-TGACGTTT-3′) between −1537 and −1530. Mutation of the ATF/CRE site abrogated ATF3-mediated transrepression of the PPARγ2 promoter. Treatment with thapsigargin, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inducer, increased ATF3 expression, whereas it decreased PPARγ expression. ATF3 knockdown significantly blocked the thapsigargin-mediated downregulation of PPARγ expression. Furthermore, overexpression of PPARγ prevented inhibition of 3T3-L1 differentiation by thapsigargin. Collectively, these results suggest that ATF3-mediated

  5. Murine craniofacial development requires Hdac3-mediated repression of Msx gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Nikhil; Gupta, Mudit; Trivedi, Chinmay M; Singh, Manvendra K; Li, Li; Epstein, Jonathan A

    2013-05-15

    Craniofacial development is characterized by reciprocal interactions between neural crest cells and neighboring cell populations of ectodermal, endodermal and mesodermal origin. Various genetic pathways play critical roles in coordinating the development of cranial structures by modulating the growth, survival and differentiation of neural crest cells. However, the regulation of these pathways, particularly at the epigenomic level, remains poorly understood. Using murine genetics, we show that neural crest cells exhibit a requirement for the class I histone deacetylase Hdac3 during craniofacial development. Mice in which Hdac3 has been conditionally deleted in neural crest demonstrate fully penetrant craniofacial abnormalities, including microcephaly, cleft secondary palate and dental hypoplasia. Consistent with these abnormalities, we observe dysregulation of cell cycle genes and increased apoptosis in neural crest structures in mutant embryos. Known regulators of cell cycle progression and apoptosis in neural crest, including Msx1, Msx2 and Bmp4, are upregulated in Hdac3-deficient cranial mesenchyme. These results suggest that Hdac3 serves as a critical regulator of craniofacial morphogenesis, in part by repressing core apoptotic pathways in cranial neural crest cells. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Optimizing sgRNA position markedly improves the efficiency of CRISPR/dCas9-mediated transcriptional repression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Radzisheuskaya, Aliaksandra; Shlyueva, Daria; Müller, Iris

    2016-01-01

    CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) represents a newly developed tool for targeted gene repression. It has great application potential for studying gene function and mapping gene regulatory elements. However, the optimal parameters for efficient single guide RNA (sgRNA) design for CRISPRi are not fully...

  7. Spot 42 Small RNA Regulates Arabinose-Inducible araBAD Promoter Activity by Repressing Synthesis of the High-Affinity Low-Capacity Arabinose Transporter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiandong

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT The l-arabinose-inducible araBAD promoter (PBAD) enables tightly controlled and tunable expression of genes of interest in a broad range of bacterial species. It has been used successfully to study bacterial sRNA regulation, where PBAD drives expression of target mRNA translational fusions. Here we report that in Escherichia coli, Spot 42 sRNA regulates PBAD promoter activity by affecting arabinose uptake. We demonstrate that Spot 42 sRNA represses araF, a gene encoding the AraF subunit of the high-affinity low-capacity arabinose transporter AraFGH, through direct base-pairing interactions. We further show that endogenous Spot 42 sRNA is sufficient to repress araF expression under various growth conditions. Finally, we demonstrate this posttranscriptional repression has a biological consequence, decreasing the induction of PBAD at low levels of arabinose. This problem can be circumvented using strategies reported previously for avoiding all-or-none induction behavior, such as through constitutive expression of the low-affinity high-capacity arabinose transporter AraE or induction with a higher concentration of inducers. This work adds araF to the set of Spot 42-regulated genes, in agreement with previous studies suggesting that Spot 42, itself negatively regulated by the cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein-cAMP complex, reinforces the catabolite repression network. IMPORTANCE The bacterial arabinose-inducible system is widely used for titratable control of gene expression. We demonstrate here that a posttranscriptional mechanism mediated by Spot 42 sRNA contributes to the functionality of the PBAD system at subsaturating inducer concentrations by affecting inducer uptake. Our finding extends the inputs into the known transcriptional control for the PBAD system and has implications for improving its usage for tunable gene expression. PMID:27849174

  8. A nitrogen source-dependent inducible and repressible gene expression system in the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takayuki eFujiwara

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae is a model organism for studying the basic biology of photosynthetic organisms. The C. merolae cell is composed of an extremely simple set of organelles. The genome is completely sequenced. Gene targeting and a heat-shock inducible gene expression system has been recently established. However, a conditional gene knockdown system has not been established, which is required for the examination of function of genes that are essential to cell viability and primary mutant defects. In the current study, we first evaluated the expression of a transgene from two chromosomal neutral loci located in the intergenic region between CMD184C and CMD185C, and a region upstream of the URA5.3 gene. There was no significant difference in expression between them and this result suggests that both may be used as neutral loci. We then designed an inducible and repressible gene expression by using promoters of nitrate-assimilation genes. The expression of nitrate-assimilation genes such as NR (nitrate reductase, NIR (nitrite reductase and NRT (the nitrate/nitrite transporter are reversibly regulated by their dependence on nitrogen sources. We constructed stable strains in which a cassette containing the NR, NIR or NRT promoter and sfGFP gene was inserted in a region upstream of URA5.3 and examined the efficacy of the promoters. The NR, NIR, and NRT promoters were constitutively activated in the nitrate medium, whereas their activities were extremely low in presence of ammonium. The activation of each promoter was immediately inhibited within a period of 1 hour by the addition of ammonium. Thus, a conditional knockdown system in C. merolae was successfully established. The activity varies among the promoters, and each is selectable according to the expression level of a target gene estimated by RNA-sequencing. This method is applicable to defects in genes of interest in photosynthetic organism.

  9. Interplay between the catabolite repression control protein Crc, Hfq and RNA in Hfq-dependent translational regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonnleitner, Elisabeth; Wulf, Alexander; Campagne, Sébastien; Pei, Xue-Yuan; Wolfinger, Michael T; Forlani, Giada; Prindl, Konstantin; Abdou, Laetitia; Resch, Armin; Allain, Frederic H-T; Luisi, Ben F; Urlaub, Henning; Bläsi, Udo

    2018-02-16

    In Pseudomonas aeruginosa the RNA chaperone Hfq and the catabolite repression control protein (Crc) act as post-transcriptional regulators during carbon catabolite repression (CCR). In this regard Crc is required for full-fledged Hfq-mediated translational repression of catabolic genes. RNAseq based transcriptome analyses revealed a significant overlap between the Crc and Hfq regulons, which in conjunction with genetic data supported a concerted action of both proteins. Biochemical and biophysical approaches further suggest that Crc and Hfq form an assembly in the presence of RNAs containing A-rich motifs, and that Crc interacts with both, Hfq and RNA. Through these interactions, Crc enhances the stability of Hfq/Crc/RNA complexes, which can explain its facilitating role in Hfq-mediated translational repression. Hence, these studies revealed for the first time insights into how an interacting protein can modulate Hfq function. Moreover, Crc is shown to interfere with binding of a regulatory RNA to Hfq, which bears implications for riboregulation. These results are discussed in terms of a working model, wherein Crc prioritizes the function of Hfq toward utilization of favored carbon sources.

  10. The yeast ADH7 promoter enables gene expression under pronounced translation repression caused by the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishida, Yoko; Nguyen, Trinh Thi My; Izawa, Shingo

    2017-06-20

    Lignocellulosic biomass conversion inhibitors such as vanillin, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) inhibit the growth of and fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A high concentration of each fermentation inhibitor represses translation and increases non-translated mRNAs. We previously reported that the mRNAs of ADH7 and BDH2, which encode putative NADPH- and NADH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases, respectively, were efficiently translated even with translation repression in response to severe vanillin stress. However, the combined effects of these fermentation inhibitors on the expression of ADH7 and BDH2 remain unclear. We herein demonstrated that exposure to a combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF repressed translation. The protein synthesis of Adh7, but not Bdh2 was significantly induced under combined stress conditions, even though the mRNA levels of ADH7 and BDH2 were up-regulated. Additionally, adh7Δ cells were more sensitive to the combined stress than wild-type and bdh2Δ cells. These results suggest that induction of the ADH7 expression plays a role in the tolerance to the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF. Furthermore, we succeeded in improving yeast tolerance to the combined stress by controlling the expression of ALD6 with the ADH7 promoter. Our results demonstrate that the ADH7 promoter can overcome the pronounced translation repression caused by the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF, and also suggest a new gene engineering strategy to breed robust and optimized yeasts for bioethanol production from a lignocellulosic biomass. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A single cis element maintains repression of the key developmental regulator Gata2.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan W Snow

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available In development, lineage-restricted transcription factors simultaneously promote differentiation while repressing alternative fates. Molecular dissection of this process has been challenging as transcription factor loci are regulated by many trans-acting factors functioning through dispersed cis elements. It is not understood whether these elements function collectively to confer transcriptional regulation, or individually to control specific aspects of activation or repression, such as initiation versus maintenance. Here, we have analyzed cis element regulation of the critical hematopoietic factor Gata2, which is expressed in early precursors and repressed as GATA-1 levels rise during terminal differentiation. We engineered mice lacking a single cis element -1.8 kb upstream of the Gata2 transcriptional start site. Although Gata2 is normally repressed in late-stage erythroblasts, the -1.8 kb mutation unexpectedly resulted in reactivated Gata2 transcription, blocked differentiation, and an aberrant lineage-specific gene expression pattern. Our findings demonstrate that the -1.8 kb site selectively maintains repression, confers a specific histone modification pattern and expels RNA Polymerase II from the locus. These studies reveal how an individual cis element establishes a normal developmental program via regulating specific steps in the mechanism by which a critical transcription factor is repressed.

  12. The Reg1-interacting proteins, Bmh1, Bmh2, Ssb1, and Ssb2, have roles in maintaining glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dombek, Kenneth M; Kacherovsky, Nataly; Young, Elton T

    2004-09-10

    In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type 1 protein phosphatase complex composed of the Glc7 catalytic subunit and the Reg1 regulatory subunit represses expression of many glucose-regulated genes. Here we show that the Reg1-interacting proteins Bmh1, Bmh2, Ssb1, and Ssb2 have roles in glucose repression. Deleting both BMH genes causes partially constitutive ADH2 expression without significantly increasing the level of Adr1 protein, the major activator of ADH2 expression. Adr1 and Bcy1, the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, are both required for this effect indicating that constitutive expression in Deltabmh1Deltabmh2 cells uses the same activation pathway that operates in Deltareg1 cells. Deletion of both BMH genes and REG1 causes a synergistic relief from repression, suggesting that Bmh proteins also act independently of Reg1 during glucose repression. A two-hybrid interaction with the Bmh proteins was mapped to amino acids 187-232, a region of Reg1 that is conserved in different classes of fungi. Deleting this region partially releases SUC2 from glucose repression. This indicates a role for the Reg1-Bmh interaction in glucose repression and also suggests a broad role for Bmh proteins in this process. An in vivo Reg1-Bmh interaction was confirmed by copurification of Bmh proteins with HA(3)-TAP-tagged Reg1. The nonconventional heat shock proteins Ssb1 and Ssb2 are also copurified with HA(3)-TAP-tagged Reg1. Deletion of both SSB genes modestly decreases repression of ADH2 expression in the presence of glucose, suggesting that Ssb proteins, perhaps through their interaction with Reg1, play a minor role in glucose repression.

  13. Trichostatin A enhances estrogen receptor-alpha repression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells under hypoxia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noh, Hyunggyun; Park, Joonwoo; Shim, Myeongguk; Lee, YoungJoo

    2016-01-01

    Estrogen receptor (ER) is a crucial determinant of resistance to endocrine therapy, which may change during the progression of breast cancer. We previously showed that hypoxia induces ESR1 gene repression and ERα protein degradation via proteasome-mediated pathway in breast cancer cells. HDAC plays important roles in the regulation of histone and non-histone protein post-translational modification. HDAC inhibitors can induce epigenetic changes and have therapeutic potential for targeting various cancers. Trichostatin A exerts potent antitumor activities against breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In this report, we show that TSA augments ESR1 gene repression at the transcriptional level and downregulates ERα protein expression under hypoxic conditions through a proteasome-mediated pathway. TSA-induced estrogen response element-driven reporter activity in the absence of estrogen was synergistically enhanced under hypoxia; however, TSA inhibited cell proliferation under both normoxia and hypoxia. Our data show that the hypoxia-induced repression of ESR1 and degradation of ERα are enhanced by concomitant treatment with TSA. These findings expand our understanding of hormone responsiveness in the tumor microenvironment; however, additional in-depth studies are required to elucidate the detailed mechanisms of TSA-induced ERα regulation under hypoxia. - Highlights: • TSA augments ESR1 gene repression at the transcriptional level under hypoxia. • TSA downregulates ERα protein expression under hypoxia. • TSA-induced ERα regulation under hypoxia is essential for understanding the behavior and progression of breast cancer.

  14. Trichostatin A enhances estrogen receptor-alpha repression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells under hypoxia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noh, Hyunggyun; Park, Joonwoo; Shim, Myeongguk; Lee, YoungJoo, E-mail: yjlee@sejong.ac.kr

    2016-02-12

    Estrogen receptor (ER) is a crucial determinant of resistance to endocrine therapy, which may change during the progression of breast cancer. We previously showed that hypoxia induces ESR1 gene repression and ERα protein degradation via proteasome-mediated pathway in breast cancer cells. HDAC plays important roles in the regulation of histone and non-histone protein post-translational modification. HDAC inhibitors can induce epigenetic changes and have therapeutic potential for targeting various cancers. Trichostatin A exerts potent antitumor activities against breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In this report, we show that TSA augments ESR1 gene repression at the transcriptional level and downregulates ERα protein expression under hypoxic conditions through a proteasome-mediated pathway. TSA-induced estrogen response element-driven reporter activity in the absence of estrogen was synergistically enhanced under hypoxia; however, TSA inhibited cell proliferation under both normoxia and hypoxia. Our data show that the hypoxia-induced repression of ESR1 and degradation of ERα are enhanced by concomitant treatment with TSA. These findings expand our understanding of hormone responsiveness in the tumor microenvironment; however, additional in-depth studies are required to elucidate the detailed mechanisms of TSA-induced ERα regulation under hypoxia. - Highlights: • TSA augments ESR1 gene repression at the transcriptional level under hypoxia. • TSA downregulates ERα protein expression under hypoxia. • TSA-induced ERα regulation under hypoxia is essential for understanding the behavior and progression of breast cancer.

  15. Primetime for Learning Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keifer, Joyce

    2017-02-11

    Learning genes in mature neurons are uniquely suited to respond rapidly to specific environmental stimuli. Expression of individual learning genes, therefore, requires regulatory mechanisms that have the flexibility to respond with transcriptional activation or repression to select appropriate physiological and behavioral responses. Among the mechanisms that equip genes to respond adaptively are bivalent domains. These are specific histone modifications localized to gene promoters that are characteristic of both gene activation and repression, and have been studied primarily for developmental genes in embryonic stem cells. In this review, studies of the epigenetic regulation of learning genes in neurons, particularly the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene ( BDNF ), by methylation/demethylation and chromatin modifications in the context of learning and memory will be highlighted. Because of the unique function of learning genes in the mature brain, it is proposed that bivalent domains are a characteristic feature of the chromatin landscape surrounding their promoters. This allows them to be "poised" for rapid response to activate or repress gene expression depending on environmental stimuli.

  16. Mediator complex cooperatively regulates transcription of retinoic acid target genes with Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 during neuronal differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukasawa, Rikiya; Iida, Satoshi; Tsutsui, Taiki; Hirose, Yutaka; Ohkuma, Yoshiaki

    2015-11-01

    The Mediator complex (Mediator) plays key roles in transcription and functions as the nexus for integration of various transcriptional signals. Previously, we screened for Mediator cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-interacting factors and identified three proteins related to chromatin regulation. One of them, SUZ12 is required for both stability and activity of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). PRC2 primarily suppresses gene expression through histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation, resulting in stem cell maintenance and differentiation; perturbation of this process leads to oncogenesis. Recent work showed that Mediator contributes to the embryonic stem cell state through DNA loop formation, which is strongly associated with chromatin architecture; however, it remains unclear how Mediator regulates gene expression in cooperation with chromatin regulators (i.e. writers, readers and remodelers). We found that Mediator CDKs interact directly with the PRC2 subunit EZH2, as well as SUZ12. Known PRC2 target genes were deregulated by Mediator CDK knockdown during neuronal differentiation, and both Mediator and PRC2 complexes co-occupied the promoters of developmental genes regulated by retinoic acid. Our results provide a mechanistic link between Mediator and PRC2 during neuronal differentiation. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.

  17. An Alternative Transcript of the FOG-2 Gene Encodes a FOG-2 Isoform lacking the FOG Repression Motif

    OpenAIRE

    Dale, Rodney M.; Remo, Benjamin F.; Svensson, Eric C.

    2007-01-01

    The FOG family of transcriptional co-factors is composed of two members in mammals: FOG-1 and FOG-2. Both have been shown to bind to GATA factors and function as transcriptional co-repressors in specific cell and promoter contexts. We have previously defined a novel repression domain localized to the N-terminus of each FOG family member, the FOG Repression Motif, which is necessary for FOG-mediated transcriptional repression. In this report, we describe the identification and characterization...

  18. Genome‐wide DNA methylation analysis identifies MEGF10 as a novel epigenetically repressed candidate tumor suppressor gene in neuroblastoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlet, Jessica; Tomari, Ayumi; Dallosso, Anthony R.; Szemes, Marianna; Kaselova, Martina; Curry, Thomas J.; Almutairi, Bader; Etchevers, Heather C.; McConville, Carmel; Malik, Karim T. A.

    2016-01-01

    Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer in which many children still have poor outcomes, emphasising the need to better understand its pathogenesis. Despite recent genome‐wide mutation analyses, many primary neuroblastomas do not contain recognizable driver mutations, implicating alternate molecular pathologies such as epigenetic alterations. To discover genes that become epigenetically deregulated during neuroblastoma tumorigenesis, we took the novel approach of comparing neuroblastomas to neural crest precursor cells, using genome‐wide DNA methylation analysis. We identified 93 genes that were significantly differentially methylated of which 26 (28%) were hypermethylated and 67 (72%) were hypomethylated. Concentrating on hypermethylated genes to identify candidate tumor suppressor loci, we found the cell engulfment and adhesion factor gene MEGF10 to be epigenetically repressed by DNA hypermethylation or by H3K27/K9 methylation in neuroblastoma cell lines. MEGF10 showed significantly down‐regulated expression in neuroblastoma tumor samples; furthermore patients with the lowest‐expressing tumors had reduced relapse‐free survival. Our functional studies showed that knock‐down of MEGF10 expression in neuroblastoma cell lines promoted cell growth, consistent with MEGF10 acting as a clinically relevant, epigenetically deregulated neuroblastoma tumor suppressor gene. © 2016 The Authors. Molecular Carcinogenesis Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:27862318

  19. RNAi and heterochromatin repress centromeric meiotic recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellermeier, Chad; Higuchi, Emily C; Phadnis, Naina

    2010-01-01

    During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes, is essen......During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes....... Surprisingly, one mutant derepressed for recombination in the heterochromatic mating-type region during meiosis and several mutants derepressed for centromeric gene expression during mitotic growth are not derepressed for centromeric recombination during meiosis. These results reveal a complex relation between...... types of repression by heterochromatin. Our results also reveal a previously undemonstrated role for RNAi and heterochromatin in the repression of meiotic centromeric recombination and, potentially, in the prevention of birth defects by maintenance of proper chromosome segregation during meiosis....

  20. Neural Progenitors Adopt Specific Identities by Directly Repressing All Alternative Progenitor Transcriptional Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutejova, Eva; Sasai, Noriaki; Shah, Ankita; Gouti, Mina; Briscoe, James

    2016-03-21

    In the vertebrate neural tube, a morphogen-induced transcriptional network produces multiple molecularly distinct progenitor domains, each generating different neuronal subtypes. Using an in vitro differentiation system, we defined gene expression signatures of distinct progenitor populations and identified direct gene-regulatory inputs corresponding to locations of specific transcription factor binding. Combined with targeted perturbations of the network, this revealed a mechanism in which a progenitor identity is installed by active repression of the entire transcriptional programs of other neural progenitor fates. In the ventral neural tube, sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling, together with broadly expressed transcriptional activators, concurrently activates the gene expression programs of several domains. The specific outcome is selected by repressive input provided by Shh-induced transcription factors that act as the key nodes in the network, enabling progenitors to adopt a single definitive identity from several initially permitted options. Together, the data suggest design principles relevant to many developing tissues. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Orphan nuclear receptor TLX recruits histone deacetylases to repress transcription and regulate neural stem cell proliferation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Guoqiang; Yu, Ruth T; Evans, Ronald M; Shi, Yanhong

    2007-09-25

    TLX is a transcription factor that is essential for neural stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. However, the molecular mechanism of TLX-mediated neural stem cell proliferation and self-renewal is largely unknown. We show here that TLX recruits histone deacetylases (HDACs) to its downstream target genes to repress their transcription, which in turn regulates neural stem cell proliferation. TLX interacts with HDAC3 and HDAC5 in neural stem cells. The HDAC5-interaction domain was mapped to TLX residues 359-385, which contains a conserved nuclear receptor-coregulator interaction motif IXXLL. Both HDAC3 and HDAC5 have been shown to be recruited to the promoters of TLX target genes along with TLX in neural stem cells. Recruitment of HDACs led to transcriptional repression of TLX target genes, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21(CIP1/WAF1)(p21), and the tumor suppressor gene, pten. Either inhibition of HDAC activity or knockdown of HDAC expression led to marked induction of p21 and pten gene expression and dramatically reduced neural stem cell proliferation, suggesting that the TLX-interacting HDACs play an important role in neural stem cell proliferation. Moreover, expression of a TLX peptide containing the minimal HDAC5 interaction domain disrupted the TLX-HDAC5 interaction. Disruption of this interaction led to significant induction of p21 and pten gene expression and to dramatic inhibition of neural stem cell proliferation. Taken together, these findings demonstrate a mechanism for neural stem cell proliferation through transcriptional repression of p21 and pten gene expression by TLX-HDAC interactions.

  2. Functional microarray analysis suggests repressed cell-cell signaling and cell survival-related modules inhibit progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soares Fernando A

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cancer shows a great diversity in its clinical behavior which cannot be easily predicted using the currently available clinical or pathological markers. The identification of pathways associated with lymph node metastasis (N+ and recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC may increase our understanding of the complex biology of this disease. Methods Tumor samples were obtained from untreated HNSCC patients undergoing surgery. Patients were classified according to pathologic lymph node status (positive or negative or tumor recurrence (recurrent or non-recurrent tumor after treatment (surgery with neck dissection followed by radiotherapy. Using microarray gene expression, we screened tumor samples according to modules comprised by genes in the same pathway or functional category. Results The most frequent alterations were the repression of modules in negative lymph node (N0 and in non-recurrent tumors rather than induction of modules in N+ or in recurrent tumors. N0 tumors showed repression of modules that contain cell survival genes and in non-recurrent tumors cell-cell signaling and extracellular region modules were repressed. Conclusions The repression of modules that contain cell survival genes in N0 tumors reinforces the important role that apoptosis plays in the regulation of metastasis. In addition, because tumor samples used here were not microdissected, tumor gene expression data are represented together with the stroma, which may reveal signaling between the microenvironment and tumor cells. For instance, in non-recurrent tumors, extracellular region module was repressed, indicating that the stroma and tumor cells may have fewer interactions, which disable metastasis development. Finally, the genes highlighted in our analysis can be implicated in more than one pathway or characteristic, suggesting that therapeutic approaches to prevent tumor progression should target more than one gene or pathway

  3. Oxygen-Dependent Transcriptional Regulator Hap1p Limits Glucose Uptake by Repressing the Expression of the Major Glucose Transporter Gene RAG1 in Kluyveromyces lactis▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Wei-Guo; Guiard, Bernard; Fang, Zi-An; Donnini, Claudia; Gervais, Michel; Passos, Flavia M. Lopes; Ferrero, Iliana; Fukuhara, Hiroshi; Bolotin-Fukuhara, Monique

    2008-01-01

    The HAP1 (CYP1) gene product of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is known to regulate the transcription of many genes in response to oxygen availability. This response varies according to yeast species, probably reflecting the specific nature of their oxidative metabolism. It is suspected that a difference in the interaction of Hap1p with its target genes may explain some of the species-related variation in oxygen responses. As opposed to the fermentative S. cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces lactis is an aerobic yeast species which shows different oxygen responses. We examined the role of the HAP1-equivalent gene (KlHAP1) in K. lactis. KlHap1p showed a number of sequence features and some gene targets (such as KlCYC1) in common with its S. cerevisiae counterpart, and KlHAP1 was capable of complementing the hap1 mutation. However, the KlHAP1 disruptant showed temperature-sensitive growth on glucose, especially at low glucose concentrations. At normal temperature, 28°C, the mutant grew well, the colony size being even greater than that of the wild type. The most striking observation was that KlHap1p repressed the expression of the major glucose transporter gene RAG1 and reduced the glucose uptake rate. This suggested an involvement of KlHap1p in the regulation of glycolytic flux through the glucose transport system. The ΔKlhap1 mutant showed an increased ability to produce ethanol during aerobic growth, indicating a possible transformation of its physiological property to Crabtree positivity or partial Crabtree positivity. Dual roles of KlHap1p in activating respiration and repressing fermentation may be seen as a basis of the Crabtree-negative physiology of K. lactis. PMID:18806211

  4. Single-base resolution maps of cultivated and wild rice methylomes and regulatory roles of DNA methylation in plant gene expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Xin

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background DNA methylation plays important biological roles in plants and animals. To examine the rice genomic methylation landscape and assess its functional significance, we generated single-base resolution DNA methylome maps for Asian cultivated rice Oryza sativa ssp. japonica, indica and their wild relatives, Oryza rufipogon and Oryza nivara. Results The overall methylation level of rice genomes is four times higher than that of Arabidopsis. Consistent with the results reported for Arabidopsis, methylation in promoters represses gene expression while gene-body methylation generally appears to be positively associated with gene expression. Interestingly, we discovered that methylation in gene transcriptional termination regions (TTRs can significantly repress gene expression, and the effect is even stronger than that of promoter methylation. Through integrated analysis of genomic, DNA methylomic and transcriptomic differences between cultivated and wild rice, we found that primary DNA sequence divergence is the major determinant of methylational differences at the whole genome level, but DNA methylational difference alone can only account for limited gene expression variation between the cultivated and wild rice. Furthermore, we identified a number of genes with significant difference in methylation level between the wild and cultivated rice. Conclusions The single-base resolution methylomes of rice obtained in this study have not only broadened our understanding of the mechanism and function of DNA methylation in plant genomes, but also provided valuable data for future studies of rice epigenetics and the epigenetic differentiation between wild and cultivated rice.

  5. CTCF and CohesinSA-1 Mark Active Promoters and Boundaries of Repressive Chromatin Domains in Primary Human Erythroid Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie A Steiner

    Full Text Available CTCF and cohesinSA-1 are regulatory proteins involved in a number of critical cellular processes including transcription, maintenance of chromatin domain architecture, and insulator function. To assess changes in the CTCF and cohesinSA-1 interactomes during erythropoiesis, chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high throughput sequencing and mRNA transcriptome analyses via RNA-seq were performed in primary human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC and primary human erythroid cells from single donors.Sites of CTCF and cohesinSA-1 co-occupancy were enriched in gene promoters in HSPC and erythroid cells compared to single CTCF or cohesin sites. Cell type-specific CTCF sites in erythroid cells were linked to highly expressed genes, with the opposite pattern observed in HSPCs. Chromatin domains were identified by ChIP-seq with antibodies against trimethylated lysine 27 histone H3, a modification associated with repressive chromatin. Repressive chromatin domains increased in both number and size during hematopoiesis, with many more repressive domains in erythroid cells than HSPCs. CTCF and cohesinSA-1 marked the boundaries of these repressive chromatin domains in a cell-type specific manner.These genome wide data, changes in sites of protein occupancy, chromatin architecture, and related gene expression, support the hypothesis that CTCF and cohesinSA-1 have multiple roles in the regulation of gene expression during erythropoiesis including transcriptional regulation at gene promoters and maintenance of chromatin architecture. These data from primary human erythroid cells provide a resource for studies of normal and perturbed erythropoiesis.

  6. The Brakeless co-regulator can directly activate and repress transcription in early Drosophila embryos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crona, Filip; Holmqvist, Per-Henrik; Tang, Min; Singla, Bhumica; Vakifahmetoglu-Norberg, Helin; Fantur, Katrin; Mannervik, Mattias

    2015-11-01

    The Brakeless protein performs many important functions during Drosophila development, but how it controls gene expression is poorly understood. We previously showed that Brakeless can function as a transcriptional co-repressor. In this work, we perform transcriptional profiling of brakeless mutant embryos. Unexpectedly, the majority of affected genes are down-regulated in brakeless mutants. We demonstrate that genomic regions in close proximity to some of these genes are occupied by Brakeless, that over-expression of Brakeless causes a reciprocal effect on expression of these genes, and that Brakeless remains an activator of the genes upon fusion to an activation domain. Together, our results show that Brakeless can both repress and activate gene expression. A yeast two-hybrid screen identified the Mediator complex subunit Med19 as interacting with an evolutionarily conserved part of Brakeless. Both down- and up-regulated Brakeless target genes are also affected in Med19-depleted embryos, but only down-regulated targets are influenced in embryos depleted of both Brakeless and Med19. Our data provide support for a Brakeless activator function that regulates transcription by interacting with Med19. We conclude that the transcriptional co-regulator Brakeless can either activate or repress transcription depending on context. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A molecular doorstop ensures a trickle through translational repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brook, Matthew; Smith, Richard W P; Gray, Nicola K

    2012-03-30

    Switching mRNA translation off and on is central to regulated gene expression, but what mechanisms moderate the extent of switch-off? Yao et al. describe how basal expression from interferon-gamma-induced transcripts is maintained during mRNA-specific translational repression. This antagonistic mechanism utilizes a truncated RNA-binding factor generated by a unique alternative polyadenylation event. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Bombyx mori E26 transformation-specific 2 (BmEts2), an Ets family protein, represses Bombyx mori Rels (BmRels)-mediated promoter activation of antimicrobial peptide genes in the silkworm Bombyx mori.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, H; Sagisaka, A; Suzuki, N; Yamakawa, M

    2016-10-01

    E26 transformation-specific (Ets) family transcription factors are known to play roles in various biological phenomena, including immunity, in vertebrates. However, the mechanisms by which Ets proteins contribute to immunity in invertebrates remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified a cDNA encoding BmEts2, which is a putative orthologue of Drosophila Yan and human translocation-ets-leukemia/Ets-variant gene 6, from the silkworm Bombyx mori. Expression of the BmEts2 gene was significantly increased in the fat bodies of silkworm larvae in response to injection with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. BmEts2 overexpression dramatically repressed B. mori Rels (BmRels)-mediated promoter activation of antimicrobial peptide genes in silkworm cells. Conversely, gene knockdown of BmEts2 significantly enhanced BmRels activity. In addition, two κB sites located on the 5' upstream region of cecropin B1 were found to be involved in the repression of BmRels-mediated promoter activation. Protein-competition analysis further demonstrated that BmEts2 competitively inhibited binding of BmRels to κB sites. Overall, BmEts2 acts as a repressor of BmRels-mediated transactivation of antimicrobial protein genes by inhibiting the binding of BmRels to κB sites. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.

  9. Repressive effects of resveratrol on androgen receptor transcriptional activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-feng Shi

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The chemopreventive effects of resveratrol (RSV on prostate cancer have been well established; the androgen receptor (AR plays pivotal roles in prostatic tumorigenesis. However, the exact underlying molecular mechanisms about the effects of RSV on AR have not been fully elucidated. A model system is needed to determine whether and how RSV represses AR transcriptional activity.The AR cDNA was first cloned into the retroviral vector pOZ-N and then integrated into the genome of AR-negative HeLa cells to generate the AR(+ cells. The constitutively expressed AR was characterized by monitoring hormone-stimulated nuclear translocation, DNA binding, and transcriptional activation, with the AR(- cells serving as controls. AR(+ cells were treated with RSV, and both AR protein levels and AR transcriptional activity were measured simultaneously. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP assays were used to detect the effects of RSV on the recruitment of AR to its cognate element (ARE.AR in the AR (+ stable cell line functions in a manner similar to that of endogenously expressed AR. Using this model system we clearly demonstrated that RSV represses AR transcriptional activity independently of any effects on AR protein levels. However, neither the hormone-mediated nucleus translocation nor the AR/ARE interaction was affected by RSV treatment.We demonstrated unambiguously that RSV regulates AR target gene expression, at least in part, by repressing AR transcriptional activity. Repressive effects of RSV on AR activity result from mechanisms other than the affects of AR nuclear translocation or DNA binding.

  10. NFE2 Induces miR-423-5p to Promote Gluconeogenesis and Hyperglycemia by Repressing the Hepatic FAM3A-ATP-Akt Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Weili; Wang, Junpei; Chen, Zhenzhen; Chen, Ji; Meng, Yuhong; Chen, Liming; Chang, Yongsheng; Geng, Bin; Sun, Libo; Dou, Lin; Li, Jian; Guan, Youfei; Cui, Qinghua; Yang, Jichun

    2017-07-01

    Hepatic FAM3A expression is repressed under obese conditions, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. This study determined the role and mechanism of miR-423-5p in hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism by repressing FAM3A expression. miR-423-5p expression was increased in the livers of obese diabetic mice and in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with decreased FAM3A expression. miR-423-5p directly targeted FAM3A mRNA to repress its expression and the FAM3A-ATP-Akt pathway in cultured hepatocytes. Hepatic miR-423-5p inhibition suppressed gluconeogenesis and improved insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and fatty liver in obese diabetic mice. In contrast, hepatic miR-423-5p overexpression promoted gluconeogenesis and hyperglycemia and increased lipid deposition in normal mice. miR-423-5p inhibition activated the FAM3A-ATP-Akt pathway and repressed gluconeogenic and lipogenic gene expression in diabetic mouse livers. The miR-423 precursor gene was further shown to be a target gene of NFE2, which induced miR-423-5p expression to repress the FAM3A-ATP-Akt pathway in cultured hepatocytes. Hepatic NFE2 overexpression upregulated miR-423-5p to repress the FAM3A-ATP-Akt pathway, promoting gluconeogenesis and lipid deposition and causing hyperglycemia in normal mice. In conclusion, under the obese condition, activation of the hepatic NFE2/miR-423-5p axis plays important roles in the progression of type 2 diabetes and NAFLD by repressing the FAM3A-ATP-Akt signaling pathway. © 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.

  11. Improved α-amylase production by Aspergillus oryzae after a double deletion of genes involved in carbon catabolite repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichinose, Sakurako; Tanaka, Mizuki; Shintani, Takahiro; Gomi, Katsuya

    2014-01-01

    In filamentous fungi, the expression of secretory glycoside hydrolase encoding genes, such as those for amylases, cellulases, and xylanases, is generally repressed in the presence of glucose. CreA and CreB have been observed to be regulating factors for carbon catabolite repression. In this study, we generated single and double deletion creA and/or creB mutants in Aspergillus oryzae. The α-amylase activities of each strain were compared under various culture conditions. For the wild-type strain, mRNA levels of α-amylase were markedly decreased in the later stage of submerged culture under inducing conditions, whereas this reduced expression was not observed for single creA and double creA/creB deletion mutants. In addition, α-amylase activity of the wild-type strain was reduced in submerged culture containing high concentrations of inducing sugars, whereas all constructed mutants showed higher α-amylase activities. In particular, the α-amylase activity of the double deletion mutant in a medium containing 5% starch was >10-fold higher than that of the wild-type strain under the same culture conditions. In solid-state cultures using wheat bran as a substrate, the α-amylase activities of single creA and double deletion mutants were >2-fold higher than that of the wild-type strain. These results suggested that deleting both creA and creB resulted in dramatic improvements in the production of secretory glycoside hydrolases in filamentous fungi.

  12. MYC association with cancer risk and a new model of MYC-mediated repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Michael D

    2014-07-01

    MYC is one of the most frequently mutated and overexpressed genes in human cancer but the regulation of MYC expression and the ability of MYC protein to repress cellular genes (including itself) have remained mysterious. Recent genome-wide association studies show that many genetic polymorphisms associated with disease risk map to distal regulatory elements that regulate the MYC promoter through large chromatin loops. Cancer risk-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contain more potent enhancer activity, promoting higher MYC levels and a greater risk of disease. The MYC promoter is also subject to complex regulatory circuits and limits its own expression by a feedback loop. A model for MYC autoregulation is discussed which involves a signaling pathway between the PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) tumor suppressor and repressive histone modifications laid down by the EZH2 methyltransferase. Copyright © 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

  13. Differential repression of arylsulphatase synthesis in Aspergillus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, G R; Wynn, C H

    1977-09-15

    1. The activities of the three arylsulphatases (arylsulphate sulphohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) of Aspergillus oryzae produced under a variety of repressing and non-repressing conditions were determined. 2. These enzymes exhibit different sensitivities to repression by inorganic sulphate. 3. Arylsulphatase I, but not arylsulphatases II and III, exhibits a transient de-repression in the early growth phase in sulphate media. 4. When the fungus is cultured in repressing media and subsequently transferred to non-repressing media, the synthesis of the three enzymes is non-co-ordinate. 5. Growth of the fungus in media containing choline O-sulphate or tyrosine O-sulphate as the sole source of sulphur results in complete de-repression of arylsulphatase I, But the synthesis of arylsulphatases II and III is essentially fully repressed. 6. The marked similarities between the repression characteristics of arylsulphatases II and III, contrasted with those of arylsulphatase I, indicate that the genetic locus of arylsulphatase I is distinct from that of arylsulphatases II and III, suggesting that there are distinct physiological roles for the enzyme.

  14. Alleviation of glucose repression of maltose metabolism by MIG1 disruption in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klein, Christopher; Olsson, Lisbeth; Rønnow, B.

    1996-01-01

    The MIG1 gene was disrupted in a haploid laboratory strain (B224) and in an industrial polyploid strain (DGI 342) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The alleviation of glucose repression of the expression of MAL genes and alleviation of glucose control of maltose metabolism were investigated in batch...... cultivations on glucose-maltose mixtures. In the MIG1-disrupted haploid strain, glucose repression was partly alleviated; i.e., maltose metabolism was initiated at higher glucose concentrations than in the corresponding wild-type strain. In contrast, the polyploid Delta mig1 strain exhibited an even more...... stringent glucose control of maltose metabolism than the corresponding wild-type strain, which could be explained by a more rigid catabolite inactivation of maltose permease, affecting the uptake of maltose. Growth on the glucose-sucrose mixture showed that the polyploid Delta mig1 strain was relieved...

  15. MUC1-C activates polycomb repressive complexes and downregulates tumor suppressor genes in human cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajabi, Hasan; Hiraki, Masayuki; Kufe, Donald

    2018-04-01

    The PRC2 and PRC1 complexes are aberrantly expressed in human cancers and have been linked to decreases in patient survival. MUC1-C is an oncoprotein that is also overexpressed in diverse human cancers and is associated with a poor prognosis. Recent studies have supported a previously unreported function for MUC1-C in activating PRC2 and PRC1 in cancer cells. In the regulation of PRC2, MUC1-C (i) drives transcription of the EZH2 gene, (ii) binds directly to EZH2, and (iii) enhances occupancy of EZH2 on target gene promoters with an increase in H3K27 trimethylation. Regarding PRC1, which is recruited to PRC2 sites in the hierarchical model, MUC1-C induces BMI1 transcription, forms a complex with BMI1, and promotes H2A ubiquitylation. MUC1-C thereby contributes to the integration of PRC2 and PRC1-mediated repression of tumor suppressor genes, such as CDH1, CDKN2A, PTEN and BRCA1. Like PRC2 and PRC1, MUC1-C is associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program, cancer stem cell (CSC) state, and acquisition of anticancer drug resistance. In concert with these observations, targeting MUC1-C downregulates EZH2 and BMI1, inhibits EMT and the CSC state, and reverses drug resistance. These findings emphasize the significance of MUC1-C as a therapeutic target for inhibiting aberrant PRC function and reprogramming the epigenome in human cancers.

  16. Repressing the Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in Western Europe: Towards an Effective Response Based on Human Rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christophe Paulussen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This Research Paper explores how the foreign fighters phenomenon and terrorism more generally is repressed in Western Europe. It looks at a few specific repressive measures announced or adopted by France and the Netherlands, as well as criticism expressed against these proposals and measures. In addition to these two detailed analyses, references will also be made to other developments in Western Europe which appear to be indicative of a more general trend in which human rights increasingly seem to be put on the back seat when countering the phenomenon of foreign fighters and terrorism more generally. In the final section, a number of concluding thoughts and recommendations will be offered which explain why only a response based on human rights will be effective in countering this global problem in the long run.

  17. Accurate microRNA target prediction correlates with protein repression levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simossis Victor A

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background MicroRNAs are small endogenously expressed non-coding RNA molecules that regulate target gene expression through translation repression or messenger RNA degradation. MicroRNA regulation is performed through pairing of the microRNA to sites in the messenger RNA of protein coding genes. Since experimental identification of miRNA target genes poses difficulties, computational microRNA target prediction is one of the key means in deciphering the role of microRNAs in development and disease. Results DIANA-microT 3.0 is an algorithm for microRNA target prediction which is based on several parameters calculated individually for each microRNA and combines conserved and non-conserved microRNA recognition elements into a final prediction score, which correlates with protein production fold change. Specifically, for each predicted interaction the program reports a signal to noise ratio and a precision score which can be used as an indication of the false positive rate of the prediction. Conclusion Recently, several computational target prediction programs were benchmarked based on a set of microRNA target genes identified by the pSILAC method. In this assessment DIANA-microT 3.0 was found to achieve the highest precision among the most widely used microRNA target prediction programs reaching approximately 66%. The DIANA-microT 3.0 prediction results are available online in a user friendly web server at http://www.microrna.gr/microT

  18. The unified theory of repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdelyi, Matthew Hugh

    2006-10-01

    Repression has become an empirical fact that is at once obvious and problematic. Fragmented clinical and laboratory traditions and disputed terminology have resulted in a Babel of misunderstandings in which false distinctions are imposed (e.g., between repression and suppression) and necessary distinctions not drawn (e.g., between the mechanism and the use to which it is put, defense being just one). "Repression" was introduced by Herbart to designate the (nondefensive) inhibition of ideas by other ideas in their struggle for consciousness. Freud adapted repression to the defensive inhibition of "unbearable" mental contents. Substantial experimental literatures on attentional biases, thought avoidance, interference, and intentional forgetting exist, the oldest prototype being the work of Ebbinghaus, who showed that intentional avoidance of memories results in their progressive forgetting over time. It has now become clear, as clinicians had claimed, that the inaccessible materials are often available and emerge indirectly (e.g., procedurally, implicitly). It is also now established that the Ebbinghaus retention function can be partly reversed, with resulting increases of conscious memory over time (hypermnesia). Freud's clinical experience revealed early on that exclusion from consciousness was effected not just by simple repression (inhibition) but also by a variety of distorting techniques, some deployed to degrade latent contents (denial), all eventually subsumed under the rubric of defense mechanisms ("repression in the widest sense"). Freudian and Bartlettian distortions are essentially the same, even in name, except for motive (cognitive vs. emotional), and experimentally induced false memories and other "memory illusions" are laboratory analogs of self-induced distortions.

  19. Repression of Lateral Organ Boundary Genes by PENNYWISE and POUND-FOOLISH Is Essential for Meristem Maintenance and Flowering in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Madiha; Ragni, Laura; Tabb, Paul; Salasini, Brenda C; Chatfield, Steven; Datla, Raju; Lock, John; Kuai, Xiahezi; Després, Charles; Proveniers, Marcel; Yongguo, Cao; Xiang, Daoquan; Morin, Halima; Rullière, Jean-Pierre; Citerne, Sylvie; Hepworth, Shelley R; Pautot, Véronique

    2015-11-01

    In the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), endogenous and environmental signals acting on the shoot apical meristem cause acquisition of inflorescence meristem fate. This results in changed patterns of aerial development seen as the transition from making leaves to the production of flowers separated by elongated internodes. Two related BEL1-like homeobox genes, PENNYWISE (PNY) and POUND-FOOLISH (PNF), fulfill this transition. Loss of function of these genes impairs stem cell maintenance and blocks internode elongation and flowering. We show here that pny pnf apices misexpress lateral organ boundary genes BLADE-ON-PETIOLE1/2 (BOP1/2) and KNOTTED-LIKE FROM ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA6 (KNAT6) together with ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX GENE1 (ATH1). Inactivation of genes in this module fully rescues pny pnf defects. We further show that BOP1 directly activates ATH1, whereas activation of KNAT6 is indirect. The pny pnf restoration correlates with renewed accumulation of transcripts conferring floral meristem identity, including FD, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING PROTEIN LIKE genes, LEAFY, and APETALA1. To gain insight into how this module blocks flowering, we analyzed the transcriptome of BOP1-overexpressing plants. Our data suggest a central role for the microRNA156-SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE-microRNA172 module in integrating stress signals conferred in part by promotion of jasmonic acid biosynthesis. These data reveal a potential mechanism by which repression of lateral organ boundary genes by PNY-PNF is essential for flowering. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  20. Application of machine learning methods to histone methylation ChIP-Seq data reveals H4R3me2 globally represses gene expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background In the last decade, biochemical studies have revealed that epigenetic modifications including histone modifications, histone variants and DNA methylation form a complex network that regulate the state of chromatin and processes that depend on it including transcription and DNA replication. Currently, a large number of these epigenetic modifications are being mapped in a variety of cell lines at different stages of development using high throughput sequencing by members of the ENCODE consortium, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Program and the Human Epigenome Project. An extremely promising and underexplored area of research is the application of machine learning methods, which are designed to construct predictive network models, to these large-scale epigenomic data sets. Results Using a ChIP-Seq data set of 20 histone lysine and arginine methylations and histone variant H2A.Z in human CD4+ T-cells, we built predictive models of gene expression as a function of histone modification/variant levels using Multilinear (ML) Regression and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS). Along with extensive crosstalk among the 20 histone methylations, we found H4R3me2 was the most and second most globally repressive histone methylation among the 20 studied in the ML and MARS models, respectively. In support of our finding, a number of experimental studies show that PRMT5-catalyzed symmetric dimethylation of H4R3 is associated with repression of gene expression. This includes a recent study, which demonstrated that H4R3me2 is required for DNMT3A-mediated DNA methylation--a known global repressor of gene expression. Conclusion In stark contrast to univariate analysis of the relationship between H4R3me2 and gene expression levels, our study showed that the regulatory role of some modifications like H4R3me2 is masked by confounding variables, but can be elucidated by multivariate/systems-level approaches. PMID:20653935

  1. Generation of a glucose de-repressed mutant of Trichoderma reesei using disparity mutagenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwakuma, Hidekazu; Koyama, Yoshiyuki; Miyachi, Ayako; Nasukawa, Masashi; Matsumoto, Hitoshi; Yano, Shuntaro; Ogihara, Jun; Kasumi, Takafumi

    2016-01-01

    We obtained a novel glucose de-repressed mutant of Trichoderma reesei using disparity mutagenesis. A plasmid containing DNA polymerase δ lacking proofreading activity, and AMAI, an autonomously replicating sequence was introduced into T. reesei ATCC66589. The rate of mutation evaluated with 5-fluoroorotic acid resistance was approximately 30-fold higher than that obtained by UV irradiation. The transformants harboring incompetent DNA polymerase δ were then selected on 2-deoxyglucose agar plates with hygromycin B. The pNP-lactoside hydrolyzing activities of mutants were 2 to 5-fold higher than the parent in liquid medium containing glucose. Notably, the amino acid sequence of cre1, a key gene involved in glucose repression, was identical in the mutant and parent strains, and further, the cre1 expression levels was not abolished in the mutant. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the strains of T. reesei generated by disparity mutagenesis are glucose de-repressed variants that contain mutations in yet-unidentified factors other than cre1.

  2. Visualization of the Dynamics of Gene Expression in the Living Mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Ryan

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Reporter genes can monitor the status and activity of recombinant genomes in a diverse array of organisms, from bacteria and yeast to plants and animals. We have combined luciferase reporter genes with a conditional gene expression system based on regulatory elements from the lac Operon of Escherichia coli to visualize the dynamics of gene expression in realtime in the living mouse. Using this technology, we have determined the rate of gene induction and repression, the level of target gene activity in response to different doses of inducer, and the schedule of induction during early embryogenesis of both the endogenous and the experimentally manipulated programs of mammalian gene expression associated with the HD/Hdh locus. The combination of in vivo imaging and lac regulation is a powerful tool for generating conditional transgenic mice that can be screened rapidly for optimal regulation and expression patterns, and for monitoring the induction and repression of regulated genes noninvasively in the living animal.

  3. Repression of the DCL2 and DCL4 genes in Nicotiana benthamiana plants for the transient expression of recombinant proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuo, Kouki; Matsumura, Takeshi

    2017-08-01

    The production of recombinant proteins in plants has many advantages, including safety and reduced costs. However, this technology still faces several issues, including low levels of production. The repression of RNA silencing seems to be particularly important for improving recombinant protein production because RNA silencing effectively degrades transgene-derived mRNAs in plant cells. Therefore, to overcome this, we used RNA interference technology to develop DCL2- and DCL4-repressed transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants (ΔD2, ΔD4, and ΔD2ΔD4 plants), which had much lower levels of NbDCL2 and/or NbDCL4 mRNAs than wild-type plants. A transient gene expression assay showed that the ΔD2ΔD4 plants accumulated larger amounts of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and human acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) than ΔD2, ΔD4, and wild-type plants. Furthermore, the levels of GFP and aFGF mRNAs were also higher in ΔD2ΔD4 plants than in ΔD2, ΔD4, and wild-type plants. These findings demonstrate that ΔD2ΔD4 plants express larger amounts of recombinant proteins than wild-type plants, and so would be useful for recombinant protein production. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Lactose-mediated carbon catabolite repression of putrescine production in dairy Lactococcus lactis is strain dependent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    del Rio, Beatriz; Ladero, Victor; Redruello, Begoña; Linares, Daniel M; Fernández, Maria; Martín, Maria Cruz; Alvarez, Miguel A

    2015-06-01

    Lactococcus lactis is the lactic acid bacterial (LAB) species most widely used as a primary starter in the dairy industry. However, several strains of L. lactis produce the biogenic amine putrescine via the agmatine deiminase (AGDI) pathway. We previously reported the putrescine biosynthesis pathway in L. lactis subsp. cremoris GE2-14 to be regulated by carbon catabolic repression (CCR) via glucose but not lactose (Linares et al., 2013). The present study shows that both these sugars repress putrescine biosynthesis in L. lactis subsp. lactis T3/33, a strain isolated from a Spanish artisanal cheese. Furthermore, we demonstrated that both glucose and lactose repressed the transcriptional activity of the aguBDAC catabolic genes of the AGDI route. Finally, a screening performed in putrescine-producing dairy L. lactis strains determined that putrescine biosynthesis was repressed by lactose in all the L. lactis subsp. lactis strains tested, but in only one L. lactis subsp. cremoris strain. Given the obvious importance of the lactose-repression in cheese putrescine accumulation, it is advisable to consider the diversity of L. lactis in this sense and characterize consequently the starter cultures to select the safest strains. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Repression/depression of conjugative plasmids and their influence on the mutation-selection balance in static environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoav Atsmon-Raz

    Full Text Available We study the effect that conjugation-mediated Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT has on the mutation-selection balance of a population in a static environment. We consider a model whereby a population of unicellular organisms, capable of conjugation, comes to mutation-selection balance in the presence of an antibiotic, which induces a first-order death rate constant [Formula: see text] for genomes that are not resistant. We explicitly take into consideration the repression/de-repression dynamics of the conjugative plasmid, and assume that a de-repressed plasmid remains temporarily de-repressed after copying itself into another cell. We assume that both repression and de-repression are characterized by first-order rate constants [Formula: see text]and [Formula: see text], respectively. We find that conjugation has a deleterious effect on the mean fitness of the population, suggesting that HGT does not provide a selective advantage in a static environment, but is rather only useful for adapting to new environments. This effect can be ameliorated by repression, suggesting that while HGT is not necessarily advantageous for a population in a static environment, its deleterious effect on the mean fitness can be negated via repression. Therefore, it is likely that HGT is much more advantageous in a dynamic landscape. Furthermore, in the limiting case of a vanishing spontaneous de-repression rate constant, we find that the fraction of conjugators in the population undergoes a phase transition as a function of population density. Below a critical population density, the fraction of conjugators is zero, while above this critical population density the fraction of conjugators rises continuously to one. Our model for conjugation-mediated HGT is related to models of infectious disease dynamics, where the conjugators play the role of the infected (I class, and the non-conjugators play the role of the susceptible (S class.

  6. MicroRNA MiR-17 retards tissue growth and represses fibronectin expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Sze Wan; Lee, Daniel Y; Deng, Zhaoqun; Shatseva, Tatiana; Jeyapalan, Zina; Du, William W; Zhang, Yaou; Xuan, Jim W; Yee, Siu-Pok; Siragam, Vinayakumar; Yang, Burton B

    2009-08-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded regulatory RNAs, frequently expressed as clusters. Previous studies have demonstrated that the six-miRNA cluster miR-17~92 has important roles in tissue development and cancers. However, the precise role of each miRNA in the cluster is unknown. Here we show that overexpression of miR-17 results in decreased cell adhesion, migration and proliferation. Transgenic mice overexpressing miR-17 showed overall growth retardation, smaller organs and greatly reduced haematopoietic cell lineages. We found that fibronectin and the fibronectin type-III domain containing 3A (FNDC3A) are two targets that have their expression repressed by miR-17, both in vitro and in transgenic mice. Several lines of evidence support the notion that miR-17 causes cellular defects through its repression of fibronectin expression. Our single miRNA expression assay may be evolved to allow the manipulation of individual miRNA functions in vitro and in vivo. We anticipate that this could serve as a model for studying gene regulation by miRNAs in the development of gene therapy.

  7. Role of the BAHD1 Chromatin-Repressive Complex in Placental Development and Regulation of Steroid Metabolism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Lakisic

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available BAHD1 is a vertebrate protein that promotes heterochromatin formation and gene repression in association with several epigenetic regulators. However, its physiological roles remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that ablation of the Bahd1 gene results in hypocholesterolemia, hypoglycemia and decreased body fat in mice. It also causes placental growth restriction with a drop of trophoblast glycogen cells, a reduction of fetal weight and a high neonatal mortality rate. By intersecting transcriptome data from murine Bahd1 knockout (KO placentas at stages E16.5 and E18.5 of gestation, Bahd1-KO embryonic fibroblasts, and human cells stably expressing BAHD1, we also show that changes in BAHD1 levels alter expression of steroid/lipid metabolism genes. Biochemical analysis of the BAHD1-associated multiprotein complex identifies MIER proteins as novel partners of BAHD1 and suggests that BAHD1-MIER interaction forms a hub for histone deacetylases and methyltransferases, chromatin readers and transcription factors. We further show that overexpression of BAHD1 leads to an increase of MIER1 enrichment on the inactive X chromosome (Xi. In addition, BAHD1 and MIER1/3 repress expression of the steroid hormone receptor genes ESR1 and PGR, both playing important roles in placental development and energy metabolism. Moreover, modulation of BAHD1 expression in HEK293 cells triggers epigenetic changes at the ESR1 locus. Together, these results identify BAHD1 as a core component of a chromatin-repressive complex regulating placental morphogenesis and body fat storage and suggest that its dysfunction may contribute to several human diseases.

  8. Genome-wide identification of polycomb target genes reveals a functional association of Pho with Scm in Bombyx mori.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhiqing; Cheng, Daojun; Mon, Hiroaki; Tatsuke, Tsuneyuki; Zhu, Li; Xu, Jian; Lee, Jae Man; Xia, Qingyou; Kusakabe, Takahiro

    2012-01-01

    Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are evolutionarily conserved chromatin modifiers and act together in three multimeric complexes, Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and Pleiohomeotic repressive complex (PhoRC), to repress transcription of the target genes. Here, we identified Polycomb target genes in Bombyx mori with holocentric centromere using genome-wide expression screening based on the knockdown of BmSCE, BmESC, BmPHO, or BmSCM gene, which represent the distinct complexes. As a result, the expressions of 29 genes were up-regulated after knocking down 4 PcG genes. Particularly, there is a significant overlap between targets of BmPho (331 out of 524) and BmScm (331 out of 532), and among these, 190 genes function as regulator factors playing important roles in development. We also found that BmPho, as well as BmScm, can interact with other Polycomb components examined in this study. Further detailed analysis revealed that the C-terminus of BmPho containing zinc finger domain is involved in the interaction between BmPho and BmScm. Moreover, the zinc finger domain in BmPho contributes to its inhibitory function and ectopic overexpression of BmScm is able to promote transcriptional repression by Gal4-Pho fusions including BmScm-interacting domain. Loss of BmPho expression causes relocalization of BmScm into the cytoplasm. Collectively, we provide evidence of a functional link between BmPho and BmScm, and propose two Polycomb-related repression mechanisms requiring only BmPho associated with BmScm or a whole set of PcG complexes.

  9. Genome-wide identification of polycomb target genes reveals a functional association of Pho with Scm in Bombyx mori.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiqing Li

    Full Text Available Polycomb group (PcG proteins are evolutionarily conserved chromatin modifiers and act together in three multimeric complexes, Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1, Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2, and Pleiohomeotic repressive complex (PhoRC, to repress transcription of the target genes. Here, we identified Polycomb target genes in Bombyx mori with holocentric centromere using genome-wide expression screening based on the knockdown of BmSCE, BmESC, BmPHO, or BmSCM gene, which represent the distinct complexes. As a result, the expressions of 29 genes were up-regulated after knocking down 4 PcG genes. Particularly, there is a significant overlap between targets of BmPho (331 out of 524 and BmScm (331 out of 532, and among these, 190 genes function as regulator factors playing important roles in development. We also found that BmPho, as well as BmScm, can interact with other Polycomb components examined in this study. Further detailed analysis revealed that the C-terminus of BmPho containing zinc finger domain is involved in the interaction between BmPho and BmScm. Moreover, the zinc finger domain in BmPho contributes to its inhibitory function and ectopic overexpression of BmScm is able to promote transcriptional repression by Gal4-Pho fusions including BmScm-interacting domain. Loss of BmPho expression causes relocalization of BmScm into the cytoplasm. Collectively, we provide evidence of a functional link between BmPho and BmScm, and propose two Polycomb-related repression mechanisms requiring only BmPho associated with BmScm or a whole set of PcG complexes.

  10. Histone deacetylase 3 represses p15INK4b and p21WAF1/cip1 transcription by interacting with Sp1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Weifeng; Tan Dapeng; Wang Xiuli; Han Songyan; Tan Jiang; Zhao Yanmei; Lu Jun; Huang Baiqu

    2006-01-01

    Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) has been implicated to play roles in governing cell proliferation. Here we demonstrated that the overexpression of HDAC3 repressed transcription of p15 INK4b and p21 WAF1/cip1 genes in 293T cells, and that the recruitment of HDAC3 to the promoter regions of these genes was critical to this repression. We also showed that HDAC3 repressed GAL4-Sp1 transcriptional activity, and that Sp1 was co-immunoprecipitated with FLAG-tagged HDAC3. We conclude that HDAC3 can repress p15 INK4b and p21 WAF1/cip1 transcription by interacting with Sp1. Furthermore, knockdown of HDAC3 by RNAi up-regulated the transcriptional expression of p15 INK4b , but not that of p21 WAF1/cip1 , implicating the different roles of HDAC3 in repression of p15 INK4b and p21 WAF1/cip1 transcription. Data from this study indicate that the inhibition of p15 INK4b and p21 WAF1/cip1 may be one of the mechanisms by which HDAC3 participates in cell cycle regulation and oncogenesis

  11. Computational prediction of the Crc regulon identifies genus-wide and species-specific targets of catabolite repression control in Pseudomonas bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O'Gara Fergal

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Catabolite repression control (CRC is an important global control system in Pseudomonas that fine tunes metabolism in order optimise growth and metabolism in a range of different environments. The mechanism of CRC in Pseudomonas spp. centres on the binding of a protein, Crc, to an A-rich motif on the 5' end of an mRNA resulting in translational down-regulation of target genes. Despite the identification of several Crc targets in Pseudomonas spp. the Crc regulon has remained largely unexplored. Results In order to predict direct targets of Crc, we used a bioinformatics approach based on detection of A-rich motifs near the initiation of translation of all protein-encoding genes in twelve fully sequenced Pseudomonas genomes. As expected, our data predict that genes related to the utilisation of less preferred nutrients, such as some carbohydrates, nitrogen sources and aromatic carbon compounds are targets of Crc. A general trend in this analysis is that the regulation of transporters is conserved across species whereas regulation of specific enzymatic steps or transcriptional activators are often conserved only within a species. Interestingly, some nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs such as HU and IHF are predicted to be regulated by Crc. This finding indicates a possible role of Crc in indirect control over a subset of genes that depend on the DNA bending properties of NAPs for expression or repression. Finally, some virulence traits such as alginate and rhamnolipid production also appear to be regulated by Crc, which links nutritional status cues with the regulation of virulence traits. Conclusions Catabolite repression control regulates a broad spectrum of genes in Pseudomonas. Some targets are genus-wide and are typically related to central metabolism, whereas other targets are species-specific, or even unique to particular strains. Further study of these novel targets will enhance our understanding of how Pseudomonas

  12. Computational prediction of the Crc regulon identifies genus-wide and species-specific targets of catabolite repression control in Pseudomonas bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Patrick; Barret, Matthieu; O'Gara, Fergal; Morrissey, John P

    2010-11-25

    Catabolite repression control (CRC) is an important global control system in Pseudomonas that fine tunes metabolism in order optimise growth and metabolism in a range of different environments. The mechanism of CRC in Pseudomonas spp. centres on the binding of a protein, Crc, to an A-rich motif on the 5' end of an mRNA resulting in translational down-regulation of target genes. Despite the identification of several Crc targets in Pseudomonas spp. the Crc regulon has remained largely unexplored. In order to predict direct targets of Crc, we used a bioinformatics approach based on detection of A-rich motifs near the initiation of translation of all protein-encoding genes in twelve fully sequenced Pseudomonas genomes. As expected, our data predict that genes related to the utilisation of less preferred nutrients, such as some carbohydrates, nitrogen sources and aromatic carbon compounds are targets of Crc. A general trend in this analysis is that the regulation of transporters is conserved across species whereas regulation of specific enzymatic steps or transcriptional activators are often conserved only within a species. Interestingly, some nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs) such as HU and IHF are predicted to be regulated by Crc. This finding indicates a possible role of Crc in indirect control over a subset of genes that depend on the DNA bending properties of NAPs for expression or repression. Finally, some virulence traits such as alginate and rhamnolipid production also appear to be regulated by Crc, which links nutritional status cues with the regulation of virulence traits. Catabolite repression control regulates a broad spectrum of genes in Pseudomonas. Some targets are genus-wide and are typically related to central metabolism, whereas other targets are species-specific, or even unique to particular strains. Further study of these novel targets will enhance our understanding of how Pseudomonas bacteria integrate nutritional status cues with the regulation

  13. Computational prediction of the Crc regulon identifies genus-wide and species-specific targets of catabolite repression control in Pseudomonas bacteria

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Browne, Patrick

    2010-11-25

    Abstract Background Catabolite repression control (CRC) is an important global control system in Pseudomonas that fine tunes metabolism in order optimise growth and metabolism in a range of different environments. The mechanism of CRC in Pseudomonas spp. centres on the binding of a protein, Crc, to an A-rich motif on the 5\\' end of an mRNA resulting in translational down-regulation of target genes. Despite the identification of several Crc targets in Pseudomonas spp. the Crc regulon has remained largely unexplored. Results In order to predict direct targets of Crc, we used a bioinformatics approach based on detection of A-rich motifs near the initiation of translation of all protein-encoding genes in twelve fully sequenced Pseudomonas genomes. As expected, our data predict that genes related to the utilisation of less preferred nutrients, such as some carbohydrates, nitrogen sources and aromatic carbon compounds are targets of Crc. A general trend in this analysis is that the regulation of transporters is conserved across species whereas regulation of specific enzymatic steps or transcriptional activators are often conserved only within a species. Interestingly, some nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs) such as HU and IHF are predicted to be regulated by Crc. This finding indicates a possible role of Crc in indirect control over a subset of genes that depend on the DNA bending properties of NAPs for expression or repression. Finally, some virulence traits such as alginate and rhamnolipid production also appear to be regulated by Crc, which links nutritional status cues with the regulation of virulence traits. Conclusions Catabolite repression control regulates a broad spectrum of genes in Pseudomonas. Some targets are genus-wide and are typically related to central metabolism, whereas other targets are species-specific, or even unique to particular strains. Further study of these novel targets will enhance our understanding of how Pseudomonas bacteria integrate

  14. Fine time course expression analysis identifies cascades of activation and repression and maps a putative regulator of mammalian sex determination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven C Munger

    Full Text Available In vertebrates, primary sex determination refers to the decision within a bipotential organ precursor to differentiate as a testis or ovary. Bifurcation of organ fate begins between embryonic day (E 11.0-E12.0 in mice and likely involves a dynamic transcription network that is poorly understood. To elucidate the first steps of sexual fate specification, we profiled the XX and XY gonad transcriptomes at fine granularity during this period and resolved cascades of gene activation and repression. C57BL/6J (B6 XY gonads showed a consistent ~5-hour delay in the activation of most male pathway genes and repression of female pathway genes relative to 129S1/SvImJ, which likely explains the sensitivity of the B6 strain to male-to-female sex reversal. Using this fine time course data, we predicted novel regulatory genes underlying expression QTLs (eQTLs mapped in a previous study. To test predictions, we developed an in vitro gonad primary cell assay and optimized a lentivirus-based shRNA delivery method to silence candidate genes and quantify effects on putative targets. We provide strong evidence that Lmo4 (Lim-domain only 4 is a novel regulator of sex determination upstream of SF1 (Nr5a1, Sox9, Fgf9, and Col9a3. This approach can be readily applied to identify regulatory interactions in other systems.

  15. let-7 Modulates Chromatin Configuration and Target Gene Repression through Regulation of the ARID3B Complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsai-Tsen Liao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Let-7 is crucial for both stem cell differentiation and tumor suppression. Here, we demonstrate a chromatin-dependent mechanism of let-7 in regulating target gene expression in cancer cells. Let-7 directly represses the expression of AT-rich interacting domain 3B (ARID3B, ARID3A, and importin-9. In the absence of let-7, importin-9 facilitates the nuclear import of ARID3A, which then forms a complex with ARID3B. The nuclear ARID3B complex recruits histone demethylase 4C to reduce histone 3 lysine 9 trimethylation and promotes the transcription of stemness factors. Functionally, expression of ARID3B is critical for the tumor initiation in let-7-depleted cancer cells. An inverse association between let-7 and ARID3A/ARID3B and prognostic significance is demonstrated in head and neck cancer patients. These results highlight a chromatin-dependent mechanism where let-7 regulates cancer stemness through ARID3B.

  16. Extremadura: Behind the material traces of Franco’s repression

    OpenAIRE

    Muñoz Encinar, Laura; Chaves Palacios, Julián

    2014-01-01

    After the failed coup d’état of July 17th, 1936 and after the start of the Spanish Civil War that followed it, rebels carried out a repressive strategy based on the execution of thousands of people as a key tool of social control. The socialization of fear and terror through humiliation, killing and disappearance would become the main strategy employed throughout the war and the post-war period. In this context, perpetrators would exercise repressive practices on victims and their bodies. As ...

  17. Glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayikci, Ömur; Nielsen, Jens

    2015-09-01

    Glucose is the primary source of energy for the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although yeast cells can utilize a wide range of carbon sources, presence of glucose suppresses molecular activities involved in the use of alternate carbon sources as well as it represses respiration and gluconeogenesis. This dominant effect of glucose on yeast carbon metabolism is coordinated by several signaling and metabolic interactions that mainly regulate transcriptional activity but are also effective at post-transcriptional and post-translational levels. This review describes effects of glucose repression on yeast carbon metabolism with a focus on roles of the Snf3/Rgt2 glucose-sensing pathway and Snf1 signal transduction in establishment and relief of glucose repression. © FEMS 2015.

  18. Zhx2 and Zbtb20: Novel regulators of postnatal alpha-fetoprotein repression and their potential role in gene reactivation during liver cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Martha L.; Ma, Chunhong; Spear, Brett T.

    2012-01-01

    The mouse alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene is abundantly expressed in the fetal liver, normally silent in the adult liver but is frequently reactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma. The basis for AFP expression in the fetal liver has been studied extensively. However, the basis for AFP reactivation during hepatocarcinogenesis is not well understood. Two novel factors that control postnatal AFP repression, Zhx2 and Zbtb20, were recently identified. Here, we review the transcription factors that regulate AFP in the fetal liver, as well as Zhx2 and Zbtb20, and raise the possibility that the loss of these postnatal repressors may be involved in AFP reactivation in liver cancer. PMID:21216289

  19. Histone H3 Serine 28 Is Essential for Efficient Polycomb-Mediated Gene Repression in Drosophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Yuk Kwong Yung

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Trimethylation at histone H3K27 is central to the polycomb repression system. Juxtaposed to H3K27 is a widely conserved phosphorylatable serine residue (H3S28 whose function is unclear. To assess the importance of H3S28, we generated a Drosophila H3 histone mutant with a serine-to-alanine mutation at position 28. H3S28A mutant cells lack H3S28ph on mitotic chromosomes but support normal mitosis. Strikingly, all methylation states of H3K27 drop in H3S28A cells, leading to Hox gene derepression and to homeotic transformations in adult tissues. These defects are not caused by active H3K27 demethylation nor by the loss of H3S28ph. Biochemical assays show that H3S28A nucleosomes are a suboptimal substrate for PRC2, suggesting that the unphosphorylated state of serine 28 is important for assisting in the function of polycomb complexes. Collectively, our data indicate that the conserved H3S28 residue in metazoans has a role in supporting PRC2 catalysis.

  20. Dual Regulation of Bacillus subtilis kinB Gene Encoding a Sporulation Trigger by SinR through Transcription Repression and Positive Stringent Transcription Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujita, Yasutaro; Ogura, Mitsuo; Nii, Satomi; Hirooka, Kazutake

    2017-01-01

    It is known that transcription of kinB encoding a trigger for Bacillus subtilis sporulation is under repression by SinR, a master repressor of biofilm formation, and under positive stringent transcription control depending on the adenine species at the transcription initiation nucleotide (nt). Deletion and base substitution analyses of the kinB promoter (P kinB ) region using lacZ fusions indicated that either a 5-nt deletion (Δ5, nt -61/-57, +1 is the transcription initiation nt) or the substitution of G at nt -45 with A (G-45A) relieved kinB repression. Thus, we found a pair of SinR-binding consensus sequences (GTTCTYT; Y is T or C) in an inverted orientation (SinR-1) between nt -57/-42, which is most likely a SinR-binding site for kinB repression. This relief from SinR repression likely requires SinI, an antagonist of SinR. Surprisingly, we found that SinR is essential for positive stringent transcription control of P kinB . Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) analysis indicated that SinR bound not only to SinR-1 but also to SinR-2 (nt -29/-8) consisting of another pair of SinR consensus sequences in a tandem repeat arrangement; the two sequences partially overlap the '-35' and '-10' regions of P kinB . Introduction of base substitutions (T-27C C-26T) in the upstream consensus sequence of SinR-2 affected positive stringent transcription control of P kinB , suggesting that SinR binding to SinR-2 likely causes this positive control. EMSA also implied that RNA polymerase and SinR are possibly bound together to SinR-2 to form a transcription initiation complex for kinB transcription. Thus, it was suggested in this work that derepression of kinB from SinR repression by SinI induced by Spo0A∼P and occurrence of SinR-dependent positive stringent transcription control of kinB might induce effective sporulation cooperatively, implying an intimate interplay by stringent response, sporulation, and biofilm formation.

  1. Genome engineering using a synthetic gene circuit in Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Da-Eun; Park, Seung-Hwan; Pan, Jae-Gu; Kim, Eui-Joong; Choi, Soo-Keun

    2015-03-31

    Genome engineering without leaving foreign DNA behind requires an efficient counter-selectable marker system. Here, we developed a genome engineering method in Bacillus subtilis using a synthetic gene circuit as a counter-selectable marker system. The system contained two repressible promoters (B. subtilis xylA (Pxyl) and spac (Pspac)) and two repressor genes (lacI and xylR). Pxyl-lacI was integrated into the B. subtilis genome with a target gene containing a desired mutation. The xylR and Pspac-chloramphenicol resistant genes (cat) were located on a helper plasmid. In the presence of xylose, repression of XylR by xylose induced LacI expression, the LacIs repressed the Pspac promoter and the cells become chloramphenicol sensitive. Thus, to survive in the presence of chloramphenicol, the cell must delete Pxyl-lacI by recombination between the wild-type and mutated target genes. The recombination leads to mutation of the target gene. The remaining helper plasmid was removed easily under the chloramphenicol absent condition. In this study, we showed base insertion, deletion and point mutation of the B. subtilis genome without leaving any foreign DNA behind. Additionally, we successfully deleted a 2-kb gene (amyE) and a 38-kb operon (ppsABCDE). This method will be useful to construct designer Bacillus strains for various industrial applications. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  2. A noncanonical Flt3ITD/NF-κB signaling pathway represses DAPK1 in acute myeloid leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugam, Rajasubramaniam; Gade, Padmaja; Wilson-Weekes, Annique; Sayar, Hamid; Suvannasankha, Attaya; Goswami, Chirayu; Li, Lang; Gupta, Sushil; Cardoso, Angelo A; Baghdadi, Tareq Al; Sargent, Katie J; Cripe, Larry D; Kalvakolanu, Dhananjaya V; Boswell, H Scott

    2012-01-15

    Death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1), a tumor suppressor, is a rate-limiting effector in an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-dependent apoptotic pathway. Its expression is epigenetically suppressed in several tumors. A mechanistic basis for epigenetic/transcriptional repression of DAPK1 was investigated in certain forms of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with poor prognosis, which lacked ER stress-induced apoptosis. Heterogeneous primary AMLs were screened to identify a subgroup with Flt3ITD in which repression of DAPK1, among NF-κB-and c-Jun-responsive genes, was studied. RNA interference knockdown studies were carried out in an Flt3ITD(+) cell line, MV-4-11, to establish genetic epistasis in the pathway Flt3ITD-TAK1-DAPK1 repression, and chromatin immunoprecipitations were carried out to identify proximate effector proteins, including TAK1-activated p52NF-κB, at the DAPK1 locus. AMLs characterized by normal karyotype with Flt3ITD were found to have 10- to 100-fold lower DAPK1 transcripts normalized to the expression of c-Jun, a transcriptional activator of DAPK1, as compared with a heterogeneous cytogenetic category. In addition, Meis1, a c-Jun-responsive adverse AML prognostic gene signature was measured as control. These Flt3ITD(+) AMLs overexpress relB, a transcriptional repressor, which forms active heterodimers with p52NF-κB. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays identified p52NF-κB binding to the DAPK1 promoter together with histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and HDAC6 in the Flt3ITD(+) human AML cell line MV-4-11. Knockdown of p52NF-κB or its upstream regulator, NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), de-repressed DAPK1. DAPK1-repressed primary Flt3ITD(+) AMLs had selective nuclear activation of p52NF-κB. Flt3ITD promotes a noncanonical pathway via TAK1 and p52NF-κB to suppress DAPK1 in association with HDACs, which explains DAPK1 repression in Flt3ITD(+) AML. ©2011 AACR.

  3. The crystal structure of the AhRR-ARNT heterodimer reveals the structural basis of the repression of AhR-mediated transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakurai, Shunya; Shimizu, Toshiyuki; Ohto, Umeharu

    2017-10-27

    2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin and related compounds are extraordinarily potent environmental toxic pollutants. Most of the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin toxicities are mediated by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-dependent transcription factor belonging to the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) Per-ARNT-Sim (PAS) family. Upon ligand binding, AhR forms a heterodimer with AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT) and induces the expression of genes involved in various biological responses. One of the genes induced by AhR encodes AhR repressor (AhRR), which also forms a heterodimer with ARNT and represses the activation of AhR-dependent transcription. The control of AhR activation is critical for managing AhR-mediated diseases, but the mechanisms by which AhRR represses AhR activation remain poorly understood, because of the lack of structural information. Here, we determined the structure of the AhRR-ARNT heterodimer by X-ray crystallography, which revealed an asymmetric intertwined domain organization presenting structural features that are both conserved and distinct among bHLH-PAS family members. The structures of AhRR-ARNT and AhR-ARNT were similar in the bHLH-PAS-A region, whereas the PAS-B of ARNT in the AhRR-ARNT complex exhibited a different domain arrangement in this family reported so far. The structure clearly disclosed that AhRR competitively represses AhR binding to ARNT and target DNA and further suggested the existence of an AhRR-ARNT-specific repression mechanism. This study provides a structural basis for understanding the mechanism by which AhRR represses AhR-mediated gene transcription. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  4. Using synthetic bacterial enhancers to reveal a looping-based mechanism for quenching-like repression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunwasser-Meirom, Michal; Pollak, Yaroslav; Goldberg, Sarah; Levy, Lior; Atar, Orna; Amit, Roee

    2016-01-01

    We explore a model for ‘quenching-like' repression by studying synthetic bacterial enhancers, each characterized by a different binding site architecture. To do so, we take a three-pronged approach: first, we compute the probability that a protein-bound dsDNA molecule will loop. Second, we use hundreds of synthetic enhancers to test the model's predictions in bacteria. Finally, we verify the mechanism bioinformatically in native genomes. Here we show that excluded volume effects generated by DNA-bound proteins can generate substantial quenching. Moreover, the type and extent of the regulatory effect depend strongly on the relative arrangement of the binding sites. The implications of these results are that enhancers should be insensitive to 10–11 bp insertions or deletions (INDELs) and sensitive to 5–6 bp INDELs. We test this prediction on 61 σ54-regulated qrr genes from the Vibrio genus and confirm the tolerance of these enhancers' sequences to the DNA's helical repeat. PMID:26832446

  5. A DNA methylation microarray-based study identifies ERG as a gene commonly methylated in prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartzman, Jacob; Mongoue-Tchokote, Solange; Gibbs, Angela; Gao, Lina; Corless, Christopher L; Jin, Jennifer; Zarour, Luai; Higano, Celestia; True, Lawrence D; Vessella, Robert L; Wilmot, Beth; Bottomly, Daniel; McWeeney, Shannon K; Bova, G Steven; Partin, Alan W; Mori, Motomi; Alumkal, Joshi

    2011-10-01

    DNA methylation of promoter regions is a common event in prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men worldwide. Because prior reports demonstrating that DNA methylation is important in prostate cancer studied a limited number of genes, we systematically quantified the DNA methylation status of 1505 CpG dinucleotides for 807 genes in 78 paraffin-embedded prostate cancer samples and three normal prostate samples. The ERG gene, commonly repressed in prostate cells in the absence of an oncogenic fusion to the TMPRSS2 gene, was one of the most commonly methylated genes, occurring in 74% of prostate cancer specimens. In an independent group of patient samples, we confirmed that ERG DNA methylation was common, occurring in 57% of specimens, and cancer-specific. The ERG promoter is marked by repressive chromatin marks mediated by polycomb proteins in both normal prostate cells and prostate cancer cells, which may explain ERG's predisposition to DNA methylation and the fact that tumors with ERG DNA methylation were more methylated, in general. These results demonstrate that bead arrays offer a high-throughput method to discover novel genes with promoter DNA methylation such as ERG, whose measurement may improve our ability to more accurately detect prostate cancer.

  6. Regulating repression: roles for the sir4 N-terminus in linker DNA protection and stabilization of epigenetic states.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Kueng

    Full Text Available Silent information regulator proteins Sir2, Sir3, and Sir4 form a heterotrimeric complex that represses transcription at subtelomeric regions and homothallic mating type (HM loci in budding yeast. We have performed a detailed biochemical and genetic analysis of the largest Sir protein, Sir4. The N-terminal half of Sir4 is dispensable for SIR-mediated repression of HM loci in vivo, except in strains that lack Yku70 or have weak silencer elements. For HM silencing in these cells, the C-terminal domain (Sir4C, residues 747-1,358 must be complemented with an N-terminal domain (Sir4N; residues 1-270, expressed either independently or as a fusion with Sir4C. Nonetheless, recombinant Sir4C can form a complex with Sir2 and Sir3 in vitro, is catalytically active, and has sedimentation properties similar to a full-length Sir4-containing SIR complex. Sir4C-containing SIR complexes bind nucleosomal arrays and protect linker DNA from nucleolytic digestion, but less effectively than wild-type SIR complexes. Consistently, full-length Sir4 is required for the complete repression of subtelomeric genes. Supporting the notion that the Sir4 N-terminus is a regulatory domain, we find it extensively phosphorylated on cyclin-dependent kinase consensus sites, some being hyperphosphorylated during mitosis. Mutation of two major phosphoacceptor sites (S63 and S84 derepresses natural subtelomeric genes when combined with a serendipitous mutation (P2A, which alone can enhance the stability of either the repressed or active state. The triple mutation confers resistance to rapamycin-induced stress and a loss of subtelomeric repression. We conclude that the Sir4 N-terminus plays two roles in SIR-mediated silencing: it contributes to epigenetic repression by stabilizing the SIR-mediated protection of linker DNA; and, as a target of phosphorylation, it can destabilize silencing in a regulated manner.

  7. Members of the LBD family of transcription factors repress anthocyanin synthesis and affect additional nitrogen responses in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Grit; Tohge, Takayuki; Matsuda, Fumio; Saito, Kazuki; Scheible, Wolf-Rüdiger

    2009-11-01

    Nitrogen (N) and nitrate (NO(3)(-)) per se regulate many aspects of plant metabolism, growth, and development. N/NO(3)(-) also suppresses parts of secondary metabolism, including anthocyanin synthesis. Molecular components for this repression are unknown. We report that three N/NO(3)(-)-induced members of the LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN (LBD) gene family of transcription factors (LBD37, LBD38, and LBD39) act as negative regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of each of the three genes in the absence of N/NO(3)(-) strongly suppresses the key regulators of anthocyanin synthesis PAP1 and PAP2, genes in the anthocyanin-specific part of flavonoid synthesis, as well as cyanidin- but not quercetin- or kaempferol-glycoside production. Conversely, lbd37, lbd38, or lbd39 mutants accumulate anthocyanins when grown in N/NO(3)(-)-sufficient conditions and show constitutive expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. The LBD genes also repress many other known N-responsive genes, including key genes required for NO(3)(-) uptake and assimilation, resulting in altered NO(3)(-) content, nitrate reductase activity/activation, protein, amino acid, and starch levels, and N-related growth phenotypes. The results identify LBD37 and its two close homologs as novel repressors of anthocyanin biosynthesis and N availability signals in general. They also show that, besides being developmental regulators, LBD genes fulfill roles in metabolic regulation.

  8. Viral MicroRNAs Repress the Cholesterol Pathway, and 25-Hydroxycholesterol Inhibits Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serquiña, Anna K P; Kambach, Diane M; Sarker, Ontara; Ziegelbauer, Joseph M

    2017-07-11

    From various screens, we found that Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) viral microRNAs (miRNAs) target several enzymes in the mevalonate/cholesterol pathway. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthase 1 (HMGCS1), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR [a rate-limiting step in the mevalonate pathway]), and farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1 (FDFT1 [a committed step in the cholesterol branch]) are repressed by multiple KSHV miRNAs. Transfection of viral miRNA mimics in primary endothelial cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs]) is sufficient to reduce intracellular cholesterol levels; however, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting only HMGCS1 did not reduce cholesterol levels. This suggests that multiple targets are needed to perturb this tightly regulated pathway. We also report here that cholesterol levels were decreased in de novo -infected HUVECs after 7 days. This reduction is at least partially due to viral miRNAs, since the mutant form of KSHV lacking 10 of the 12 miRNA genes had increased cholesterol compared to wild-type infections. We hypothesized that KSHV is downregulating cholesterol to suppress the antiviral response by a modified form of cholesterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC). We found that the cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) gene, which is responsible for generating 25HC, had increased expression in de novo -infected HUVECs but was strongly suppressed in long-term latently infected cell lines. We found that 25HC inhibits KSHV infection when added exogenously prior to de novo infection. In conclusion, we found that multiple KSHV viral miRNAs target enzymes in the mevalonate pathway to modulate cholesterol in infected cells during latency. This repression of cholesterol levels could potentially be beneficial to viral infection by decreasing the levels of 25HC. IMPORTANCE A subset of viruses express unique microRNAs (miRNAs), which act like cellular miRNAs to generally repress host gene

  9. Wild type p53 transcriptionally represses the SALL2 transcription factor under genotoxic stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Farkas

    Full Text Available SALL2- a member of the Spalt gene family- is a poorly characterized transcription factor found deregulated in various cancers, which suggests it plays a role in the disease. We previously identified SALL2 as a novel interacting protein of neurotrophin receptors and showed that it plays a role in neuronal function, which does not necessarily explain why or how SALL2 is deregulated in cancer. Previous evidences indicate that SALL2 gene is regulated by the WT1 and AP4 transcription factors. Here, we identified SALL2 as a novel downstream target of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. Bioinformatic analysis of the SALL2 gene revealed several putative p53 half sites along the promoter region. Either overexpression of wild-type p53 or induction of the endogenous p53 by the genotoxic agent doxorubicin repressed SALL2 promoter activity in various cell lines. However R175H, R249S, and R248W p53 mutants, frequently found in the tumors of cancer patients, were unable to repress SALL2 promoter activity, suggesting that p53 specific binding to DNA is important for the regulation of SALL2. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated binding of p53 to one of the identified p53 half sites in the Sall2 promoter, and chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis confirmed in vivo interaction of p53 with the promoter region of Sall2 containing this half site. Importantly, by using a p53ER (TAM knockin model expressing a variant of p53 that is completely dependent on 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen for its activity, we show that p53 activation diminished SALL2 RNA and protein levels during genotoxic cellular stress in primary mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs and radiosensitive tissues in vivo. Thus, our finding indicates that p53 represses SALL2 expression in a context-specific manner, adding knowledge to the understanding of SALL2 gene regulation, and to a potential mechanism for its deregulation in cancer.

  10. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial DNA fragment activates Reg1p-dependent glucose-repressible transcription in the nucleus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santangelo, G M; Tornow, J

    1997-12-01

    As part of an effort to identify random carbon-source-regulated promoters in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, we discovered that a mitochondrial DNA fragment is capable of directing glucose-repressible expression of a reporter gene. This fragment (CR24) originated from the mitochondrial genome adjacent to a transcription initiation site. Mutational analyses identified a GC cluster within the fragment that is required for transcriptional induction. Repression of nuclear CR24-driven transcription required Reg1p, indicating that this mitochondrially derived promoter is a member of a large group of glucose-repressible nuclear promoters that are similarly regulated by Reg1p. In vivo and in vitro binding assays indicated the presence of factors, located within the nucleus and the mitochondria, that bind to the GC cluster. One or more of these factors may provide a regulatory link between the nucleus and mitochondria.

  11. Alternative epigenetic chromatin states of polycomb target genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuri B Schwartz

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Polycomb (PcG regulation has been thought to produce stable long-term gene silencing. Genomic analyses in Drosophila and mammals, however, have shown that it targets many genes, which can switch state during development. Genetic evidence indicates that critical for the active state of PcG target genes are the histone methyltransferases Trithorax (TRX and ASH1. Here we analyze the repertoire of alternative states in which PcG target genes are found in different Drosophila cell lines and the role of PcG proteins TRX and ASH1 in controlling these states. Using extensive genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, RNAi knockdowns, and quantitative RT-PCR, we show that, in addition to the known repressed state, PcG targets can reside in a transcriptionally active state characterized by formation of an extended domain enriched in ASH1, the N-terminal, but not C-terminal moiety of TRX and H3K27ac. ASH1/TRX N-ter domains and transcription are not incompatible with repressive marks, sometimes resulting in a "balanced" state modulated by both repressors and activators. Often however, loss of PcG repression results instead in a "void" state, lacking transcription, H3K27ac, or binding of TRX or ASH1. We conclude that PcG repression is dynamic, not static, and that the propensity of a target gene to switch states depends on relative levels of PcG, TRX, and activators. N-ter TRX plays a remarkable role that antagonizes PcG repression and preempts H3K27 methylation by acetylation. This role is distinct from that usually attributed to TRX/MLL proteins at the promoter. These results have important implications for Polycomb gene regulation, the "bivalent" chromatin state of embryonic stem cells, and gene expression in development.

  12. The interplay of StyR and IHF regulates substrate-dependent induction and carbon catabolite repression of styrene catabolism genes in Pseudomonas fluorescens ST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leoni Livia

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In Pseudomonas fluorescens ST, the promoter of the styrene catabolic operon, PstyA, is induced by styrene and is subject to catabolite repression. PstyA regulation relies on the StyS/StyR two-component system and on the IHF global regulator. The phosphorylated response regulator StyR (StyR-P activates PstyA in inducing conditions when it binds to the high-affinity site STY2, located about -40 bp from the transcription start point. A cis-acting element upstream of STY2, named URE, contains a low-affinity StyR-P binding site (STY1, overlapping the IHF binding site. Deletion of the URE led to a decrease of promoter activity in inducing conditions and to a partial release of catabolite repression. This study was undertaken to assess the relative role played by IHF and StyR-P on the URE, and to clarify if PstyA catabolite repression could rely on the interplay of these regulators. Results StyR-P and IHF compete for binding to the URE region. PstyA full activity in inducing conditions is achieved when StyR-P and IHF bind to site STY2 and to the URE, respectively. Under catabolite repression conditions, StyR-P binds the STY1 site, replacing IHF at the URE region. StyR-P bound to both STY1 and STY2 sites oligomerizes, likely promoting the formation of a DNA loop that closes the promoter in a repressed conformation. We found that StyR and IHF protein levels did not change in catabolite repression conditions, implying that PstyA repression is achieved through an increase in the StyR-P/StyR ratio. Conclusion We propose a model according to which the activity of the PstyA promoter is determined by conformational changes. An open conformation is operative in inducing conditions when StyR-P is bound to STY2 site and IHF to the URE. Under catabolite repression conditions StyR-P cellular levels would increase, displacing IHF from the URE and closing the promoter in a repressed conformation. The balance between the open and the closed

  13. Repressive coping and alexithymia in ideopathic environmental intolerance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovbjerg, Sine; Zachariae, Robert; Rasmussen, Alice

    2010-01-01

    participated in a general population-based study and reported symptoms of environmental intolerance (n = 787) and patients with IEI (n = 237). The participants completed questionnaires assessing IEI, namely, a measure of repressive coping combining scores on the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS...

  14. Abscisic acid affects transcription of chloroplast genes via protein phosphatase 2C-dependent activation of nuclear genes: repression by guanosine-3'-5'-bisdiphosphate and activation by sigma factor 5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamburenko, Maria V; Zubo, Yan O; Börner, Thomas

    2015-06-01

    Abscisic acid (ABA) represses the transcriptional activity of chloroplast genes (determined by run-on assays), with the exception of psbD and a few other genes in wild-type Arabidopsis seedlings and mature rosette leaves. Abscisic acid does not influence chloroplast transcription in the mutant lines abi1-1 and abi2-1 with constitutive protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) activity, suggesting that ABA affects chloroplast gene activity by binding to the pyrabactin resistance (PYR)/PYR1-like or regulatory component of ABA receptor protein family (PYR/PYL/RCAR) and signaling via PP2Cs and sucrose non-fermenting protein-related kinases 2 (SnRK2s). Further we show by quantitative PCR that ABA enhances the transcript levels of RSH2, RSH3, PTF1 and SIG5. RelA/SpoT homolog 2 (RSH2) and RSH3 are known to synthesize guanosine-3'-5'-bisdiphosphate (ppGpp), an inhibitor of the plastid-gene-encoded chloroplast RNA polymerase. We propose, therefore, that ABA leads to an inhibition of chloroplast gene expression via stimulation of ppGpp synthesis. On the other hand, sigma factor 5 (SIG5) and plastid transcription factor 1 (PTF1) are known to be necessary for the transcription of psbD from a specific light- and stress-induced promoter (the blue light responsive promoter, BLRP). We demonstrate that ABA activates the psbD gene by stimulation of transcription initiation at BLRP. Taken together, our data suggest that ABA affects the transcription of chloroplast genes by a PP2C-dependent activation of nuclear genes encoding proteins involved in chloroplast transcription. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Repression of multiple CYP2D genes in mouse primary hepatocytes with a single siRNA construct.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elraghy, Omaima; Baldwin, William S

    2015-01-01

    The Cyp2d subfamily is the second most abun-dant subfamily of hepatic drug-metabolizing CYPs. In mice, there are nine Cyp2d members that are believed to have redundant catalytic activity. We are testing and optimizing the ability of one short interfering RNA (siRNA) construct to knockdown the expression of multiple mouse Cyp2ds in primary hepatocytes. Expression of Cyp2d10, Cyp2d11, Cyp2d22, and Cyp2d26 was observed in the primary male mouse hepatocytes. Cyp2d9, which is male-specific and growth hormone-dependent, was not expressed in male primary hepatocytes, potentially because of its dependence on pulsatile growth hormone release from the anterior pituitary. Several different siRNAs at different concentrations and with different reagents were used to knockdown Cyp2d expression. siRNA constructs designed to repress only one construct often mildly repressed several Cyp2d isoforms. A construct designed to knockdown every Cyp2d isoform provided the best results, especially when incubated with transfection reagents designed specifically for primary cell culture. Interestingly, a construct designed to knockdown all Cyp2d isoforms, except Cyp2d10, caused a 2.5× increase in Cyp2d10 expression, presumably because of a compensatory response. However, while RNA expression is repressed 24 h after siRNA treatment, associated changes in Cyp2d-mediated metabolism are tenuous. Overall, this study provides data on the expression of murine Cyp2ds in primary cell lines, valuable information on designing siRNAs for silencing multiple murine CYPs, and potential pros and cons of using siRNA as a tool for repressing Cyp2d and estimating Cyp2d's role in murine xenobiotic metabolism.

  16. The phytochemical 3,3'-diindolylmethane decreases expression of AR-controlled DNA damage repair genes through repressive chromatin modifications and is associated with DNA damage in prostate cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palomera-Sanchez, Zoraya; Watson, Gregory W; Wong, Carmen P; Beaver, Laura M; Williams, David E; Dashwood, Roderick H; Ho, Emily

    2017-09-01

    Androgen receptor (AR) is a transcription factor involved in normal prostate physiology and prostate cancer (PCa) development. 3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a promising phytochemical agent against PCa that affects AR activity and epigenetic regulators in PCa cells. However, whether DIM suppresses PCa via epigenetic regulation of AR target genes is unknown. We assessed epigenetic regulation of AR target genes in LNCaP PCa cells and showed that DIM treatment led to epigenetic suppression of AR target genes involved in DNA repair (PARP1, MRE11, DNA-PK). Decreased expression of these genes was accompanied by an increase in repressive chromatin marks, loss of AR occupancy and EZH2 recruitment to their regulatory regions. Decreased DNA repair gene expression was associated with an increase in DNA damage (γH2Ax) and up-regulation of genomic repeat elements LINE1 and α-satellite. Our results suggest that DIM suppresses AR-dependent gene transcription through epigenetic modulation, leading to DNA damage and genome instability in PCa cells. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Origin of the polycomb repressive complex 2 and gene silencing by an E(z) homolog in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaver, Scott; Casas-Mollano, J Armando; Cerny, Ronald L; Cerutti, Heriberto

    2010-05-16

    Polycomb group proteins play an essential role in the maintenance of cell identity and the regulation of development in both animals and plants. The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is involved in the establishment of transcriptionally silent chromatin states, in part through its ability to methylate lysine 27 of histone H3 by the Enhancer of zeste [E(z)] subunit. The absence of PRC2 in unicellular model fungi and its function in the repression of genes vital for the development of higher eukaryotes led to the proposal that this complex may have evolved together with the emergence of multicellularity. However, we report here on the widespread presence of PRC2 core subunits in unicellular eukaryotes from the Opisthokonta, Chromalveolata and Archaeplastida supergroups. To gain insight on the role of PRC2 in single celled organisms, we characterized an E(z) homolog, EZH, in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. RNAi-mediated suppression of EZH led to defects in the silencing of transgenes and retrotransposons as well as to a global increase in histone post-translational modifications associated with transcriptional activity, such as trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 and acetylation of histone H4. On the basis of the parsimony principle, our findings suggest that PRC2 appeared early in eukaryotic evolution, even perhaps in the last unicellular common ancestor of eukaryotes. One of the ancestral roles of PCR2 may have been in defense responses against intragenomic parasites such as transposable elements, prior to being co-opted for lineage specific functions like developmental regulation in multicellular eukaryotes.

  18. Histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity of p300 modulates human T lymphotropic virus type 1 p30II-mediated repression of LTR transcriptional activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michael, Bindhu; Nair, Amrithraj M.; Datta, Antara; Hiraragi, Hajime; Ratner, Lee; Lairmore, Michael D.

    2006-01-01

    Human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a deltaretrovirus that causes adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma, and is implicated in a variety of lymphocyte-mediated inflammatory disorders. HTLV-1 provirus has regulatory and accessory genes in four pX open reading frames. HTLV-1 pX ORF-II encodes two proteins, p13 II and p30 II , which are incompletely defined in virus replication or pathogenesis. We have demonstrated that pX ORF-II mutations block virus replication in vivo and that ORF-II encoded p30 II , a nuclear-localizing protein that binds with CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300, represses CREB and Tax responsive element (TRE)-mediated transcription. Herein, we have identified p30 II motifs important for p300 binding and in regulating TRE-mediated transcription in the absence and presence of HTLV-1 provirus. Within amino acids 100-179 of p30 II , a region important for repression of LTR-mediated transcription, we identified a single lysine residue at amino acid 106 (K3) that significantly modulates the ability of p30 II to repress TRE-mediated transcription. Exogenous p300, in a dose-responsive manner, reverses p30 II -dependent repression of TRE-mediated transcription, in the absence or presence of the provirus, In contrast to wild type p300, p300 HAT mutants (defective in histone acetyltransferase activity) only partially rescued p30 II -mediated LTR repression. Deacetylation by histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC-1) enhanced p30 II -mediated LTR repression, while inhibition of deacetylation by trichostatin A decreases p30 II -mediated LTR repression. Collectively, our data indicate that HTLV-1 p30 II modulates viral gene expression in a cooperative manner with p300-mediated acetylation

  19. Hox gene regulation in the central nervous system of Drosophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maheshwar eGummalla

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Hox genes specify the structures that form along the anteroposterior (AP axis of bilateria. Within the genome, they often form clusters where, remarkably enough, their position within the clusters reflects the relative positions of the structures they specify along the AP axis. This correspondence between genomic organization and gene expression pattern has been conserved through evolution and provides a unique opportunity to study how chromosomal context affects gene regulation. In Drosophila, a general rule, often called posterior dominance, states that Hox genes specifying more posterior structures repress the expression of more anterior Hox genes. This rule explains the apparent spatial complementarity of Hox gene expression patterns in Drosophila. Here we review a noticeable exception to this rule where the more-posteriorly expressed Abd-B hox gene fails to repress the more-anterior abd-A gene in cells of the central nervous system (CNS. While Abd-B is required to repress ectopic expression of abd-A in the posterior epidermis, abd-A repression in the posterior CNS is accomplished by a different mechanism that involves a large 92kb long non-coding RNA (lncRNA encoded by the intergenic region separating abd-A and Abd-B (the iab8ncRNA. Dissection of this lncRNA revealed that abd-A is repressed by the lncRNA using two redundant mechanisms. The 1st mechanism is mediated by a microRNA (mir-iab-8 encoded by intronic sequence within the large iab8-ncRNA. Meanwhile, the second mechanism seems to involve transcriptional interference by the long iab-8 ncRNA on the abd-A promoter. Recent work demonstrating CNS-specific regulation of genes by ncRNAs in Drosophila, seem to highlight a potential role for the iab-8-ncRNA in the evolution of the Drosophila hox complexes

  20. Eliminating a global regulator of carbon catabolite repression enhances the conversion of aromatic lignin monomers to muconate in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher W. Johnson

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Carbon catabolite repression refers to the preference of microbes to metabolize certain growth substrates over others in response to a variety of regulatory mechanisms. Such preferences are important for the fitness of organisms in their natural environments, but may hinder their performance as domesticated microbial cell factories. In a Pseudomonas putida KT2440 strain engineered to convert lignin-derived aromatic monomers such as p-coumarate and ferulate to muconate, a precursor to bio-based nylon and other chemicals, metabolic intermediates including 4-hydroxybenzoate and vanillate accumulate and subsequently reduce productivity. We hypothesized that these metabolic bottlenecks may be, at least in part, the effect of carbon catabolite repression caused by glucose or acetate, more preferred substrates that must be provided to the strain for supplementary energy and cell growth. Using mass spectrometry-based proteomics, we have identified the 4-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase, PobA, and the vanillate demethylase, VanAB, as targets of the Catabolite Repression Control (Crc protein, a global regulator of carbon catabolite repression. By deleting the gene encoding Crc from this strain, the accumulation of 4-hydroxybenzoate and vanillate are reduced and, as a result, muconate production is enhanced. In cultures grown on glucose, the yield of muconate produced from p-coumarate after 36 h was increased nearly 70% with deletion of the gene encoding Crc (94.6 ± 0.6% vs. 56.0 ± 3.0% (mol/mol while the yield from ferulate after 72 h was more than doubled (28.3 ± 3.3% vs. 12.0 ± 2.3% (mol/mol. The effect of eliminating Crc was similar in cultures grown on acetate, with the yield from p-coumarate just slightly higher in the Crc deletion strain after 24 h (47.7 ± 0.6% vs. 40.7 ± 3.6% (mol/mol and the yield from ferulate increased more than 60% after 72 h (16.9 ± 1.4% vs. 10.3 ± 0.1% (mol/mol. These results are an example of the benefit that reducing

  1. A non-canonical Flt3ITD/NF-κB signaling pathway represses DAPK1 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugam, Rajasubramaniam; Sayar, Hamid; Suvannasankha, Attaya; Goswami, Chirayu; Li, Lang; Gupta, Sushil; Cardoso, Angelo A.; Baghdadi, Tareq Al; Sargent, Katie J.; Cripe, Larry D.; Kalvakolanu, Dhananjaya V.; Boswell, H. Scott

    2014-01-01

    Purpose DAPK1, a tumor suppressor, is a rate-limiting effector in an ER stress-dependent apoptotic pathway. Its expression is epigenetically suppressed in several tumors. A mechanistic basis for epigenetic/transcriptional repression of DAPK1 was investigated in certain forms of AML with poor prognosis, which lacked ER stress-induced apoptosis. Experimental Design Heterogeneous primary AMLs were screened to identify a subgroup with Flt3ITD in which repression of DAPK1, among NF-κB- and c- jun-responsive genes, was studied. RNAi knockdown studies were performed in Flt3ITD+ve cell line, MV-4-11, to establish genetic epistasis in the pathway Flt3ITD-TAK1-DAPK1 repression, and chromatin immunoprecipitations were performed to identify proximate effector proteins, including TAK1-activated p52NF-κB, at the DAPK1 locus. Results AMLs characterized by normal karyotype with Flt3ITD were found to have 10-100-fold lower DAPK1 transcripts normalized to the expression of c-jun, a transcriptional activator of DAPK1, as compared to a heterogeneous cytogenetic category. Meis1, a c-jun-responsive adverse AML prognostic gene signature was also measured as control. These Flt3ITD+ve AMLs over-express relB, a transcriptional repressor, which forms active heterodimers with p52NF-κB. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays identified p52NF-κB binding to the DAPK1 promoter along with HDAC2 and HDAC6 in the Flt3ITD+ve human AML cell line MV-4-11. Knockdown of p52NF-κB or its upstream regulator, NIK, de-repressed DAPK1. DAPK1-repressed primary Flt3ITD+ve AMLs had selective nuclear activation of p52NF-κB. Conclusions Flt3ITD promotes a non-canonical pathway via TAK1 and p52NF-κB to suppress DAPK1 in association with HDACs, which explains DAPK1 repression in Flt3ITD+ve AML. PMID:22096027

  2. SOX9 governs differentiation stage-specific gene expression in growth plate chondrocytes via direct concomitant transactivation and repression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Y L Leung

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Cartilage and endochondral bone development require SOX9 activity to regulate chondrogenesis, chondrocyte proliferation, and transition to a non-mitotic hypertrophic state. The restricted and reciprocal expression of the collagen X gene, Col10a1, in hypertrophic chondrocytes and Sox9 in immature chondrocytes epitomise the precise spatiotemporal control of gene expression as chondrocytes progress through phases of differentiation, but how this is achieved is not clear. Here, we have identified a regulatory element upstream of Col10a1 that enhances its expression in hypertrophic chondrocytes in vivo. In immature chondrocytes, where Col10a1 is not expressed, SOX9 interacts with a conserved sequence within this element that is analogous to that within the intronic enhancer of the collagen II gene Col2a1, the known transactivation target of SOX9. By analysing a series of Col10a1 reporter genes in transgenic mice, we show that the SOX9 binding consensus in this element is required to repress expression of the transgene in non-hypertrophic chondrocytes. Forced ectopic Sox9 expression in hypertrophic chondrocytes in vitro and in mice resulted in down-regulation of Col10a1. Mutation of a binding consensus motif for GLI transcription factors, which are the effectors of Indian hedgehog signaling, close to the SOX9 site in the Col10a1 regulatory element, also derepressed transgene expression in non-hypertrophic chondrocytes. GLI2 and GLI3 bound to the Col10a1 regulatory element but not to the enhancer of Col2a1. In addition to Col10a1, paired SOX9-GLI binding motifs are present in the conserved non-coding regions of several genes that are preferentially expressed in hypertrophic chondrocytes and the occurrence of pairing is unlikely to be by chance. We propose a regulatory paradigm whereby direct concomitant positive and negative transcriptional control by SOX9 ensures differentiation phase-specific gene expression in chondrocytes. Discrimination between

  3. Revisiting progesterone receptor (PR) actions in breast cancer: Insights into PR repressive functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proietti, Cecilia J; Cenciarini, Mauro E; Elizalde, Patricia V

    2018-05-01

    Progesterone receptor (PR) is a master regulator in female reproductive tissues that controls developmental processes and proliferation and differentiation during the reproductive cycle and pregnancy. PR also plays a role in progression of endocrine-dependent breast cancer. As a member of the nuclear receptor family of ligand-dependent transcription factors, the main action of PR is to regulate networks of target gene expression in response to binding its cognate steroid hormone, progesterone. Liganded-PR transcriptional activation has been thoroughly studied and associated mechanisms have been described while progesterone-mediated repression has remained less explored. The present work summarizes recent advances in the understanding of how PR-mediated repression is accomplished in breast cancer cells and highlights the significance of fully understanding the determinants of context-dependent PR action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. REST represses a subset of the pancreatic endocrine differentiation program

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martin, David; Kim, Yung-Hae; Sever, Dror

    2015-01-01

    in neurons and in endocrine cells, which is necessary for their normal function. During development, REST represses a subset of genes in the neuronal differentiation program and Rest is down-regulated as neurons differentiate. Here, we investigate the role of REST in the differentiation of pancreatic...... endocrine cells, which are molecularly close to neurons. We show that Rest is widely expressed in pancreas progenitors and that it is down-regulated in differentiated endocrine cells. Sustained expression of REST in Pdx1(+) progenitors impairs the differentiation of endocrine-committed Neurog3...

  5. The Crc global regulator inhibits the Pseudomonas putida pWW0 toluene/xylene assimilation pathway by repressing the translation of regulatory and structural genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Renata; Fonseca, Pilar; Rojo, Fernando

    2010-08-06

    In Pseudomonas putida, the expression of the pWW0 plasmid genes for the toluene/xylene assimilation pathway (the TOL pathway) is subject to complex regulation in response to environmental and physiological signals. This includes strong inhibition via catabolite repression, elicited by the carbon sources that the cells prefer to hydrocarbons. The Crc protein, a global regulator that controls carbon flow in pseudomonads, has an important role in this inhibition. Crc is a translational repressor that regulates the TOL genes, but how it does this has remained unknown. This study reports that Crc binds to sites located at the translation initiation regions of the mRNAs coding for XylR and XylS, two specific transcription activators of the TOL genes. Unexpectedly, eight additional Crc binding sites were found overlapping the translation initiation sites of genes coding for several enzymes of the pathway, all encoded within two polycistronic mRNAs. Evidence is provided supporting the idea that these sites are functional. This implies that Crc can differentially modulate the expression of particular genes within polycistronic mRNAs. It is proposed that Crc controls TOL genes in two ways. First, Crc inhibits the translation of the XylR and XylS regulators, thereby reducing the transcription of all TOL pathway genes. Second, Crc inhibits the translation of specific structural genes of the pathway, acting mainly on proteins involved in the first steps of toluene assimilation. This ensures a rapid inhibitory response that reduces the expression of the toluene/xylene degradation proteins when preferred carbon sources become available.

  6. The transcription factor ATF3 is upregulated during chondrocyte differentiation and represses cyclin D1 and A gene transcription

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Claudine G

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Coordinated chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation are required for normal endochondral bone growth. Transcription factors binding to the cyclicAMP response element (CRE are known to regulate these processes. One member of this family, Activating Tanscription Factor 3 (ATF3, is expressed during skeletogenesis and acts as a transcriptional repressor, but the function of this protein in chondrogenesis is unknown. Results Here we demonstrate that Atf3 mRNA levels increase during mouse chondrocyte differentiation in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Atf3 mRNA levels are increased in response to cytochalasin D treatment, an inducer of chondrocyte maturation. This is accompanied by increased Atf3 promoter activity in cytochalasin D-treated chondrocytes. We had shown earlier that transcription of the cell cycle genes cyclin D1 and cyclin A in chondrocytes is dependent on CREs. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of ATF3 in primary mouse chondrocytes results in reduced transcription of both genes, as well as decreased activity of a CRE reporter plasmid. Repression of cyclin A transcription by ATF3 required the CRE in the cyclin A promoter. In parallel, ATF3 overexpression reduces the activity of a SOX9-dependent promoter and increases the activity of a RUNX2-dependent promoter. Conclusion Our data suggest that transcriptional induction of the Atf3 gene in maturing chondrocytes results in down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin A expression as well as activation of RUNX2-dependent transcription. Therefore, ATF3 induction appears to facilitate cell cycle exit and terminal differentiation of chondrocytes.

  7. Glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kayikci, Omur; Nielsen, Jens

    2015-01-01

    Glucose is the primary source of energy for the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although yeast cells can utilize a wide range of carbon sources, presence of glucose suppresses molecular activities involved in the use of alternate carbon sources as well as it represses respiration and gluc......Glucose is the primary source of energy for the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although yeast cells can utilize a wide range of carbon sources, presence of glucose suppresses molecular activities involved in the use of alternate carbon sources as well as it represses respiration...

  8. I-mfa domain proteins specifically interact with HTLV-1 Tax and repress its transactivating functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kusano, Shuichi; Yoshimitsu, Makoto; Hachiman, Miho; Ikeda, Masanori

    2015-01-01

    The I-mfa domain proteins HIC (also known as MDFIC) and I-mfa (also known as MDFI) are candidate tumor suppressor genes that are involved in cellular and viral transcriptional regulation. Here, we show that HIC and I-mfa directly interact with human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) Tax protein in vitro. In addition, HIC and I-mfa repress Tax-dependent transactivation of an HTLV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) reporter construct in COS-1, Jurkat and high-Tax-producing HTLV-1-infected T cells. HIC also interacts with Tax through its I-mfa domain in vivo and represses Tax-dependent transactivation of HTLV-1 LTR and NF-κB reporter constructs in an interaction-dependent manner. Furthermore, we show that HIC decreases the nuclear distribution and stimulates the proteasomal degradation of Tax. These data reveal that HIC specifically interacts with HTLV-1 Tax and negatively regulates Tax transactivational activity by altering its subcellular distribution and stability. - Highlights: • I-mfa domain proteins, HIC and I-mfa, specifically interact with HTLV-1 Tax. • HIC and I-mfa repress the Tax-dependent transactivation of HTLV-1 LTR. • HIC represses the Tax-dependent transactivation of NF-κΒ. • HIC decreases the nuclear distribution of Tax. • HIC stimulates the proteasomal degradation of Tax.

  9. I-mfa domain proteins specifically interact with HTLV-1 Tax and repress its transactivating functions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kusano, Shuichi, E-mail: skusano@m2.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp [Division of Persistent and Oncogenic Viruses, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544 (Japan); Yoshimitsu, Makoto; Hachiman, Miho [Division of Hematology and Immunology, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544 (Japan); Ikeda, Masanori [Division of Persistent and Oncogenic Viruses, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544 (Japan)

    2015-12-15

    The I-mfa domain proteins HIC (also known as MDFIC) and I-mfa (also known as MDFI) are candidate tumor suppressor genes that are involved in cellular and viral transcriptional regulation. Here, we show that HIC and I-mfa directly interact with human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) Tax protein in vitro. In addition, HIC and I-mfa repress Tax-dependent transactivation of an HTLV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) reporter construct in COS-1, Jurkat and high-Tax-producing HTLV-1-infected T cells. HIC also interacts with Tax through its I-mfa domain in vivo and represses Tax-dependent transactivation of HTLV-1 LTR and NF-κB reporter constructs in an interaction-dependent manner. Furthermore, we show that HIC decreases the nuclear distribution and stimulates the proteasomal degradation of Tax. These data reveal that HIC specifically interacts with HTLV-1 Tax and negatively regulates Tax transactivational activity by altering its subcellular distribution and stability. - Highlights: • I-mfa domain proteins, HIC and I-mfa, specifically interact with HTLV-1 Tax. • HIC and I-mfa repress the Tax-dependent transactivation of HTLV-1 LTR. • HIC represses the Tax-dependent transactivation of NF-κΒ. • HIC decreases the nuclear distribution of Tax. • HIC stimulates the proteasomal degradation of Tax.

  10. Estradiol represses Insulin-like 3 expression and promoter activity in MA-10 Leydig cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lague, Eric; Tremblay, Jacques J.

    2009-01-01

    There are increasing evidence in the literature reporting the detrimental effects of endocrine disruptors on the development and function of the male reproductive system. One example is cryptorchidism, or undescended testis, caused by exposure to excessive estrogens. Estrogens, acting through the estrogen receptor α (ERα), have been shown to repress expression of the gene encoding insulin-like 3 (INSL3), a small peptide produced by testicular Leydig cells that is essential for normal testis descent. The molecular mechanism of estrogen/ER action on Insl3 expression, however, remains poorly understood. Here we report estradiol (E 2 ) represses Insl3 mRNA levels in MA-10 cells, a Leydig cell line model. We also found that E 2 represses the activity of the human and mouse Insl3 promoter in these cells. The E 2 -responsive region of the human INSL3 promoter was located to the proximal INSL3 promoter. This region does not contain a consensus estrogen response element indicating an indirect mechanism of action. In agreement with this, we found that E 2 -responsiveness was lost when two previously characterized binding sites for the nuclear receptors NUR77 and SF1 were mutated. Finally we show that the E 2 repressive effect could be overcome by cotreatment with testosterone, a positive regulator of Insl3 transcription. Collectively our data provide important new insights into the molecular mechanism of estrogen action in Insl3 transcription in Leydig cells

  11. Financial repression, money growth, and seignorage: The Polish experience

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarle, B. van; Budina, N.

    1997-01-01

    Financial Repression, Money Growth and Seignorage: The Polish Experience. — A small analytical framework is developed to analyze the relation between reserve requirements, base money growth and seignorage revenues. From the analysis, the authors can derive of steady-state seignorage revenues as a

  12. Gene therapy in animal models of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossmiller, Brian; Mao, Haoyu

    2012-01-01

    Gene therapy for dominantly inherited genetic disease is more difficult than gene-based therapy for recessive disorders, which can be treated with gene supplementation. Treatment of dominant disease may require gene supplementation partnered with suppression of the expression of the mutant gene either at the DNA level, by gene repair, or at the RNA level by RNA interference or transcriptional repression. In this review, we examine some of the gene delivery approaches used to treat animal models of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, focusing on those models associated with mutations in the gene for rhodopsin. We conclude that combinatorial approaches have the greatest promise for success. PMID:23077406

  13. Molecular cloning of a catalase cDNA from Nicotiana glutinosa L. and its repression by tobacco mosaic virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, S Y; Yu, S H; Choi, D

    1999-06-30

    Recent reports revealed that catalase has a role in the plant defense mechanism against a broad range of pathogens through being inhibited by salicylic acid (SA). During an effort to clone disease resistance-responsive genes, a cDNA encoding catalase (Ngcat1; Nicotiana glutinosa cat1) was isolated from a tobacco cDNA library. In N. glutinosa, catalase is encoded by a small gene family. The deduced amino acid sequence of the Ngcat1 cDNA has 98% homology with the cat1 gene of N. plumbaginifolia. The Ngcat1 expression is controlled by the circadian clock, and its mRNA level is the most abundant in leaves. Both the expression of Ngcat1 mRNA and its enzyme activity in the tobacco plant undergoing a hypersensitive response (HR) to TMV infection were repressed. The repression of the mRNA level was also observed following treatment with SA. These results imply that SA may act as an inhibitor of catalase transcription during the HR of tobacco. Cloning and expression of the Ngcat1 in tobacco following pathogen infection and SA treatment are presented.

  14. Resveratrol represses YKL-40 expression in human glioma U87 cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Wei; Tamiya, Takashi; Murao, Koji; Zhang, Xiang; Matsumoto, Kensuke; Diah, Suwarni; Okada, Masaki; Miyake, Keisuke; Kawai, Nobuyuki; Fei, Zhou

    2010-01-01

    Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant intracranial tumour that develops in both adults and children. Microarray gene analyses have confirmed that the human YKL-40 gene is one of the most over-expressed genes in these tumours but not in normal brain tissue. Clinical studies have shown that serum YKL-40 levels are positively correlated with tumour burden in addition to being an independent prognostic factor of a short relapse-free interval as well as short overall survival in patients with various cancers. Our previous study revealed that YKL-40 was closely correlated with the pathological grades of human primary astrocytomas and played a crucial role in glioma cell proliferation. Hence, YKL-40 could be an attractive target in the design of anti-cancer therapies. Cell viability and invasion assays were performed to detect the cell proliferation and invasive ability of U87 cells induced by resveratrol (3, 5, 4'-trihydroxystilbene; Res) or YKL-40 small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs). In addition, the luciferase assay, real-time RT-PCR, western blotting, and ELISA were used to measure YKL-40 promoter activity, mRNA, and protein expression, respectively. The expressions of phosphor-ERK1/2 and ERK1/2 were determined by western blotting. Res inhibited U87 cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and repressed YKL-40 in U87 cells by decreasing the activity of its promoter and reducing mRNA transcription and protein expression in vitro. YKL-40 siRNA treatment also impaired the invasiveness of U87 cells. When U87 cells were cultured with 20 μM PD98059 (an ERK1/2 inhibitor) alone, with 20 μM PD98059 and 100 μM Res, or with 100 μM Res alone for 48 h, YKL-40 protein expression decreased most significantly in the Res-treated group. PD98059 partially reversed the decrease of YKL-40 protein expression induced by Res. Furthermore, phosphor-ERK1/2 expression was reduced by Res treatment in a time-dependent manner. We demonstrated for the first time that Res

  15. Drosophila brakeless interacts with atrophin and is required for tailless-mediated transcriptional repression in early embryos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haecker, Achim; Qi, Dai; Lilja, Tobias; Moussian, Bernard; Andrioli, Luiz Paulo; Luschnig, Stefan; Mannervik, Mattias

    2007-06-01

    Complex gene expression patterns in animal development are generated by the interplay of transcriptional activators and repressors at cis-regulatory DNA modules (CRMs). How repressors work is not well understood, but often involves interactions with co-repressors. We isolated mutations in the brakeless gene in a screen for maternal factors affecting segmentation of the Drosophila embryo. Brakeless, also known as Scribbler, or Master of thickveins, is a nuclear protein of unknown function. In brakeless embryos, we noted an expanded expression pattern of the Krüppel (Kr) and knirps (kni) genes. We found that Tailless-mediated repression of kni expression is impaired in brakeless mutants. Tailless and Brakeless bind each other in vitro and interact genetically. Brakeless is recruited to the Kr and kni CRMs, and represses transcription when tethered to DNA. This suggests that Brakeless is a novel co-repressor. Orphan nuclear receptors of the Tailless type also interact with Atrophin co-repressors. We show that both Drosophila and human Brakeless and Atrophin interact in vitro, and propose that they act together as a co-repressor complex in many developmental contexts. We discuss the possibility that human Brakeless homologs may influence the toxicity of polyglutamine-expanded Atrophin-1, which causes the human neurodegenerative disease dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA).

  16. HosA, a MarR Family Transcriptional Regulator, Represses Nonoxidative Hydroxyarylic Acid Decarboxylase Operon and Is Modulated by 4-Hydroxybenzoic Acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Ajit; Ranjan, Akash

    2016-02-23

    Members of the Multiple antibiotic resistance Regulator (MarR) family of DNA binding proteins regulate transcription of a wide array of genes required for virulence and pathogenicity of bacteria. The present study reports the molecular characterization of HosA (Homologue of SlyA), a MarR protein, with respect to its target gene, DNA recognition motif, and nature of its ligand. Through a comparative genomics approach, we demonstrate that hosA is in synteny with nonoxidative hydroxyarylic acid decarboxylase (HAD) operon and is present exclusively within the mutS-rpoS polymorphic region in nine different genera of Enterobacteriaceae family. Using molecular biology and biochemical approach, we demonstrate that HosA binds to a palindromic sequence downstream to the transcription start site of divergently transcribed nonoxidative HAD operon and represses its expression. Furthermore, in silico analysis showed that the recognition motif for HosA is highly conserved in the upstream region of divergently transcribed operon in different genera of Enterobacteriaceae family. A systematic chemical search for the physiological ligand revealed that 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) interacts with HosA and derepresses HosA mediated repression of the nonoxidative HAD operon. Based on our study, we propose a model for molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of nonoxidative HAD operon by HosA in Enterobacteriaceae family.

  17. Identification of HDA15-PIF1 as a key repression module directing the transcriptional network of seed germination in the dark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Dachuan; Chen, Chia-Yang; Zhao, Minglei; Zhao, Linmao; Duan, Xuewu; Duan, Jun; Wu, Keqiang; Liu, Xuncheng

    2017-07-07

    Light is a major external factor in regulating seed germination. Photoreceptor phytochrome B (PHYB) plays a predominant role in promoting seed germination in the initial phase after imbibition, partially by repressing phytochrome-interacting factor1 (PIF1). However, the mechanism underlying the PHYB-PIF1-mediated transcription regulation remains largely unclear. Here, we identified that histone deacetylase15 (HDA15) is a negative component of PHYB-dependent seed germination. Overexpression of HDA15 in Arabidopsis inhibits PHYB-dependent seed germination, whereas loss of function of HDA15 increases PHYB-dependent seed germination. Genetic evidence indicated that HDA15 acts downstream of PHYB and represses seed germination dependent on PIF1. Furthermore, HDA15 interacts with PIF1 both in vitro and in vivo. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis revealed that HDA15 and PIF1 co-regulate the transcription of the light-responsive genes involved in multiple hormonal signaling pathways and cellular processes in germinating seeds in the dark. In addition, PIF1 recruits HDA15 to the promoter regions of target genes and represses their expression by decreasing the histone H3 acetylation levels in the dark. Taken together, our analysis uncovered the role of histone deacetylation in the light-regulated seed germination process and identified that HDA15-PIF1 acts as a key repression module directing the transcription network of seed germination. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  18. Harpin-induced expression and transgenic overexpression of the phloem protein gene AtPP2-A1 in Arabidopsis repress phloem feeding of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae

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    Sun Weiwei

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Treatment of plants with HrpNEa, a protein of harpin group produced by Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria, induces plant resistance to insect herbivores, including the green peach aphid Myzus persicae, a generalist phloem-feeding insect. Under attacks by phloem-feeding insects, plants defend themselves using the phloem-based defense mechanism, which is supposed to involve the phloem protein 2 (PP2, one of the most abundant proteins in the phloem sap. The purpose of this study was to obtain genetic evidence for the function of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis PP2-encoding gene AtPP2-A1 in resistance to M. persicae when the plant was treated with HrpNEa and after the plant was transformed with AtPP2-A1. Results The electrical penetration graph technique was used to visualize the phloem-feeding activities of apterous agamic M. persicae females on leaves of Arabidopsis plants treated with HrpNEa and an inactive protein control, respectively. A repression of phloem feeding was induced by HrpNEa in wild-type (WT Arabidopsis but not in atpp2-a1/E/142, the plant mutant that had a defect in the AtPP2-A1 gene, the most HrpNEa-responsive of 30 AtPP2 genes. In WT rather than atpp2-a1/E/142, the deterrent effect of HrpNEa treatment on the phloem-feeding activity accompanied an enhancement of AtPP2-A1 expression. In PP2OETAt (AtPP2-A1-overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants, abundant amounts of the AtPP2-A1 gene transcript were detected in different organs, including leaves, stems, calyces, and petals. All these organs had a deterrent effect on the phloem-feeding activity compared with the same organs of the transgenic control plant. When a large-scale aphid population was monitored for 24 hours, there was a significant decrease in the number of aphids that colonized leaves of HrpNEa-treated WT and PP2OETAt plants, respectively, compared with control plants. Conclusions The repression in phloem-feeding activities of

  19. Harpin-induced expression and transgenic overexpression of the phloem protein gene AtPP2-A1 in Arabidopsis repress phloem feeding of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chunling; Shi, Haojie; Chen, Lei; Wang, Xiaomeng; Lü, Beibei; Zhang, Shuping; Liang, Yuan; Liu, Ruoxue; Qian, Jun; Sun, Weiwei; You, Zhenzhen; Dong, Hansong

    2011-01-13

    Treatment of plants with HrpNEa, a protein of harpin group produced by Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria, induces plant resistance to insect herbivores, including the green peach aphid Myzus persicae, a generalist phloem-feeding insect. Under attacks by phloem-feeding insects, plants defend themselves using the phloem-based defense mechanism, which is supposed to involve the phloem protein 2 (PP2), one of the most abundant proteins in the phloem sap. The purpose of this study was to obtain genetic evidence for the function of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) PP2-encoding gene AtPP2-A1 in resistance to M. persicae when the plant was treated with HrpNEa and after the plant was transformed with AtPP2-A1. The electrical penetration graph technique was used to visualize the phloem-feeding activities of apterous agamic M. persicae females on leaves of Arabidopsis plants treated with HrpNEa and an inactive protein control, respectively. A repression of phloem feeding was induced by HrpNEa in wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis but not in atpp2-a1/E/142, the plant mutant that had a defect in the AtPP2-A1 gene, the most HrpNEa-responsive of 30 AtPP2 genes. In WT rather than atpp2-a1/E/142, the deterrent effect of HrpNEa treatment on the phloem-feeding activity accompanied an enhancement of AtPP2-A1 expression. In PP2OETAt (AtPP2-A1-overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana) plants, abundant amounts of the AtPP2-A1 gene transcript were detected in different organs, including leaves, stems, calyces, and petals. All these organs had a deterrent effect on the phloem-feeding activity compared with the same organs of the transgenic control plant. When a large-scale aphid population was monitored for 24 hours, there was a significant decrease in the number of aphids that colonized leaves of HrpNEa-treated WT and PP2OETAt plants, respectively, compared with control plants. The repression in phloem-feeding activities of M. persicae as a result of AtPP2-A1 overexpression, and

  20. Cyclin D1 represses p300 transactivation through a cyclin-dependent kinase-independent mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Maofu; Wang, Chenguang; Rao, Mahadev; Wu, Xiaofang; Bouras, Toula; Zhang, Xueping; Li, Zhiping; Jiao, Xuanmao; Yang, Jianguo; Li, Anping; Perkins, Neil D; Thimmapaya, Bayar; Kung, Andrew L; Munoz, Alberto; Giordano, Antonio; Lisanti, Michael P; Pestell, Richard G

    2005-08-19

    Cyclin D1 encodes a regulatory subunit, which with its cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)-binding partner forms a holoenzyme that phosphorylates and inactivates the retinoblastoma protein. In addition to its Cdk binding-dependent functions, cyclin D1 regulates cellular differentiation in part by modifying several transcription factors and nuclear receptors. The molecular mechanism through which cyclin D1 regulates the function of transcription factors involved in cellular differentiation remains to be clarified. The histone acetyltransferase protein p300 is a co-integrator required for regulation of multiple transcription factors. Here we show that cyclin D1 physically interacts with p300 and represses p300 transactivation. We demonstrated further that the interaction of the two proteins occurs at the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-responsive element of the lipoprotein lipase promoter in the context of the local chromatin structure. We have mapped the domains in p300 and cyclin D1 involved in this interaction. The bromo domain and cysteine- and histidine-rich domains of p300 were required for repression by cyclin D1. Cyclin D1 repression of p300 was independent of the Cdk- and retinoblastoma protein-binding domains of cyclin D1. Cyclin D1 inhibits histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 in vitro. Microarray analysis identified a signature of genes repressed by cyclin D1 and induced by p300 that promotes cellular differentiation and induces cell cycle arrest. Together, our results suggest that cyclin D1 plays an important role in cellular proliferation and differentiation through regulation of p300.

  1. The Crc and Hfq proteins of Pseudomonas putida cooperate in catabolite repression and formation of ribonucleic acid complexes with specific target motifs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Renata; Hernández-Arranz, Sofía; La Rosa, Ruggero; Yuste, Luis; Madhushani, Anjana; Shingler, Victoria; Rojo, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    The Crc protein is a global regulator that has a key role in catabolite repression and optimization of metabolism in Pseudomonads. Crc inhibits gene expression post-transcriptionally, preventing translation of mRNAs bearing an AAnAAnAA motif [the catabolite activity (CA) motif] close to the translation start site. Although Crc was initially believed to bind RNA by itself, this idea was recently challenged by results suggesting that a protein co-purifying with Crc, presumably the Hfq protein, could account for the detected RNA-binding activity. Hfq is an abundant protein that has a central role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Herein, we show that the Pseudomonas putida Hfq protein can recognize the CA motifs of RNAs through its distal face and that Crc facilitates formation of a more stable complex at these targets. Crc was unable to bind RNA in the absence of Hfq. However, pull-down assays showed that Crc and Hfq can form a co-complex with RNA containing a CA motif in vitro. Inactivation of the hfq or the crc gene impaired catabolite repression to a similar extent. We propose that Crc and Hfq cooperate in catabolite repression, probably through forming a stable co-complex with RNAs containing CA motifs to result in inhibition of translation initiation. © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Investigating Behavioral and Psychophysiological Reactions to Conflict-Related and Individualized Stimuli as Potential Correlates of Repression

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    Henrik Kessler

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Repression is considered as a central defense mechanism in psychodynamic theory. It refers to the process by which “unbearable” mental contents (e.g., those related to internal conflicts are kept out of consciousness. The process of repression is probably closely related to concepts of emotion regulation derived from a different theoretical background. This relationship is particularly relevant because it relates repression to current research in the affective neurosciences as well as to experimental studies on emotion regulation. Due to its complex and highly individual nature, repression has been notoriously difficult to investigate. We investigated repression with an individualized experiment in healthy subjects in order to establish methods to study repression in clinical populations. To this end we operationalized repression using individualized experimental conditions, and then studied potential behavioral [memory and reaction time (RT] and psychophysiological correlates [skin conductance response (SCR].Method: Twenty-nine healthy female subjects were asked to freely associate to individualized cue sentences. Sentences were generated from individual psychodynamic interviews based on operationlized psychodynamic diagnosis (OPD, and were comprised of three different types: positive, negative non-conflictual, and negative conflict-related sentences. Subjects were asked to name the first three associations coming into their mind. Afterward, the remaining time was used for free association. SCR during each association trial and RT of the first given association were recorded. The memory for the first three associations was subsequently tested in an unexpected recall.Results: Associations to conflict-related cue sentences were associated with longer RTs and increased SCRs. Moreover, the unexpected recall task showed memory for these associations to be reduced.Conclusion: We interpret these findings as possible correlates of

  3. Investigating Behavioral and Psychophysiological Reactions to Conflict-Related and Individualized Stimuli as Potential Correlates of Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Henrik; Schmidt, Anna Christine; Hildenbrand, Oliver; Scharf, Daniela; Kehyayan, Aram; Axmacher, Nikolai

    2017-01-01

    Background: Repression is considered as a central defense mechanism in psychodynamic theory. It refers to the process by which "unbearable" mental contents (e.g., those related to internal conflicts) are kept out of consciousness. The process of repression is probably closely related to concepts of emotion regulation derived from a different theoretical background. This relationship is particularly relevant because it relates repression to current research in the affective neurosciences as well as to experimental studies on emotion regulation. Due to its complex and highly individual nature, repression has been notoriously difficult to investigate. We investigated repression with an individualized experiment in healthy subjects in order to establish methods to study repression in clinical populations. To this end we operationalized repression using individualized experimental conditions, and then studied potential behavioral [memory and reaction time (RT)] and psychophysiological correlates [skin conductance response (SCR)]. Method: Twenty-nine healthy female subjects were asked to freely associate to individualized cue sentences. Sentences were generated from individual psychodynamic interviews based on operationlized psychodynamic diagnosis (OPD), and were comprised of three different types: positive, negative non-conflictual, and negative conflict-related sentences. Subjects were asked to name the first three associations coming into their mind. Afterward, the remaining time was used for free association. SCR during each association trial and RT of the first given association were recorded. The memory for the first three associations was subsequently tested in an unexpected recall. Results: Associations to conflict-related cue sentences were associated with longer RTs and increased SCRs. Moreover, the unexpected recall task showed memory for these associations to be reduced. Conclusion: We interpret these findings as possible correlates of repression, in line

  4. MicroRNA-193b represses cell proliferation and regulates cyclin D1 in melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiamin; Feilotter, Harriet E; Paré, Geneviève C; Zhang, Xiao; Pemberton, Joshua G W; Garady, Cherif; Lai, Dulcie; Yang, Xiaolong; Tron, Victor A

    2010-05-01

    Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive form of human skin cancer characterized by high metastatic potential and poor prognosis. To better understand the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in melanoma, the expression of 470 miRNAs was profiled in tissue samples from benign nevi and metastatic melanomas. We identified 31 miRNAs that were differentially expressed (13 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated) in metastatic melanomas relative to benign nevi. Notably, miR-193b was significantly down-regulated in the melanoma tissues examined. To understand the role of miR-193b in melanoma, functional studies were undertaken. Overexpression of miR-193b in melanoma cell lines repressed cell proliferation. Gene expression profiling identified 314 genes down-regulated by overexpression of miR-193b in Malme-3M cells. Eighteen of these down-regulated genes, including cyclin D1 (CCND1), were also identified as putative miR-193b targets by TargetScan. Overexpression of miR-193b in Malme-3M cells down-regulated CCND1 mRNA and protein by > or = 50%. A luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-193b directly regulates CCND1 by binding to the 3'untranslated region of CCND1 mRNA. These studies indicate that miR-193b represses cell proliferation and regulates CCND1 expression and suggest that dysregulation of miR-193b may play an important role in melanoma development.

  5. An H3K9/S10 methyl-phospho switch modulates Polycomb and Pol II binding at repressed genes during differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabbattini, Pierangela; Sjoberg, Marcela; Nikic, Svetlana; Frangini, Alberto; Holmqvist, Per-Henrik; Kunowska, Natalia; Carroll, Tom; Brookes, Emily; Arthur, Simon J; Pombo, Ana; Dillon, Niall

    2014-03-01

    Methylated histones H3K9 and H3K27 are canonical epigenetic silencing modifications in metazoan organisms, but the relationship between the two modifications has not been well characterized. H3K9me3 coexists with H3K27me3 in pluripotent and differentiated cells. However, we find that the functioning of H3K9me3 is altered by H3S10 phosphorylation in differentiated postmitotic osteoblasts and cycling B cells. Deposition of H3K9me3/S10ph at silent genes is partially mediated by the mitogen- and stress-activated kinases (MSK1/2) and the Aurora B kinase. Acquisition of H3K9me3/S10ph during differentiation correlates with loss of paused S5 phosphorylated RNA polymerase II, which is present on Polycomb-regulated genes in embryonic stem cells. Reduction of the levels of H3K9me3/S10ph by kinase inhibition results in increased binding of RNAPIIS5ph and the H3K27 methyltransferase Ezh1 at silent promoters. Our results provide evidence of a novel developmentally regulated methyl-phospho switch that modulates Polycomb regulation in differentiated cells and stabilizes repressed states.

  6. Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2 restricts hematopoietic stem cell activity.

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    Ian J Majewski

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Polycomb group proteins are transcriptional repressors that play a central role in the establishment and maintenance of gene expression patterns during development. Using mice with an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU-induced mutation in Suppressor of Zeste 12 (Suz12, a core component of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2, we show here that loss of Suz12 function enhances hematopoietic stem cell (HSC activity. In addition to these effects on a wild-type genetic background, mutations in Suz12 are sufficient to ameliorate the stem cell defect and thrombocytopenia present in mice that lack the thrombopoietin receptor (c-Mpl. To investigate the molecular targets of the PRC2 complex in the HSC compartment, we examined changes in global patterns of gene expression in cells deficient in Suz12. We identified a distinct set of genes that are regulated by Suz12 in hematopoietic cells, including eight genes that appear to be highly responsive to PRC2 function within this compartment. These data suggest that PRC2 is required to maintain a specific gene expression pattern in hematopoiesis that is indispensable to normal stem cell function.

  7. Dominant Repression by Arabidopsis Transcription Factor MYB44 Causes Oxidative Damage and Hypersensitivity to Abiotic Stress

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    Helene Persak

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In any living species, stress adaptation is closely linked with major changes of the gene expression profile. As a substrate protein of the rapidly stress-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK3, Arabidopsis transcription factor MYB44 likely acts at the front line of stress-induced re-programming. We recently characterized MYB44 as phosphorylation-dependent positive regulator of salt stress signaling. Molecular events downstream of MYB44 are largely unknown. Although MYB44 binds to the MBSII element in vitro, it has no discernible effect on MBSII-driven reporter gene expression in plant co-transfection assays. This may suggest limited abundance of a synergistic co-regulator. MYB44 carries a putative transcriptional repression (Ethylene responsive element binding factor-associated Amphiphilic Repression, EAR motif. We employed a dominant repressor strategy to gain insights into MYB44-conferred stress resistance. Overexpression of a MYB44-REP fusion markedly compromised salt and drought stress tolerance—the opposite was seen in MYB44 overexpression lines. MYB44-mediated resistance likely results from induction of tolerance-enhancing, rather than from repression of tolerance-diminishing factors. Salt stress-induced accumulation of destructive reactive oxygen species is efficiently prevented in transgenic MYB44, but accelerated in MYB44-REP lines. Furthermore, heterologous overexpression of MYB44-REP caused tissue collapse in Nicotiana. A mechanistic model of MAPK-MYB-mediated enhancement in the antioxidative capacity and stress tolerance is proposed. Genetic engineering of MYB44 variants with higher trans-activating capacity may be a means to further raise stress resistance in crops.

  8. Tcf3 represses Wnt-β-catenin signaling and maintains neural stem cell population during neocortical development.

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    Atsushi Kuwahara

    Full Text Available During mouse neocortical development, the Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway plays essential roles in various phenomena including neuronal differentiation and proliferation of neural precursor cells (NPCs. Production of the appropriate number of neurons without depletion of the NPC population requires precise regulation of the balance between differentiation and maintenance of NPCs. However, the mechanism that suppresses Wnt signaling to prevent premature neuronal differentiation of NPCs is poorly understood. We now show that the HMG box transcription factor Tcf3 (also known as Tcf7l1 contributes to this mechanism. Tcf3 is highly expressed in undifferentiated NPCs in the mouse neocortex, and its expression is reduced in intermediate neuronal progenitors (INPs committed to the neuronal fate. We found Tcf3 to be a repressor of Wnt signaling in neocortical NPCs in a reporter gene assay. Tcf3 bound to the promoter of the proneural bHLH gene Neurogenin1 (Neurog1 and repressed its expression. Consistent with this, Tcf3 repressed neuronal differentiation and increased the self-renewal activity of NPCs. We also found that Wnt signal stimulation reduces the level of Tcf3, and increases those of Tcf1 (also known as Tcf7 and Lef1, positive mediators of Wnt signaling, in NPCs. Together, these results suggest that Tcf3 antagonizes Wnt signaling in NPCs, thereby maintaining their undifferentiated state in the neocortex and that Wnt signaling promotes the transition from Tcf3-mediated repression to Tcf1/Lef1-mediated enhancement of Wnt signaling, constituting a positive feedback loop that facilitates neuronal differentiation.

  9. Natural memory beyond the storage model: Repression, trauma, and the construction of a personal past

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    Nikolai Axmacher

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Naturally occurring memory processes show features which are difficult to investigate by conventional cognitive neuroscience paradigms. Distortions of memory for problematic contents are described both by psychoanalysis (internal conflicts and research on post-traumatic stress disorder (external traumata. Typically, declarative memory for these contents is impaired – possibly due to repression in the case of internal conflicts or due to dissociation in the case of external traumata – but they continue to exert an unconscious pathological influence: neurotic symptoms or psychosomatic disorders after repression or flashbacks and intrusions in post-traumatic stress disorder after dissociation. Several experimental paradigms aim at investigating repression in healthy control subjects. We argue that these paradigms do not adequately operationalize the clinical process of repression, because they rely on an intentional inhibition of random stimuli (suppression. Furthermore, these paradigms ignore that memory distortions due to repression or dissociation are most accurately characterized by a lack of self-referential processing, resulting in an impaired integration of these contents into the self. This aspect of repression and dissociation cannot be captured by the concept of memory as a storage device which is usually employed in the cognitive neurosciences. It can only be assessed within the framework of a constructivist memory concept, according to which successful memory involves a reconstruction of experiences such that they fit into a representation of the self. We suggest several experimental paradigms that allow for the investigation of the neural correlates of repressed memories and trauma-induced memory distortions based on a constructivist memory concept.

  10. The synthesis of Phosphate-repressible alkaline phosphatase do not appear to be regulated by ambient pH in the filamentous mould Neurospora crassa

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    Nozawa Sérgio R.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate further the adaptive response of moulds to ambient pH, we have measured by ELISA the pho-2-encoded Pi-repressible alkaline phosphatase synthesised by Neurospora crassa. We showed that the 74A and pho-2A strains of this mould secrete similar amounts of the pho-2-encoded enzyme irrespective of ambient pH, when both the preg and pgov genes are not functional, i.e., in strains nuc-2+ growing under Pi-starvation. This suggests that pho-2, which is responsive to Pi starvation via the action of genes nuc-2, preg, pgov and nuc-1, is not a gene responsive to ambient pH and that the differential glycosylation observed for the Pi-repressible alkaline phosphatase retained by the mycelium at pH 5.6 or secreted into the growth medium at pH 8.0 is the genetic response to ambient pH sensing in N. crassa.

  11. AMPK activation represses the human gene promoter of the cardiac isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase: Role of nuclear respiratory factor-1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adam, Tasneem; Opie, Lionel H. [Hatter Cardiovascular Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925 (South Africa); Essop, M. Faadiel, E-mail: mfessop@sun.ac.za [Cardio-Metabolic Research Group (CMRG), Department of Physiological Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600 (South Africa)

    2010-07-30

    Research highlights: {yields} AMPK inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta gene promoter activity. {yields} Nuclear respiratory factor-1 inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta promoter activity. {yields} AMPK regulates acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta at transcriptional level. -- Abstract: The cardiac-enriched isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC{beta}) produces malonyl-CoA, a potent inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. AMPK inhibits ACC{beta} activity, lowering malonyl-CoA levels and promoting mitochondrial fatty acid {beta}-oxidation. Previously, AMPK increased promoter binding of nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), a pivotal transcriptional modulator controlling gene expression of mitochondrial proteins. We therefore hypothesized that NRF-1 inhibits myocardial ACC{beta} promoter activity via AMPK activation. A human ACC{beta} promoter-luciferase construct was transiently transfected into neonatal cardiomyocytes {+-} a NRF-1 expression construct. NRF-1 overexpression decreased ACC{beta} gene promoter activity by 71 {+-} 4.6% (p < 0.001 vs. control). Transfections with 5'-end serial promoter deletions revealed that NRF-1-mediated repression of ACC{beta} was abolished with a pPII{beta}-18/+65-Luc deletion construct. AMPK activation dose-dependently reduced ACC{beta} promoter activity, while NRF-1 addition did not further decrease it. We also investigated NRF-1 inhibition in the presence of upstream stimulatory factor 1 (USF1), a known transactivator of the human ACC{beta} gene promoter. Here NRF-1 blunted USF1-dependent induction of ACC{beta} promoter activity by 58 {+-} 7.5% (p < 0.001 vs. control), reversed with a dominant negative NRF-1 construct. NRF-1 also suppressed endogenous USF1 transcriptional activity by 55 {+-} 6.2% (p < 0.001 vs. control). This study demonstrates that NRF-1 is a novel transcriptional inhibitor of the human ACC{beta} gene promoter in the mammalian heart. Our data extends AMPK regulation of ACC{beta} to the transcriptional level.

  12. Catabolite repression of enzyme synthesis does not prevent sporulation.

    OpenAIRE

    Lopez, J M; Uratani-Wong, B; Freese, E

    1980-01-01

    In the presence of excess glucose, a decrease of guanine nucleotides in Bacillus subtilis initiated sporulation but did not prevent catabolite repression of three enzymes. Therefore, the ultimate mechanism(s) repressing enzyme synthesis differs from that suppressing sporulation.

  13. The Transcriptional Repressive Activity of KRAB Zinc Finger Proteins Does Not Correlate with Their Ability to Recruit TRIM28.

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    Kristin E Murphy

    Full Text Available KRAB domain Zinc finger proteins are one of the most abundant families of transcriptional regulators in higher vertebrates. The prevailing view is that KRAB domain proteins function as potent transcriptional repressors by recruiting TRIM28 and promoting heterochromatin spreading. However, the extent to which all KRAB domain proteins are TRIM28-dependent transcriptional repressors is currently unclear. Our studies on mouse ZFP568 revealed that TRIM28 recruitment by KRAB domain proteins is not sufficient to warrant transcriptional repressive activity. By using luciferase reporter assays and yeast two-hybrid experiments, we tested the ability of ZFP568 and other mouse KRAB domain proteins to repress transcription and bind TRIM28. We found that some mouse KRAB domain proteins are poor transcriptional repressors despite their ability to recruit TRIM28, while others showed strong KRAB-dependent transcriptional repression, but no TRIM28 binding. Together, our results show that the transcriptional repressive activity of KRAB-ZNF proteins does not correlate with their ability to recruit TRIM28, and provide evidence that KRAB domains can regulate transcription in a TRIM28-independent fashion. Our findings challenge the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by KRAB domain proteins to control gene expression and highlight that a high percentage of KRAB domain proteins in the mouse genome differ from the consensus KRAB sequence at amino acid residues that are critical for TRIM28 binding and/or repressive activity.

  14. DNA residence time is a regulatory factor of transcription repression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clauß, Karen; Popp, Achim P.; Schulze, Lena; Hettich, Johannes; Reisser, Matthias; Escoter Torres, Laura; Uhlenhaut, N. Henriette

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Transcription comprises a highly regulated sequence of intrinsically stochastic processes, resulting in bursts of transcription intermitted by quiescence. In transcription activation or repression, a transcription factor binds dynamically to DNA, with a residence time unique to each factor. Whether the DNA residence time is important in the transcription process is unclear. Here, we designed a series of transcription repressors differing in their DNA residence time by utilizing the modular DNA binding domain of transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) and varying the number of nucleotide-recognizing repeat domains. We characterized the DNA residence times of our repressors in living cells using single molecule tracking. The residence times depended non-linearly on the number of repeat domains and differed by more than a factor of six. The factors provoked a residence time-dependent decrease in transcript level of the glucocorticoid receptor-activated gene SGK1. Down regulation of transcription was due to a lower burst frequency in the presence of long binding repressors and is in accordance with a model of competitive inhibition of endogenous activator binding. Our single molecule experiments reveal transcription factor DNA residence time as a regulatory factor controlling transcription repression and establish TALE-DNA binding domains as tools for the temporal dissection of transcription regulation. PMID:28977492

  15. Benzoate Catabolite Repression of the Phthalate Degradation Pathway in Rhodococcus sp. Strain DK17▿

    OpenAIRE

    Choi, Ki Young; Zylstra, Gerben J.; Kim, Eungbin

    2006-01-01

    Rhodococcus sp. strain DK17 exhibits a catabolite repression-like response when provided simultaneously with benzoate and phthalate as carbon and energy sources. Benzoate in the medium is depleted to detection limits before the utilization of phthalate begins. The transcription of the genes encoding benzoate and phthalate dioxygenase paralleled the substrate utilization profile. Two mutant strains with defective benzoate dioxygenases were unable to utilize phthalate in the presence of benzoat...

  16. GSK-3β inhibition by lithium confers resistance to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis through the repression of CD95 (Fas/APO-1) expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beurel, Eleonore; Kornprobst, Michel; Blivet-Van Eggelpoel, Marie-Jose; Ruiz-Ruiz, Carmen; Cadoret, Axelle; Capeau, Jacqueline; Desbois-Mouthon, Christele

    2004-01-01

    Lithium exerts neuroprotective actions that involve the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). Otherwise, recent studies suggest that sustained GSK-3β inhibition is a hallmark of tumorigenesis. In this context, the present study was undertaken to examine whether lithium modulated cancer cell sensitivity to apoptosis induced by chemotherapy agents. We observed that, in different human cancer cell lines, lithium significantly reduced etoposide- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis. In HepG2 cells, lithium repressed drug induction of CD95 expression and clustering at the cell surface as well as caspase-8 activation. Lithium acted through deregulation of GSK-3β signaling since (1) it provoked a rapid and sustained phosphorylation of GSK-3β on the inhibitory serine 9 residue; (2) the GSK-3β inhibitor SB-415286 mimicked lithium effects by repressing drug-induced apoptosis and CD95 membrane expression; and (3) lithium promoted the disruption of nuclear GSK-3β/p53 complexes. Moreover, the overexpression of an inactivated GSK-3β mutant counteracted the stimulatory effects of etoposide and camptothecin on a luciferase reporter plasmid driven by a p53-responsive sequence from the CD95 gene. In conclusion, we provide the first evidence that lithium confers resistance to apoptosis in cancer cells through GSK-3β inhibition and subsequent repression of CD95 gene expression. Our study also highlights the concerted action of GSK-3β and p53 on CD95 gene expression

  17. Racism and Surplus Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Howard

    1983-01-01

    Explores the relationship between Herbert Marcuse's theory of "surplus repression" and Freud's theory of the "unconscious" with respect to latent, hidden, covert, or subliminal aspects of racism in the United States. Argues that unconscious racism, manifested in evasion/avoidance, acting out/projection, and attempted…

  18. SRSF3 represses the expression of PDCD4 protein by coordinated regulation of alternative splicing, export and translation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Seung Kuk; Jeong, Sunjoo, E-mail: sjsj@dankook.ac.kr

    2016-02-05

    Gene expression is regulated at multiple steps, such as transcription, splicing, export, degradation and translation. Considering diverse roles of SR proteins, we determined whether the tumor-related splicing factor SRSF3 regulates the expression of the tumor-suppressor protein, PDCD4, at multiple steps. As we have reported previously, knockdown of SRSF3 increased the PDCD4 protein level in SW480 colon cancer cells. More interestingly, here we showed that the alternative splicing and the nuclear export of minor isoforms of pdcd4 mRNA were repressed by SRSF3, but the translation step was unaffected. In contrast, only the translation step of the major isoform of pdcd4 mRNA was repressed by SRSF3. Therefore, overexpression of SRSF3 might be relevant to the repression of all isoforms of PDCD4 protein levels in most types of cancer cell. We propose that SRSF3 could act as a coordinator of the expression of PDCD4 protein via two mechanisms on two alternatively spliced mRNA isoforms.

  19. Differentially expressed genes in healthy and plum pox virus-infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vozárová, Z; Žilová, M; Šubr, Z

    2015-12-01

    Viruses use both material and energy sources of their hosts and redirect the production of disposable compounds in order to make viral replication more efficient. Metabolism of infected organisms is modified by these enhanced requirements as well by their own defense response. Resulting complex story consists of many regulation events on various gene expression levels. Elucidating these processes may contribute to the knowledge on virus-host interactions and to evolving new antiviral strategies. In our work we applied a subtractive cloning technique to compare the transcriptomes of healthy and plum pox virus (PPV)-infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Several genes were found to be induced or repressed by the PPV infection. The induced genes were mainly related to general stress response or photosynthesis, several repressed genes could be connected with growth defects evoked by the infection. Interestingly, some genes usually up-regulated by fungal or bacterial infection were found repressed in PPV-infected plants. Potential involvement of particular differently expressed genes in the process of PPV infection is discussed.

  20. Repression of violence at public meetings and sporting events within the European legal space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božović Milenko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Violence and unbecoming behaviour at sporting events stand for a most acute problem in numerous European countries. However, the method and modes of its' repression have been determined within the frames of each country, that is its' national legislation. Thus, a wide range of various regulations referring to the distinctions of this type of violence can be spotted in legislative of each European country. Nevertheless, along with the development and maturing of the idea of the necessity of implementation of both international and regional legal instruments, used for setting up national law of individual states, a number of European legal instruments have also come to life. It comes as no surprise, though, the growing need for more both general and separate legal instruments in the repression of violence and unbecoming behaviour at sporting events in the European legislative. Based on the analysis, it is possible to single out the ones to achieve the strongest effect to our national legislative. Consequently, the general frames of the repression of violence and unbecoming behaviour at sporting events are founded on European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950, whereas the separated ones lie in the Convention of the European Council on the Repression of Violence and Unbecoming Behaviour at Sporting Events, especially the soccer games, with the Recommendation (1985. The subject of this paper is based on analysis of the legal frames established by the European legal instruments in the field of the repression of violence and unbecoming behaviour at sporting events. The methodological framework throughout the research considers the usage of various methods: historical, linguistic, sociological, logical, normative, analysis of content, etc.

  1. BRCA1-mediated repression of select X chromosome genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ropers H Hilger

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Recently BRCA1 has been implicated in the regulation of gene expression from the X chromosome. In this study the influence of BRCA1 on expression of X chromosome genes was investigated. Complementary DNA microarrays were used to compare the expression levels of X chromosome genes in 18 BRCA1-associated ovarian cancers to those of the 13 "BRCA1-like" and 14 "BRCA2-like" sporadic tumors (as defined by previously reported expression profiling. Significance was determined using parametric statistics with P

  2. Endocytosis of a maltose permease is induced when amylolytic enzyme production is repressed in Aspergillus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiramoto, Tetsuya; Tanaka, Mizuki; Ichikawa, Takanori; Matsuura, Yuka; Hasegawa-Shiro, Sachiko; Shintani, Takahiro; Gomi, Katsuya

    2015-09-01

    In the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae, amylolytic enzyme production is induced by the presence of maltose. Previously, we identified a putative maltose permease (MalP) gene in the maltose-utilizing cluster of A. oryzae. malP disruption causes a significant decrease in α-amylase activity and maltose consumption, indicating that MalP is a maltose transporter required for amylolytic enzyme production in A. oryzae. Although the expression of amylase genes and malP is repressed by the presence of glucose, the effect of glucose on the abundance of functional MalP is unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of glucose and other carbon sources on the subcellular localization of green fluorescence protein (GFP)-tagged MalP. After glucose addition, GFP-MalP at the plasma membrane was internalized and delivered to the vacuole. This glucose-induced internalization of GFP-MalP was inhibited by treatment with latrunculin B, an inhibitor of actin polymerization. Furthermore, GFP-MalP internalization was inhibited by repressing the HECT ubiquitin ligase HulA (ortholog of yeast Rsp5). These results suggest that MalP is transported to the vacuole by endocytosis in the presence of glucose. Besides glucose, mannose and 2-deoxyglucose also induced the endocytosis of GFP-MalP and amylolytic enzyme production was inhibited by the addition of these sugars. However, neither the subcellular localization of GFP-MalP nor amylolytic enzyme production was influenced by the addition of xylose or 3-O-methylglucose. These results imply that MalP endocytosis is induced when amylolytic enzyme production is repressed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Exogenous auxin represses soybean seed germination through decreasing the gibberellin/abscisic acid (GA/ABA) ratio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuai, Haiwei; Meng, Yongjie; Luo, Xiaofeng; Chen, Feng; Zhou, Wenguan; Dai, Yujia; Qi, Ying; Du, Junbo; Yang, Feng; Liu, Jiang; Yang, Wenyu; Shu, Kai

    2017-10-03

    Auxin is an important phytohormone which mediates diverse development processes in plants. Published research has demonstrated that auxin induces seed dormancy. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the effect of auxin on seed germination need further investigation, especially the relationship between auxins and both abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellins (GAs), the latter two phytohormones being the key regulators of seed germination. Here we report that exogenous auxin treatment represses soybean seed germination by enhancing ABA biosynthesis, while impairing GA biogenesis, and finally decreasing GA 1 /ABA and GA 4 /ABA ratios. Microscope observation showed that auxin treatment delayed rupture of the soybean seed coat and radicle protrusion. qPCR assay revealed that transcription of the genes involved in ABA biosynthetic pathway was up-regulated by application of auxin, while expression of genes involved in GA biosynthetic pathway was down-regulated. Accordingly, further phytohormone quantification shows that auxin significantly increased ABA content, whereas the active GA 1 and GA 4 levels were decreased, resulting insignificant decreases in the ratiosGA 1 /ABA and GA 4 /ABA.Consistent with this, ABA biosynthesis inhibitor fluridone reversed the delayed-germination phenotype associated with auxin treatment, while paclobutrazol, a GA biosynthesis inhibitor, inhibited soybean seed germination. Altogether, exogenous auxin represses soybean seed germination by mediating ABA and GA biosynthesis.

  4. MicroRNA-22 promotes cell survival upon UV radiation by repressing PTEN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan, Guangyun; Shi, Yuling; Wu, Zhao-Hui

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► miR-22 is induced in cells treated with UV radiation. ► ATM is required for miR-22 induction in response to UV. ► miR-22 targets 3′-UTR of PTEN to repress its expression in UV-treated cells. ► Upregulated miR-22 inhibits apoptosis in cells exposed to UV. -- Abstract: DNA damage response upon UV radiation involves a complex network of cellular events required for maintaining the homeostasis and restoring genomic stability of the cells. As a new class of players involved in DNA damage response, the regulation and function of microRNAs in response to UV remain poorly understood. Here we show that UV radiation induces a significant increase of miR-22 expression, which appears to be dependent on the activation of DNA damage responding kinase ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated). Increased miR-22 expression may result from enhanced miR-22 maturation in cells exposed to UV. We further found that tumor suppressor gene phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression was inversely correlated with miR-22 induction and UV-induced PTEN repression was attenuated by overexpression of a miR-22 inhibitor. Moreover, increased miR-22 expression significantly inhibited the activation of caspase signaling cascade, leading to enhanced cell survival upon UV radiation. Collectively, these results indicate that miR-22 is an important player in the cellular stress response upon UV radiation, which may promote cell survival via the repression of PTEN expression.

  5. Drosophila Pumilio protein contains multiple autonomous repression domains that regulate mRNAs independently of Nanos and brain tumor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weidmann, Chase A; Goldstrohm, Aaron C

    2012-01-01

    Drosophila melanogaster Pumilio is an RNA-binding protein that potently represses specific mRNAs. In developing embryos, Pumilio regulates a key morphogen, Hunchback, in collaboration with the cofactor Nanos. To investigate repression by Pumilio and Nanos, we created cell-based assays and found that Pumilio inhibits translation and enhances mRNA decay independent of Nanos. Nanos robustly stimulates repression through interactions with the Pumilio RNA-binding domain. We programmed Pumilio to recognize a new binding site, which garners repression of new target mRNAs. We show that cofactors Brain Tumor and eIF4E Homologous Protein are not obligatory for Pumilio and Nanos activity. The conserved RNA-binding domain of Pumilio was thought to be sufficient for its function. Instead, we demonstrate that three unique domains in the N terminus of Pumilio possess the major repressive activity and can function autonomously. The N termini of insect and vertebrate Pumilio and Fem-3 binding factors (PUFs) are related, and we show that corresponding regions of human PUM1 and PUM2 have repressive activity. Other PUF proteins lack these repression domains. Our findings suggest that PUF proteins have evolved new regulatory functions through protein sequences appended to their conserved PUF repeat RNA-binding domains.

  6. Prioritized Expression of BDH2 under Bulk Translational Repression and Its Contribution to Tolerance to Severe Vanillin Stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    OpenAIRE

    Ishida, Yoko; Nguyen, Trinh T. M.; Kitajima, Sakihito; Izawa, Shingo

    2016-01-01

    Vanillin is a potent fermentation inhibitor derived from the lignocellulosic biomass in biofuel production, and high concentrations of vanillin result in the pronounced repression of bulk translation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Studies on genes that are efficiently translated even in the presence of high concentrations of vanillin will be useful for improving yeast vanillin tolerance and fermentation efficiency. The BDH1 and BDH2 genes encode putative medium-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reduc...

  7. The role of mitochondria in carbon catabolite repression in yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haussmann, P; Zimmermann, F K

    1976-10-18

    The role of mitochondria in carbon catabolite repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated by comparing normal, respiratory competent (RHO) strains with their mitochondrially inherited, respiratory deficient mutant derivatives (rho). Formation of maltase and invertase was used as an indicator system for the effect of carbon catabolite repression on carbon catabolic reactions. Fermentation rates for glucose, maltose and sucrose were the same in RHO and rho strains. Specific activities of maltase and invertase were usually higher in the rho-mutants. A very pronounced difference in invertase levels was observed when cells were grown on maltose; rho-mutants had around 30 times more invertase than their RHO parent strains. The fact that rho-mutants were much less sensitive to carbon catabolite repression of invertase synthesis than their RHO parents was used to search for the mitochondrial factor(s) or function(s) involved in carbon catabolite repression. A possible metabolic influence of mitochondria on this system of regulation was tested after growth of RHO strains under anaerobic conditions (no respiration nor oxidative phosphorylation), in the presence of KCN (respiration inhibited), dinitrophenol (uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation) and of both inhibitors anaerobic conditions and dinitrophenol had no effect on the extent of invertase repression. KCN reduced the degree of repression but not to the level found in rho-mutants. A combination of both inhibitors gave the same results as with KCN alone. Erythromycin and chloramphenicol were used as specific inhibitors of mitochondrial protein synthesis. Erythromycin prevented the formation of mitochondrial respiratory systems but did not induce rho-mutants under the conditions used. However, repression of invertase was as strong as in the absence of the inhibitor. Chloramphenicol led only to a slight reduction of the respiratory systems and did not affect invertase levels. A combination of both

  8. Mechanism of ultraviolet light induced catabolite repression of L-arabinose isomerase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhatnagar, D; Bhattacharya, A K [Banaras Hindu Univ. (India). Inst. of Medical Sciences

    1982-12-01

    An attempt has been made to find out how U.V. irradiation of E.coli B/r cells causes catabolite repression to inhibit L-arabinose isomerase synthesis. The results presented show that U.V. irradiation leads to a lowering of the cellular cyclic AMP level and of the cyclic AMP binding activity. Unlike catabolite repression by glucose, no small molecular weight compound is involved in U.V. light induced inhibition of the binding activity. It is therefore concluded that the mechanism of catabolite repression induced by U.V. appears to be different from that of the catabolite repression by glucose.

  9. Interference of transcription across H-NS binding sites and repression by H-NS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangarajan, Aathmaja Anandhi; Schnetz, Karin

    2018-05-01

    Nucleoid-associated protein H-NS represses transcription by forming extended DNA-H-NS complexes. Repression by H-NS operates mostly at the level of transcription initiation. Less is known about how DNA-H-NS complexes interfere with transcription elongation. In vitro H-NS has been shown to enhance RNA polymerase pausing and to promote Rho-dependent termination, while in vivo inhibition of Rho resulted in a decrease of the genome occupancy by H-NS. Here we show that transcription directed across H-NS binding regions relieves H-NS (and H-NS/StpA) mediated repression of promoters in these regions. Further, we observed a correlation of transcription across the H-NS-bound region and de-repression. The data suggest that the transcribing RNA polymerase is able to remodel the H-NS complex and/or dislodge H-NS from the DNA and thus relieve repression. Such an interference of transcription and H-NS mediated repression may imply that poorly transcribed AT-rich loci are prone to be repressed by H-NS, while efficiently transcribed loci escape repression. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Identification of the base-pairing requirements for repression of hctA translation by the small RNA IhtA leads to the discovery of a new mRNA target in Chlamydia trachomatis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole A Grieshaber

    Full Text Available The non-coding small RNA, IhtA expressed by the obligate intracellular human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis modulates the translation of HctA, a key protein involved in replicative to infectious cell type differentiation. Using a combination of bioinformatics and mutagenesis we sought to identify the base pairing requirement for functional repression of HctA protein expression, with an eye to applying our findings towards the identification of additional targets. IhtA is predicted to fold into a three stem:loop structure. We found that loop 1 occludes the initiation codon of hctA, while loop 2 and 3 are not required for function. This 7 nucleotide region forms G/C rich interactions surrounding the AUG of hctA. Two additional genes in the chlamydial genome, CTL0322 and CTL0097, contained some elements of the hctA:IhtA recognition sequence. The mRNA of both CTL0322and CTL0097 interacted with IhtA in vitro as measured by biolayer interferometry. However, using a CheZ reporter expression system, IhtA only inhibited the translation of CTL0322. The proposed IhtA recognition site in the CTL0322 message contains significant G/C base pairing on either side of the initiation codon while CTL0097 only contains G/C base pairing 3' to the AUG initiation codon. These data suggest that as the functional interacting region is only 6-7nt in length that full translation repression is dependent on the degree of G/C base pairing. Additionally our results indicate that IhtA may regulate multiple mRNAs involved in the chlamydial infectious cycle.

  11. Technique Selectively Represses Immune System

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Research Matters December 3, 2012 Technique Selectively Represses Immune System Myelin (green) encases and protects nerve fibers (brown). A new technique prevents the immune system from attacking myelin in a mouse model of ...

  12. Functional improvement of dystrophic muscle by repression of utrophin: let-7c interaction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manoj K Mishra

    Full Text Available Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD is a fatal genetic disease caused by an absence of the 427kD muscle-specific dystrophin isoform. Utrophin is the autosomal homolog of dystrophin and when overexpressed, can compensate for the absence of dystrophin and rescue the dystrophic phenotype of the mdx mouse model of DMD. Utrophin is subject to miRNA mediated repression by several miRNAs including let-7c. Inhibition of utrophin: let-7c interaction is predicted to 'repress the repression' and increase utrophin expression. We developed and tested the ability of an oligonucleotide, composed of 2'-O-methyl modified bases on a phosphorothioate backbone, to anneal to the utrophin 3'UTR and prevent let-7c miRNA binding, thereby upregulating utrophin expression and improving the dystrophic phenotype in vivo. Suppression of utrophin: let-7c interaction using bi-weekly intraperitoneal injections of let7 site blocking oligonucleotides (SBOs for 1 month in the mdx mouse model for DMD, led to increased utrophin expression along with improved muscle histology, decreased fibrosis and increased specific force. The functional improvement of dystrophic muscle achieved using let7-SBOs suggests a novel utrophin upregulation-based therapeutic strategy for DMD.

  13. A Growth Model of Inflation, Tax Evasion and Financial Repression

    OpenAIRE

    Roubini, Nouriel; Sala-i-Martin, Xavier

    1992-01-01

    In this paper we study the effects of policies of financial repression on long term growth and try to explain why optimizing governments might want to repress the financial sector. We also explain why inflation may be negatively related to growth, even though it does not affect growth directly. We argue that the main reason why governments repress the financial sector is that this sector is the source of "easy" resources for the public budget The source of revenue stemming from this intervent...

  14. Repressive coping and alexithymia in idiopathic environmental intolerance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovbjerg, Sine; Zachariae, Robert; Rasmussen, Alice

    2010-01-01

    To examine if the non-expression of negative emotions (i.e., repressive coping) and differences in the ability to process and regulate emotions (i.e., alexithymia) is associated with idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI).......To examine if the non-expression of negative emotions (i.e., repressive coping) and differences in the ability to process and regulate emotions (i.e., alexithymia) is associated with idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI)....

  15. The YJR127C/ZMS1 gene product is involved in glycerol-based respiratory growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Lin; Roberts, George G; Oszust, Cynthia; Hudson, Alan P

    2005-10-01

    A putative yeast mitochondrial upstream activating sequence (UAS) was used in a one-hybrid screening procedure that identified the YJR127C ORF on chromosome X. This gene was previously designated ZMS1 and is listed as a transcription factor on the SGD website. Real time RT-PCR assays showed that expression of YJR127C/ZMS1 was glucose-repressible, and a deletion mutant for the gene showed a growth defect on glycerol-based but not on glucose- or ethanol-based medium. Real time RT-PCR analyses identified severely attenuated transcript levels from GUT1 and GUT2 to be the source of that growth defect, the products of GUT1 and GUT2 are required for glycerol utilization. mRNA levels from a large group of mitochondria- and respiration-related nuclear genes also were shown to be attenuated in the deletion mutant. Importantly, transcript levels from the mitochondrial OLI1 gene, which has an associated organellar UAS, were attenuated in the DeltaYJR127C mutant during glycerol-based growth, but those from COX3 (OXI2), which lacks an associated mitochondrial UAS, were not. Transcriptome analysis of the glycerol-grown deletion mutant showed that genes in several metabolic and other categories are affected by loss of this gene product, including protein transport, signal transduction, and others. Thus, the product of YJR127C/ZMS1 is involved in transcriptional control for genes in both cellular genetic compartments, many of which specify products required for glycerol-based growth, respiration, and other functions.

  16. SIRT1 deacetylates RFX5 and antagonizes repression of collagen type I (COL1A2) transcription in smooth muscle cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xia, Jun [Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (China); Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Chinese Traditional Medicine (China); Wu, Xiaoyan; Yang, Yuyu; Zhao, Yuhao [Atherosclerosis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Department of Pathophysiology, Nanjing Medical University (China); Fang, Mingming [Jiangsu Jiankang Vocational Institute (China); Xie, Weiping, E-mail: wpxienjmu@gmail.com [Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (China); Wang, Hong, E-mail: hwangnjmu@gmail.com [Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (China); Xu, Yong [Atherosclerosis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Department of Pathophysiology, Nanjing Medical University (China)

    2012-11-16

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SIRT1 interacts with and deacetylates RFX5. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SIRT1 activation attenuates whereas SIRT1 inhibition enhances collagen repression by RFX5 in vascular smooth muscle cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SIRT1 promotes cytoplasmic localization and proteasomal degradation of RFX5 and cripples promoter recruitment of RFX5. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer IFN-{gamma} represses SIRT1 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SIRT1 agonist alleviates collagen repression by IFN-{gamma} in vascular smooth muscle cells. -- Abstract: Decreased expression of collagen by vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) within the atherosclerotic plaque contributes to the thinning of the fibrous cap and poses a great threat to plaque rupture. Elucidation of the mechanism underlying repressed collagen type I (COL1A2) gene would potentially provide novel solutions that can prevent rupture-induced complications. We have previously shown that regulatory factor for X-box (RFX5) binds to the COL1A2 transcription start site and represses its transcription. Here we report that SIRT1, an NAD-dependent, class III deacetylase, forms a complex with RFX5. Over-expression of SIRT1 or NAMPT, which synthesizes NAD+ to activate SIRT1, or treatment with the SIRT1 agonist resveratrol decreases RFX5 acetylation and disrupts repression of the COL1A2 promoter activity by RFX5. On the contrary, knockdown of SIRT1 or treatment with SIRT1 inhibitors induces RFX5 acetylation and enhances the repression of collagen transcription. SIRT1 antagonizes RFX5 activity by promoting its nuclear expulsion and proteasomal degradation hence dampening its binding to the COL1A2 promoter. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-{gamma} represses COL1A2 transcription by down-regulating SIRT1 expression in SMCs. Therefore, our data have identified as novel pathway whereby SIRT1 maintains collagen synthesis in SMCs by modulating RFX5 activity.

  17. Zinc-fingers and homeoboxes 1 (ZHX1) binds DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 3B to enhance DNMT3B-mediated transcriptional repression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung-Hak; Park, Jinah; Choi, Moon-Chang; Kim, Hwang-Phill; Park, Jung-Hyun; Jung, Yeonjoo; Lee, Ju-Hee; Oh, Do-Youn; Im, Seock-Ah; Bang, Yung-Jue; Kim, Tae-You

    2007-01-01

    DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) 3B is a de novo DNMT that represses transcription independent of DNMT activity. In order to gain a better insight into DNMT3B-mediated transcriptional repression, we performed a yeast two-hybrid analysis using DNMT3B as a bait. Of the various binding candidates, ZHX1, a member of zinc-finger and homeobox protein, was found to interact with DNMT3B in vivo and in vitro. N-terminal PWWP domain of DNMT3B was required for its interaction with homeobox motifs of ZHX1. ZHX1 contains nuclear localization signal at C-terminal homeobox motif, and both ZHX1 and DNMT3B were co-localized in nucleus. Furthermore, we found that ZHX1 enhanced the transcriptional repression mediated by DNMT3B when DNMT3B is directly targeted to DNA. These results showed for First the direct linkage between DNMT and zinc-fingers homeoboxes protein, leading to enhanced gene silencing by DNMT3B

  18. Kidney gene expression analysis in a rat model of intrauterine growth restriction reveals massive alterations of coagulation genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffat, Christophe; Boubred, Farid; Mondon, Françoise; Chelbi, Sonia T; Feuerstein, Jean-Marc; Lelièvre-Pégorier, Martine; Vaiman, Daniel; Simeoni, Umberto

    2007-11-01

    In this study, low birth weight was induced in rats by feeding the dams with a low-protein diet during pregnancy. Kidneys from the fetuses at the end of gestation were collected and showed a reduction in overall and relative weight, in parallel with other tissues (heart and liver). This reduction was associated with a reduction in nephrons number. To better understand the molecular basis of this observation, a transcriptome analysis contrasting kidneys from control and protein-deprived rats was performed, using a platform based upon long isothermic oligonucleotides, strengthening the robustness of the results. We could identify over 1800 transcripts modified more than twice (772 induced and 1040 repressed). Genes of either category were automatically classified according to functional criteria, making it possible to bring to light a large cluster of genes involved in coagulation and complement cascades. The promoters of the most induced and most repressed genes were contrasted for their composition in putative transcription factor binding sites, suggesting an overrepresentation of the AP1R binding site, together with the transcription induction of factors actually binding to this site in the set of induced genes. The induction of coagulation cascades in the kidney of low-birth-weight rats provides a putative rationale for explaining thrombo-endothelial disorders also observed in intrauterine growth-restricted human newborns. These alterations in the kidneys have been reported as a probable cause for cardiovascular diseases in the adult.

  19. Disruption of histone modification and CARM1 recruitment by arsenic represses transcription at glucocorticoid receptor-regulated promoters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Fiona D; Krohmer, Lori J; Hamilton, Joshua W; Sheldon, Lynn A

    2009-08-26

    Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) found in the environment is one of the most significant and widespread environmental health risks in the U.S. and throughout the world. It is associated with a broad range of health effects from cancer to diabetes as well as reproductive and developmental anomalies. This diversity of diseases can also result from disruption of metabolic and other cellular processes regulated by steroid hormone receptors via aberrant transcriptional regulation. Significantly, exposure to iAs inhibits steroid hormone-mediated gene activation. iAs exposure is associated with disease, but is also used therapeutically to treat specific cancers complicating an understanding of iAs action. Transcriptional activation by steroid hormone receptors is accompanied by changes in histone and non-histone protein post-translational modification (PTM) that result from the enzymatic activity of coactivator and corepressor proteins such as GRIP1 and CARM1. This study addresses how iAs represses steroid receptor-regulated gene transcription. PTMs on histones H3 and H4 at the glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-activated mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter were identified by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis following exposure to steroid hormone+/-iAs. Histone H3K18 and H3R17 amino acid residues had significantly different patterns of PTMs after treatment with iAs. Promoter interaction of the coactivator CARM1 was disrupted, but the interaction of GRIP1, a p160 coactivator through which CARM1 interacts with a promoter, was intact. Over-expression of CARM1 was able to fully restore and GRIP1 partially restored iAs-repressed transcription indicating that these coactivators are functionally associated with iAs-mediated transcriptional repression. Both are essential for robust transcription at steroid hormone regulated genes and both are associated with disease when inappropriately expressed. We postulate that iAs effects on CARM1 and GRIP1 may underlie some

  20. Hes1 Directly Controls Cell Proliferation through the Transcriptional Repression of p27Kip1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murata, Kaoru; Hattori, Masakazu; Hirai, Norihito; Shinozuka, Yoriko; Hirata, Hiromi; Kageyama, Ryoichiro; Sakai, Toshiyuki; Minato, Nagahiro

    2005-01-01

    A transcriptional regulator, Hes1, plays crucial roles in the control of differentiation and proliferation of neuronal, endocrine, and T-lymphocyte progenitors during development. Mechanisms for the regulation of cell proliferation by Hes1, however, remain to be verified. In embryonic carcinoma cells, endogenous Hes1 expression was repressed by retinoic acid in concord with enhanced p27Kip1 expression and cell cycle arrest. Conversely, conditional expression of a moderate but not maximal level of Hes1 in HeLa cells by a tetracycline-inducible system resulted in reduced p27Kip1 expression, which was attributed to decreased basal transcript rather than enhanced proteasomal degradation, with concomitant increases in the growth rate and saturation density. Hes1 induction repressed the promoter activity of a 5′ flanking basal enhancer region of p27Kip1 gene in a manner dependent on Hes1 expression levels, and this was mediated by its binding to class C sites in the promoter region. Finally, hypoplastic fetal thymi, as well as livers and brains of Hes1-deficient mice, showed significantly increased p27Kip1 transcripts compared with those of control littermates. These results have suggested that Hes1 directly contributes to the promotion of progenitor cell proliferation through transcriptional repression of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27Kip1. PMID:15870295

  1. A human Polycomb isoform lacking the Pc box does not participate to PRC1 complexes but forms protein assemblies and represses transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Völkel, Pamela; Le Faou, Perrine; Vandamme, Julien; Pira, Dorcas; Angrand, Pierre-Olivier

    2012-05-01

    Polycomb repression controls the expression of hundreds of genes involved in development and is mediated by essentially two classes of chromatin-associated protein complexes. The Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) trimethylates histone H3 at lysine 27, an epigenetic mark that serves as a docking site for the PRC1 protein complex. Drosophila core PRC1 is composed of four subunits: Polycomb (Pc), Posterior sex combs (Psc), Polyhomeotic (Ph) and Sex combs extra (Sce). Each of these proteins has multiple orthologs in vertebrates, thus generating an enormous scope for potential combinatorial diversity. In particular, mammalian genomes encode five Pc family members: CBX2, CBX4, CBX6, CBX7 and CBX8. To complicate matters further, distinct isoforms might arise from single genes. Here, we address the functional role of the two human CBX2 isoforms. Owing to different polyadenylation sites and alternative splicing events, the human CBX2 locus produces two transcripts: a 5-exon transcript that encodes the 532-amino acid CBX2-1 isoform that contains the conserved chromodomain and Pc box and a 4-exon transcript encoding a shorter isoform, CBX2-2, lacking the Pc box but still possessing a chromodomain. Using biochemical approaches and a novel in vivo imaging assay, we show that the short CBX2-2 isoform lacking the Pc box, does not participate in PRC1 protein complexes, but self-associates in vivo and forms complexes of high molecular weight. Furthermore, the CBX2 short isoform is still able to repress transcription, suggesting that Polycomb repression might occur in the absence of PRC1 formation.

  2. Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) in rat liver regeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cimica, Velasco; Batusic, Danko; Haralanova-Ilieva, Borislava; Chen, Yonglong; Hollemann, Thomas; Pieler, Tomas; Ramadori, Giuliano

    2007-01-01

    We have applied serial analysis of gene expression for studying the molecular mechanism of the rat liver regeneration in the model of 70% partial hepatectomy. We generated three SAGE libraries from a normal control liver (NL library: 52,343 tags), from a sham control operated liver (Sham library: 51,028 tags), and from a regenerating liver (PH library: 53,061 tags). By SAGE bioinformatics analysis we identified 40 induced genes and 20 repressed genes during the liver regeneration. We verified temporal expression of such genes by real time PCR during the regeneration process and we characterized 13 induced genes and 3 repressed genes. We found connective tissue growth factor transcript and protein induced very early at 4 h after PH operation before hepatocytes proliferation is triggered. Our study suggests CTGF as a growth factor signaling mediator that could be involved directly in the mechanism of liver regeneration induction

  3. Polycomb Group Protein Displacement and Gene Activation through MSK-Dependent H3K27me3S28 Phosphorylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gehani, Simmi Suman; Agrawal-Singh, Shuchi; Dietrich, Nikolaj

    2010-01-01

    Epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure is essential for the expression of genes determining cellular specification and function. The Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) di- and trimethylates histone H3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me2/me3) to establish repression of specific genes in embryonic stem ...

  4. The MYB182 protein down-regulates proanthocyanidin and anthocyanin biosynthesis in poplar by repressing both structural and regulatory flavonoid genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Kazuko; Ma, Dawei; Constabel, C Peter

    2015-03-01

    Trees in the genus Populus (poplar) contain phenolic secondary metabolites including the proanthocyanidins (PAs), which help to adapt these widespread trees to diverse environments. The transcriptional activation of PA biosynthesis in response to herbivory and ultraviolet light stress has been documented in poplar leaves, and a regulator of this process, the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB134, has been identified. MYB134-overexpressing transgenic plants show a strong high-PA phenotype. Analysis of these transgenic plants suggested the involvement of additional MYB transcription factors, including repressor-like MYB factors. Here, MYB182, a subgroup 4 MYB factor, was found to act as a negative regulator of the flavonoid pathway. Overexpression of MYB182 in hairy root culture and whole poplar plants led to reduced PA and anthocyanin levels as well as a reduction in the expression of key flavonoid genes. Similarly, a reduced accumulation of transcripts of a MYB PA activator and a basic helix-loop-helix cofactor was observed in MYB182-overexpressing hairy roots. Transient promoter activation assays in poplar cell culture demonstrated that MYB182 can disrupt transcriptional activation by MYB134 and that the basic helix-loop-helix-binding motif of MYB182 was essential for repression. Microarray analysis of transgenic plants demonstrated that down-regulated targets of MYB182 also include shikimate pathway genes. This work shows that MYB182 plays an important role in the fine-tuning of MYB134-mediated flavonoid metabolism. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  5. Rule of Repression in Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Indian Journal, 1979

    1979-01-01

    This report on the current condition of the Mapuche Indians of Chile is edited from a document on the "Situation of Human Rights in Chile" and details the repressive and inhumane treatment of the largest indigenous ethnic minority in the country. (Author/RTS)

  6. CRISPR Interference Efficiently Induces Specific and Reversible Gene Silencing in Human iPSCs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandegar, Mohammad A.; Huebsch, Nathaniel; Frolov, Ekaterina B.

    2016-01-01

    repression system is tunable and has the potential to silence single alleles. Compared with CRISPR nuclease (CRISPRn), CRISPRi gene repression is more efficient and homogenous across cell populations. The CRISPRi system in iPSCs provides a powerful platform to perform genome-scale screens in a wide range...

  7. Sox2 Is an Androgen Receptor-Repressed Gene That Promotes Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kregel, Steven; Kiriluk, Kyle J.; Rosen, Alex M.; Cai, Yi; Reyes, Edwin E.; Otto, Kristen B.; Tom, Westin; Paner, Gladell P.; Szmulewitz, Russell Z.; Vander Griend, Donald J.

    2013-01-01

    Despite advances in detection and therapy, castration-resistant prostate cancer continues to be a major clinical problem. The aberrant activity of stem cell pathways, and their regulation by the Androgen Receptor (AR), has the potential to provide insight into novel mechanisms and pathways to prevent and treat advanced, castrate-resistant prostate cancers. To this end, we investigated the role of the embryonic stem cell regulator Sox2 [SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2] in normal and malignant prostate epithelial cells. In the normal prostate, Sox2 is expressed in a portion of basal epithelial cells. Prostate tumors were either Sox2-positive or Sox2-negative, with the percentage of Sox2-positive tumors increasing with Gleason Score and metastases. In the castration-resistant prostate cancer cell line CWR-R1, endogenous expression of Sox2 was repressed by AR signaling, and AR chromatin-IP shows that AR binds the enhancer element within the Sox2 promoter. Likewise, in normal prostate epithelial cells and human embryonic stem cells, increased AR signaling also decreases Sox2 expression. Resistance to the anti-androgen MDV3100 results in a marked increase in Sox2 expression within three prostate cancer cell lines, and in the castration-sensitive LAPC-4 prostate cancer cell line ectopic expression of Sox2 was sufficient to promote castration-resistant tumor formation. Loss of Sox2 expression in the castration-resistant CWR-R1 prostate cancer cell line inhibited cell growth. Up-regulation of Sox2 was not associated with increased CD133 expression but was associated with increased FGF5 (Fibroblast Growth Factor 5) expression. These data propose a model of elevated Sox2 expression due to loss of AR-mediated repression during castration, and consequent castration-resistance via mechanisms not involving induction of canonical embryonic stem cell pathways. PMID:23326489

  8. Population Level Purifying Selection and Gene Expression Shape Subgenome Evolution in Maize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pophaly, Saurabh D; Tellier, Aurélien

    2015-12-01

    The maize ancestor experienced a recent whole-genome duplication (WGD) followed by gene erosion which generated two subgenomes, the dominant subgenome (maize1) experiencing fewer deletions than maize2. We take advantage of available extensive polymorphism and gene expression data in maize to study purifying selection and gene expression divergence between WGD retained paralog pairs. We first report a strong correlation in nucleotide diversity between duplicate pairs, except for upstream regions. We then show that maize1 genes are under stronger purifying selection than maize2. WGD retained genes have higher gene dosage and biased Gene Ontologies consistent with previous studies. The relative gene expression of paralogs across tissues demonstrates that 98% of duplicate pairs have either subfunctionalized in a tissuewise manner or have diverged consistently in their expression thereby preventing functional complementation. Tissuewise subfunctionalization seems to be a hallmark of transcription factors, whereas consistent repression occurs for macromolecular complexes. We show that dominant gene expression is a strong determinant of the strength of purifying selection, explaining the inferred stronger negative selection on maize1 genes. We propose a novel expression-based classification of duplicates which is more robust to explain observed polymorphism patterns than the subgenome location. Finally, upstream regions of repressed genes exhibit an enrichment in transposable elements which indicates a possible mechanism for expression divergence. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Literature, Advertising and Return of the Repressed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Ghelli

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Since I have faced with the hypothesis elaborated by Francesco Orlando, according to which literature is a form of return of the repressed, I wondered what – in our era of deregulation, end of censorship and taboos – could occupy the place of the repressed. One of the most influential sociologists, Zygmunt Bauman, has outlined the epochal passage from “the uneasiness in civilization” to today's “uneasiness of freedom”. The problem of desire today would not be a clash with a limit, but an indefinite freedom that is likely to turn into lost, loss of intensity and meaning.

  10. Targeted resequencing of regulatory regions at schizophrenia risk loci: Role of rare functional variants at chromatin repressive states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Peñas, Javier; Amigo, Jorge; Santomé, Luis; Sobrino, Beatriz; Brenlla, Julio; Agra, Santiago; Paz, Eduardo; Páramo, Mario; Carracedo, Ángel; Arrojo, Manuel; Costas, Javier

    2016-07-01

    There is mounting evidence that regulatory variation plays an important role in genetic risk for schizophrenia. Here, we specifically search for regulatory variants at risk by sequencing promoter regions of twenty-three genes implied in schizophrenia by copy number variant or genome-wide association studies. After strict quality control, a total of 55,206bp per sample were analyzed in 526 schizophrenia cases and 516 controls from Galicia, NW Spain, using the Applied Biosystems SOLiD System. Variants were filtered based on frequency from public databases, chromatin states from the RoadMap Epigenomics Consortium at tissues relevant for schizophrenia, such as fetal brain, mid-frontal lobe, and angular gyrus, and prediction of functionality from RegulomeDB. The proportion of rare variants at polycomb repressive chromatin state at relevant tissues was higher in cases than in controls. The proportion of rare variants with predicted regulatory role was significantly higher in cases than in controls (P=0.0028, OR=1.93, 95% C.I.=1.23-3.04). Combination of information from both sources led to the identification of an excess of carriers of rare variants with predicted regulatory role located at polycomb repressive chromatin state at relevant tissues in cases versus controls (P=0.0016, OR=19.34, 95% C.I.=2.45-2495.26). The variants are located at two genes affected by the 17q12 copy number variant, LHX1 and HNF1B. These data strongly suggest that a specific epigenetic mechanism, chromatin remodeling by histone modification during early development, may be impaired in a subset of schizophrenia patients, in agreement with previous data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Social adjustment and repressive adaptive style in survivors of pediatric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulte, Fiona; Wurz, Amanda; Russell, K Brooke; Reynolds, Kathleen; Strother, Douglas; Dewey, Deborah

    2018-01-01

    The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between repressive adaptive style and self-reports of social adjustment in survivors of pediatric cancer compared to their siblings. We hypothesized that there would be a greater proportion of repressors among survivors of pediatric cancer compared to siblings, and that repressive adaptive style would be significantly associated with more positive self-reports of social adjustment. We utilized a cross-sectional approach. Seventy-seven families participated. Survivors of pediatric cancer (n = 77, 48% male; 8-18 years of age) and one sibling (n = 50, 48% male; 8-18 years of age) completed measures assessing repressive adaptive style and social adjustment. As well, one parent from each family completed a socio-demographic questionnaire. Questionnaire packages were mailed to eligible families who agreed to participate, and were mailed back to investigators in a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope. Chi-square analyses revealed there was no significant difference in the proportion of repressors among survivors and siblings. Social adjustment scores were subjected to a two (group: survivor, sibling) by two (repressor, nonrepressor) ANCOVA with gender and age as covariates. There was a significant main effect of repressive adaptive style (F = 5.69, p < .05, η 2 = 0.05) with a modest effect. Survivors and siblings with a repressive style reported significantly higher social adjustment scores (M = 106.91, SD = 11.69) compared to nonrepressors (M = 99.57, SD = 13.45). Repressive adaptive style explains some of the variance in survivors and siblings' self-reports of social adjustment. Future research should aim to better understand the role of the repressive adaptive style in survivors and siblings of children with cancer.

  12. DAF-16 and TCER-1 Facilitate Adaptation to Germline Loss by Restoring Lipid Homeostasis and Repressing Reproductive Physiology in C. elegans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amrit, Francis Raj Gandhi; Steenkiste, Elizabeth Marie; Ratnappan, Ramesh; Chen, Shaw-Wen; McClendon, T. Brooke; Kostka, Dennis; Yanowitz, Judith; Olsen, Carissa Perez; Ghazi, Arjumand

    2016-01-01

    Elimination of the proliferating germline extends lifespan in C. elegans. This phenomenon provides a unique platform to understand how complex metazoans retain metabolic homeostasis when challenged with major physiological perturbations. Here, we demonstrate that two conserved transcription regulators essential for the longevity of germline-less adults, DAF-16/FOXO3A and TCER-1/TCERG1, concurrently enhance the expression of multiple genes involved in lipid synthesis and breakdown, and that both gene classes promote longevity. Lipidomic analyses revealed that key lipogenic processes, including de novo fatty acid synthesis, triglyceride production, desaturation and elongation, are augmented upon germline removal. Our data suggest that lipid anabolic and catabolic pathways are coordinately augmented in response to germline loss, and this metabolic shift helps preserve lipid homeostasis. DAF-16 and TCER-1 also perform essential inhibitory functions in germline-ablated animals. TCER-1 inhibits the somatic gene-expression program that facilitates reproduction and represses anti-longevity genes, whereas DAF-16 impedes ribosome biogenesis. Additionally, we discovered that TCER-1 is critical for optimal fertility in normal adults, suggesting that the protein acts as a switch supporting reproductive fitness or longevity depending on the presence or absence of the germline. Collectively, our data offer insights into how organisms adapt to changes in reproductive status, by utilizing the activating and repressive functions of transcription factors and coordinating fat production and degradation. PMID:26862916

  13. A previously uncharacterized gene stm0551 plays a repressive role in the regulation of type 1 fimbriae in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Ke-Chuan

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium produces surface-associated fimbriae that facilitate adherence of the bacteria to a variety of cells and tissues. Type 1 fimbriae with binding specificity to mannose residues are the most commonly found fimbrial type. In vitro, static-broth culture favors the growth of S. Typhimurium with type 1 fimbriae, whereas non-type 1 fimbriate bacteria are obtained by culture on solid-agar media. Previous studies demonstrated that the phenotypic expression of type 1 fimbriae is the result of the interaction and cooperation of the regulatory genes fimZ, fimY, fimW, and fimU within the fim gene cluster. Genome sequencing revealed a novel gene, stm0551, located between fimY and fimW that encodes an 11.4-kDa putative phosphodiesterase specific for the bacterial second messenger cyclic-diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP. The role of stm0551 in the regulation of type 1 fimbriae in S. Typhimurium remains unclear. Results A stm0551-deleted stain constructed by allelic exchange constitutively produced type 1 fimbriae in both static-broth and solid-agar medium conditions. Quantative RT-PCR revealed that expression of the fimbrial major subunit gene, fimA, and one of the regulatory genes, fimZ, were comparably increased in the stm0551-deleted strain compared with those of the parental strain when grown on the solid-agar medium, a condition that normally inhibits expression of type 1 fimbriae. Following transformation with a plasmid possessing the coding sequence of stm0551, expression of fimA and fimZ decreased in the stm0551 mutant strain in both culture conditions, whereas transformation with the control vector pACYC184 relieved this repression. A purified STM0551 protein exhibited a phosphodiesterase activity in vitro while a point mutation in the putative EAL domain, substituting glutamic acid (E with alanine (A, of STM0551 or a FimY protein abolished this activity. Conclusions The finding that the

  14. State Repression and its Effects on Civil Conflict, Socio-Economic Outcomes, and Leadership Tenure

    Science.gov (United States)

    feedback loop: how citizens respond peacefully or violently influences the type of repression rulers employ. How rulers use repression influences how and...whether citizens protest. Moreover, how rulers respond to their citizens may influence leadership duration. Obviously, the relationship among repression...US (and allied) officials may want policy options to influence rulers who are becoming increasingly repressive (as in Turkey and Egypt) or leaders who

  15. Pod-1/Capsulin shows a sex- and stage-dependent expression pattern in the mouse gonad development and represses expression of Ad4BP/SF-1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamura, M; Kanno, Y; Chuma, S; Saito, T; Nakatsuji, N

    2001-04-01

    Mammalian sex-determination and differentiation are controlled by several genes, such as Sry, Sox-9, Dax-1 and Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS), but their upstream and downstream genes are largely unknown. Ad4BP/SF-1, encoding a zinc finger transcription factor, plays important roles in gonadogenesis. Disruption of this gene caused disappearance of the urogenital system including the gonad. Ad4BP/SF-1, however, is also involved in the sex differentiation of the gonad at later stages, such as the regulation of steroid hormones and MIS. Pod-1/Capsulin, a member of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, is expressed in a pattern closely related but mostly complimentary to that of the Ad4BP/SF-1 expression in the developing gonad. In the co-transfection experiment using cultured cells, overexpression of Pod-1/Capsulin repressed expression of a reporter gene that carried the upstream regulatory region of the Ad4BP/SF-1 gene. Furthermore, forced expression of Pod-1/Capsulin repressed expression of Ad4BP/SF-1 in the Leydig cell-derived I-10 cells. These results suggest that Pod-1/Capsulin may play important roles in the development and sex differentiation of the mammalian gonad via transcriptional regulation of Ad4BP/SF-1.

  16. Orphan nuclear receptor TLX recruits histone deacetylases to repress transcription and regulate neural stem cell proliferation

    OpenAIRE

    Sun, GuoQiang; Yu, Ruth T.; Evans, Ronald M.; Shi, Yanhong

    2007-01-01

    TLX is a transcription factor that is essential for neural stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. However, the molecular mechanism of TLX-mediated neural stem cell proliferation and self-renewal is largely unknown. We show here that TLX recruits histone deacetylases (HDACs) to its downstream target genes to repress their transcription, which in turn regulates neural stem cell proliferation. TLX interacts with HDAC3 and HDAC5 in neural stem cells. The HDAC5-interaction domain was mapped to ...

  17. Long non-coding RNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 correlates with poor prognosis, induces cell proliferation, and represses cell apoptosis via targeting aurora kinase A in adult acute myeloid leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinfeng; Zhang, Lina; Zhao, Fan; Xu, Ruirong; Jiang, Jie; Zhang, Chenglu; Liu, Hong; Huang, Hongming

    2018-04-13

    This study aimed to investigate the correlation of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) with clinicopathological feature and prognosis, and to explore its effect on cell proliferation and apoptosis as well as the relevant target genes in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). LncRNA TUG1 expression was detected in bone marrow samples from 186 AML patients and 62 controls. Blank mimic, lncRNA TUG1 mimic, blank inhibitor, and lncRNA TUG1 inhibitor lentivirus vectors were transfected in KG-1 cells. Rescue experiment was performed by transfection of lncRNA TUG1 inhibitor and aurora kinase A (AURKA) mimic lentivirus vectors. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, RNA, and protein expressions were determined by CKK-8, annexin V-FITC-propidium iodide, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blot assays. LncRNA TUG1 expression was higher in AML patients compared to controls and correlated with higher white blood cell counts, monosomal karyotype, FLT3-ITD mutation, poor-risk stratification, and poor prognosis, which independently predicted worse event-free survival and overall survival. In vitro, lncRNA TUG1 expression was higher in AML cell lines (KG-1, MOLM-14, HL-60, NB-4, and THP-1 cells) compared to controls. LncRNA TUG1 mimic promoted cell proliferation and decreased cell apoptosis rate, while lncRNA TUG1 inhibitor repressed cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis rate. Rescue experiment showed that AURKA attenuated the influence of lncRNA TUG1 on AML cell proliferation and apoptosis. In conclusion, lncRNA TUG1 associates with advanced disease and worse prognosis in adult AML patients, and it induces AML cell proliferation and represses cell apoptosis via targeting AURKA.

  18. A systems biology approach to study glucose repression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westergaard, Steen Lund; Soberano de Oliveira, Ana Paula; Bro, Christoffer

    2007-01-01

    in repression of a wide range of genes involved to utilization of alternative carbon sources. In this work, we applied a systems biology approach to study the interaction between these two pathways. Through genome-wide transcription analysis of strains with disruption of HXK2, GRR1, MIG1, the combination of MIG......1 and MIG2, and the parentel strain, we identified 393 genes to have significantly changed expression levels. To identify co-regulation patterns in the different strains we applied principal component analysis. Disruption of either GRR1 or HXK2 were both found to have profound effects...... reporter metabolites, and found that there is a high degree of consistency between the identified reporter metabolites and the physiological effects observed in the different mutants . Our systems biology approach points to close interaction between the two pathways, and our metabolism driven analysis...

  19. Computational prediction of CTCF/cohesin-based intra-TAD loops that insulate chromatin contacts and gene expression in mouse liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Bryan J; Waxman, David J

    2018-05-14

    CTCF and cohesin are key drivers of 3D-nuclear organization, anchoring the megabase-scale Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) that segment the genome. Here, we present and validate a computational method to predict cohesin-and-CTCF binding sites that form intra-TAD DNA loops. The intra-TAD loop anchors identified are structurally indistinguishable from TAD anchors regarding binding partners, sequence conservation, and resistance to cohesin knockdown; further, the intra-TAD loops retain key functional features of TADs, including chromatin contact insulation, blockage of repressive histone mark spread, and ubiquity across tissues. We propose that intra-TAD loops form by the same loop extrusion mechanism as the larger TAD loops, and that their shorter length enables finer regulatory control in restricting enhancer-promoter interactions, which enables selective, high-level expression of gene targets of super-enhancers and genes located within repressive nuclear compartments. These findings elucidate the role of intra-TAD cohesin-and-CTCF binding in nuclear organization associated with widespread insulation of distal enhancer activity. © 2018, Matthews et al.

  20. Regulation of the E. coli SOS response by the lexA gene product

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brent, R.

    1983-01-01

    In an Escherichia coli that is growing normally, transcription of many genes is repressed by the product of the lexA gene. If cellular DNA is damaged, proteolytically competent recA protein (recA protease) inactivates lexA protein and these genes are induced. Many of the cellular phenomena observed during the cellular response to DNA damage (the SOS response) are the consequence of the expression of these lexA-prepressed genes. Since the SOS response of E. coli has recently been the subject of a comprehensive review, in this paper I would like to concentrate on some modifications to the picture based on new data. 12 references, 2 figures

  1. Identification of phlebovirus and arenavirus RNA sequences that stall and repress the exoribonuclease XRN1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charley, Phillida A; Wilusz, Carol J; Wilusz, Jeffrey

    2018-01-05

    Regulated mRNA decay plays a vital role in determining both the level and quality of cellular gene expression. Viral RNAs must successfully evade this host RNA decay machinery to establish a productive infection. One way for RNA viruses to accomplish this is to target the cellular exoribonuclease XRN1, because this enzyme is accessible in the cytoplasm and plays a major role in mRNA decay. Members of the Flaviviridae use RNA structures in their 5'- or 3'-untranslated regions to stall and repress XRN1, effectively stabilizing viral RNAs while also causing significant dysregulation of host cell mRNA stability. Here, we use a series of biochemical assays to demonstrate that the 3'-terminal portion of the nucleocapsid (N) mRNA of Rift Valley fever virus, a phlebovirus of the Bunyaviridae family, also can effectively stall and repress XRN1. The region responsible for impeding XRN1 includes a G-rich portion that likely forms a G-quadruplex structure. The 3'-terminal portions of ambisense-derived transcripts of multiple arenaviruses also stalled XRN1. Therefore, we conclude that RNAs from two additional families of mammalian RNA viruses stall and repress XRN1. This observation. emphasizes the importance and commonality of this viral strategy to interfere with the 5'-to-3'-exoribonuclease component of the cytoplasmic RNA decay machinery. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  2. Mechanisms of transcriptional repression by histone lysine methylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hublitz, Philip; Albert, Mareike; Peters, Antoine H F M

    2009-01-01

    . In this report, we review the recent literature to deduce mechanisms underlying Polycomb and H3K9 methylation mediated repression, and describe the functional interplay with activating H3K4 methylation. We summarize recent data that indicate a close relationship between GC density of promoter sequences......, transcription factor binding and the antagonizing activities of distinct epigenetic regulators such as histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and histone demethylases (HDMs). Subsequently, we compare chromatin signatures associated with different types of transcriptional outcomes from stable repression to highly...

  3. Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 Enacts Wnt Signaling in Intestinal Homeostasis and Contributes to the Instigation of Stemness in Diseases Entailing Epithelial Hyperplasia or Neoplasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oittinen, Mikko; Popp, Alina; Kurppa, Kalle; Lindfors, Katri; Mäki, Markku; Kaikkonen, Minna U; Viiri, Keijo

    2017-02-01

    Canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling regulates the homeostasis of intestinal epithelium by controlling the balance between intestinal stem cell self-renewal and differentiation but epigenetic mechanisms enacting the process are not known. We hypothesized that epigenetic regulator, Polycomb Repressive Complex-2 (PRC2), is involved in Wnt-mediated epithelial homeostasis on the crypt-villus axis and aberrancies therein are implicated both in celiac disease and in intestinal malignancies. We found that PRC2 establishes repressive crypt and villus specific trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) signature on genes responsible for, for example, nutrient transport and cell killing in crypts and, for example, proliferation and differentiation in mature villi, suggesting that PRC2 facilitates the Wnt-governed intestinal homeostasis. When celiac patients are on gluten-containing diet PRC2 is out-of-bounds active and consequently its target genes were found affected in intestinal epithelium. Significant set of effective intestinal PRC2 targets are also differentially expressed in colorectal adenoma and carcinomas. Our results suggest that PRC2 gives rise and maintains polar crypt and villus specific H3K27me3 signatures. As H3K27me3 is a mark enriched in developmentally important genes, identified intestinal PRC2 targets are possibly imperative drivers for enterocyte differentiation and intestinal stem cell maintenance downstream to Wnt-signaling. Our work also elucidates the mechanism sustaining the crypt hyperplasia in celiac disease and suggest that PRC2-dependent fostering of epithelial stemness is a common attribute in intestinal diseases in which epithelial hyperplasia or neoplasia prevails. Finally, this work demonstrates that in intestine PRC2 represses genes having both pro-stemness and pro-differentiation functions, fact need to be considered when designing epigenetic therapies including PRC2 as a drug target. Stem Cells 2017;35:445-457. © 2016 Alpha

  4. Three WRKY transcription factors additively repress abscisic acid and gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liyuan; Gu, Lingkun; Ringler, Patricia; Smith, Stanley; Rushton, Paul J; Shen, Qingxi J

    2015-07-01

    Members of the WRKY transcription factor superfamily are essential for the regulation of many plant pathways. Functional redundancy due to duplications of WRKY transcription factors, however, complicates genetic analysis by allowing single-mutant plants to maintain wild-type phenotypes. Our analyses indicate that three group I WRKY genes, OsWRKY24, -53, and -70, act in a partially redundant manner. All three showed characteristics of typical WRKY transcription factors: each localized to nuclei and yeast one-hybrid assays indicated that they all bind to W-boxes, including those present in their own promoters. Quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses indicated that the expression levels of the three WRKY genes varied in the different tissues tested. Particle bombardment-mediated transient expression analyses indicated that all three genes repress the GA and ABA signaling in a dosage-dependent manner. Combination of all three WRKY genes showed additive antagonism of ABA and GA signaling. These results suggest that these WRKY proteins function as negative transcriptional regulators of GA and ABA signaling. However, different combinations of these WRKY genes can lead to varied strengths in suppression of their targets. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1 (TP53INP1 enhances p53 function and represses tumorigenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeyran eShahbazi

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1 (TP53INP1 is a stress-induced p53 target gene whose expression is modulated by transcription factors such as p53, p73 and E2F1. TP53INP1 gene encodes two isoforms of TP53INP1 proteins, TP53INP1α and TP53INP1β, both of which appear to be key elements in p53 function. When associated with homeodomain-interacting protein kinase-2 (HIPK2, TP53INP1 phosphorylates p53 protein at Serine 46, enhances p53 protein stability and its transcriptional activity, leading to transcriptional activation of p53 target genes such as p21, PIG-3 and MDM2, cell growth arrest and apoptosis upon DNA damage stress. The anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities of TP53INP1 indicate that TP53INP1 has an important role in cellular homeostasis and DNA damage response. Deficiency in TP53INP1 expression results in increased tumorigenesis; while TP53INP1 expression is repressed during early stages of cancer by factors such as miR-155. This review aims to summarize the roles of TP53INP1 in blocking tumor progression through p53-dependant and p53-independent pathways, as well as the elements which repress TP53INP1 expression, hence highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target in cancer treatment.

  6. DGCR8 Promotes Neural Progenitor Expansion and Represses Neurogenesis in the Mouse Embryonic Neocortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadin Hoffmann

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available DGCR8 and DROSHA are the minimal functional core of the Microprocessor complex essential for biogenesis of canonical microRNAs and for the processing of other RNAs. Conditional deletion of Dgcr8 and Drosha in the murine telencephalon indicated that these proteins exert crucial functions in corticogenesis. The identification of mechanisms of DGCR8- or DROSHA-dependent regulation of gene expression in conditional knockout mice are often complicated by massive apoptosis. Here, to investigate DGCR8 functions on amplification/differentiation of neural progenitors cells (NPCs in corticogenesis, we overexpress Dgcr8 in the mouse telencephalon, by in utero electroporation (IUEp. We find that DGCR8 promotes the expansion of NPC pools and represses neurogenesis, in absence of apoptosis, thus overcoming the usual limitations of Dgcr8 knockout-based approach. Interestingly, DGCR8 selectively promotes basal progenitor amplification at later developmental stages, entailing intriguing implications for neocortical expansion in evolution. Finally, despite a 3- to 5-fold increase of DGCR8 level in the mouse telencephalon, the composition, target preference and function of the DROSHA-dependent Microprocessor complex remain unaltered. Thus, we propose that DGCR8-dependent modulation of gene expression in corticogenesis is more complex than previously known, and possibly DROSHA-independent.

  7. batman Interacts with polycomb and trithorax group genes and encodes a BTB/POZ protein that is included in a complex containing GAGA factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faucheux, M; Roignant, J-Y; Netter, S; Charollais, J; Antoniewski, C; Théodore, L

    2003-02-01

    Polycomb and trithorax group genes maintain the appropriate repressed or activated state of homeotic gene expression throughout Drosophila melanogaster development. We have previously identified the batman gene as a Polycomb group candidate since its function is necessary for the repression of Sex combs reduced. However, our present genetic analysis indicates functions of batman in both activation and repression of homeotic genes. The 127-amino-acid Batman protein is almost reduced to a BTB/POZ domain, an evolutionary conserved protein-protein interaction domain found in a large protein family. We show that this domain is involved in the interaction between Batman and the DNA binding GAGA factor encoded by the Trithorax-like gene. The GAGA factor and Batman codistribute on polytene chromosomes, coimmunoprecipitate from nuclear embryonic and larval extracts, and interact in the yeast two-hybrid assay. Batman, together with the GAGA factor, binds to MHS-70, a 70-bp fragment of the bithoraxoid Polycomb response element. This binding, like that of the GAGA factor, requires the presence of d(GA)n sequences. Together, our results suggest that batman belongs to a subset of the Polycomb/trithorax group of genes that includes Trithorax-like, whose products are involved in both activation and repression of homeotic genes.

  8. Prioritized expression of BTN2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under pronounced translation repression induced by severe ethanol stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukina Yamauchi

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Severe ethanol stress (>9% ethanol, v/v as well as glucose deprivation rapidly induces a pronounced repression of overall protein synthesis in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Therefore, transcriptional activation in yeast cells under severe ethanol stress does not always indicate the production of expected protein levels. Messenger RNAs of genes containing heat shock elements can be intensively translated under glucose deprivation, suggesting that some mRNAs are preferentially translated even under severe ethanol stress. In the present study, we tried to identify the mRNA that can be preferentially translated under severe ethanol stress. BTN2 encodes a v-SNARE binding protein, and its null mutant shows hypersensitivity to ethanol. We found that BTN2 mRNA was efficiently translated under severe ethanol stress but not under mild ethanol stress. Moreover, the increased Btn2 protein levels caused by severe ethanol stress were smoothly decreased with the elimination of ethanol stress. These findings suggested that severe ethanol stress extensively induced BTN2 expression. Further, the BTN2 promoter induced protein synthesis of non-native genes such as CUR1, GIC2, and YUR1 in the presence of high ethanol concentrations, indicating that this promoter overcame severe ethanol stress-induced translation repression. Thus, our findings provide an important clue about yeast response to severe ethanol stress and suggest that the BTN2 promoter can be used to improve the efficiency of ethanol production and stress tolerance of yeast cells by modifying gene expression in the presence of high ethanol concentration.

  9. Drosophila Nanos acts as a molecular clamp that modulates the RNA-binding and repression activities of Pumilio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weidmann, Chase A; Qiu, Chen; Arvola, René M; Lou, Tzu-Fang; Killingsworth, Jordan; Campbell, Zachary T; Tanaka Hall, Traci M; Goldstrohm, Aaron C

    2016-08-02

    Collaboration among the multitude of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is ubiquitous, yet our understanding of these key regulatory complexes has been limited to single RBPs. We investigated combinatorial translational regulation by Drosophila Pumilio (Pum) and Nanos (Nos), which control development, fertility, and neuronal functions. Our results show how the specificity of one RBP (Pum) is modulated by cooperative RNA recognition with a second RBP (Nos) to synergistically repress mRNAs. Crystal structures of Nos-Pum-RNA complexes reveal that Nos embraces Pum and RNA, contributes sequence-specific contacts, and increases Pum RNA-binding affinity. Nos shifts the recognition sequence and promotes repression complex formation on mRNAs that are not stably bound by Pum alone, explaining the preponderance of sub-optimal Pum sites regulated in vivo. Our results illuminate the molecular mechanism of a regulatory switch controlling crucial gene expression programs, and provide a framework for understanding how the partnering of RBPs evokes changes in binding specificity that underlie regulatory network dynamics.

  10. Using fusions with luxAB from Vibrio harveyi MAV to quantify induction and catabolite repression of the xyl operon in Staphylococcus carnosus TM300.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sizemore, C; Geissdörfer, W; Hillen, W

    1993-03-01

    The luxA,B genes from the Gram-negative marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi MAV were used in Staphylococcus carnosus TM300 as a reporter system for regulated expression of xylose utilization. The luciferase genes were fused to the xyl operon from Staphylococcus xylosus C2a. Expression of bioluminescence was induced through addition of xylose and repressed in the presence of glucose. A method to quantitate bioluminescence directly from the culture is described.

  11. THE DYNAMICS OF REPRESSIVE HABITUS LAWS: ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY IN UNWIMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teddy Asmara

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This research describes repressive legal habitus Unwima community by focusing on the issue of why they create a legal cognition such manner and how to empower them in the public domain when facing a lawsuit in court and examination process in higher education office. The results of the research with ethnographic methods and interpretative analysis, First, that repressive legal habitus is a part of the neo-feudalistic thinking in education management. Second, the empowerment of repressive legal habitus in the public domain potentially generate a legal behavior of impulsive that tends to a manipulative, coercive, veiled, and other immorality practices.

  12. How social media matter: Repression and the diffusion of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suh, Chan S; Vasi, Ion Bogdan; Chang, Paul Y

    2017-07-01

    This study explores the role played by social media in reshaping the repression-mobilization relationship. Drawing on the case of the Occupy Wall Street movement, we examine the impact of Facebook and Twitter on the spatial diffusion of protests during a period of heightened state repression. Results from event history analyses suggest that the effects of repression on protest diffusion are contingent on the presence of social media accounts supporting the movement. We find that state repression at earlier protest sites encouraged activists to create Facebook and Twitter accounts in their own cities, which then served as important vehicles for the initiation of new Occupy protests. Moreover, results suggest that repression incidents can directly facilitate future protests in cities that already have Occupy Facebook accounts. This study highlights the potential of social media to both mediate and moderate the influence of repression on the diffusion of contemporary movements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Repressive histone methylation regulates cardiac myocyte cell cycle exit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Nachef, Danny; Oyama, Kyohei; Wu, Yun-Yu; Freeman, Miles; Zhang, Yiqiang; Robb MacLellan, W

    2018-05-22

    Mammalian cardiac myocytes (CMs) stop proliferating soon after birth and subsequent heart growth comes from hypertrophy, limiting the adult heart's regenerative potential after injury. The molecular events that mediate CM cell cycle exit are poorly understood. To determine the epigenetic mechanisms limiting CM cycling in adult CMs (ACMs) and whether trimethylation of lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me3), a histone modification associated with repressed chromatin, is required for the silencing of cell cycle genes, we developed a transgenic mouse model where H3K9me3 is specifically removed in CMs by overexpression of histone demethylase, KDM4D. Although H3K9me3 is found across the genome, its loss in CMs preferentially disrupts cell cycle gene silencing. KDM4D binds directly to cell cycle genes and reduces H3K9me3 levels at these promotors. Loss of H3K9me3 preferentially leads to increased cell cycle gene expression resulting in enhanced CM cycling. Heart mass was increased in KDM4D overexpressing mice by postnatal day 14 (P14) and continued to increase until 9-weeks of age. ACM number, but not size, was significantly increased in KDM4D expressing hearts, suggesting CM hyperplasia accounts for the increased heart mass. Inducing KDM4D after normal development specifically in ACMs resulted in increased cell cycle gene expression and cycling. We demonstrated that H3K9me3 is required for CM cell cycle exit and terminal differentiation in ACMs. Depletion of H3K9me3 in adult hearts prevents and reverses permanent cell cycle exit and allows hyperplastic growth in adult hearts in vivo. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. PROBLEM OF CRIMINAL REPRESSION, APPLIED OUTSIDE OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitaly Stepashin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available УДК 343.2A new institute of repressive measures applied outside the criminal liability in criminal law (including as a condition for exemption from criminal liability is forming now in Russian legislation. The author concludes that the provisions of the criminal law on monetary compensation and a court fine should be deleted because of the following reasons. 1 By their nature, and monetary compensation and a court fine, not being a formal punishment (and, therefore, a form of realization of criminal responsibility is a monetary penalty, i.e., penalty-punishment. Moreover, the rules of court fine destination identical rules of criminal sentencing. 2 Quantitatively court fine may exceed the minimum limits of criminal punish-ment in the form of fines. The dimensions of monetary compensation in the order of hours. Pt. 2, Art. 76.1 of the Criminal Code and at all close to the maximum values of fine-punishment. 3 Exemption from criminal liability requires states to refrain from prosecuting the person alleged to have committed a crime, which means that the nonuse of criminal repression. Regulatory standards analyzed, on the other hand, require mandatory use of repression, ie, virtually no exemption from criminal liability does not occur at all. 4 The use of a quasi-penalty in the form of monetary compensation and court fines are not an exemption from criminal responsibility, but on the contrary, the use of criminal repression (of responsibility, and in a simplified manner. 5 Contrary to the requirements of the Constitution and the Criminal Code of criminal repression is applied to persons whose guilt has not been established in the commission of a crime. Thus, in criminal law introduced a presumption of guilt. 6 Customization repression (in fact – of criminal responsibility in the application of the judicial penalty is substantially limited, and the application of monetary compensation is excluded at all, contrary to the requirement that the rough

  15. Intracellular high mobility group B1 protein (HMGB1) represses HIV-1 LTR-directed transcription in a promoter- and cell-specific manner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naghavi, Mojgan H.; Nowak, Piotr; Andersson, Jan; Soennerborg, Anders; Yang Huan; Tracey, Kevin J.; Vahlne, Anders

    2003-01-01

    We investigated whether the high mobility group B 1 (HMGB1), an abundant nuclear protein in all mammalian cells, affects HIV-1 transcription. Intracellular expression of human HMGB1 repressed HIV-1 gene expression in epithelial cells. This inhibitory effect of HMGB1 was caused by repression of long terminal repeat (LTR)-mediated transcription. Other viral promoters/enhancers, including simian virus 40 or cytomegalovirus, were not inhibited by HMGB1. In addition, HMGB1 inhibition of HIV-1 subtype C expression was dependent on the number of NFκB sites in the LTR region. The inhibitory effect of HMGB1 on viral gene expression observed in HeLa cells was confirmed by an upregulation of viral replication in the presence of antisense HMGB1 in monocytic cells. In contrast to what was found in HeLa cells and monocytic cells, endogenous HMGB1 expression did not affect HIV-1 replication in unstimulated Jurkat cells. Thus, intracellular HMGB1 affects HIV-1 LTR-directed transcription in a promoter- and cell-specific manner

  16. Inorganic arsenic represses interleukin-17A expression in human activated Th17 lymphocytes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morzadec, Claudie; Macoch, Mélinda; Robineau, Marc; Sparfel, Lydie [UMR INSERM U1085, Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l' Environnement et le Travail (IRSET), Université de Rennes 1, 2 avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard, 35043 Rennes (France); Fardel, Olivier [UMR INSERM U1085, Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l' Environnement et le Travail (IRSET), Université de Rennes 1, 2 avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard, 35043 Rennes (France); Pôle Biologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Rennes, 2 rue Henri Le Guilloux, 35033 Rennes (France); Vernhet, Laurent, E-mail: laurent.vernhet@univ-rennes1.fr [UMR INSERM U1085, Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l' Environnement et le Travail (IRSET), Université de Rennes 1, 2 avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard, 35043 Rennes (France)

    2012-08-01

    Trivalent inorganic arsenic [As(III)] is an efficient anticancer agent used to treat patients suffering from acute promyelocytic leukemia. Recently, experimental studies have clearly demonstrated that this metalloid can also cure lymphoproliferative and/or pro-inflammatory syndromes in different murine models of chronic immune-mediated diseases. T helper (Th) 1 and Th17 lymphocytes play a central role in development of these diseases, in mice and humans, especially by secreting the potent pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-γ and IL-17A, respectively. As(III) impairs basic functions of human T cells but its ability to modulate secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by differentiated Th lymphocytes is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that As(III), used at concentrations clinically achievable in plasma of patients, has no effect on the secretion of interferon-γ from Th1 cells but almost totally blocks the expression and the release of IL-17A from human Th17 lymphocytes co-stimulated for five days with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies, in the presence of differentiating cytokines. In addition, As(III) specifically reduces mRNA levels of the retinoic-related orphan receptor (ROR)C gene which encodes RORγt, a key transcription factor controlling optimal IL-17 expression in fully differentiated Th17 cells. The metalloid also blocks initial expression of IL-17 gene induced by the co-stimulation, probably in part by impairing activation of the JNK/c-Jun pathway. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that As(III) represses expression of the major pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17A produced by human Th17 lymphocytes, thus strengthening the idea that As(III) may be useful to treat inflammatory immune-mediated diseases in humans. -- Highlights: ► Arsenic inhibits secretion of IL-17A from human naïve and memory Th17 lymphocytes. ► Arsenic represses early expression of IL-17A gene in human activated T lymphocytes. ► Arsenic interferes with activation of

  17. The expression of the T-box selector gene midline in the leg imaginal disc is controlled by both transcriptional regulation and cell lineage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pia C. Svendsen

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The Drosophila Tbx20 homologs midline and H15 act as selector genes for ventral fate in Drosophila legs. midline and H15 expression defines the ventral domain of the leg and the two genes are necessary and sufficient for the development of ventral fate. Ventral-specific expression of midline and H15 is activated by Wingless (Wg and repressed by Decapentaplegic (Dpp. Here we identify VLE, a 5 kb enhancer that drives ventral specific expression in the leg disc that is very similar to midline expression. Subdivision of VLE identifies two regions that mediate both activation and repression and third region that only mediates repression. Loss- and gain-of-function genetic mosaic analysis shows that the activating and repressing regions respond to Wg and Dpp signaling respectively. All three repression regions depend on the activity of Mothers-against-decapentaplegic, a Drosophila r-Smad that mediates Dpp signaling, and respond to ectopic expression of the Dpp target genes optomoter-blind and Dorsocross 3. However, only one repression region is responsive to loss of schnurri, a co-repressor required for direct repression by Dpp-signaling. Thus, Dpp signaling restricts midline expression through both direct repression and through the activation of downstream repressors. We also find that midline and H15 expression are both subject to cross-repression and feedback inhibition. Finally, a lineage analysis indicates that ventral midline-expressing cells and dorsal omb-expressing cells do not mix during development. Together this data indicates that the ventral-specific expression of midline results from both transcriptional regulation and from a lack of cell-mixing between dorsal and ventral cells.

  18. The histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase DIM-5 modifies chromatin at frequency and represses light-activated gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruesch, Catherine E; Ramakrishnan, Mukund; Park, Jinhee; Li, Na; Chong, Hin S; Zaman, Riasat; Joska, Tammy M; Belden, William J

    2014-11-25

    The transcriptional program controlling the circadian rhythm requires coordinated regulation of chromatin. Characterization of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding enzyme CHD1 revealed DNA methylation in the promoter of the central clock gene frequency (frq) in Neurospora crassa. In this report, we show that the DNA methylation at frq is not only dependent on the DNA methyltransferase DIM-2 but also on the H3K9 methyltransferase DIM-5 and HP1. Histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) occurs at frq and is most prominent 30 min after light-activated expression. Strains lacking dim-5 have an increase in light-induced transcription, and more White Collar-2 is found associated with the frq promoter. Consistent with the notion that DNA methylation assists in establishing the proper circadian phase, loss of H3K9 methylation results in a phase advance suggesting it delays the onset of frq expression. The dim-5 deletion strain displays an increase in circadian-regulated conidia formation on race tubes and there is a synthetic genetic interaction between dim-5 and ras-1(bd). These results indicate DIM-5 has a regulatory role in muting circadian output. Overall, the data support a model where facultative heterochromatic at frq serves to establish the appropriate phase, mute the light response, and repress circadian output. Copyright © 2015 Ruesch et al.

  19. A gene regulatory network armature for T-lymphocyte specification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fung, Elizabeth-sharon [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2008-01-01

    Choice of a T-lymphoid fate by hematopoietic progenitor cells depends on sustained Notch-Delta signaling combined with tightly-regulated activities of multiple transcription factors. To dissect the regulatory network connections that mediate this process, we have used high-resolution analysis of regulatory gene expression trajectories from the beginning to the end of specification; tests of the short-term Notchdependence of these gene expression changes; and perturbation analyses of the effects of overexpression of two essential transcription factors, namely PU.l and GATA-3. Quantitative expression measurements of >50 transcription factor and marker genes have been used to derive the principal components of regulatory change through which T-cell precursors progress from primitive multipotency to T-lineage commitment. Distinct parts of the path reveal separate contributions of Notch signaling, GATA-3 activity, and downregulation of PU.l. Using BioTapestry, the results have been assembled into a draft gene regulatory network for the specification of T-cell precursors and the choice of T as opposed to myeloid dendritic or mast-cell fates. This network also accommodates effects of E proteins and mutual repression circuits of Gfil against Egr-2 and of TCF-l against PU.l as proposed elsewhere, but requires additional functions that remain unidentified. Distinctive features of this network structure include the intense dose-dependence of GATA-3 effects; the gene-specific modulation of PU.l activity based on Notch activity; the lack of direct opposition between PU.l and GATA-3; and the need for a distinct, late-acting repressive function or functions to extinguish stem and progenitor-derived regulatory gene expression.

  20. Repressive but not activating epigenetic modifications are aberrant on the inactive X chromosome in live cloned cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng-Sheng, Cao; Yu, Gao; Kun, Wang; Fang-Rong, Ding; Ning, Li

    2009-08-01

    X inactivation is the process of a chromosome-wide silencing of the majority of genes on the X chromosome during early mammalian development. This process may be aberrant in cloned animals. Here we show that repressive modifications, such as methylation of DNA, and the presence of methylated histones, H3K9me2 and H3K27me3, exhibit distinct aberrance on the inactive X chromosome in live clones. In contrast, H3K4me3, an active gene marker, is obviously missing from the inactive X chromosome in all cattle studied. This suggests that the disappearance of active histone modifications (H3K4me3) seems to be more important for X inactivation than deposition of marks associated with heterochromatin (DNA methylation, H3K27me3 and H3K9me2). It also implies that even apparently normal clones may have subtle abnormalities in repressive, but not activating epigenetic modifications on the inactive X when they survive to term. We also found that the histone H3 methylations were enriched and co-localized at q21-31 of the active X chromosome, which may be associated with an abundance of LINE1 repeat elements. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.

  1. Identification of genes involved in Ca2+ ionophore A23187-mediated apoptosis and demonstration of a high susceptibility for transcriptional repression of cell cycle genes in B lymphoblasts from a patient with Scott syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Dominique

    2005-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In contrast to other agents able to induce apoptosis of cultured cells, Ca2+ ionophore A23187 was shown to elicit direct activation of intracellular signal(s. The phenotype of the cells derived from patients having the hemorrhagic disease Scott syndrome, is associated with an abnormally high proportion of apoptotic cells, both in basal culture medium and upon addition of low ionophore concentrations in long-term cultures. These features are presumably related to the mutation also responsible for the defective procoagulant plasma membrane remodeling. We analyzed the specific transcriptional re-programming induced by A23187 to get insights into the effect of this agent on gene expression and a defective gene regulation in Scott cells. Results The changes in gene expression upon 48 hours treatment with 200 nM A23187 were measured in Scott B lymphoblasts compared to B lymphoblasts derived from the patient's daughter or unrelated individuals using Affymetrix microarrays. In a similar manner in all of the B cell lines, results showed up-regulation of 55 genes, out of 12,000 represented sequences, involved in various pathways of the cell metabolism. In contrast, a group of 54 down-regulated genes, coding for histones and proteins involved in the cell cycle progression, was more significantly repressed in Scott B lymphoblasts than in the other cell lines. These data correlated with the alterations of the cell cycle phases in treated cells and suggested that the potent effect of A23187 in Scott B lymphoblasts may be the consequence of the underlying molecular defect. Conclusion The data illustrate that the ionophore A23187 exerts its pro-apoptotic effect by promoting a complex pattern of genetic changes. These results also suggest that a subset of genes participating in various steps of the cell cycle progress can be transcriptionally regulated in a coordinated fashion. Furthermore, this research brings a new insight into the defect

  2. Increased production of biomass-degrading enzymes by double deletion of creA and creB genes involved in carbon catabolite repression in Aspergillus oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichinose, Sakurako; Tanaka, Mizuki; Shintani, Takahiro; Gomi, Katsuya

    2018-02-01

    In a previous study, we reported that a double gene deletion mutant for CreA and CreB, which constitute the regulatory machinery involved in carbon catabolite repression, exhibited improved production of α-amylase compared with the wild-type strain and single creA or creB deletion mutants in Aspergillus oryzae. Because A. oryzae can also produce biomass-degrading enzymes, such as xylolytic and cellulolytic enzymes, we examined the production levels of those enzymes in deletion mutants in this study. Xylanase and β-glucosidase activities in the wild-type were hardly detected in submerged culture containing xylose as the carbon source, whereas those enzyme activities were significantly increased in the single creA deletion (ΔcreA) and double creA and creB deletion (ΔcreAΔcreB) mutants. In particular, the ΔcreAΔcreB mutant exhibited >100-fold higher xylanase and β-glucosidase activities than the wild-type. Moreover, in solid-state culture, the β-glucosidase activity of the double deletion mutant was >7-fold higher than in the wild-type. These results suggested that deletion of both creA and creB genes could also efficiently improve the production levels of biomass-degrading enzymes in A. oryzae. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. An upstream open reading frame controls translation of var2csa, a gene implicated in placental malaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amulic, Borko; Salanti, Ali; Lavstsen, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    contains a small upstream open reading frame that acts to repress translation of the resulting mRNA, revealing a novel form of gene regulation in malaria parasites. The mechanism underlying this translational repression is reversible, allowing high levels of protein translation upon selection, thus...

  4. Mutational Analysis of the Escherichia coli melR Gene Suggests a Two-State Concerted Model To Explain Transcriptional Activation and Repression in the Melibiose Operon

    OpenAIRE

    Kahramanoglou, Christina; Webster, Christine L.; el-Robh, Mohamed Samir; Belyaeva, Tamara A.; Busby, Stephen J. W.

    2006-01-01

    Transcription of the Escherichia coli melAB operon is regulated by the MelR protein, an AraC family member whose activity is modulated by the binding of melibiose. In the absence of melibiose, MelR is unable to activate the melAB promoter but autoregulates its own expression by repressing the melR promoter. Melibiose triggers MelR-dependent activation of the melAB promoter and relieves MelR-dependent repression of the melR promoter. Twenty-nine single amino acid substitutions in MelR that res...

  5. The Rice Enhancer of Zeste [E(z] Genes SDG711 and SDG718 are respectively involved in Long Day and Short Day Signaling to Mediate the Accurate Photoperiod Control of Flowering time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyun eLiu

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in rice flowering studies have shown that the accurate control of flowering by photoperiod is regulated by key mechanisms that involve the regulation of flowering genes including Hd1, Ehd1, Hd3a, and RFT1. The chromatin mechanism involved in the regulation of rice flowering genes is presently not well known. Here we show that the rice E(z genes SDG711 and SDG718, which encode the Polycomb Repressive Complex2 (PRC2 key subunit that is required for trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3, are respectively involved in long day (LD and short day (SD regulation of key flowering genes. The expression of SDG711 and SDG718 is induced by LD and SD, respectively. Over-expression and down-regulation of SDG711 respectively repressed and promoted flowering in LD, but had no effect in SD. By contrast, down-regulation of SDG718 had no effect in LD but delayed flowering in SD. SDG711 and SDG718 repressed OsLF (a repressor of Hd1 respectively in LD and SD, leading to a higher expression of Hd1 thus late flowering in LD and early flowering in SD. SDG711 was also found to be involved in the repression of Ehd1 in LD. SDG711 was shown to directly target to OsLF and Ehd1 loci to mediate H3K27me3 and gene repression. The function of the rice E(z genes in LD repression and SD promotion of flowering suggests that PRC2-mediated epigenetic repression of gene expression is involved in the accurate photoperiod control of rice flowering.

  6. Political Repression in U.S. History

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Minnen, C.A.

    2009-01-01

    The authors of the essays in this book amass considerable historical evidence illustrating various forms of political repression and its relationship with democracy in the United States, from the late-eighteenth century to the present. They discuss efforts, made mostly but not only by government

  7. A multicolor panel of TALE-KRAB based transcriptional repressor vectors enabling knockdown of multiple gene targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhonghui; Wu, Elise; Qian, Zhijian; Wu, Wen-Shu

    2014-12-05

    Stable and efficient knockdown of multiple gene targets is highly desirable for dissection of molecular pathways. Because it allows sequence-specific DNA binding, transcription activator-like effector (TALE) offers a new genetic perturbation technique that allows for gene-specific repression. Here, we constructed a multicolor lentiviral TALE-Kruppel-associated box (KRAB) expression vector platform that enables knockdown of multiple gene targets. This platform is fully compatible with the Golden Gate TALEN and TAL Effector Kit 2.0, a widely used and efficient method for TALE assembly. We showed that this multicolor TALE-KRAB vector system when combined together with bone marrow transplantation could quickly knock down c-kit and PU.1 genes in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells of recipient mice. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that this platform simultaneously knocked down both c-Kit and PU.1 genes in the same primary cell populations. Together, our results suggest that this multicolor TALE-KRAB vector platform is a promising and versatile tool for knockdown of multiple gene targets and could greatly facilitate dissection of molecular pathways.

  8. Members of the LBD Family of Transcription Factors Repress Anthocyanin Synthesis and Affect Additional Nitrogen Responses in Arabidopsis

    OpenAIRE

    Rubin, G.; Tohge, T.; Matsuda, F.; Saito, K.; Scheible, W.

    2009-01-01

    Nitrogen (N) and nitrate (NO3-) per se regulate many aspects of plant metabolism, growth, and development. N/NO3- also suppresses parts of secondary metabolism, including anthocyanin synthesis. Molecular components for this repression are unknown. We report that three N/NO3--induced members of the LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN (LBD) gene family of transcription factors (LBD37, LBD38, and LBD39) act as negative regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of e...

  9. miR-370 suppresses HBV gene expression and replication by targeting nuclear factor IA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Hongxia; Lv, Ping; Lv, Jing; Zhao, Xiaopei; Liu, Min; Zhang, Guangling; Tang, Hua

    2017-05-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. The roles of microRNAs in the regulation of HBV expression are being increasingly recognized. In this study, we found that overexpression of miR-370 suppressed HBV gene expression and replication in Huh7 cells, whereas antisense knockdown of endogenous miR-370 enhanced HBV gene expression and replication in Huh7 cells and HepG2.2.15 cells. Further, we identified the transcription factor nuclear factor IA (NFIA) as a new host target of miR-370. Overexpression and knockdown studies showed that NFIA stimulated HBV gene expression and replication. Importantly, overexpression of NFIA counteracted the effect of miR-370 on HBV gene expression and replication. Further mechanistic studies showed that miR-370 suppressed HBV replication and gene expression by repressing HBV Enhancer I activity, and one of the NFIA binding site in the Enhancer I element was responsible for the repressive effect of miR-370 on HBV Enhancer I activity. Altogether, our results demonstrated that miR-370 suppressed HBV gene expression and replication through repressing NFIA expression, which stimulates HBV replication via direct regulation on HBV Enhancer I activities. Our findings may provide a new antiviral strategy for HBV infection. J. Med. Virol. 89:834-844, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. VIB1, a link between glucose signaling and carbon catabolite repression, is essential for plant cell wall degradation by Neurospora crassa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Xiong

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Filamentous fungi that thrive on plant biomass are the major producers of hydrolytic enzymes used to decompose lignocellulose for biofuel production. Although induction of cellulases is regulated at the transcriptional level, how filamentous fungi sense and signal carbon-limited conditions to coordinate cell metabolism and regulate cellulolytic enzyme production is not well characterized. By screening a transcription factor deletion set in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa for mutants unable to grow on cellulosic materials, we identified a role for the transcription factor, VIB1, as essential for cellulose utilization. VIB1 does not directly regulate hydrolytic enzyme gene expression or function in cellulosic inducer signaling/processing, but affects the expression level of an essential regulator of hydrolytic enzyme genes, CLR2. Transcriptional profiling of a Δvib-1 mutant suggests that it has an improper expression of genes functioning in metabolism and energy and a deregulation of carbon catabolite repression (CCR. By characterizing new genes, we demonstrate that the transcription factor, COL26, is critical for intracellular glucose sensing/metabolism and plays a role in CCR by negatively regulating cre-1 expression. Deletion of the major player in CCR, cre-1, or a deletion of col-26, did not rescue the growth of Δvib-1 on cellulose. However, the synergistic effect of the Δcre-1; Δcol-26 mutations circumvented the requirement of VIB1 for cellulase gene expression, enzyme secretion and cellulose deconstruction. Our findings support a function of VIB1 in repressing both glucose signaling and CCR under carbon-limited conditions, thus enabling a proper cellular response for plant biomass deconstruction and utilization.

  11. CRISPR-Cas gene-editing reveals RsmA and RsmC act through FlhDC to repress the SdhE flavinylation factor and control motility and prodigiosin production in Serratia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hampton, Hannah G; McNeil, Matthew B; Paterson, Thomas J; Ney, Blair; Williamson, Neil R; Easingwood, Richard A; Bostina, Mihnea; Salmond, George P C; Fineran, Peter C

    2016-06-01

    SdhE is required for the flavinylation and activation of succinate dehydrogenase and fumarate reductase (FRD). In addition, SdhE is conserved in proteobacteria (α, β and γ) and eukaryotes. Although the function of this recently characterized family of proteins has been determined, almost nothing is known about how their genes are regulated. Here, the RsmA (CsrA) and RsmC (HexY) post-transcriptional and post-translational regulators have been identified and shown to repress sdhEygfX expression in Serratia sp. ATCC 39006. Conversely, the flagella master regulator complex, FlhDC, activated sdhEygfX transcription. To investigate the hierarchy of control, we developed a novel approach that utilized endogenous CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR associated) genome-editing by a type I-F system to generate a chromosomal point mutation in flhC. Mutation of flhC alleviated the ability of RsmC to repress sdhEygfX expression, whereas RsmA acted in both an FlhDC-dependent and -independent manner to inhibit sdhEygfX. Mutation of rsmA or rsmC, or overexpression of FlhDC, led to increased prodigiosin, biosurfactant, swimming and swarming. Consistent with the modulation of sdhE by motility regulators, we have demonstrated that SdhE and FRD are required for maximal flagella-dependent swimming. Together, these results demonstrate that regulators of both metabolism and motility (RsmA, RsmC and FlhDC) control the transcription of the sdhEygfX operon.

  12. The Efficiency of Repressive Anti-Corruption Measures in Conditions of High-Level Corruption

    OpenAIRE

    Abramov Fedir V.

    2017-01-01

    The article is aimed at determining the efficiency of repressive anti-corruption measures in conditions of high-level corruption. It is shown that the formal rules regulating the use of repressive methods of countering corruption are characterized by a significant level of the target inefficiency of formal rules. Resulting from ignorance as to the causes of both occurence and spread of corruption – the inefficiency of the current formal rules – repressive anti-corruption measures are fundamen...

  13. The Efficiency of Repressive Anti-Corruption Measures in Conditions of High-Level Corruption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abramov Fedir V.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is aimed at determining the efficiency of repressive anti-corruption measures in conditions of high-level corruption. It is shown that the formal rules regulating the use of repressive methods of countering corruption are characterized by a significant level of the target inefficiency of formal rules. Resulting from ignorance as to the causes of both occurence and spread of corruption – the inefficiency of the current formal rules – repressive anti-corruption measures are fundamentally incapable of achieving a significant reduction in the level of corruptness. It has been proved that, in addition to significant target inefficiency, repressive anti-corruption methods can potentially lead to increased levels of corruption because of abusing by supervisory officials of their official duties and the spread of internal corruption within anti-corruption structures. The potential threats from the uncontrolled anti-corruption structures towards other controlling organizations were considered. It is shown that in conditions of high-level corruption repressive anti-corruption measures can lead to expansion of imitation of anti-corruption activity.

  14. Imipenem represses CRISPR-Cas interference of DNA acquisition through H-NS stimulation in Klebsiella pneumoniae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzu-Lung; Pan, Yi-Jiun; Hsieh, Pei-Fang; Hsu, Chun-Ru; Wu, Meng-Chuan; Wang, Jin-Town

    2016-01-01

    Analysis of the genome of Klebsiella pneumoniae NTUH-K2044 strain revealed the presence of two clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) arrays separated with CRISPR-associated (cas) genes. Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were observed to be less likely to have CRISPR-Cas than sensitive strains (5/85 vs. 22/132). Removal of the transcriptional repressor, H-NS, was shown to prevent the transformation of plasmids carrying a spacer and putative proto-spacer adjacent motif (PAM). The CRISPR-Cas system also decreased pUC-4K plasmid stability, resulting in plasmid loss from the bacteria with acquisition of new spacers. Analysis of the acquired proto-spacers in pUC-4K indicated that 5′-TTN-3′ was the preferred PAM in K. pneumoniae. Treatment of cells by imipenem induced hns expression, thereby decreasing cas3 expression and consequently repressed CRISPR-Cas activity resulted in increase of plasmid stability. In conclusion, NTUH-K2044 CRISPR-Cas contributes to decrease of plasmid transformation and stability. Through repression of CRISPR-Cas activity by induced H-NS, bacteria might be more able to acquire DNA to confront the challenge of imipenem. PMID:27531594

  15. Imipenem represses CRISPR-Cas interference of DNA acquisition through H-NS stimulation in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzu-Lung; Pan, Yi-Jiun; Hsieh, Pei-Fang; Hsu, Chun-Ru; Wu, Meng-Chuan; Wang, Jin-Town

    2016-08-17

    Analysis of the genome of Klebsiella pneumoniae NTUH-K2044 strain revealed the presence of two clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) arrays separated with CRISPR-associated (cas) genes. Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were observed to be less likely to have CRISPR-Cas than sensitive strains (5/85 vs. 22/132). Removal of the transcriptional repressor, H-NS, was shown to prevent the transformation of plasmids carrying a spacer and putative proto-spacer adjacent motif (PAM). The CRISPR-Cas system also decreased pUC-4K plasmid stability, resulting in plasmid loss from the bacteria with acquisition of new spacers. Analysis of the acquired proto-spacers in pUC-4K indicated that 5'-TTN-3' was the preferred PAM in K. pneumoniae. Treatment of cells by imipenem induced hns expression, thereby decreasing cas3 expression and consequently repressed CRISPR-Cas activity resulted in increase of plasmid stability. In conclusion, NTUH-K2044 CRISPR-Cas contributes to decrease of plasmid transformation and stability. Through repression of CRISPR-Cas activity by induced H-NS, bacteria might be more able to acquire DNA to confront the challenge of imipenem.

  16. Ascites promotes cell migration through the repression of miR-125b in ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lan; Zhang, Xiaoli; Ma, Yiming; Zhao, Xinhua; Li, Bin; Wang, Hongying

    2017-08-01

    Interactions between ovarian cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment are not well characterized. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which malignant ascites promote the metastasis of ovarian cancer. It was found that ovarian cancer ascites promoted ovarian cancer cell migration which was attenuated by either heat inactivation or antibody blockade of TGF-β. High level (at ng/ml level) of TGF-β was detected in the ascites. In addition, ascites repressed the expression of miRNA-125b in a TGF-β-dependent manner. Mimic of miR-125b blocked ascites-induced cell migration. Furthermore, Gab2 (a target gene of miR-125b) was elevated by ascites in a TGF-β-dependent manner. And forced expression of Gab2 reversed the inhibition of migration induced by miR-125b mimic. Most importantly, the expression of miR-125b and Gab2 mRNA was negatively correlated in ovarian cancer specimens. Taken together, our finding suggested that TGF-β in ascites promoted cancer cell migration through repression of miR-125b in ovarian cancer. This might provide a novel therapeutic target for ovarian cancer in the future.

  17. Suppression and repression: A theoretical discussion illustrated by a movie

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Lucia de Souza Campos Paiva

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The first translations of Freud's work into Portuguese have presented problems because they were not translated from the German language. More than a hundred years after the beginning of Psychoanalysis, there are still many discussions on Freud's metapsychology and a considerable difficulty in obtaining a consensus on the translation of some concepts. This paper refers back to Freud's concepts of primal repression, repression and suppression. In order to discuss such concepts, we have made use of a film, co-produced by Germans and Argentineans, which is named "The Song in me" (Das Lied in mir, released to the public in 2011 and directed by Florian Micoud Cossen. Through this motion picture, the following of Freud's concepts are analyzed, and the differentiation between them is discussed: suppression and repression, as well as the importance of their precise translation.

  18. Repression of Salmonella enterica phoP Expression by Small Molecules from Physiological Bile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antunes, L. Caetano M.; Wang, Melody; Andersen, Sarah K.; Ferreira, Rosana B. R.; Kappelhoff, Reinhild; Han, Jun; Borchers, Christoph H.

    2012-01-01

    Infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in humans causes the life-threatening disease typhoid fever. In the laboratory, typhoid fever can be modeled through the inoculation of susceptible mice with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Using this murine model, we previously characterized the interactions between Salmonella Typhimurium and host cells in the gallbladder and showed that this pathogen can successfully invade gallbladder epithelial cells and proliferate. Additionally, we showed that Salmonella Typhimurium can use bile phospholipids to grow at high rates. These abilities are likely important for quick colonization of the gallbladder during typhoid fever and further pathogen dissemination through fecal shedding. To further characterize the interactions between Salmonella and the gallbladder environment, we compared the transcriptomes of Salmonella cultures grown in LB broth or physiological murine bile. Our data showed that many genes involved in bacterial central metabolism are affected by bile, with the citric acid cycle being repressed and alternative respiratory systems being activated. Additionally, our study revealed a new aspect of Salmonella interactions with bile through the identification of the global regulator phoP as a bile-responsive gene. Repression of phoP expression could also be achieved using physiological, but not commercial, bovine bile. The biological activity does not involve PhoPQ sensing of a bile component and is not caused by bile acids, the most abundant organic components of bile. Bioactivity-guided purification allowed the identification of a subset of small molecules from bile that can elicit full activity; however, a single compound with phoP inhibitory activity could not be isolated, suggesting that multiple molecules may act in synergy to achieve this effect. Due to the critical role of phoP in Salmonella virulence, further studies in this area will likely reveal aspects of the interaction between Salmonella

  19. Cancer, acute stress disorder, and repressive coping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Anette Fischer; Zachariae, Robert

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between repressive coping style and Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) in a sample of cancer patients. A total of 112 cancer patients recently diagnosed with cancer participated in the study. ASD was assessed by the Stanford Acute Stress...... Reaction Questionnaire, and repressive coping was assessed by a combination of scores from the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and the Bendig version of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. Significantly fewer patients classified as "repressors" were diagnosed with ASD compared to patients...... classified as "non-repressors". However, further investigations revealed that the lower incidence of ASD in repressors apparently was caused by a low score on anxiety and not by an interaction effect between anxiety and defensiveness. Future studies have to investigate whether different psychological...

  20. PARP-2 regulates cell cycle-related genes through histone deacetylation and methylation independently of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, Ya-Chen; Hsu, Chiao-Yu; Yao, Ya-Li; Yang, Wen-Ming

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► PARP-2 acts as a transcription co-repressor independently of PARylation activity. ► PARP-2 recruits HDAC5, 7, and G9a and generates repressive chromatin. ► PARP-2 is recruited to the c-MYC promoter by DNA-binding factor YY1. ► PARP-2 represses cell cycle-related genes and alters cell cycle progression. -- Abstract: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-2 (PARP-2) catalyzes poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) and regulates numerous nuclear processes, including transcription. Depletion of PARP-2 alters the activity of transcription factors and global gene expression. However, the molecular action of how PARP-2 controls the transcription of target promoters remains unclear. Here we report that PARP-2 possesses transcriptional repression activity independently of its enzymatic activity. PARP-2 interacts and recruits histone deacetylases HDAC5 and HDAC7, and histone methyltransferase G9a to the promoters of cell cycle-related genes, generating repressive chromatin signatures. Our findings propose a novel mechanism of PARP-2 in transcriptional regulation involving specific protein–protein interactions and highlight the importance of PARP-2 in the regulation of cell cycle progression

  1. Long-term in vitro, cell-type-specific genome-wide reprogramming of gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hakelien, Anne-Mari; Gaustad, Kristine G.; Taranger, Christel K.; Skalhegg, Bjorn S.; Kuentziger, Thomas; Collas, Philippe

    2005-01-01

    We demonstrate a cell extract-based, genome-wide and heritable reprogramming of gene expression in vitro. Kidney epithelial 293T cells have previously been shown to take on T cell properties following a brief treatment with an extract of Jurkat T cells. We show here that 293T cells exposed for 1 h to a Jurkat cell extract undergo genome-wide, target cell-type-specific and long-lasting transcriptional changes. Microarray analyses indicate that on any given week after extract treatment, ∼2500 genes are upregulated >3-fold, of which ∼900 are also expressed in Jurkat cells. Concomitantly, ∼1500 genes are downregulated or repressed, of which ∼500 are also downregulated in Jurkat cells. Gene expression changes persist for over 30 passages (∼80 population doublings) in culture. Target cell-type specificity of these changes is shown by the lack of activation or repression of Jurkat-specific genes by extracts of 293T cells or carcinoma cells. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis confirms the long-term transcriptional activation of genes involved in key T cell functions. Additionally, growth of cells in suspended aggregates, expression of CD3 and CD28 T cell surface markers, and interleukin-2 secretion by 293T cells treated with extract of adult peripheral blood T cells illustrate a functional nuclear reprogramming. Therefore, target cell-type-specific and heritable changes in gene expression, and alterations in cell function, can be promoted by extracts derived from transformed cells as well as from adult primary cells

  2. Glucose Alters Per2 Rhythmicity Independent of AMPK, Whereas AMPK Inhibitor Compound C Causes Profound Repression of Clock Genes and AgRP in mHypoE-37 Hypothalamic Neurons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johanneke E Oosterman

    Full Text Available Specific neurons in the hypothalamus are regulated by peripheral hormones and nutrients to maintain proper metabolic control. It is unclear if nutrients can directly control clock gene expression. We have therefore utilized the immortalized, hypothalamic cell line mHypoE-37, which exhibits robust circadian rhythms of core clock genes. mHypoE-37 neurons were exposed to 0.5 or 5.5 mM glucose, comparable to physiological levels in the brain. Per2 and Bmal1 mRNAs were assessed every 3 hours over 36 hours. Incubation with 5.5 mM glucose significantly shortened the period and delayed the phase of Per2 mRNA levels, but had no effect on Bmal1. Glucose had no significant effect on phospho-GSK3β, whereas AMPK phosphorylation was altered. Thus, the AMPK inhibitor Compound C was utilized, and mRNA levels of Per2, Bmal1, Cryptochrome1 (Cry1, agouti-related peptide (AgRP, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1C (Cpt1c, and O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (Ogt were measured. Remarkably, Compound C dramatically reduced transcript levels of Per2, Bmal1, Cry1, and AgRP, but not Cpt1c or Ogt. Because AMPK was not inhibited at the same time or concentrations as the clock genes, we suggest that the effect of Compound C on gene expression occurs through an AMPK-independent mechanism. The consequences of inhibition of the rhythmic expression of clock genes, and in turn downstream metabolic mediators, such as AgRP, could have detrimental effects on overall metabolic processes. Importantly, the effects of the most commonly used AMPK inhibitor Compound C should be interpreted with caution, considering its role in AMPK-independent repression of specific genes, and especially clock gene rhythm dysregulation.

  3. Glucose Alters Per2 Rhythmicity Independent of AMPK, Whereas AMPK Inhibitor Compound C Causes Profound Repression of Clock Genes and AgRP in mHypoE-37 Hypothalamic Neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oosterman, Johanneke E; Belsham, Denise D

    2016-01-01

    Specific neurons in the hypothalamus are regulated by peripheral hormones and nutrients to maintain proper metabolic control. It is unclear if nutrients can directly control clock gene expression. We have therefore utilized the immortalized, hypothalamic cell line mHypoE-37, which exhibits robust circadian rhythms of core clock genes. mHypoE-37 neurons were exposed to 0.5 or 5.5 mM glucose, comparable to physiological levels in the brain. Per2 and Bmal1 mRNAs were assessed every 3 hours over 36 hours. Incubation with 5.5 mM glucose significantly shortened the period and delayed the phase of Per2 mRNA levels, but had no effect on Bmal1. Glucose had no significant effect on phospho-GSK3β, whereas AMPK phosphorylation was altered. Thus, the AMPK inhibitor Compound C was utilized, and mRNA levels of Per2, Bmal1, Cryptochrome1 (Cry1), agouti-related peptide (AgRP), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1C (Cpt1c), and O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (Ogt) were measured. Remarkably, Compound C dramatically reduced transcript levels of Per2, Bmal1, Cry1, and AgRP, but not Cpt1c or Ogt. Because AMPK was not inhibited at the same time or concentrations as the clock genes, we suggest that the effect of Compound C on gene expression occurs through an AMPK-independent mechanism. The consequences of inhibition of the rhythmic expression of clock genes, and in turn downstream metabolic mediators, such as AgRP, could have detrimental effects on overall metabolic processes. Importantly, the effects of the most commonly used AMPK inhibitor Compound C should be interpreted with caution, considering its role in AMPK-independent repression of specific genes, and especially clock gene rhythm dysregulation.

  4. Transgenic Expression of a Functional Fragment of Harpin Protein Hpa1 in Wheat Represses English Grain Aphid Infestation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XU Man-yu; ZHOU Ting; ZHAO Yan-ying; LI Jia-bao; XU Heng; DONG Han-song; ZHANG Chun-ling

    2014-01-01

    The harpin protein Hpa1 produced by the rice bacterial blight pathogen promotes plant growth and induces plant resistance to pathogens and insect pests. The region of 10-42 residues (Hpa110-42) in the Hpa1 sequence is critical as the isolated Hpa110-42 fragment is 1.3-7.5-fold more effective than the full length in inducing plant growth and resistance. Here we report that transgenic expression of Hpa110-42 in wheat induces resistance to English grain aphid, a dominant species of wheat aphids. Hpa110-42-induced resistance is effective to inhibit the aphid behavior in plant preference at the initial colonization stage and repress aphid performances in the reproduction, nymph growth, and instar development on transgenic plants. The resistance characters are correlated with enhanced expression of defense-regulatory genes (EIN2, PP2-A, and GSL10) and consistent with induced expression of defense response genes (Hel, PDF1.2, PR-1b, and PR-2b). As a result, aphid infestations are alleviated in transgenic plants. The level of Hpa110-42-induced resistance in regard to repression of aphid infestations is equivalent to the effect of chemical control provided by an insecticide. These results suggested that the defensive role of Hpa110-42 can be integrated into breeding germplasm of the agriculturally signiifcant crop with a great potential of the agricultural application.

  5. Genes encoded within 8q24 on the amplicon of a large extrachromosomal element are selectively repressed during the terminal differentiation of HL-60 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirano, Tetsuo; Ike, Fumio; Murata, Takehide; Obata, Yuichi; Utiyama, Hiroyasu; Yokoyama, Kazunari K

    2008-04-02

    Human acute myeloblastic leukemia HL-60 cells become resistant to differentiation during long-term cultivation. After 150 passages, double minute chromosomes (dmins) found in early-passaged cells are replaced by large extrachromosomal elements (LEEs). In a DNA library derived from a purified fraction of LEEs, 12.6% (23/183) of clones were assigned to 8q24 and 9.2% (17/183) were assigned to 14q11 in the human genome. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed a small aberrant chromosome, which had not been found in early-passaged cells, in addition to the purified LEEs. We determined that each LEE consisted of six discontinuous segments in a region that extended for 4.4Mb over the 8q24 locus. Five genes, namely, Myc (a proto-oncogene), NSMCE2 (for a SUMO ligase), CCDC26 (for a retinoic acid-dependent modulator of myeloid differentiation), TRIB1 (for a regulator of MAPK kinase) and LOC389637 (for a protein of unknown function), were encoded by the amplicon. Breaks in the chromosomal DNA within the amplicon were found in the NSMCE2 and CCDC26 genes. The discontinuous structure of the amplicon unit of the LEEs was identical with that of dmins in HL-60 early-passaged cells. The difference between them seemed, predominantly, to be the number (10-15 copies per LEE versus 2 or 3 copies per dmin) of constituent units. Expression of the Myc, NSMCE2, CCDC26 and LOC389637 and TRIB1 genes was constitutive in all lines of HL-60 cells and that of the first four genes was repressed during the terminal differentiation of early-passaged HL-60 cells. We also detected abnormal transcripts of CCDC26. Our results suggest that these genes were selected during the development of amplicons. They might be amplified and, sometimes, truncated to contribute to the maintenance of HL-60 cells in an undifferentiated state.

  6. Role of sugar uptake and metabolic intermediates on catabolite repression in Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, J M; Thoms, B

    1977-01-01

    Many phosphorylated intermediates exert catabolite repression on the enzyme acetoin dehydrogenase in Bacillus subtilis. This was shown with strains that are blocked at different positions in central metabolism when they receive sugars that cannot be metabolized past enzymatic block(s). In the case of sorbitol, transport events were not involved in catabolite repression, for this sugar cannot repress acetoin dehydrogenase in a strain lacking sorbitol dehydrogenase but otherwise able to take up sorbitol. The presence of glucose did not markedly influence the uptake of acetoin. PMID:401492

  7. The transcription factor DREAM represses A20 and mediates inflammation

    OpenAIRE

    Tiruppathi, Chinnaswamy; Soni, Dheeraj; Wang, Dong-Mei; Xue, Jiaping; Singh, Vandana; Thippegowda, Prabhakar B.; Cheppudira, Bopaiah P.; Mishra, Rakesh K.; DebRoy, Auditi; Qian, Zhijian; Bachmaier, Kurt; Zhao, Youyang; Christman, John W.; Vogel, Stephen M.; Ma, Averil

    2014-01-01

    Here we show that the transcription-repressor DREAM binds to the A20 promoter to repress the expression of A20, the deubiquitinase suppressing inflammatory NF-κB signaling. DREAM-deficient (Dream−/− ) mice displayed persistent and unchecked A20 expression in response to endotoxin. DREAM functioned by transcriptionally repressing A20 through binding to downstream regulatory elements (DREs). In contrast, USF1 binding to the DRE-associated E-box domain activated A20 expression in response to inf...

  8. Paralogous Genes as a Tool to Study the Regulation of Gene Expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoffmann, Robert D

    The genomes of plants are marked by reoccurring events of whole-genome duplication. These events are major contributors to speciation and provide the genetic material for organisms to evolve ever greater complexity. Duplicated genes, referred to as paralogs, may be retained because they acquired...... regions. These results suggest that a concurrent purifying selection acts on coding and non-coding sequences of paralogous genes in A. thaliana. Mutational analyses of the promoters from a paralogous gene pair were performed in transgenic A. thaliana plants. The results revealed a 170-bp long DNA sequence...... that forms a bifunctional cis-regulatory module; it represses gene expression in the sporophyte while activating it in pollen. This finding is important for many aspects of gene regulation and the transcriptional changes underlying gametophyte development. In conclusion, the presented thesis suggests that...

  9. Transcriptional switching by the MerR protein: Activation and repression mutants implicate distinct DNA and mercury(II) binding domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shewchuk, L.M.; Helmann, J.D.; Ross, W.; Park, S.J.; Summers, A.O.; Walsh, C.T.

    1989-01-01

    Bacterial resistance to mercuric compounds is controlled by the MerR metalloregulatory protein. The MerR protein functions as both a transcriptional repressor and a mercuric ion dependent transcriptional activator. Chemical mutagenesis of the cloned merR structural gene has led to the identification of mutant proteins that are specifically deficient in transcriptional repression, activation, or both. Five mutant proteins have been overproduced, purified to homogeneity, and assayed for ability to dimerize, bind mer operator DNA, and bind mercuric ion. A mutation in the recognition helix of a proposed helix-turn-helix DNA binding motif (E22K) yields protein deficient in both activation and repression in vivo (a - r - ) and deficient in operator binding in vitro. In contrast, mutations in three of the four MerR cysteine residues are repression competent but activation deficient (a - r + ) in vivo. In vitro, the purified cysteine mutant proteins bind to the mer operator site with near wild-type affinity but are variable deficient in binding the in vivo inducer mercury(II) ion. A subset of the isolated proteins also appears compromised in their ability to form dimers at low protein concentrations. These data support a model in which DNA-bound MerR dimer binds one mercuric ion and transmits this occupancy information to a protein region involved in transcriptional activation

  10. Repression of germline RNAi pathways in somatic cells by retinoblastoma pathway chromatin complexes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoyun Wu

    Full Text Available The retinoblastoma (Rb tumor suppressor acts with a number of chromatin cofactors in a wide range of species to suppress cell proliferation. The Caenorhabditis elegans retinoblastoma gene and many of these cofactors, called synMuv B genes, were identified in genetic screens for cell lineage defects caused by growth factor misexpression. Mutations in many synMuv B genes, including lin-35/Rb, also cause somatic misexpression of the germline RNA processing P granules and enhanced RNAi. We show here that multiple small RNA components, including a set of germline-specific Argonaute genes, are misexpressed in the soma of many synMuv B mutant animals, revealing one node for enhanced RNAi. Distinct classes of synMuv B mutants differ in the subcellular architecture of their misexpressed P granules, their profile of misexpressed small RNA and P granule genes, as well as their enhancement of RNAi and the related silencing of transgenes. These differences define three classes of synMuv B genes, representing three chromatin complexes: a LIN-35/Rb-containing DRM core complex, a SUMO-recruited Mec complex, and a synMuv B heterochromatin complex, suggesting that intersecting chromatin pathways regulate the repression of small RNA and P granule genes in the soma and the potency of RNAi. Consistent with this, the DRM complex and the synMuv B heterochromatin complex were genetically additive and displayed distinct antagonistic interactions with the MES-4 histone methyltransferase and the MRG-1 chromodomain protein, two germline chromatin regulators required for the synMuv phenotype and the somatic misexpression of P granule components. Thus intersecting synMuv B chromatin pathways conspire with synMuv B suppressor chromatin factors to regulate the expression of small RNA pathway genes, which enables heightened RNAi response. Regulation of small RNA pathway genes by human retinoblastoma may also underlie its role as a tumor suppressor gene.

  11. Toward the Question of the Victims' Number of Political Repressions for Orthodox Belief in Russia in ХХ century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Somin Nikolai

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Toward the Question of the Victims’ Number of Political Repressions for Orthodox Belief in Russia in ХХ century Somin Nikolay Vladimirovich The author off ers the technique of the approximate estimate of the general number of orthodox believers suffering for the Christ during XX century in Russia. The technique is based on the process’s analysis of the data input of new persons to the Database of New Russian martyrs and Confessors which has been developed in PSTGU. The feature of it is the number of «twins» in the Database, i.e. persons who already are in the Base. It assists making the conclusion concerning the general number of victims. For experiments the author used the incoming stream received from Base of the subjected to repression persons, developed by the Society the Memorial. The author brings results of calculations and necessary historical inquiries. As a result he makes the conclusion, that the general number of the Victims of Political Repression for Orthodox Belief in Russia during XX c. was about 100 thousand persons (with a margin error in 40 %.

  12. Transcription regulation of AAC3 gene encoding hypoxic isoform of ADP/ATP carrier in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sokolikova, B.

    2001-01-01

    Two repressoric regions are present in the AAC3 promoter, termed URS1 and URS2. URS1 region is responsible for a carbon source-dependent regulation and plays a role under both, aerobic and anaerobic conditions. By deletion analysis URS1 was localized into the -322/-244 region and was found that the regulation is likely exerted by the repression by non-fermentable or non-repressing fermentable carbon sources than by the activation by repressing carbon source. By computer analysis cis sequences for two potential transcription factors, Rap1 and ERA, were identified within URS1. Rap1 binding into its consensus sequence was proved, effort to find the protein binding to the ERA cis regulatory sequences has failed. By the means of mutational analysis we revealed that the regulation pathway mediating the carbon source-dependent regulation via URS1 differs according to the presence or absence of oxygen in the growth medium. Under aerobic conditions the carbon source-dependent repression is mediated by the ERA factor and the role of Rap1 is only marginal. On the contrary, under anaerobic conditions, the repression is mediated solely by Rap1. AAC1 gene product might be involved in the regulation of the AAC3 gene, the regulation pathway has not been characterized yet. (author)

  13. XRN2 Autoregulation and Control of Polycistronic Gene Expresssion in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi S Miki

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available XRN2 is a conserved 5'→3' exoribonuclease that complexes with proteins that contain XRN2-binding domains (XTBDs. In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans, the XTBD-protein PAXT-1 stabilizes XRN2 to retain its activity. XRN2 activity is also promoted by 3'(2',5'-bisphosphate nucleotidase 1 (BPNT1 through hydrolysis of an endogenous XRN inhibitor 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphate (PAP. Here, we find through unbiased screening that loss of bpnt-1 function suppresses lethality caused by paxt-1 deletion. This unexpected finding is explained by XRN2 autoregulation, which occurs through repression of a cryptic promoter activity and destabilization of the xrn-2 transcript. De-repression appears to be triggered such that more robust XRN2 perturbation, by elimination of both PAXT-1 and BPNT1, is less detrimental to worm viability than absence of PAXT-1 alone. Indeed, we find that two distinct XRN2 repression mechanisms are alleviated at different thresholds of XRN2 inactivation. Like more than 15% of C. elegans genes, xrn-2 occurs in an operon, and we identify additional operons under its control, consistent with a broader function of XRN2 in polycistronic gene regulation. Regulation occurs through intercistronic regions that link genes in an operon, but a part of the mechanisms may allow XRN2 to operate on monocistronic genes in organisms lacking operons.

  14. Nitrogen Catabolite Repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofman-Bang, H Jacob Peider

    1999-01-01

    In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the expression of all known nitrogen catabolite pathways are regulated by four regulators known as Gln3, Gat1, Da180, and Deh1. This is known as nitrogen catabolite repression (NCR). They bind to motifs in the promoter region to the consensus sequence S' GATAA 3'. Gln3...

  15. An upstream open reading frame controls translation of var2csa, a gene implicated in placental malaria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borko Amulic

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for substantial morbidity, mortality and economic losses in tropical regions of the world. Pregnant women are exceptionally vulnerable to severe consequences of the infection, due to the specific adhesion of parasite-infected erythrocytes in the placenta. This adhesion is mediated by a unique variant of PfEMP1, a parasite encoded, hyper-variable antigen placed on the surface of infected cells. This variant, called VAR2CSA, binds to chondroitin sulfate A on syncytiotrophoblasts in the intervillous space of placentas. VAR2CSA appears to only be expressed in the presence of a placenta, suggesting that its expression is actively repressed in men, children or non-pregnant women; however, the mechanism of repression is not understood. Using cultured parasite lines and reporter gene constructs, we show that the gene encoding VAR2CSA contains a small upstream open reading frame that acts to repress translation of the resulting mRNA, revealing a novel form of gene regulation in malaria parasites. The mechanism underlying this translational repression is reversible, allowing high levels of protein translation upon selection, thus potentially enabling parasites to upregulate expression of this variant antigen in the presence of the appropriate host tissue.

  16. Targeting MUC1-C suppresses polycomb repressive complex 1 in multiple myeloma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagde, Ashujit; Markert, Tahireh; Rajabi, Hasan; Hiraki, Masayuki; Alam, Maroof; Bouillez, Audrey; Avigan, David; Anderson, Kenneth; Kufe, Donald

    2017-09-19

    The polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) includes the BMI1, RING1 and RING2 proteins. BMI1 is required for survival of multiple myeloma (MM) cells. The MUC1-C oncoprotein is aberrantly expressed by MM cells, activates MYC and is also necessary for MM cell survival. The present studies show that targeting MUC1-C with (i) stable and inducible silencing and CRISPR/Cas9 editing and (ii) the pharmacologic inhibitor GO-203, which blocks MUC1-C function, downregulates BMI1, RING1 and RING2 expression. The results demonstrate that MUC1-C drives BMI1 transcription by a MYC-dependent mechanism. MUC1-C thus promotes MYC occupancy on the BMI1 promoter and thereby activates BMI1 expression. We also show that the MUC1-C→MYC pathway induces RING2 expression. Moreover, in contrast to BMI1 and RING2, we found that MUC1-C drives RING1 by an NF-κB p65-dependent mechanism. Targeting MUC1-C and thereby the suppression of these key PRC1 proteins was associated with downregulation of the PRC1 E3 ligase activity as evidenced by decreases in ubiquitylation of histone H2A. Targeting MUC1-C also resulted in activation of the PRC1-repressed tumor suppressor genes, PTEN, CDNK2A and BIM . These findings identify a heretofore unrecognized role for MUC1-C in the epigenetic regulation of MM cells.

  17. A concerted action of a paired-type homeobox gene, aristaless, and a homolog of Hox11/tlx homeobox gene, clawless, is essential for the distal tip development of the Drosophila leg.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojima, Tetsuya; Tsuji, Takuya; Saigo, Kaoru

    2005-03-15

    The subdivision of the developing field by region-specific expression of genes encoding transcription factors is an essential step during appendage development in arthropod and vertebrates. In Drosophila leg development, the distal-most region (pretarsus) is specified by the expression of homeobox genes, aristaless and Lim1, and its immediate neighbor (distal tarsus) is specified by the expression of a pair of Bar homeobox genes. Here, we show that one additional gene, clawless, which is a homolog of vertebrate Hox11/tlx homeobox gene family and formerly known as C15, is specifically expressed in the pretarsus and cooperatively acts with aristaless to repress Bar and possibly to activate Lim1. Similar to aristaless, the maximal expression of clawless requires Lim1 and its co-factor, Chip. Bar attenuates aristaless and clawless expression through Lim1 repression. Aristaless and Clawless proteins form a complex capable of binding to specific DNA targets, which cannot be well recognized solely by Aristaless or Clawless.

  18. Opposing roles of STAT4 and Dnmt3a in Th1 gene regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Duy; Yu, Qing; Walline, Crystal C.; Muthukrishnan, Rajarajeswari; Blum, Janice S.; Kaplan, Mark H.

    2013-01-01

    The Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription factor STAT4 is a critical regulator of Th1 differentiation and inflammatory disease. Yet, how STAT4 regulates gene expression is still unclear. In this report, we define a STAT4-dependent sequence of events including H3K4 methylation, Jmjd3 association with STAT4 target loci, and a Jmjd3-dependent decrease in H3K27 trimethylation and DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt) 3a association with STAT4 target loci. Dnmt3a has an obligate role in repressing Th1 gene expression, and in Th1 cultures deficient in both STAT4 and Dnmt3a, there is recovery in the expression of a subset of Th1 genes that is sufficient to increase IFNγ production. Moreover, although STAT4-deficient mice are protected from the development of EAE, mice deficient in STAT4 and conditionally-deficient in Dnmt3a in T cells develop paralysis. Th1 genes that are de-repressed in the absence of Dnmt3a have greater induction following the ectopic expression of the Th1-associated transcription factors T-bet and Hlx1. Together, these data demonstrate that STAT4 and Dnmt3a play opposing roles in regulating Th1 gene expression, and that one mechanism for STAT4-dependent gene programming is in establishing a de-repressed genetic state susceptible to transactivation by additional fate-determining transcription factors. PMID:23772023

  19. Inclusion of Cocoa as a Dietary Supplement Represses Expression of Inflammatory Proteins in Spinal Trigeminal Nucleus in Response to Chronic Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cady, Ryan J.; Denson, Jennifer E.; Durham, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    Scope Central sensitization is implicated in the pathology of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) and other types of orofacial pain. We investigated the effects of dietary cocoa on expression of proteins involved in the development of central sensitization in the spinal trigeminal nucleus (STN) in response to inflammatory stimulation of trigeminal nerves. Methods and results Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed either a control diet or an isocaloric diet consisting of 10% cocoa powder 14 days prior to bilateral injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) into the temporomandibular joint to promote prolonged activation of trigeminal ganglion neurons and glia. While dietary cocoa stimulated basal expression of GLAST and MKP-1 when compared to animals on a normal diet, cocoa suppressed basal calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in the STN. CFA-stimulated levels of protein kinase A, P2X3, P-p38, GFAP, and OX-42, whose elevated levels in the STN are implicated in central sensitization, were repressed to near control levels in animals on a cocoa enriched diet. Similarly, dietary cocoa repressed CFA-stimulated inflammatory cytokine expression. Conclusion Based on our findings, we speculate that cocoa enriched diets could be beneficial as a natural therapeutic option for TMD and other chronic orofacial pain conditions. PMID:23576361

  20. A viral microRNA down-regulates multiple cell cycle genes through mRNA 5'UTRs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Finn Grey

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Global gene expression data combined with bioinformatic analysis provides strong evidence that mammalian miRNAs mediate repression of gene expression primarily through binding sites within the 3' untranslated region (UTR. Using RNA induced silencing complex immunoprecipitation (RISC-IP techniques we have identified multiple cellular targets for a human cytomegalovirus (HCMV miRNA, miR-US25-1. Strikingly, this miRNA binds target sites primarily within 5'UTRs, mediating significant reduction in gene expression. Intriguingly, many of the genes targeted by miR-US25-1 are associated with cell cycle control, including cyclin E2, BRCC3, EID1, MAPRE2, and CD147, suggesting that miR-US25-1 is targeting genes within a related pathway. Deletion of miR-US25-1 from HCMV results in over expression of cyclin E2 in the context of viral infection. Our studies demonstrate that a viral miRNA mediates translational repression of multiple cellular genes by targeting mRNA 5'UTRs.

  1. miR-200b mediates post-transcriptional repression of ZFHX1B

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Nanna Rønbjerg; Silahtaroglu, Asli; Ørom, Ulf Lupo Andersson

    2007-01-01

    of E-cadherin. We show that Zfhx1b and miR-200b are regionally coexpressed in the adult mouse brain and that miR-200b represses the expression of Zfhx1b via multiple sequence elements present in the 3'-untranslated region. Overexpression of miR-200b leads to repression of endogenous ZFHX1B...

  2. The Hsp70 homolog Ssb and the 14-3-3 protein Bmh1 jointly regulate transcription of glucose repressed genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hübscher, Volker; Mudholkar, Kaivalya; Chiabudini, Marco; Fitzke, Edith; Wölfle, Tina; Pfeifer, Dietmar; Drepper, Friedel; Warscheid, Bettina; Rospert, Sabine

    2016-07-08

    Chaperones of the Hsp70 family interact with a multitude of newly synthesized polypeptides and prevent their aggregation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells lacking the Hsp70 homolog Ssb suffer from pleiotropic defects, among others a defect in glucose-repression. The highly conserved heterotrimeric kinase SNF1/AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is required for the release from glucose-repression in yeast and is a key regulator of energy balance also in mammalian cells. When glucose is available the phosphatase Glc7 keeps SNF1 in its inactive, dephosphorylated state. Dephosphorylation depends on Reg1, which mediates targeting of Glc7 to its substrate SNF1. Here we show that the defect in glucose-repression in the absence of Ssb is due to the ability of the chaperone to bridge between the SNF1 and Glc7 complexes. Ssb performs this post-translational function in concert with the 14-3-3 protein Bmh, to which Ssb binds via its very C-terminus. Raising the intracellular concentration of Ssb or Bmh enabled Glc7 to dephosphorylate SNF1 even in the absence of Reg1. By that Ssb and Bmh efficiently suppressed transcriptional deregulation of Δreg1 cells. The findings reveal that Ssb and Bmh comprise a new chaperone module, which is involved in the fine tuning of a phosphorylation-dependent switch between respiration and fermentation. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  3. A Nonlinear Model for Gene-Based Gene-Environment Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Sa

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A vast amount of literature has confirmed the role of gene-environment (G×E interaction in the etiology of complex human diseases. Traditional methods are predominantly focused on the analysis of interaction between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP and an environmental variable. Given that genes are the functional units, it is crucial to understand how gene effects (rather than single SNP effects are influenced by an environmental variable to affect disease risk. Motivated by the increasing awareness of the power of gene-based association analysis over single variant based approach, in this work, we proposed a sparse principle component regression (sPCR model to understand the gene-based G×E interaction effect on complex disease. We first extracted the sparse principal components for SNPs in a gene, then the effect of each principal component was modeled by a varying-coefficient (VC model. The model can jointly model variants in a gene in which their effects are nonlinearly influenced by an environmental variable. In addition, the varying-coefficient sPCR (VC-sPCR model has nice interpretation property since the sparsity on the principal component loadings can tell the relative importance of the corresponding SNPs in each component. We applied our method to a human birth weight dataset in Thai population. We analyzed 12,005 genes across 22 chromosomes and found one significant interaction effect using the Bonferroni correction method and one suggestive interaction. The model performance was further evaluated through simulation studies. Our model provides a system approach to evaluate gene-based G×E interaction.

  4. Radiation-induced gene responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woloschak, G.E.; Paunesku, T.; Shearin-Jones, P.; Oryhon, J.

    1996-01-01

    In the process of identifying genes that are differentially regulated in cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV), we identified a transcript that was repressed following the exposure of cells to a combination of UV and salicylate, a known inhibitor of NF-kappaB. Sequencing this band determined that it has identify to lactate dehydrogenase, and Northern blots confirmed the initial expression pattern. Analysis of the sequence of the LDH 5' region established the presence of NF-kappaB, Sp1, and two Ap-2 elements; two partial AP- 1; one partial RE, and two halves of E-UV elements were also found. Electromobility shift assays were then performed for the AP-1, NF- kappaB, and E-UV elements. These experiments revealed that binding to NF-kappaB was induced by UV but repressed with salicylic acid; UV did not affect AP-1 binding, but salicylic acid inhibited it alone or following UV exposure; and E-UV binding was repressed by UV, and salicylic acid had little effect. Since the binding of no single element correlated with the expression pattern of LDH, it is likely that multiple elements govern UV/salicylate-mediated expression

  5. Interaction of the phospholipid scramblase 1 with HIV-1 Tat results in the repression of Tat-dependent transcription

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kusano, Shuichi; Eizuru, Yoshito

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •PLSCR1 specifically interacted with HIV-1 Tat in vitro and in vivo. •PLSCR1 repressed Tat-dependent transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR. •Suppression of PLSCR1 expression enhanced the levels of HIV-1 transcripts. •PLSCR1 reduced the nuclear localization of Tat. -- Abstract: Human phospholipid scramblase 1 (PLSCR1) is an interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene and possesses an IFN-mediated antiviral function. We show here that PLSCR1 directly interacts with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) Tat. This interaction occurs both in vitro and in vivo through amino acids 160–250 of PLSCR1. Overexpression of PLSCR1 efficiently represses the Tat-dependent transactivation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) and reduces the nuclear translocation of Tat. In addition, shRNA-mediated suppression of endogenous PLSCR1 expression enhances the levels of gag mRNA in an HIV-1-infected T-cell line. These findings indicate that PLSCR1 negatively regulates the Tat-dependent transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR during HIV-1 infection

  6. Individual members of the light-harvesting complex II chlorophyll a/b-binding protein gene family in pea (Pisum sativum) show differential responses to ultraviolet-B radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mackerness, A.H.S.; Liu, L.; Thomas, B.; Thompson, W.F.; Jordan, B.R.; White, M.J.

    1998-01-01

    In the present work, UV-B-repressible and UV-B-inducible genes were identified in the pea, Pisum sativum L., by rapid amplification of 3′ cDNA ends through use of the polymerase chain reaction. Of the UV-B-repressible clones, psUVRub and psUVDeh represent genes encoding Rubisco activase and dehydrin, respectively. A third clone, psUVZinc, did not correspond closely in overall nucleotide sequence to any gene registered in GenBank; however, a short deduced peptide shared similarity with the photosystem-II reaction center X protein of the chlorophyll a+c-containing alga, Odontella sinensis. The UV-B-inducible clones, psUVGluc, psUVAux and psUVRib, were related to genes encoding β-1, 3-glucanase, auxin-repressed protein, and a 40S ribosomal protein, respectively. The modulation of these pea genes indicates how UV-B, through its actions as a physical stressor, affects several important physiological processes in plants. (author)

  7. Construction of new synthetic biology tools for the control of gene expression in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zess, Erin K; Begemann, Matthew B; Pfleger, Brian F

    2016-02-01

    Predictive control of gene expression is an essential tool for developing synthetic biological systems. The current toolbox for controlling gene expression in cyanobacteria is a barrier to more in-depth genetic analysis and manipulation. Towards relieving this bottleneck, this work describes the use of synthetic biology to construct an anhydrotetracycline-based induction system and adapt a trans-acting small RNA (sRNA) system for use in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. An anhydrotetracycline-inducible promoter was developed to maximize intrinsic strength and dynamic range. The resulting construct, PEZtet , exhibited tight repression and a maximum 32-fold induction upon addition of anhydrotetracycline. Additionally, a sRNA system based on the Escherichia coli IS10 RNA-IN/OUT regulator was adapted for use in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. This system exhibited 70% attenuation of target gene expression, providing a demonstration of the use of sRNAs for differential gene expression in cyanobacteria. These systems were combined to produce an inducible sRNA system, which demonstrated 59% attenuation of target gene expression. Lastly, the role of Hfq, a critical component of sRNA systems in E. coli, was investigated. Genetic studies showed that the Hfq homolog in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 did not impact repression by the engineered sRNA system. In summary, this work describes new synthetic biology tools that can be applied to physiological studies, metabolic engineering, or sRNA platforms in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. An X11alpha/FSBP complex represses transcription of the GSK3beta gene promoter.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Lau, Kwok-Fai

    2010-08-04

    X11alpha is a neuronal adaptor protein that interacts with the amyloid precursor protein (APP) through a centrally located phosphotyrosine binding domain to inhibit the production of Abeta peptide that is deposited in Alzheimer\\'s disease brains. X11alpha also contains two C-terminal postsynaptic density-95, large discs, zona occludens 1 (PDZ) domains, and we show here that through its PDZ domains, X11alpha interacts with a novel transcription factor, fibrinogen silencer binding protein. Moreover, we show that an X11alpha\\/fibrinogen silencer binding protein complex signals to the nucleus to repress glycogen synthase kinase-3beta promoter activity. Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta is a favoured candidate kinase for phosphorylating tau in Alzheimer\\'s disease. Our findings show a new function for X11alpha that may impact on Alzheimer\\'s disease pathogenesis.

  9. Heterologous expression of the Aspergillus nidulans regulatory gene nirA in Fusarium oxysporum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daboussi, M J; Langin, T; Deschamps, F; Brygoo, Y; Scazzocchio, C; Burger, G

    1991-12-20

    We have isolated strains of Fusarium oxysporum carrying mutations conferring a phenotype characteristic of a loss of function in the regulatory gene of nitrate assimilation (nirA in Aspergillus nidulans, nit-4 in Neurospora crassa). One of these nir- mutants was successfully transformed with a plasmid containing the nirA gene of A. nidulans. The nitrate reductase of the transformants is still inducible, although the maximum activity is lower than in the wild type. Single and multiple integration events were found, as well as a strict correlation between the presence of the nirA gene and the Nir+ phenotype of the F. oxysporum transformants. We also investigated how the A. nidulans structural gene (niaD) is regulated in F. oxysporum. Enzyme assays and Northern experiments show that the niaD gene is subject to nitrate induction and that it responds to nitrogen metabolite repression in a F. oxysporum genetic background. This indicates that both the mechanisms of specific induction, mediated by a gene product isofunctional to nirA, and nitrogen metabolite repression, presumably mediated by a gene product isofunctional to the homologous gene of A. nidulans, are operative in F. oxysporum.

  10. Revisiting the Master-Signifier, or, Mandela and Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hook, Derek; Vanheule, Stijn

    2015-01-01

    The concept of the master-signifier has been subject to a variety of applications in Lacanian forms of political discourse theory and ideology critique. While there is much to be commended in literature of this sort, it often neglects salient issues pertaining to the role of master signifiers in the clinical domain of (individual) psychical economy. The popularity of the concept of the master (or "empty") signifier in political discourse analysis has thus proved a double-edged sword. On the one hand it demonstrates how crucial psychical processes are performed via the operations of the signifier, extending thus the Lacanian thesis that identification is the outcome of linguistic and symbolic as opposed to merely psychological processes. On the other, the use of the master signifier concept within the political realm to track discursive formations tends to distance the term from the dynamics of the unconscious and operation of repression. Accordingly, this paper revisits the master signifier concept, and does so within the socio-political domain, yet while paying particular attention to the functioning of unconscious processes of fantasy and repression. More specifically, it investigates how Nelson Mandela operates as a master signifier in contemporary South Africa, as a vital means of knitting together diverse elements of post-apartheid society, enabling the fantasy of the post-apartheid nation, and holding at bay a whole series of repressed and negated undercurrents.

  11. miR-151-3p Targets TWIST1 to Repress Migration of Human Breast Cancer Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-Chih Yeh

    Full Text Available TWIST1 is a highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that contributes to cancer metastasis by promoting an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and repressing E-cadherin gene expression in breast cancer. In this study, we explored the potential role of miR-151 in TWIST1 expression and cancer properties in human breast cancer cells. We found that the human TWIST1 3'UTR contains a potential binging site for miR-151-3p at the putative target sequence 5'-CAGUCUAG-3'. Using a TWIST1-3'UTR luciferase reporter assay, we demonstrated that the target sequence within the TWIST1 3'UTR is required for miR-151-3p regulation of TWIST1 expression. Moreover, we found that ectopic expression of miR-151-3p by infection with adenoviruses expressing miR-151 significantly decreased TWIST1 expression, migration and invasion, but did not affect cell growth and tumorsphere formation of human breast cancer cells. In addition, overexpression of the protein coding region without the 3'UTR of TWIST1 reversed the repression of cell migration by miR-151-3p. Furthermore, knockdown of miR-151-3p increased TWIST1 expression, reduced E-cadherin expression, and enhanced cell migration. In conclusion, these results suggest that miR-151-3p directly regulates TWIST1 expression by targeting the TWIST1 3'UTR and thus repressing the migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells by enhancing E-cadherin expression. Our findings add to accumulating evidence that microRNAs are involved in breast cancer progression by modulating TWIST1 expression.

  12. Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced Mammary Tumor Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-10-01

    AD GRANT NUMBER DAMDI7-94-J-4041 TITLE: Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced Mammary Tumor Regression PRINCIPAL...October 1996 Annual (1 Sep 95 - 31 Aug 96) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Cloning and Characterizing Genes Involved in Monoterpene Induced... Monoterpene -induced/repressed genes were identified in regressing rat mammary carcinomas treated with dietary limonene using a newly developed method

  13. Identification of Spt5 target genes in zebrafish development reveals its dual activity in vivo.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keerthi Krishnan

    Full Text Available Spt5 is a conserved essential protein that represses or stimulates transcription elongation in vitro. Immunolocalization studies on Drosophila polytene chromosomes suggest that Spt5 is associated with many loci throughout the genome. However, little is known about the prevalence and identity of Spt5 target genes in vivo during development. Here, we identify direct target genes of Spt5 using fog(sk8 zebrafish mutant, which disrupts the foggy/spt5 gene. We identified that fog(sk8 and their wildtype siblings differentially express less than 5% of genes examined. These genes participate in diverse biological processes from stress response to cell fate specification. Up-regulated genes exhibit shorter overall gene length compared to all genes examined. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation in zebrafish embryos, we identified a subset of developmentally critical genes that are bound by both Spt5 and RNA polymerase II. The protein occupancy patterns on these genes are characteristic of both repressive and stimulatory elongation regulation. Together our findings establish Spt5 as a dual regulator of transcription elongation in vivo and identify a small but diverse set of target genes critically dependent on Spt5 during development.

  14. Alteration of BRCA1 expression affects alcohol-induced transcription of RNA Pol III-dependent genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Qian; Shi, Ganggang; Zhang, Yanmei; Lu, Lei; Levy, Daniel; Zhong, Shuping

    2015-02-01

    Emerging evidence has indicated that alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Deregulation of RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcription enhances cellular Pol III gene production, leading to an increase in translational capacity to promote cell transformation and tumor formation. We have reported that alcohol intake increases Pol III gene transcription to promote cell transformation and tumor formation in vitro and in vivo. Studies revealed that tumor suppressors, pRb, p53, PTEN and Maf1 repress the transcription of Pol III genes. BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor and its mutation is tightly related to breast cancer development. However, it is not clear whether BRCA1 expression affects alcohol-induced transcription of Pol III genes. At the present studies, we report that restoring BRCA1 in HCC 1937 cells, which is a BRCA1 deficient cell line, represses Pol III gene transcription. Expressing mutant or truncated BRCA1 in these cells does not affect the ability of repression on Pol III genes. Our analysis has demonstrated that alcohol induces Pol III gene transcription. More importantly, overexpression of BRCA1 in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer cells (MCF-7) decreases the induction of tRNA(Leu) and 5S rRNA genes by alcohol, whereas reduction of BRCA1 by its siRNA slightly increases the transcription of the class of genes. This suggests that BRCA1 is associated with alcohol-induced deregulation of Pol III genes. These studies for the first time demonstrate the role of BRCA1 in induction of Pol III genes by alcohol and uncover a novel mechanism of alcohol-associated breast cancer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Induction and catabolite repression of α-glucosidase synthesis in protoplasts of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijk, R. van; Ouwehand, J.; Bos, T. van den; Koningsberger, V.V.

    1969-01-01

    1. 1. Kinetic data on the repression, the derepression and the induction of α-glucosidase synthesis in protoplasts of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis suggested that some site other than the stereospecific site for the induction by maltose was involved in the repression by glucose. 2. 2. A study of the

  16. The Arabidopsis GAGA-Binding Factor BASIC PENTACYSTEINE6 Recruits the POLYCOMB-REPRESSIVE COMPLEX1 Component LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 to GAGA DNA Motifs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hecker, Andreas; Brand, Luise H; Peter, Sébastien; Simoncello, Nathalie; Kilian, Joachim; Harter, Klaus; Gaudin, Valérie; Wanke, Dierk

    2015-07-01

    Polycomb-repressive complexes (PRCs) play key roles in development by repressing a large number of genes involved in various functions. Much, however, remains to be discovered about PRC-silencing mechanisms as well as their targeting to specific genomic regions. Besides other mechanisms, GAGA-binding factors in animals can guide PRC members in a sequence-specific manner to Polycomb-responsive DNA elements. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) GAGA-motif binding factor protein basic pentacysteine6 (BPC6) interacts with like heterochromatin protein1 (LHP1), a PRC1 component, and associates with vernalization2 (VRN2), a PRC2 component, in vivo. By using a modified DNA-protein interaction enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, we could show that BPC6 was required and sufficient to recruit LHP1 to GAGA motif-containing DNA probes in vitro. We also found that LHP1 interacts with VRN2 and, therefore, can function as a possible scaffold between BPC6 and VRN2. The lhp1-4 bpc4 bpc6 triple mutant displayed a pleiotropic phenotype, extreme dwarfism and early flowering, which disclosed synergistic functions of LHP1 and group II plant BPC members. Transcriptome analyses supported this synergy and suggested a possible function in the concerted repression of homeotic genes, probably through histone H3 lysine-27 trimethylation. Hence, our findings suggest striking similarities between animal and plant GAGA-binding factors in the recruitment of PRC1 and PRC2 components to Polycomb-responsive DNA element-like GAGA motifs, which must have evolved through convergent evolution. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  17. The Arabidopsis transcription factor ANAC032 represses anthocyanin biosynthesis in response to high sucrose and oxidative and abiotic stresses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kashif Mahmood

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Production of anthocyanins is one of the adaptive responses employed by plants during stress conditions. During stress, anthocyanin biosynthesis is mainly regulated at the transcriptional level via a complex interplay between activators and repressors of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes. In this study, we investigated the role of a NAC transcription factor, ANAC032, in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis during stress conditions. ANAC032 expression was found to be induced by exogenous sucrose as well as high light stress. Using biochemical, molecular and transgenic approaches, we show that ANAC032 represses anthocyanin biosynthesis in response to sucrose treatment, high light and oxidative stress. ANAC032 was found to negatively affect anthocyanin accumulation and the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis (DFR, ANS/LDOX and positive regulatory (TT8 genes as demonstrated in overexpression line (35S:ANAC032 compared to wild-type under high light stress. The chimeric repressor line (35S:ANAC032-SRDX exhibited the opposite expression patterns for these genes. The negative impact of ANAC032 on the expression of DFR, ANS/LDOX and TT8 was found to be correlated with the altered expression of negative regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis, AtMYBL2 and SPL9. In addition to this, ANAC032 also repressed the MeJA- and ABA-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis. As a result, transgenic lines overexpressing ANAC032 (35S:ANAC032 produced drastically reduced levels of anthocyanin pigment compared to wild-type when challenged with salinity stress. However, transgenic chimeric repressor lines (35S:ANAC032-SRDX exhibited the opposite phenotype. Our results suggest that ANAC032 functions as a negative regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana during stress conditions.

  18. The Arabidopsis Transcription Factor ANAC032 Represses Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Response to High Sucrose and Oxidative and Abiotic Stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmood, Kashif; Xu, Zhenhua; El-Kereamy, Ashraf; Casaretto, José A; Rothstein, Steven J

    2016-01-01

    Production of anthocyanins is one of the adaptive responses employed by plants during stress conditions. During stress, anthocyanin biosynthesis is mainly regulated at the transcriptional level via a complex interplay between activators and repressors of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes. In this study, we investigated the role of a NAC transcription factor, ANAC032, in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis during stress conditions. ANAC032 expression was found to be induced by exogenous sucrose as well as high light (HL) stress. Using biochemical, molecular and transgenic approaches, we show that ANAC032 represses anthocyanin biosynthesis in response to sucrose treatment, HL and oxidative stress. ANAC032 was found to negatively affect anthocyanin accumulation and the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis ( DFR, ANS/LDOX) and positive regulatory ( TT8) genes as demonstrated in overexpression line (35S:ANAC032) compared to wild-type under HL stress. The chimeric repressor line (35S:ANAC032-SRDX) exhibited the opposite expression patterns for these genes. The negative impact of ANAC032 on the expression of DFR, ANS/LDOX and TT8 was found to be correlated with the altered expression of negative regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis, AtMYBL2 and SPL9 . In addition to this, ANAC032 also repressed the MeJA- and ABA-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis. As a result, transgenic lines overexpressing ANAC032 (35S:ANAC032) produced drastically reduced levels of anthocyanin pigment compared to wild-type when challenged with salinity stress. However, transgenic chimeric repressor lines (35S:ANAC032-SRDX) exhibited the opposite phenotype. Our results suggest that ANAC032 functions as a negative regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana during stress conditions.

  19. Discovery of Conservation and Diversification of miR171 Genes by Phylogenetic Analysis based on Global Genomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xudong Zhu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The microRNA171 (miR171 family is widely distributed and highly conserved in a range of species and plays critical roles in regulating plant growth and development through repressing expression of ( transcription factors. However, information on the evolutionary conservation and functional diversification of the miRNA171 family members remains scanty. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among miR171 precursor and mature sequences so as to investigate the extent and degree of evolutionary conservation of miR171 in (L. Heynh. (ath, grape ( L. (vvi, poplar ( Torr. & A.Gray ex Hook. (ptc, and rice ( L. (osa. Despite strong conservation of over 80%, some mature miR171 sequences, such as , and and , -, and -, have undergone critical sequence variation, leading to functional diversification, since they target non gene transcript(s. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a combination of old ancestral relationships and recent lineage-specific diversification in the miR171 family within the four model plants. The -regulatory motifs on the upstream promoter sequences of genes were highly divergent and shared some similar elements, indicating their possible contribution to the functional variation observed within the miR171 family. This study will buttress our understanding of the functional differentiation of miRNAs and the relationships of miRNA–target pairs based on the evolutionary history of genes.

  20. Expression of the Agmatine Deiminase Pathway in Enterococcus faecalis Is Activated by the AguR Regulator and Repressed by CcpA and PTSMan Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blancato, Víctor S.; Magni, Christian

    2013-01-01

    Although the agmatine deiminase system (AgDI) has been investigated in Enterococcus faecalis, little information is available with respect to its gene regulation. In this study we demonstrate that the presence of exogenous agmatine induces the expression of agu genes in this bacterium. In contrast to the homologous and extensively characterized AgDI system of S. mutants, the aguBDAC operon in E. faecalis is not induced in response to low pH. In spite of this, agmatine catabolism in this bacterium contributes by neutralizing the external medium while enhancing bacterial growth. Our results indicate that carbon catabolic repression (CCR) operates on the AgDI system via a mechanism that involves interaction of CcpA and P-Ser-HPr with a cre site found in an unusual position considering the aguB promoter (55 nt upstream the +1 position). In addition, we found that components of the mannose phosphotransferase (PTSMan) system also contributed to CCR in E. faecalis since a complete relief of the PTS-sugars repressive effect was observed only in a PTSMan and CcpA double defective strain. Our gene context analysis revealed that aguR is present in oral and gastrointestinal microorganisms. Thus, regulation of the aguBDAC operon in E. faecalis seems to have evolved to obtain energy and resist low pH conditions in order to persist and colonize gastrointestinal niches. PMID:24155893

  1. Presenilins Regulate Neurotrypsin Gene Expression and Neurotrypsin-dependent Agrin Cleavage via Cyclic AMP Response Element-binding Protein (CREB) Modulation*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almenar-Queralt, Angels; Kim, Sonia N.; Benner, Christopher; Herrera, Cheryl M.; Kang, David E.; Garcia-Bassets, Ivan; Goldstein, Lawrence S. B.

    2013-01-01

    Presenilins, the catalytic components of the γ-secretase complex, are upstream regulators of multiple cellular pathways via regulation of gene transcription. However, the underlying mechanisms and the genes regulated by these pathways are poorly characterized. In this study, we identify Tequila and its mammalian ortholog Prss12 as genes negatively regulated by presenilins in Drosophila larval brains and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, respectively. Prss12 encodes the serine protease neurotrypsin, which cleaves the heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin. Altered neurotrypsin activity causes serious synaptic and cognitive defects; despite this, the molecular processes regulating neurotrypsin expression and activity are poorly understood. Using γ-secretase drug inhibitors and presenilin mutants in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, we found that a mature γ-secretase complex was required to repress neurotrypsin expression and agrin cleavage. We also determined that PSEN1 endoproteolysis or processing of well known γ-secretase substrates was not essential for this process. At the transcriptional level, PSEN1/2 removal induced cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB)/CREB-binding protein binding, accumulation of activating histone marks at the neurotrypsin promoter, and neurotrypsin transcriptional and functional up-regulation that was dependent on GSK3 activity. Upon PSEN1/2 reintroduction, this active epigenetic state was replaced by a methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2)-containing repressive state and reduced neurotrypsin expression. Genome-wide analysis revealed hundreds of other mouse promoters in which CREB binding is similarly modulated by the presence/absence of presenilins. Our study thus identifies Tequila and neurotrypsin as new genes repressed by presenilins and reveals a novel mechanism used by presenilins to modulate CREB signaling based on controlling CREB recruitment. PMID:24145027

  2. Presenilins regulate neurotrypsin gene expression and neurotrypsin-dependent agrin cleavage via cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almenar-Queralt, Angels; Kim, Sonia N; Benner, Christopher; Herrera, Cheryl M; Kang, David E; Garcia-Bassets, Ivan; Goldstein, Lawrence S B

    2013-12-06

    Presenilins, the catalytic components of the γ-secretase complex, are upstream regulators of multiple cellular pathways via regulation of gene transcription. However, the underlying mechanisms and the genes regulated by these pathways are poorly characterized. In this study, we identify Tequila and its mammalian ortholog Prss12 as genes negatively regulated by presenilins in Drosophila larval brains and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, respectively. Prss12 encodes the serine protease neurotrypsin, which cleaves the heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin. Altered neurotrypsin activity causes serious synaptic and cognitive defects; despite this, the molecular processes regulating neurotrypsin expression and activity are poorly understood. Using γ-secretase drug inhibitors and presenilin mutants in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, we found that a mature γ-secretase complex was required to repress neurotrypsin expression and agrin cleavage. We also determined that PSEN1 endoproteolysis or processing of well known γ-secretase substrates was not essential for this process. At the transcriptional level, PSEN1/2 removal induced cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB)/CREB-binding protein binding, accumulation of activating histone marks at the neurotrypsin promoter, and neurotrypsin transcriptional and functional up-regulation that was dependent on GSK3 activity. Upon PSEN1/2 reintroduction, this active epigenetic state was replaced by a methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2)-containing repressive state and reduced neurotrypsin expression. Genome-wide analysis revealed hundreds of other mouse promoters in which CREB binding is similarly modulated by the presence/absence of presenilins. Our study thus identifies Tequila and neurotrypsin as new genes repressed by presenilins and reveals a novel mechanism used by presenilins to modulate CREB signaling based on controlling CREB recruitment.

  3. Diversification of C. elegans Motor Neuron Identity via Selective Effector Gene Repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerk, Sze Yen; Kratsios, Paschalis; Hart, Michael; Mourao, Romulo; Hobert, Oliver

    2017-01-04

    A common organizational feature of nervous systems is the existence of groups of neurons that share common traits but can be divided into individual subtypes based on anatomical or molecular features. We elucidate the mechanistic basis of neuronal diversification processes in the context of C.elegans ventral cord motor neurons that share common traits that are directly activated by the terminal selector UNC-3. Diversification of motor neurons into different classes, each characterized by unique patterns of effector gene expression, is controlled by distinct combinations of phylogenetically conserved, class-specific transcriptional repressors. These repressors are continuously required in postmitotic neurons to prevent UNC-3, which is active in all neuron classes, from activating class-specific effector genes in specific motor neuron subsets via discrete cis-regulatory elements. The strategy of antagonizing the activity of broadly acting terminal selectors of neuron identity in a subtype-specific fashion may constitute a general principle of neuron subtype diversification. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Obacunone Represses Salmonella Pathogenicity Islands 1 and 2 in an envZ-Dependent Fashion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vikram, Amit; Jayaprakasha, Guddadarangavvanahally K.; Jesudhasan, Palmy R.

    2012-01-01

    Obacunone belongs to a class of unique triterpenoids called limonoids, present in Citrus species. Previous studies from our laboratory suggested that obacunone possesses antivirulence activity and demonstrates inhibition of cell-cell signaling in Vibrio harveyi and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The present work sought to determine the effect of obacunone on the food-borne pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 by using a cDNA microarray. Transcriptomic studies indicated that obacunone represses Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1), the maltose transporter, and the hydrogenase operon. Furthermore, phenotypic data for the Caco-2 infection assay and maltose utilization were in agreement with microarray data suggesting repression of SPI1 and maltose transport. Further studies demonstrated that repression of SPI1 was plausibly mediated through hilA. Additionally, obacunone seems to repress SPI2 under SPI2-inducing conditions as well as in Caco-2 infection models. Furthermore, obacunone seems to repress hilA in an EnvZ-dependent fashion. Altogether, the results of the study seems to suggest that obacunone exerts an antivirulence effect on S. Typhimurium and may serve as a lead compound for development of antivirulence strategies for S. Typhimurium. PMID:22843534

  5. Epigenetic interplay between mouse endogenous retroviruses and host genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebollo, Rita; Miceli-Royer, Katharine; Zhang, Ying; Farivar, Sharareh; Gagnier, Liane; Mager, Dixie L

    2012-10-03

    Transposable elements are often the targets of repressive epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation that, in theory, have the potential to spread toward nearby genes and induce epigenetic silencing. To better understand the role of DNA methylation in the relationship between transposable elements and genes, we assessed the methylation state of mouse endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) located near genes. We found that ERVs of the ETn/MusD family show decreased DNA methylation when near transcription start sites in tissues where the nearby gene is expressed. ERVs belonging to the IAP family, however, are generally heavily methylated, regardless of the genomic environment and the tissue studied. Furthermore, we found full-length ETn and IAP copies that display differential DNA methylation between their two long terminal repeats (LTRs), suggesting that the environment surrounding gene promoters can prevent methylation of the nearby LTR. Spreading from methylated ERV copies to nearby genes was rarely observed, with the regions between the ERVs and genes apparently acting as a boundary, enriched in H3K4me3 and CTCF, which possibly protects the unmethylated gene promoter. Furthermore, the flanking regions of unmethylated ERV copies harbor H3K4me3, consistent with spreading of euchromatin from the host gene toward ERV insertions. We have shown that spreading of DNA methylation from ERV copies toward active gene promoters is rare. We provide evidence that genes can be protected from ERV-induced heterochromatin spreading by either blocking the invasion of repressive marks or by spreading euchromatin toward the ERV copy.

  6. Pax6 represses androgen receptor-mediated transactivation by inhibiting recruitment of the coactivator SPBP.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julianne Elvenes

    Full Text Available The androgen receptor (AR has a central role in development and maintenance of the male reproductive system and in the etiology of prostate cancer. The transcription factor Pax6 has recently been reported to act as a repressor of AR and to be hypermethylated in prostate cancer cells. SPBP is a transcriptional regulator that previously has been shown to enhance the activity of Pax6. In this study we have identified SPBP to act as a transcriptional coactivator of AR. We also show that Pax6 inhibits SPBP-mediated enhancement of AR activity on the AR target gene probasin promoter, a repression that was partly reversed by increased expression of SPBP. Enhanced expression of Pax6 reduced the amount of SPBP associated with the probasin promoter when assayed by ChIP in HeLa cells. We mapped the interaction between both AR and SPBP, and AR and Pax6 to the DNA-binding domains of the involved proteins. Further binding studies revealed that Pax6 and SPBP compete for binding to AR. These results suggest that Pax6 represses AR activity by displacing and/or inhibiting recruitment of coactivators to AR target promoters. Understanding the mechanism for inhibition of AR coactivators can give rise to molecular targeted drugs for treatment of prostate cancer.

  7. Gene regulatory mechanisms in infected fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schyth, Brian Dall; Hajiabadi, Seyed Amir Hossein Jalali; Kristensen, Lasse Bøgelund Juel

    2011-01-01

    molecules produced by the eukaryotic cell is used to program the RNA Induced Silencing Complex (RISC) for cleavage of specific mRNA transcripts and/or translational repression in the cytoplasm or even chromatin methylation in the nucleus. All processes leading to silencing of the target gene. MicroRNAs (or...... differentiation. Thus the expression of these miRNAs might be steered by different mechanisms in different cell types and have different roles in terms of the genes they target in different cell types. Thus gene regulation and function is better looked upon as a web of interactions. Data from zebrafish studies...

  8. JAZF1 promotes proliferation of C2C12 cells, but retards their myogenic differentiation through transcriptional repression of MEF2C and MRF4—Implications for the role of Jazf1 variants in oncogenesis and type 2 diabetes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuasa, Katsutoshi; Aoki, Natsumi; Hijikata, Takao, E-mail: hijikata@musashino-u.ac.jp

    2015-08-15

    Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been identified in Jazf1, which is also involved in the oncogenesis of endometrial stromal tumors. To understand how Jazf1 variants confer a risk of tumorigenesis and T2D, we explored the functional roles of JAZF1 and searched for JAZF1 target genes in myogenic C2C12 cells. Consistent with an increase of Jazf1 transcripts during myoblast proliferation and their decrease during myogenic differentiation in regenerating skeletal muscle, JAZF1 overexpression promoted cell proliferation, whereas it retarded myogenic differentiation. Examination of myogenic genes revealed that JAZF1 overexpression transcriptionally repressed MEF2C and MRF4 and their downstream genes. AMP deaminase1 (AMPD1) was identified as a candidate for JAZF1 target by gene array analysis. However, promoter assays of Ampd1 demonstrated that mutation of the putative binding site for the TR4/JAZF1 complex did not alleviate the repressive effects of JAZF1 on promoter activity. Instead, JAZF1-mediated repression of Ampd1 occurred through the MEF2-binding site and E-box within the Ampd1 proximal regulatory elements. Consistently, MEF2C and MRF4 expression enhanced Ampd1 promoter activity. AMPD1 overexpression and JAZF1 downregulation impaired AMPK phosphorylation, while JAZF1 overexpression also reduced it. Collectively, these results suggest that aberrant JAZF1 expression contributes to the oncogenesis and T2D pathogenesis. - Highlights: • JAZF1 promotes cell cycle progression and proliferation of myoblasts. • JAZF1 retards myogenic differentiation and hypertrophy of myotubes. • JAZF1 transcriptionally represses Mef2C and Mrf4 expression. • JAZF1 has an impact on the phosphorylation of AMPK.

  9. The MogR Transcriptional Repressor Regulates Nonhierarchal Expression of Flagellar Motility Genes and Virulence in Listeria monocytogenes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Flagella are surface structures critical for motility and virulence of many bacterial species. In Listeria monocytogenes, MogR tightly represses expression of flagellin (FlaA during extracellular growth at 37 degrees C and during intracellular infection. MogR is also required for full virulence in a murine model of infection. Using in vitro and in vivo infection models, we determined that the severe virulence defect of MogR-negative bacteria is due to overexpression of FlaA. Specifically, overproduction of FlaA in MogR-negative bacteria caused pleiotropic defects in bacterial division (chaining phenotype, intracellular spread, and virulence in mice. DNA binding and microarray analyses revealed that MogR represses transcription of all known flagellar motility genes by binding directly to a minimum of two TTTT-N(5-AAAA recognition sites positioned within promoter regions such that RNA polymerase binding is occluded. Analysis of MogR protein levels demonstrated that modulation of MogR repression activity confers the temperature-specificity to flagellar motility gene expression. Epistasis analysis revealed that MogR repression of transcription is antagonized in a temperature-dependent manner by the DegU response regulator and that DegU further regulates FlaA levels through a posttranscriptional mechanism. These studies provide the first known example to our knowledge of a transcriptional repressor functioning as a master regulator controlling nonhierarchal expression of flagellar motility genes.

  10. Kctd10 regulates heart morphogenesis by repressing the transcriptional activity of Tbx5a in zebrafish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Xiangjun; Zu, Yao; Li, Zengpeng; Li, Wenyuan; Ying, Lingxiao; Yang, Jing; Wang, Xin; He, Shuonan; Liu, Da; Zhu, Zuoyan; Chen, Jianming; Lin, Shuo; Zhang, Bo

    2014-01-01

    The T-box transcription factor Tbx5 (Tbx5a in zebrafish) plays a crucial role in the formation of cardiac chambers in a dose-dependent manner. Its deregulation leads to congenital heart disease. However, little is known regarding its regulation. Here we isolate a zebrafish mutant with heart malformations, called 34c. The affected gene is identified as kctd10, a member of the potassium channel tetramerization domain (KCTD)-containing family. In the mutant, the expressions of the atrioventricular canal marker genes, such as tbx2b, hyaluronan synthase 2 (has2), notch1b and bmp4, are changed. The knockdown of tbx5 rescues the ectopic expression of has2, and knockdown of either tbx5a or has2 alleviates the heart defects. We show that Kctd10 directly binds to Tbx5 to repress its transcriptional activity. Our results reveal a new essential factor for cardiac development and suggest that KCTD10 could be considered as a new causative gene of congenital heart disease.

  11. Iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana: transcriptomic analyses reveal novel FIT-regulated genes, iron deficiency marker genes and functional gene networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mai, Hans-Jörg; Pateyron, Stéphanie; Bauer, Petra

    2016-10-03

    FIT (FER-LIKE IRON DEFICIENCY-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR) is the central regulator of iron uptake in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. We performed transcriptome analyses of six day-old seedlings and roots of six week-old plants using wild type, a fit knock-out mutant and a FIT over-expression line grown under iron-sufficient or iron-deficient conditions. We compared genes regulated in a FIT-dependent manner depending on the developmental stage of the plants. We assembled a high likelihood dataset which we used to perform co-expression and functional analysis of the most stably iron deficiency-induced genes. 448 genes were found FIT-regulated. Out of these, 34 genes were robustly FIT-regulated in root and seedling samples and included 13 novel FIT-dependent genes. Three hundred thirty-one genes showed differential regulation in response to the presence and absence of FIT only in the root samples, while this was the case for 83 genes in the seedling samples. We assembled a virtual dataset of iron-regulated genes based on a total of 14 transcriptomic analyses of iron-deficient and iron-sufficient wild-type plants to pinpoint the best marker genes for iron deficiency and analyzed this dataset in depth. Co-expression analysis of this dataset revealed 13 distinct regulons part of which predominantly contained functionally related genes. We could enlarge the list of FIT-dependent genes and discriminate between genes that are robustly FIT-regulated in roots and seedlings or only in one of those. FIT-regulated genes were mostly induced, few of them were repressed by FIT. With the analysis of a virtual dataset we could filter out and pinpoint new candidates among the most reliable marker genes for iron deficiency. Moreover, co-expression and functional analysis of this virtual dataset revealed iron deficiency-induced and functionally distinct regulons.

  12. Sphingosine 1-phosphate induces neutrophil chemoattractant IL-8: repression by steroids.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Mostafizur Rahman

    Full Text Available The bioactive sphingolipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P is found in increased amounts in the airways of asthmatics. S1P can regulate airway smooth muscle functions associated with asthmatic inflammation and remodeling, including cytokine secretion. To date however, whether S1P induces secretion of an important chemokine responsible for neutrophilia in airway inflammation--IL-8--was unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate whether S1P induces IL-8 gene expression and secretion to enhance neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro, as well as examine the molecular mechanisms responsible for repression by the corticosteroid dexamethasone. We show that S1P upregulates IL-8 secretion from ASM cells and enhance neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro. The corticosteroid dexamethasone significantly represses IL-8 mRNA expression and protein secretion in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Additionally, we reveal that S1P-induced IL-8 secretion is p38 MAPK and ERK-dependent and that these key phosphoproteins act on the downstream effector mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1 (MSK1 to control secretion of the neutrophil chemoattractant cytokine IL-8. The functional relevance of this in vitro data was demonstrated by neutrophil chemotaxis assays where S1P-induced effects can be significantly attenuated by pretreatment with dexamethasone, pharmacological inhibition of p38 MAPK- or ERK-mediated pathways, or by knocking down MSK-1 with siRNA. Taken together, our study reveals the molecular pathways responsible for IL-8 secretion from ASM cells in response to S1P and indicates ways in which the impact on IL-8-driven neutrophilia may be lessened.

  13. The Vitamin B12-Dependent Photoreceptor AerR Relieves Photosystem Gene Repression by Extending the Interaction of CrtJ with Photosystem Promoters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingxu Fang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Purple nonsulfur bacteria adapt their physiology to a wide variety of environmental conditions often through the control of transcription. One of the main transcription factors involved in controlling expression of the Rhodobacter capsulatus photosystem is CrtJ, which functions as an aerobic repressor of photosystem genes. Recently, we reported that a vitamin B12 binding antirepressor of CrtJ called AerR is required for anaerobic expression of the photosystem. However, the mechanism whereby AerR regulates CrtJ activity is unclear. In this study, we used a combination of next-generation sequencing and biochemical methods to globally identify genes under control of CrtJ and the role of AerR in controlling this regulation. Our results indicate that CrtJ has a much larger regulon than previously known, with a surprising regulatory function under both aerobic and anaerobic photosynthetic growth conditions. A combination of in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation-DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq and ChIP-seq and exonuclease digestion (ChIP-exo studies and in vitro biochemical studies demonstrate that AerR forms a 1:2 complex with CrtJ (AerR-CrtJ2 and that this complex binds to many promoters under photosynthetic conditions. The results of in vitro and in vivo DNA binding studies indicate that AerR-CrtJ2 anaerobically forms an extended interaction with the bacteriochlorophyll bchC promoter to relieve repression by CrtJ. This is contrasted by aerobic growth conditions where CrtJ alone functions as an aerobic repressor of bchC expression. These results indicate that the DNA binding activity of CrtJ is modified by interacting with AerR in a redox-regulated manner and that this interaction alters CrtJ’s function.

  14. A powerful score-based test statistic for detecting gene-gene co-association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jing; Yuan, Zhongshang; Ji, Jiadong; Zhang, Xiaoshuai; Li, Hongkai; Wu, Xuesen; Xue, Fuzhong; Liu, Yanxun

    2016-01-29

    The genetic variants identified by Genome-wide association study (GWAS) can only account for a small proportion of the total heritability for complex disease. The existence of gene-gene joint effects which contains the main effects and their co-association is one of the possible explanations for the "missing heritability" problems. Gene-gene co-association refers to the extent to which the joint effects of two genes differ from the main effects, not only due to the traditional interaction under nearly independent condition but the correlation between genes. Generally, genes tend to work collaboratively within specific pathway or network contributing to the disease and the specific disease-associated locus will often be highly correlated (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in linkage disequilibrium). Therefore, we proposed a novel score-based statistic (SBS) as a gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association. Various simulations illustrate that, under different sample sizes, marginal effects of causal SNPs and co-association levels, the proposed SBS has the better performance than other existed methods including single SNP-based and principle component analysis (PCA)-based logistic regression model, the statistics based on canonical correlations (CCU), kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCU), partial least squares path modeling (PLSPM) and delta-square (δ (2)) statistic. The real data analysis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) further confirmed its advantages in practice. SBS is a powerful and efficient gene-based method for detecting gene-gene co-association.

  15. Aberrant Transforming Growth Factor β1 Signaling and SMAD4 Nuclear Translocation Confer Epigenetic Repression of ADAM19 in Ovarian Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael W.Y. Chan

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β/SMAD signaling is a key growth regulatory pathway often dysregulated in ovarian cancer and other malignancies. Although loss of TGF-β–mediated growth inhibition has been shown to contribute to aberrant cell behavior, the epigenetic consequence(s of impaired TGF-β/SMAD signaling on target genes is not well established. In this study, we show that TGF-β1 causes growth inhibition of normal ovarian surface epithelial cells, induction of nuclear translocation SMAD4, and up-regulation of ADAM19 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 19, a newly identified TGF-β1 target gene. Conversely, induction and nuclear translocation of SMAD4 were negligible in ovarian cancer cells refractory to TGF-β1 stimulation, and ADAM19 expression was greatly reduced. Furthermore, in the TGF-β1 refractory cells, an inactive chromatin environment, marked by repressive histone modifications (trimethyl-H3K27 and dimethyl-H3K9 and histone deacetylase, was associated with the ADAM19 promoter region. However, the CpG island found within the promoter and first exon of ADAM19 remained generally unmethylated. Although disrupted growth factor signaling has been linked to epigenetic gene silencing in cancer, this is the first evidence demonstrating that impaired TGF-β1 signaling can result in the formation of a repressive chromatin state and epigenetic suppression of ADAM19. Given the emerging role of ADAMs family proteins in growth factor regulation in normal cells, we suggest that epigenetic dysregulation of ADAM19 may contribute to the neoplastic process in ovarian cancer.

  16. Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Latent Protein EBNA3A Directly Targets and Silences the STK39 Gene in B Cells Infected by EBV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazot, Quentin; Paschos, Kostas; Allday, Martin J

    2018-04-01

    Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes latent infection in human B cells and is associated with a wide range of cancers. The EBV nuclear antigen 3 (EBNA3) family proteins are critical for B cell transformation and function as transcriptional regulators. It is well established that EBNA3A and EBNA3C cooperate in the regulation of cellular genes. Here, we demonstrate that the gene STK39 is repressed only by EBNA3A. This is the first example of a gene regulated only by EBNA3A in EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) without the help of EBNA3C. This was demonstrated using a variety of LCLs carrying either knockout, revertant, or conditional EBNA3 recombinants. Investigating the kinetics of EBNA3A-mediated changes in STK39 expression showed that STK39 becomes derepressed quickly after EBNA3A inactivation. This derepression is reversible as EBNA3A reactivation represses STK39 in the same cells expressing a conditional EBNA3A. STK39 is silenced shortly after primary B cell infection by EBV, and no STK39 -encoded protein (SPAK) is detected 3 weeks postinfection. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis indicates that EBNA3A directly binds to a regulatory region downstream of the STK39 transcription start site. For the first time, we demonstrated that the polycomb repressive complex 2 with the deposition of the repressive mark H3K27me3 is not only important for the maintenance of an EBNA3A target gene ( STK39 ) but is also essential for the initial establishment of its silencing. Finally, we showed that DNA methyltransferases are involved in the EBNA3A-mediated repression of STK39 IMPORTANCE EBV is well known for its ability to transform B lymphocytes to continuously proliferating lymphoblastoid cell lines. This is achieved in part by the reprogramming of cellular gene transcription by EBV transcription factors, including the EBNA3 proteins that play a crucial role in this process. In the present study, we found that EBNA3A epigenetically silences STK39 This

  17. Drosophila Nanos acts as a molecular clamp that modulates the RNA-binding and repression activities of Pumilio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weidmann, Chase A.; Qiu, Chen; Arvola, René M.; Lou, Tzu-Fang; Killingsworth, Jordan; Campbell, Zachary T.; Tanaka Hall, Traci M.; Goldstrohm, Aaron C.

    2016-08-02

    Collaboration among the multitude of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is ubiquitous, yet our understanding of these key regulatory complexes has been limited to single RBPs. We investigated combinatorial translational regulation byDrosophilaPumilio (Pum) and Nanos (Nos), which control development, fertility, and neuronal functions. Our results show how the specificity of one RBP (Pum) is modulated by cooperative RNA recognition with a second RBP (Nos) to synergistically repress mRNAs. Crystal structures of Nos-Pum-RNA complexes reveal that Nos embraces Pum and RNA, contributes sequence-specific contacts, and increases Pum RNA-binding affinity. Nos shifts the recognition sequence and promotes repression complex formation on mRNAs that are not stably bound by Pum alone, explaining the preponderance of sub-optimal Pum sites regulatedin vivo. Our results illuminate the molecular mechanism of a regulatory switch controlling crucial gene expression programs, and provide a framework for understanding how the partnering of RBPs evokes changes in binding specificity that underlie regulatory network dynamics.

  18. Effects of Gene Dose, Chromatin, and Network Topology on Expression in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hangnoh Lee

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Deletions, commonly referred to as deficiencies by Drosophila geneticists, are valuable tools for mapping genes and for genetic pathway discovery via dose-dependent suppressor and enhancer screens. More recently, it has become clear that deviations from normal gene dosage are associated with multiple disorders in a range of species including humans. While we are beginning to understand some of the transcriptional effects brought about by gene dosage changes and the chromosome rearrangement breakpoints associated with them, much of this work relies on isolated examples. We have systematically examined deficiencies of the left arm of chromosome 2 and characterize gene-by-gene dosage responses that vary from collapsed expression through modest partial dosage compensation to full or even over compensation. We found negligible long-range effects of creating novel chromosome domains at deletion breakpoints, suggesting that cases of gene regulation due to altered nuclear architecture are rare. These rare cases include trans de-repression when deficiencies delete chromatin characterized as repressive in other studies. Generally, effects of breakpoints on expression are promoter proximal (~100bp or in the gene body. Effects of deficiencies genome-wide are in genes with regulatory relationships to genes within the deleted segments, highlighting the subtle expression network defects in these sensitized genetic backgrounds.

  19. Effects of Gene Dose, Chromatin, and Network Topology on Expression in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hangnoh; Cho, Dong-Yeon; Whitworth, Cale; Eisman, Robert; Phelps, Melissa; Roote, John; Kaufman, Thomas; Cook, Kevin; Russell, Steven; Przytycka, Teresa; Oliver, Brian

    2016-09-01

    Deletions, commonly referred to as deficiencies by Drosophila geneticists, are valuable tools for mapping genes and for genetic pathway discovery via dose-dependent suppressor and enhancer screens. More recently, it has become clear that deviations from normal gene dosage are associated with multiple disorders in a range of species including humans. While we are beginning to understand some of the transcriptional effects brought about by gene dosage changes and the chromosome rearrangement breakpoints associated with them, much of this work relies on isolated examples. We have systematically examined deficiencies of the left arm of chromosome 2 and characterize gene-by-gene dosage responses that vary from collapsed expression through modest partial dosage compensation to full or even over compensation. We found negligible long-range effects of creating novel chromosome domains at deletion breakpoints, suggesting that cases of gene regulation due to altered nuclear architecture are rare. These rare cases include trans de-repression when deficiencies delete chromatin characterized as repressive in other studies. Generally, effects of breakpoints on expression are promoter proximal (~100bp) or in the gene body. Effects of deficiencies genome-wide are in genes with regulatory relationships to genes within the deleted segments, highlighting the subtle expression network defects in these sensitized genetic backgrounds.

  20. Revisiting the master-signifier, or, Mandela and repression

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    Derek eHook

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The concept of the master-signifier has been subject to a variety of applications in Lacanian forms of political discourse theory and ideology critique. While there is much to be commended in literature of this sort, it often neglects salient issues pertaining to the role of master signifiers in the clinical domain of (individual psychical economy. The popularity of the concept of the master (or ‘empty’ signifier in political discourse analysis has thus proved a double-edged sword. On the one hand it demonstrates how crucial psychical processes are performed via the operations of the signifier, extending thus the Lacanian thesis that identification is as much the outcome of linguistic and symbolic as opposed to merely psychological processes. On the other, the use of the master signifier concept within the political realm to track discursive formations tends to distance the term from the dynamics of the unconscious and operation of repression. Accordingly, this paper revisits the master signifier concept, and does so within the socio-political domain, yet while paying particular attention to the functioning of unconscious processes of fantasy and repression. More specifically, it investigates how Nelson Mandela operates as a master signifier in contemporary South Africa, as a vital means of knitting together diverse elements of post-apartheid society, enabling the fantasy of the post-apartheid nation, and holding at bay a whole series of repressed and negated undercurrents.

  1. Financial Repression as a Policy Choice: The Case of Ukraine, 1992—2000

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    Robert S. Kravchuk

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available By their nature, instruments of financial repression distort interest rates, foreign exchange rates, patterns of investment, and the economic incentives of both borrowers and lenders. In order to deal with the economic pathologies introduced by the government’s own credit and financial policies, governments inevitably find that they must intervene further, to ration credit and impose controls, generally on prices, wages, interest rates, foreign exchange rates and other transactions. Not only did Ukraine exhibit all of the symptoms of financial repression in the 1990s, but the basic policy instruments of financial repression also became too familiar in Ukraine. In fact, to one extent or another, in the 1990s Ukraine employed several of these measures (often in combination as means to suppress the effects of excessive amounts of state consumption, the resultant inflation, and its own credit policies. In the long run, economic growth will suffer, however, because repression reduces the capacity of the financial system to respond to the needs of firms and households in the real economy.

  2. AMPK Signaling Involvement for the Repression of the IL-1β-Induced Group IIA Secretory Phospholipase A2 Expression in VSMCs.

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    Khadija El Hadri

    Full Text Available Secretory Phospholipase A2 of type IIA (sPLA2 IIA plays a crucial role in the production of lipid mediators by amplifying the neointimal inflammatory context of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs, especially during atherogenesis. Phenformin, a biguanide family member, by its anti-inflammatory properties presents potential for promoting beneficial effects upon vascular cells, however its impact upon the IL-1β-induced sPLA2 gene expression has not been deeply investigated so far. The present study was designed to determine the relationship between phenformin coupling AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK function and the molecular mechanism by which the sPLA2 IIA expression was modulated in VSMCs. Here we find that 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribonucleotide (AICAR treatment strongly repressed IL-1β-induced sPLA2 expression at least at the transcriptional level. Our study reveals that phenformin elicited a dose-dependent inhibition of the sPLA2 IIA expression and transient overexpression experiments of constitutively active AMPK demonstrate clearly that AMPK signaling is involved in the transcriptional inhibition of sPLA2-IIA gene expression. Furthermore, although the expression of the transcriptional repressor B-cell lymphoma-6 protein (BCL-6 was markedly enhanced by phenformin and AICAR, the repression of sPLA2 gene occurs through a mechanism independent of BCL-6 DNA binding site. In addition we show that activation of AMPK limits IL-1β-induced NF-κB pathway activation. Our results indicate that BCL-6, once activated by AMPK, functions as a competitor of the IL-1β induced NF-κB transcription complex. Our findings provide insights on a new anti-inflammatory pathway linking phenformin, AMPK and molecular control of sPLA2 IIA gene expression in VSMCs.

  3. The phosphorylated form of FTY720 activates PP2A, represses inflammation and is devoid of S1P agonism in A549 lung epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Md Mostafizur; Prünte, Laura; Lebender, Leonard F; Patel, Brijeshkumar S; Gelissen, Ingrid; Hansbro, Philip M; Morris, Jonathan C; Clark, Andrew R; Verrills, Nicole M; Ammit, Alaina J

    2016-11-16

    Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity can be enhanced pharmacologically by PP2A-activating drugs (PADs). The sphingosine analog FTY720 is the best known PAD and we have shown that FTY720 represses production of pro-inflammatory cytokines responsible for respiratory disease pathogenesis. Whether its phosphorylated form, FTY720-P, also enhances PP2A activity independently of the sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) pathway was unknown. Herein, we show that FTY720-P enhances TNF-induced PP2A phosphatase activity and significantly represses TNF-induced interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-8 mRNA expression and protein secretion from A549 lung epithelial cells. Comparing FTY720 and FTY720-P with S1P, we show that unlike S1P, the sphingosine analogs do not induce cytokine production on their own. In fact, FTY720 and FTY720-P significantly repress S1P-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production. We then examined their impact on expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and resultant prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) production. S1P did not increase production of this pro-inflammatory enzyme because COX-2 mRNA gene expression is NF-κB-dependent, and unlike TNF, S1P did not activate NF-κB. However, TNF-induced COX-2 mRNA expression and PGE 2 secretion is repressed by FTY720 and FTY720-P. Hence, FTY720-P enhances PP2A activity and that PADs can repress production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in A549 lung epithelial cells in a manner devoid of S1P agonism.

  4. Expression of the agmatine deiminase pathway in Enterococcus faecalis is activated by the AguR regulator and repressed by CcpA and PTS(Man systems.

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    Cristian Suárez

    Full Text Available Although the agmatine deiminase system (AgDI has been investigated in Enterococcus faecalis, little information is available with respect to its gene regulation. In this study we demonstrate that the presence of exogenous agmatine induces the expression of agu genes in this bacterium. In contrast to the homologous and extensively characterized AgDI system of S. mutants, the aguBDAC operon in E. faecalis is not induced in response to low pH. In spite of this, agmatine catabolism in this bacterium contributes by neutralizing the external medium while enhancing bacterial growth. Our results indicate that carbon catabolic repression (CCR operates on the AgDI system via a mechanism that involves interaction of CcpA and P-Ser-HPr with a cre site found in an unusual position considering the aguB promoter (55 nt upstream the +1 position. In addition, we found that components of the mannose phosphotransferase (PTS(Man system also contributed to CCR in E. faecalis since a complete relief of the PTS-sugars repressive effect was observed only in a PTS(Man and CcpA double defective strain. Our gene context analysis revealed that aguR is present in oral and gastrointestinal microorganisms. Thus, regulation of the aguBDAC operon in E. faecalis seems to have evolved to obtain energy and resist low pH conditions in order to persist and colonize gastrointestinal niches.

  5. CcpA-dependent carbon catabolite repression in bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Warner, JB; Lolkema, JS; Warner, Jessica B.

    2003-01-01

    Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) by transcriptional regulators follows different mechanisms in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In gram-positive bacteria, CcpA-dependent CCR is mediated by phosphorylation of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system intermediate HPr at a

  6. RNA interference and retinoblastoma-related genes are required for repression of endogenous siRNA targets in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grishok, Alla; Hoersch, Sebastian; Sharp, Phillip A

    2008-12-23

    In Caenorhabditis elegans, a vast number of endogenous short RNAs corresponding to thousands of genes have been discovered recently. This finding suggests that these short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) may contribute to regulation of many developmental and other signaling pathways in addition to silencing viruses and transposons. Here, we present a microarray analysis of gene expression in RNA interference (RNAi)-related mutants rde-4, zfp-1, and alg-1 and the retinoblastoma (Rb) mutant lin-35. We found that a component of Dicer complex RDE-4 and a chromatin-related zinc finger protein ZFP-1, not implicated in endogenous RNAi, regulate overlapping sets of genes. Notably, genes a) up-regulated in the rde-4 and zfp-1 mutants and b) up-regulated in the lin-35(Rb) mutant, but not the down-regulated genes are highly represented in the set of genes with corresponding endogenous siRNAs (endo-siRNAs). Our study suggests that endogenous siRNAs cooperate with chromatin factors, either C. elegans ortholog of acute lymphoblastic leukemia-1 (ALL-1)-fused gene from chromosome 10 (AF10), ZFP-1, or tumor suppressor Rb, to regulate overlapping sets of genes and predicts a large role for RNAi-based chromatin silencing in control of gene expression in C. elegans.

  7. Teaching microbial physiology using glucose repression phenomenon in baker's yeast as an examplele

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vijayendran, Raghavendran; Nielsen, Jens; Olsson, Lisbeth

    2005-01-01

    The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used by human beings since ancient times for its ability to convert sugar to alcohol. Continual exposure to glucose in the natural environment for innumerable generations has probably enabled S. cerevisiae to grow in fermentative mode on sugars by switc......The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used by human beings since ancient times for its ability to convert sugar to alcohol. Continual exposure to glucose in the natural environment for innumerable generations has probably enabled S. cerevisiae to grow in fermentative mode on sugars...... by switching off the genes responsible for respiration even under aerobic conditions. This phenomenon is referred to as the Crabtree effect. The present review focuses on glucose repression in S. cerevisiae from a physiological perspective. Physiological studies presented involve batch and chemostat...

  8. Loss of the Caenorhabditis elegans pocket protein LIN-35 reveals MuvB's innate function as the repressor of DREAM target genes.

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    Paul D Goetsch

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The DREAM (Dp/Retinoblastoma(Rb-like/E2F/MuvB transcriptional repressor complex acts as a gatekeeper of the mammalian cell cycle by establishing and maintaining cellular quiescence. How DREAM's three functional components, the E2F-DP heterodimer, the Rb-like pocket protein, and the MuvB subcomplex, form and function at target gene promoters remains unknown. The current model invokes that the pocket protein links E2F-DP and MuvB and is essential for gene repression. We tested this model by assessing how the conserved yet less redundant DREAM system in Caenorhabditis elegans is affected by absence of the sole C. elegans pocket protein LIN-35. Using a LIN-35 protein null mutant, we analyzed the assembly of E2F-DP and MuvB at promoters that are bound by DREAM and the level of expression of those "DREAM target genes" in embryos. We report that LIN-35 indeed mediates the association of E2F-DP and MuvB, a function that stabilizes DREAM subunit occupancy at target genes. In the absence of LIN-35, the occupancy of E2F-DP and MuvB at most DREAM target genes decreases dramatically and many of those genes become upregulated. The retention of E2F-DP and MuvB at some target gene promoters in lin-35 null embryos allowed us to test their contribution to DREAM target gene repression. Depletion of MuvB, but not E2F-DP, in the sensitized lin-35 null background caused further upregulation of DREAM target genes. We conclude that the pocket protein functions primarily to support MuvB-mediated repression of DREAM targets and that transcriptional repression is the innate function of the evolutionarily conserved MuvB complex. Our findings provide important insights into how mammalian DREAM assembly and disassembly may regulate gene expression and the cell cycle.

  9. Translational control is a major contributor to hypoxia induced gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beucken, Twan van den; Magagnin, Michael G.; Jutten, Barry; Seigneuric, Renaud; Lambin, Philippe; Koritzinsky, Marianne; Wouters, Bradly G.

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: Hypoxia is a common feature of solid tumors that is associated with an aggressive phenotype, resistance to therapy and poor prognosis. Major contributors to these adverse effects are the transcriptional program activated by the HIF family of transcription factors as well as the translational response mediated by PERK-dependent phosphorylation of eIF2α and inhibition of mTORC1 activity. In this study we determined the relative contribution of both transcriptional and translational responses to changes in hypoxia induced gene expression. Material and methods: Total and efficiently translated (polysomal) mRNA was isolated from DU145 prostate carcinoma cells that were exposed for up to 24 h of hypoxia ( 2 ). Changes in transcription and translation were assessed using affymetrix microarray technology. Results: Our data reveal an unexpectedly large contribution of translation control on both induced and repressed gene expression at all hypoxic time points, particularly during acute hypoxia (2-4 h). Gene ontology analysis revealed that gene classes like transcription and signal transduction are stimulated by translational control whereas expression of genes involved in cell growth and protein metabolism are repressed during hypoxic conditions by translational control. Conclusions: Our data indicate that translation influences gene expression during hypoxia on a scale comparable to that of transcription.

  10. The natural product peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma tumor growth by inducing autophagic cell death

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyu, Qing; Tou, Fangfang; Su, Hong; Wu, Xiaoyong; Chen, Xinyi; Zheng, Zhi

    2015-01-01

    Autophagy is evolutionarily conservative in eukaryotic cells that engulf cellular long-lived proteins and organelles, and it degrades the contents through fusion with lysosomes, via which the cell acquires recycled building blocks for the synthesis of new molecules. In this study, we revealed that peiminine induces cell death and enhances autophagic flux in colorectal carcinoma HCT-116 cells. We determined that peiminine enhances the autophagic flux by repressing the phosphorylation of mTOR through inhibiting upstream signals. Knocking down ATG5 greatly reduced the peiminine-induced cell death in wild-type HCT-116 cells, while treating Bax/Bak-deficient cells with peiminine resulted in significant cell death. In summary, our discoveries demonstrated that peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma cell proliferation and cell growth by inducing autophagic cell death. - Highlights: • Peiminine induces autophagy and upregulates autophagic flux. • Peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma tumor growth. • Peiminine induces autophagic cell death. • Peiminine represses mTOR phosphorylation by influencing PI3K/Akt and AMPK pathway

  11. The natural product peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma tumor growth by inducing autophagic cell death

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lyu, Qing [School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); Key Lab in Healthy Science and Technology, Division of Life Science, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055 (China); Tou, Fangfang [Jiangxi Provincial Key Lab of Oncology Translation Medicine, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, Nanchang, 330029 (China); Su, Hong; Wu, Xiaoyong [First Affiliated Hospital, Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, 550002 (China); Chen, Xinyi [Department of Hematology and Oncology, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029 (China); Zheng, Zhi, E-mail: zheng_sheva@hotmail.com [Jiangxi Provincial Key Lab of Oncology Translation Medicine, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, Nanchang, 330029 (China)

    2015-06-19

    Autophagy is evolutionarily conservative in eukaryotic cells that engulf cellular long-lived proteins and organelles, and it degrades the contents through fusion with lysosomes, via which the cell acquires recycled building blocks for the synthesis of new molecules. In this study, we revealed that peiminine induces cell death and enhances autophagic flux in colorectal carcinoma HCT-116 cells. We determined that peiminine enhances the autophagic flux by repressing the phosphorylation of mTOR through inhibiting upstream signals. Knocking down ATG5 greatly reduced the peiminine-induced cell death in wild-type HCT-116 cells, while treating Bax/Bak-deficient cells with peiminine resulted in significant cell death. In summary, our discoveries demonstrated that peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma cell proliferation and cell growth by inducing autophagic cell death. - Highlights: • Peiminine induces autophagy and upregulates autophagic flux. • Peiminine represses colorectal carcinoma tumor growth. • Peiminine induces autophagic cell death. • Peiminine represses mTOR phosphorylation by influencing PI3K/Akt and AMPK pathway.

  12. p53 Represses the Oncogenic Sno-MiR-28 Derived from a SnoRNA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Yu

    Full Text Available p53 is a master tumour repressor that participates in vast regulatory networks, including feedback loops involving microRNAs (miRNAs that regulate p53 and that themselves are direct p53 transcriptional targets. We show here that a group of polycistronic miRNA-like non-coding RNAs derived from small nucleolar RNAs (sno-miRNAs are transcriptionally repressed by p53 through their host gene, SNHG1. The most abundant of these, sno-miR-28, directly targets the p53-stabilizing gene, TAF9B. Collectively, p53, SNHG1, sno-miR-28 and TAF9B form a regulatory loop which affects p53 stability and downstream p53-regulated pathways. In addition, SNHG1, SNORD28 and sno-miR-28 are all significantly upregulated in breast tumours and the overexpression of sno-miR-28 promotes breast epithelial cell proliferation. This research has broadened our knowledge of the crosstalk between small non-coding RNA pathways and roles of sno-miRNAs in p53 regulation.

  13. Characterization of ORF89 - A latency-related gene of white spot syndrome virus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hossain, M.S.; Khadijah, Siti; Kwang, Jimmy

    2004-01-01

    Open reading frame 89 (ORF89) is one of the three genes that are believed to be involved in the latent infection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Here, we report the structure and functional characterization of ORF89. cDNA sequencing, 5' RLM-RACE, and 3' RLM-RACE showed that ORF89 gene is transcribed into an unspliced mRNA of 4436 nucleotides, which is predicted to encode a protein of 1437 amino acids. ORF89 expressed an approximately 165-kDa protein in Sf9 cells that localized in the nucleus. Amino acids 678-683 were found to be essential for nuclear localization. Cotransfection assays demonstrated that ORF89 protein repressed its own promoter as well as those of a protein kinase and the thymidine-thymidylate kinase genes of WSSV. SYBR Green real-time PCR indicated that the repression occurred at the transcriptional level

  14. Gene function prediction based on Gene Ontology Hierarchy Preserving Hashing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yingwen; Fu, Guangyuan; Wang, Jun; Guo, Maozu; Yu, Guoxian

    2018-02-23

    Gene Ontology (GO) uses structured vocabularies (or terms) to describe the molecular functions, biological roles, and cellular locations of gene products in a hierarchical ontology. GO annotations associate genes with GO terms and indicate the given gene products carrying out the biological functions described by the relevant terms. However, predicting correct GO annotations for genes from a massive set of GO terms as defined by GO is a difficult challenge. To combat with this challenge, we introduce a Gene Ontology Hierarchy Preserving Hashing (HPHash) based semantic method for gene function prediction. HPHash firstly measures the taxonomic similarity between GO terms. It then uses a hierarchy preserving hashing technique to keep the hierarchical order between GO terms, and to optimize a series of hashing functions to encode massive GO terms via compact binary codes. After that, HPHash utilizes these hashing functions to project the gene-term association matrix into a low-dimensional one and performs semantic similarity based gene function prediction in the low-dimensional space. Experimental results on three model species (Homo sapiens, Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus) for interspecies gene function prediction show that HPHash performs better than other related approaches and it is robust to the number of hash functions. In addition, we also take HPHash as a plugin for BLAST based gene function prediction. From the experimental results, HPHash again significantly improves the prediction performance. The codes of HPHash are available at: http://mlda.swu.edu.cn/codes.php?name=HPHash. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Pseudogenes regulate parental gene expression via ceRNA network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yang; Furber, Kendra L; Ji, Shaoping

    2017-01-01

    The concept of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) was first proposed by Salmena and colleagues. Evidence suggests that pseudogene RNAs can act as a 'sponge' through competitive binding of common miRNA, releasing or attenuating repression through sequestering miRNAs away from parental mRNA. In theory, ceRNAs refer to all transcripts such as mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, long non-coding RNA, pseudogene RNA and circular RNA, because all of them may become the targets of miRNA depending on spatiotemporal situation. As binding of miRNA to the target RNA is not 100% complementary, it is possible that one miRNA can bind to multiple target RNAs and vice versa. All RNAs crosstalk through competitively binding to miRNAvia miRNA response elements (MREs) contained within the RNA sequences, thus forming a complex regulatory network. The ratio of a subset of miRNAs to the corresponding number of MREs determines repression strength on a given mRNA translation or stability. An increase in pseudogene RNA level can sequester miRNA and release repression on the parental gene, leading to an increase in parental gene expression. A massive number of transcripts constitute a complicated network that regulates each other through this proposed mechanism, though some regulatory significance may be mild or even undetectable. It is possible that the regulation of gene and pseudogene expression occurring in this manor involves all RNAs bearing common MREs. In this review, we will primarily discuss how pseudogene transcripts regulate expression of parental genes via ceRNA network and biological significance of regulation. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

  16. Circuitry Linking the Catabolite Repression and Csr Global Regulatory Systems of Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pannuri, Archana; Vakulskas, Christopher A; Zere, Tesfalem; McGibbon, Louise C; Edwards, Adrianne N; Georgellis, Dimitris; Babitzke, Paul; Romeo, Tony

    2016-11-01

    Cyclic AMP (cAMP) and the cAMP receptor protein (cAMP-CRP) and CsrA are the principal regulators of the catabolite repression and carbon storage global regulatory systems, respectively. cAMP-CRP controls the transcription of genes for carbohydrate metabolism and other processes in response to carbon nutritional status, while CsrA binds to diverse mRNAs and regulates translation, RNA stability, and/or transcription elongation. CsrA also binds to the regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) CsrB and CsrC, which antagonize its activity. The BarA-UvrY two-component signal transduction system (TCS) directly activates csrB and csrC (csrB/C) transcription, while CsrA does so indirectly. We show that cAMP-CRP inhibits csrB/C transcription without negatively regulating phosphorylated UvrY (P-UvrY) or CsrA levels. A crp deletion caused an elevation in CsrB/C levels in the stationary phase of growth and increased the expression of csrB-lacZ and csrC-lacZ transcriptional fusions, although modest stimulation of CsrB/C turnover by the crp deletion partially masked the former effects. DNase I footprinting and other studies demonstrated that cAMP-CRP bound specifically to three sites located upstream from the csrC promoter, two of which overlapped the P-UvrY binding site. These two proteins competed for binding at the overlapping sites. In vitro transcription-translation experiments confirmed direct repression of csrC-lacZ expression by cAMP-CRP. In contrast, cAMP-CRP effects on csrB transcription may be mediated indirectly, as it bound nonspecifically to csrB DNA. In the reciprocal direction, CsrA bound to crp mRNA with high affinity and specificity and yet exhibited only modest, conditional effects on expression. Our findings are incorporated into an emerging model for the response of Csr circuitry to carbon nutritional status. Csr (Rsm) noncoding small RNAs (sRNAs) CsrB and CsrC of Escherichia coli use molecular mimicry to sequester the RNA binding protein CsrA (RsmA) away from lower

  17. Systematic dissection of roles for chromatin regulators in a yeast stress response.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assaf Weiner

    Full Text Available Packaging of eukaryotic genomes into chromatin has wide-ranging effects on gene transcription. Curiously, it is commonly observed that deletion of a global chromatin regulator affects expression of only a limited subset of genes bound to or modified by the regulator in question. However, in many single-gene studies it has become clear that chromatin regulators often do not affect steady-state transcription, but instead are required for normal transcriptional reprogramming by environmental cues. We therefore have systematically investigated the effects of 83 histone mutants, and 119 gene deletion mutants, on induction/repression dynamics of 170 transcripts in response to diamide stress in yeast. Importantly, we find that chromatin regulators play far more pronounced roles during gene induction/repression than they do in steady-state expression. Furthermore, by jointly analyzing the substrates (histone mutants and enzymes (chromatin modifier deletions we identify specific interactions between histone modifications and their regulators. Combining these functional results with genome-wide mapping of several histone marks in the same time course, we systematically investigated the correspondence between histone modification occurrence and function. We followed up on one pathway, finding that Set1-dependent H3K4 methylation primarily acts as a gene repressor during multiple stresses, specifically at genes involved in ribosome biosynthesis. Set1-dependent repression of ribosomal genes occurs via distinct pathways for ribosomal protein genes and ribosomal biogenesis genes, which can be separated based on genetic requirements for repression and based on chromatin changes during gene repression. Together, our dynamic studies provide a rich resource for investigating chromatin regulation, and identify a significant role for the "activating" mark H3K4me3 in gene repression.

  18. The prognostic value of temporal in vitro and in vivo derived hypoxia gene-expression signatures in breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Starmans, Maud H.W.; Chu, Kenneth C.; Haider, Syed; Nguyen, Francis; Seigneuric, Renaud; Magagnin, Michael G.; Koritzinsky, Marianne; Kasprzyk, Arek; Boutros, Paul C.; Wouters, Bradly G.

    2012-01-01

    Background and purpose: Recent data suggest that in vitro and in vivo derived hypoxia gene-expression signatures have prognostic power in breast and possibly other cancers. However, both tumour hypoxia and the biological adaptation to this stress are highly dynamic. Assessment of time-dependent gene-expression changes in response to hypoxia may thus provide additional biological insights and assist in predicting the impact of hypoxia on patient prognosis. Materials and methods: Transcriptome profiling was performed for three cell lines derived from diverse tumour-types after hypoxic exposure at eight time-points, which include a normoxic time-point. Time-dependent sets of co-regulated genes were identified from these data. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) and pathway analyses were performed. The prognostic power of these novel signatures was assessed in parallel with previous in vitro and in vivo derived hypoxia signatures in a large breast cancer microarray meta-dataset (n = 2312). Results: We identified seven recurrent temporal and two general hypoxia signatures. GO and pathway analyses revealed regulation of both common and unique underlying biological processes within these signatures. None of the new or previously published in vitro signatures consisting of hypoxia-induced genes were prognostic in the large breast cancer dataset. In contrast, signatures of repressed genes, as well as the in vivo derived signatures of hypoxia-induced genes showed clear prognostic power. Conclusions: Only a subset of hypoxia-induced genes in vitro demonstrates prognostic value when evaluated in a large clinical dataset. Despite clear evidence of temporal patterns of gene-expression in vitro, the subset of prognostic hypoxia regulated genes cannot be identified based on temporal pattern alone. In vivo derived signatures appear to identify the prognostic hypoxia induced genes. The prognostic value of hypoxia-repressed genes is likely a surrogate for the known importance of

  19. The Transcriptional Repressor, MtrR, of the mtrCDE Efflux Pump Operon of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Can Also Serve as an Activator of “off Target” Gene (glnE Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul J. T. Johnson

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available MtrR is a well-characterized repressor of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae mtrCDE efflux pump operon. However, results from a previous transcriptional profiling study suggested that MtrR also represses or activates expression of at least sixty genes outside of the mtr locus. Evidence that MtrR can directly repress so-called “off target” genes has previously been reported; in particular, MtrR was shown to directly repress glnA, which encodes glutamine synthetase. In contrast, evidence for the ability of MtrR to directly activate expression of gonococcal genes has been lacking; herein, we provide such evidence. We now report that MtrR has the ability to directly activate expression of glnE, which encodes the dual functional adenyltransferase/deadenylase enzyme GlnE that modifies GlnA resulting in regulation of its role in glutamine biosynthesis. With its capacity to repress expression of glnA, the results presented herein emphasize the diverse and often opposing regulatory properties of MtrR that likely contributes to the overall physiology and metabolism of N. gonorrhoeae.

  20. Repressive Tolerance and the Practice of Adult Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brookfield, Stephen D.

    2014-01-01

    Herbert Marcuse's concept of repressive tolerance argues that behind the justification of tolerance lies the possibility of ideological domination. Tolerance allows intolerable practices to go unchallenged and flattens discussion to assume all viewpoints have equal validity. When alternative, dissenting views are inserted into the curriculum…

  1. Churchill regulates cell movement and mesoderm specification by repressing Nodal signaling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mentzer Laura

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cell movements are essential to the determination of cell fates during development. The zinc-finger transcription factor, Churchill (ChCh has been proposed to regulate cell fate by regulating cell movements during gastrulation in the chick. However, the mechanism of action of ChCh is not understood. Results We demonstrate that ChCh acts to repress the response to Nodal-related signals in zebrafish. When ChCh function is abrogated the expression of mesodermal markers is enhanced while ectodermal markers are expressed at decreased levels. In cell transplant assays, we observed that ChCh-deficient cells are more motile than wild-type cells. When placed in wild-type hosts, ChCh-deficient cells often leave the epiblast, migrate to the germ ring and are later found in mesodermal structures. We demonstrate that both movement of ChCh-compromised cells to the germ ring and acquisition of mesodermal character depend on the ability of the donor cells to respond to Nodal signals. Blocking Nodal signaling in the donor cells at the levels of Oep, Alk receptors or Fast1 inhibited migration to the germ ring and mesodermal fate change in the donor cells. We also detect additional unusual movements of transplanted ChCh-deficient cells which suggests that movement and acquisition of mesodermal character can be uncoupled. Finally, we demonstrate that ChCh is required to limit the transcriptional response to Nodal. Conclusion These data establish a broad role for ChCh in regulating both cell movement and Nodal signaling during early zebrafish development. We show that chch is required to limit mesodermal gene expression, inhibit Nodal-dependant movement of presumptive ectodermal cells and repress the transcriptional response to Nodal signaling. These findings reveal a dynamic role for chch in regulating cell movement and fate during early development.

  2. Oncolytic effects of parvovirus H-1 in medulloblastoma are associated with repression of master regulators of early neurogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacroix, Jeannine; Schlund, Franziska; Leuchs, Barbara; Adolph, Kathrin; Sturm, Dominik; Bender, Sebastian; Hielscher, Thomas; Pfister, Stefan M; Witt, Olaf; Rommelaere, Jean; Schlehofer, Jörg R; Witt, Hendrik

    2014-02-01

    Based on extensive pre-clinical studies, the oncolytic parvovirus H-1 (H-1PV) is currently applied to patients with recurrent glioblastoma in a phase I/IIa clinical trial (ParvOryx01, NCT01301430). Cure rates of about 40% in pediatric high-risk medulloblastoma (MB) patients also indicate the need of new therapeutic approaches. In order to prepare a future application of oncolytic parvovirotherapy to MB, the present study preclinically evaluates the cytotoxic efficacy of H-1PV on MB cells in vitro and characterizes cellular target genes involved in this effect. Six MB cell lines were analyzed by whole genome oligonucleotide microarrays after treatment and the results were matched to known molecular and cytogenetic risk factors. In contrast to non-transformed infant astrocytes and neurons, in five out of six MB cell lines lytic H-1PV infection and efficient viral replication could be demonstrated. The cytotoxic effects induced by H-1PV were observed at LD50s below 0.05 p. f. u. per cell indicating high susceptibility. Gene expression patterns in the responsive MB cell lines allowed the identification of candidate target genes mediating the cytotoxic effects of H-1PV. H-1PV induced down-regulation of key regulators of early neurogenesis shown to confer poor prognosis in MB such as ZIC1, FOXG1B, MYC, and NFIA. In MB cell lines with genomic amplification of MYC, expression of MYC was the single gene most significantly repressed after H-1PV infection. H-1PV virotherapy may be a promising treatment approach for MB since it targets genes of functional relevance and induces cell death at very low titers of input virus. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of UICC.

  3. Evaluation of Gene-Based Family-Based Methods to Detect Novel Genes Associated With Familial Late Onset Alzheimer Disease

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    Maria V. Fernández

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Gene-based tests to study the combined effect of rare variants on a particular phenotype have been widely developed for case-control studies, but their evolution and adaptation for family-based studies, especially studies of complex incomplete families, has been slower. In this study, we have performed a practical examination of all the latest gene-based methods available for family-based study designs using both simulated and real datasets. We examined the performance of several collapsing, variance-component, and transmission disequilibrium tests across eight different software packages and 22 models utilizing a cohort of 285 families (N = 1,235 with late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD. After a thorough examination of each of these tests, we propose a methodological approach to identify, with high confidence, genes associated with the tested phenotype and we provide recommendations to select the best software and model for family-based gene-based analyses. Additionally, in our dataset, we identified PTK2B, a GWAS candidate gene for sporadic AD, along with six novel genes (CHRD, CLCN2, HDLBP, CPAMD8, NLRP9, and MAS1L as candidate genes for familial LOAD.

  4. Precursor Amino Acids Inhibit Polymyxin E Biosynthesis in Paenibacillus polymyxa, Probably by Affecting the Expression of Polymyxin E Biosynthesis-Associated Genes

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    Zhiliang Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Polymyxin E belongs to cationic polypeptide antibiotic bearing four types of direct precursor amino acids including L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid (L-Dab, L-Leu, D-Leu, and L-Thr. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of addition of precursor amino acids during fermentation on polymyxin E biosynthesis in Paenibacillus polymyxa. The results showed that, after 35 h fermentation, addition of direct precursor amino acids to certain concentration significantly inhibited polymyxin E production and affected the expression of genes involved in its biosynthesis. L-Dab repressed the expression of polymyxin synthetase genes pmxA and pmxE, as well as 2,4-diaminobutyrate aminotransferase gene ectB; both L-Leu and D-Leu repressed the pmxA expression. In addition, L-Thr affected the expression of not only pmxA, but also regulatory genes spo0A and abrB. As L-Dab precursor, L-Asp repressed the expression of ectB, pmxA, and pmxE. Moreover, it affected the expression of spo0A and abrB. In contrast, L-Phe, a nonprecursor amino acid, had no obvious effect on polymyxin E biosynthesis and those biosynthesis-related genes expression. Taken together, our data demonstrated that addition of precursor amino acids during fermentation will inhibit polymyxin E production probably by affecting the expression of its biosynthesis-related genes.

  5. Clinical events in coronary patients who report low distress: adverse effect of repressive coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denollet, Johan; Martens, Elisabeth J; Nyklícek, Ivan; Conraads, Viviane M; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2008-05-01

    Coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who report low distress are considered to be at low psychological risk for clinical events. However, patients with a repressive coping style may fail to detect and report signals of emotional distress. The authors hypothesized that repressive CAD patients are at risk for clinical events, despite low self-rated distress. This was a prospective 5- to 10-year follow-up study, with a mean follow-up of 6.6 years. At baseline, 731 CAD patients filled out Trait-Anxiety (distress), Marlowe-Crowne (defensiveness), and Type D scales; 159 patients were classified as "repressive," 360 as "nonrepressive," and 212 as "Type D." The primary endpoint was a composite of total mortality or myocardial infarction (MI); the secondary endpoint was cardiac mortality/MI. No patients were lost to follow-up; 91 patients had a clinical event (including 35 cardiac death and 32 MI). Repressive patients reported low levels of anxiety, anger and depression at baseline, but were at increased risk for death/MI (21/159 = 13%) compared with nonrepressive patients (22/360 = 6%), p = .009. Poor systolic function, poor exercise tolerance, 3-vessel disease, index MI and Type-D personality--but not depression, anxiety or anger--also independently predicted clinical events. After controlling for these variables, repressive patients still had a twofold increased risk of death/MI, OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.10-4.08, p = .025). These findings were replicated for cardiac mortality/MI. CAD patients who use a repressive coping style are at increased risk for clinical events, despite their claims of low emotional distress. This phenomenon may cause an underestimation of the effect of stress on the heart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Characterization of Zur-dependent genes and direct Zur targets in Yersinia pestis

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    Wang Xiaoyi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The zinc uptake regulator Zur is a Zn2+-sensing metalloregulatory protein involved in the maintenance of bacterial zinc homeostasis. Up to now, regulation of zinc homeostasis by Zur is poorly understood in Y. pestis. Results We constructed a zur null mutant of Y. pestis biovar microtus strain 201. Microarray expression analysis disclosed a set of 154 Zur-dependent genes of Y. pestis upon exposure to zinc rich condition. Real-time reverse transcription (RT-PCR was subsequently used to validate the microarray data. Based on the 154 Zur-dependent genes, predicted regulatory Zur motifs were used to screen for potential direct Zur targets including three putative operons znuA, znuCB and ykgM-RpmJ2. The LacZ reporter fusion analysis verified that Zur greatly repressed the promoter activity of the above three operons. The subsequent electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA demonstrated that a purified Zur protein was able to bind to the promoter regions of the above three operons. The DNase I footprinting was used to identify the Zur binding sites for the above three operons, verifying the Zur box sequence as predicted previously in γ-Proteobacteria. The primer extension assay was further used to determine the transcription start sites for the above three operons and to localize the -10 and -35 elements. Zur binding sites overlapped the -10 sequence of its target promoters, which was consistent with the previous observation that Zur binding would block the entry of the RNA polymerase to repress the transcription of its target genes. Conclusion Zur as a repressor directly controls the transcription of znuA, znuCB and ykgM-RpmJ2 in Y. pestis by employing a conserved mechanism of Zur-promoter DNA association as observed in γ-Proteobacteria. Zur contributes to zinc homeostasis in Y. pestis likely through transcriptional repression of the high-affinity zinc uptake system ZnuACB and two alternative ribosomal proteins YkgM and RpmJ2.

  7. "The Neurosis That Has Possessed Us": Political Repression in the Cold War Medical Profession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowkwanyun, Merlin

    2018-04-27

    Political repression played a central role in shaping the political complexion of the American medical profession, the policies it advocated, and those allowed to function comfortably in it. Previous work on the impact of McCarthyism and medicine focuses heavily on the mid-century failure of national health insurance (NHI) and medical reform organizations that suffered from McCarthyist attacks. The focus is national and birds-eye but says less about the impact on day-to-day life of physicians caught in a McCarthyist web; and how exactly the machinery of political repression within the medical profession worked on the ground. This study shifts orientation by using the abrupt dismissal of three Los Angeles physicians from their jobs as a starting point for exploring these dynamics. I argue that the rise of the medical profession and the repressive state in the mid-century, frequently studied apart, worked hand-in-hand, with institutions from each playing symbiotic and mutually reinforcing roles. I also explore tactics of resistance - rhetorical and organizational - to medical repression by physicians who came under attack.

  8. Global transcriptional repression in C. elegans germline precursors by regulated sequestration of TAF-4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guven-Ozkan, Tugba; Nishi, Yuichi; Robertson, Scott M; Lin, Rueyling

    2008-10-03

    In C. elegans, four asymmetric divisions, beginning with the zygote (P0), generate transcriptionally repressed germline blastomeres (P1-P4) and somatic sisters that become transcriptionally active. The protein PIE-1 represses transcription in the later germline blastomeres but not in the earlier germline blastomeres P0 and P1. We show here that OMA-1 and OMA-2, previously shown to regulate oocyte maturation, repress transcription in P0 and P1 by binding to and sequestering in the cytoplasm TAF-4, a component critical for assembly of TFIID and the pol II preinitiation complex. OMA-1/2 binding to TAF-4 is developmentally regulated, requiring phosphorylation by the DYRK kinase MBK-2, which is activated at meiosis II after fertilization. OMA-1/2 are normally degraded after the first mitosis, but ectopic expression of wild-type OMA-1 is sufficient to repress transcription in both somatic and later germline blastomeres. We propose that phosphorylation by MBK-2 serves as a developmental switch, converting OMA-1/2 from oocyte to embryo regulators.

  9. Researchers use Modified CRISPR Systems to Modulate Gene Expression on a Genomic Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network (CTD2) researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, developed a CRISPR system that can regulate both gene repression and activation with fewer off-target effects.

  10. p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) repress prostate specific antigen levels in human prostate cancer cell lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Lilian I L; Labrecque, Mark P; Ibuki, Naokazu; Cox, Michael E; Elliott, John E; Beischlag, Timothy V

    2015-03-25

    Despite stringent restrictions on their use by many countries since the 1970s, the endocrine disrupting chemicals, DDT and DDE are still ubiquitous in the environment. However, little attention has been directed to p,p'-DDT and the anti-androgen, p,p'-DDE on androgen receptor (AR) target gene transcription in human cells. Inhibitors of androgenic activity may have a deleterious clinical outcome in prostate cancer screens and progression, therefore we determined whether environmentally relevant concentrations of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE negatively impact AR-regulated expression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and other AR target genes in human LNCaP and VCaP prostate cancer cells. Quantitative real-time PCR and immuno-blotting techniques were used to measure intracellular PSA, PSMA and AR mRNA and protein levels. We have shown for the first time that p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE repressed R1881-inducible PSA mRNA and protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, we used the fully automated COBAS PSA detection system to determine that extracellular PSA levels were also significantly repressed. These chemicals achieve this by blocking the recruitment of AR to the PSA promoter region at 10 μM, as demonstrated by the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) in LNCaP cells. Both p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE repressed R1881-inducible AR protein accumulation at 10 μM. Thus, we conclude that men who have been exposed to either DDT or DDE may produce a false-negative PSA test when screening for prostate cancer, resulting in an inaccurate clinical diagnosis. More importantly, prolonged exposure to these anti-androgens may mimic androgen ablation therapy in individuals with prostate cancer, thus exacerbating the condition by inadvertently forcing adaptation to this stress early in the disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Population-level effects of fitness costs associated with repressible female-lethal transgene insertions in two pest insects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey-Samuel, Tim; Ant, Thomas; Gong, Hongfei; Morrison, Neil I; Alphey, Luke

    2014-05-01

    Genetic control strategies offer great potential for the sustainable and effective control of insect pests. These strategies involve the field release of transgenic insects with the aim of introducing engineered alleles into wild populations, either permanently or transiently. Their efficacy can therefore be reduced if transgene-associated fitness costs reduce the relative performance of released insects. We describe a method of measuring the fitness costs associated with transgenes by analyzing their evolutionary trajectories when placed in competition with wild-type alleles in replicated cage populations. Using this method, we estimated lifetime fitness costs associated with two repressible female-lethal transgenes in the diamondback moth and olive fly as being acceptable for field suppression programs. Furthermore, using these estimates of genotype-level fitness costs, we were able to project longer-term evolutionary trajectories for the transgenes investigated. Results from these projections demonstrate that although transgene-associated fitness costs will ultimately cause these transgenes to become extinct, even when engineered lethality is repressed, they may persist for varying periods of time before doing so. This implies that tetracycline-mediated transgene field persistence in these strains is unlikely and suggests that realistic estimates of transgene-associated fitness costs may be useful in trialing 'uncoupled' gene drive system components in the field.

  12. Telomeric repeat-containing RNA/G-quadruplex-forming sequences cause genome-wide alteration of gene expression in human cancer cells in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirashima, Kyotaro; Seimiya, Hiroyuki

    2015-02-27

    Telomere erosion causes cell mortality, suggesting that longer telomeres enable more cell divisions. In telomerase-positive human cancer cells, however, telomeres are often kept shorter than those of surrounding normal tissues. Recently, we showed that cancer cell telomere elongation represses innate immune genes and promotes their differentiation in vivo. This implies that short telomeres contribute to cancer malignancy, but it is unclear how such genetic repression is caused by elongated telomeres. Here, we report that telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) induces a genome-wide alteration of gene expression in telomere-elongated cancer cells. Using three different cell lines, we found that telomere elongation up-regulates TERRA signal and down-regulates innate immune genes such as STAT1, ISG15 and OAS3 in vivo. Ectopic TERRA oligonucleotides repressed these genes even in cells with short telomeres under three-dimensional culture conditions. This appeared to occur from the action of G-quadruplexes (G4) in TERRA, because control oligonucleotides had no effect and a nontelomeric G4-forming oligonucleotide phenocopied the TERRA oligonucleotide. Telomere elongation and G4-forming oligonucleotides showed similar gene expression signatures. Most of the commonly suppressed genes were involved in the innate immune system and were up-regulated in various cancers. We propose that TERRA G4 counteracts cancer malignancy by suppressing innate immune genes. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  13. Financial repression and high public debt in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Riet, Ad

    2018-01-01

    The sharp rise in public debt-to-GDP ratios in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 posed serious challenges for fiscal policy in euro area countries. This thesis examines whether and to what extent modern financial repression has been applied in Europe to address these challenges.

  14. Melanie Klein and Repression: an examination of some unpublished Notes of 1934.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinshelwood, R D

    2006-01-01

    Fifteen pages of unpublished Notes were found in the Melanie Klein Archives dating from early 1934, a crucial moment in Klein's development. She was at this time, 1934, moving away from child analysis, whilst also rethinking and revising her allegiance to Karl Abraham's theory of the phases of libidinal development. These Notes, entitled "Early Repression Mechanism," show Klein struggling to develop what became her characteristic theories of the depressive position and the paranoid-schizoid position. Although these Notes are precursors of the paper Klein gave later to the IPA Congress in 1934, they also show the origins of the emphasis she and her followers eventually gave to "splitting" rather than repression. The Notes give us an insight into the way that she worked clinically at the time. We see Klein's confidence develop as she diverged from the classical theories and technique. Her ideas were based on close attention to the detail of her clinical material, rather than attacking theoretical problems directly. The Notes show her method of struggling to her own conclusions, and they offer us a chance to grasp the roots of the subsequent controversy over Kleinian thought.

  15. Antisense silencing of the creA gene in Aspergillus nidulans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bautista, L. F.; Aleksenko, Alexei Y.; Hentzer, Morten

    2000-01-01

    Antisense expression of a portion of the gene encoding the major carbon catabolite repressor CREA in Aspergillus nidulans resulted in a substantial increase in the levels of glucose-repressible enzymes, both endogenous and heterologous, in the presence of glucose. The derepression effect was appr...

  16. Balancing gene expression without library construction via a reusable sRNA pool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghodasara, Amar; Voigt, Christopher A

    2017-07-27

    Balancing protein expression is critical when optimizing genetic systems. Typically, this requires library construction to vary the genetic parts controlling each gene, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Here, we develop sRNAs corresponding to 15nt 'target' sequences that can be inserted upstream of a gene. The targeted gene can be repressed from 1.6- to 87-fold by controlling sRNA expression using promoters of different strength. A pool is built where six sRNAs are placed under the control of 16 promoters that span a ∼103-fold range of strengths, yielding ∼107 combinations. This pool can simultaneously optimize up to six genes in a system. This requires building only a single system-specific construct by placing a target sequence upstream of each gene and transforming it with the pre-built sRNA pool. The resulting library is screened and the top clone is sequenced to determine the promoter controlling each sRNA, from which the fold-repression of the genes can be inferred. The system is then rebuilt by rationally selecting parts that implement the optimal expression of each gene. We demonstrate the versatility of this approach by using the same pool to optimize a metabolic pathway (β-carotene) and genetic circuit (XNOR logic gate). © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  17. Synergistic and Dose-Controlled Regulation of Cellulase Gene Expression in Penicillium oxalicum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhonghai; Yao, Guangshan; Wu, Ruimei; Gao, Liwei; Kan, Qinbiao; Liu, Meng; Yang, Piao; Liu, Guodong; Qin, Yuqi; Song, Xin; Zhong, Yaohua; Fang, Xu; Qu, Yinbo

    2015-09-01

    Filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum produces diverse lignocellulolytic enzymes, which are regulated by the combinations of many transcription factors. Here, a single-gene disruptant library for 470 transcription factors was constructed and systematically screened for cellulase production. Twenty transcription factors (including ClrB, CreA, XlnR, Ace1, AmyR, and 15 unknown proteins) were identified to play putative roles in the activation or repression of cellulase synthesis. Most of these regulators have not been characterized in any fungi before. We identified the ClrB, CreA, XlnR, and AmyR transcription factors as critical dose-dependent regulators of cellulase expression, the core regulons of which were identified by analyzing several transcriptomes and/or secretomes. Synergistic and additive modes of combinatorial control of each cellulase gene by these regulatory factors were achieved, and cellulase expression was fine-tuned in a proper and controlled manner. With one of these targets, the expression of the major intracellular β-glucosidase Bgl2 was found to be dependent on ClrB. The Bgl2-deficient background resulted in a substantial gene activation by ClrB and proved to be closely correlated with the relief of repression mediated by CreA and AmyR during cellulase induction. Our results also signify that probing the synergistic and dose-controlled regulation mechanisms of cellulolytic regulators and using it for reconstruction of expression regulation network (RERN) may be a promising strategy for cellulolytic fungi to develop enzyme hyper-producers. Based on our data, ClrB was identified as focal point for the synergistic activation regulation of cellulase expression by integrating cellulolytic regulators and their target genes, which refined our understanding of transcriptional-regulatory network as a "seesaw model" in which the coordinated regulation of cellulolytic genes is established by counteracting activators and repressors.

  18. Political Repressions in USSR (Against Speculations, Perversion and Mystifications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor N. Zemskov

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In the article the great numbers of political repressions, which were exaggerated by authors: R.A. Medvedev, A.I. Solzhenitsyn, O.G. Shatunovskoy, A.V. Antonov-Ovseenko in 80-90s are criticized. The author characterizes figures given in tens and even in hundreds of millions of victims as a statistical charlatanism.After checking up the KGB archives, and documents of division responsible for NKVD-MVD special settlements, the author spills the light on real numbers of political repressions in USSR. In his view, the total number of political victims does not exceed 2, 6 million people. This number implies over 800 thousand of death sentenced for political reasons, around 600 thousand political prisoners who died in labor camps, and about 1, 2 million people died in exile (including ‘Kulak Exile’ and during transportation (deported ethnic groups and others.

  19. Hhex Regulates Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Stress Hematopoiesis via Repression of Cdkn2a.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Jacob T; Shields, Benjamin J; Shi, Wei; Di Rago, Ladina; Metcalf, Donald; Nicola, Nicos A; McCormack, Matthew P

    2017-08-01

    The hematopoietically expressed homeobox transcription factor (Hhex) is important for the maturation of definitive hematopoietic progenitors and B-cells during development. We have recently shown that in adult hematopoiesis, Hhex is dispensable for maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and myeloid lineages but essential for the commitment of common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) to lymphoid lineages. Here, we show that during serial bone marrow transplantation, Hhex-deleted HSCs are progressively lost, revealing an intrinsic defect in HSC self-renewal. Moreover, Hhex-deleted mice show markedly impaired hematopoietic recovery following myeloablation, due to a failure of progenitor expansion. In vitro, Hhex-null blast colonies were incapable of replating, implying a specific requirement for Hhex in immature progenitors. Transcriptome analysis of Hhex-null Lin - Sca + Kit + cells showed that Hhex deletion leads to derepression of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and PRC1 target genes, including the Cdkn2a locus encoding the tumor suppressors p16 Ink 4 a and p19 Arf . Indeed, loss of Cdkn2a restored the capacity of Hhex-null blast colonies to generate myeloid progenitors in vitro, as well as hematopoietic reconstitution following myeloablation in vivo. Thus, HSCs require Hhex to promote PRC2-mediated Cdkn2a repression to enable continued self-renewal and response to hematopoietic stress. Stem Cells 2017;35:1948-1957. © 2017 AlphaMed Press.

  20. Acetate repression of methane oxidation by supplemental Methylocella silvestris in a peat soil microcosm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, M Tanvir; Crombie, Andrew; Moussard, Hélène; Chen, Yin; Murrell, J Colin

    2011-06-01

    Methylocella spp. are facultative methanotrophs that grow on methane and multicarbon substrates, such as acetate. Acetate represses transcription of methane monooxygenase of Methylocella silvestris in laboratory culture. DNA stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) using (13)C-methane and (12)C-acetate, carried out with Methylocella-spiked peat soil, showed that acetate also repressed methane oxidation by Methylocella in environmental samples.

  1. CDKL5 is a brain MeCP2 target gene regulated by DNA methylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carouge, Delphine; Host, Lionel; Aunis, Dominique; Zwiller, Jean; Anglard, Patrick

    2010-06-01

    Rett syndrome and its "early-onset seizure" variant are severe neurodevelopmental disorders associated with mutations within the MECP2 and the CDKL5 genes. Antidepressants and drugs of abuse induce the expression of the epigenetic factor MeCP2, thereby influencing chromatin remodeling. We show that increased MeCP2 levels resulted in the repression of Cdkl5 in rat brain structures in response to cocaine, as well as in cells exposed to serotonin, or overexpressing MeCP2. In contrast, Cdkl5 was induced by siRNA-mediated knockdown of Mecp2 and by DNA-methyltransferase inhibitors, demonstrating its regulation by MeCP2 and by DNA methylation. Cdkl5 gene methylation and its methylation-dependent binding to MeCP2 were increased in the striatum of cocaine-treated rats. Our data demonstrate that Cdkl5 is a MeCP2-repressed target gene providing a link between genes the mutation of which generates overlapping symptoms. They highlight DNA methylation changes as a potential mechanism participating in the long-term plasticity triggered by pharmacological agents.

  2. The leukemia-specific fusion gene ETV6/RUNX1 perturbs distinct key biological functions primarily by gene repression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerhard Fuka

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: ETV6/RUNX1 (E/R (also known as TEL/AML1 is the most frequent gene fusion in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL and also most likely the crucial factor for disease initiation; its role in leukemia propagation and maintenance, however, remains largely elusive. To address this issue we performed a shRNA-mediated knock-down (KD of the E/R fusion gene and investigated the ensuing consequences on genome-wide gene expression patterns and deducible regulatory functions in two E/R-positive leukemic cell lines. FINDINGS: Microarray analyses identified 777 genes whose expression was substantially altered. Although approximately equal proportions were either up- (KD-UP or down-regulated (KD-DOWN, the effects on biological processes and pathways differed considerably. The E/R KD-UP set was significantly enriched for genes included in the "cell activation", "immune response", "apoptosis", "signal transduction" and "development and differentiation" categories, whereas in the E/R KD-DOWN set only the "PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling" and "hematopoietic stem cells" categories became evident. Comparable expression signatures obtained from primary E/R-positive ALL samples underline the relevance of these pathways and molecular functions. We also validated six differentially expressed genes representing the categories "stem cell properties", "B-cell differentiation", "immune response", "cell adhesion" and "DNA damage" with RT-qPCR. CONCLUSION: Our analyses provide the first preliminary evidence that the continuous expression of the E/R fusion gene interferes with key regulatory functions that shape the biology of this leukemia subtype. E/R may thus indeed constitute the essential driving force for the propagation and maintenance of the leukemic process irrespective of potential consequences of associated secondary changes. Finally, these findings may also provide a valuable source of potentially attractive therapeutic targets.

  3. KBERG: KnowledgeBase for Estrogen Responsive Genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tang, Suisheng; Zhang, Zhuo; Tan, Sin Lam

    2007-01-01

    Estrogen has a profound impact on human physiology affecting transcription of numerous genes. To decipher functional characteristics of estrogen responsive genes, we developed KnowledgeBase for Estrogen Responsive Genes (KBERG). Genes in KBERG were derived from Estrogen Responsive Gene Database...... (ERGDB) and were analyzed from multiple aspects. We explored the possible transcription regulation mechanism by capturing highly conserved promoter motifs across orthologous genes, using promoter regions that cover the range of [-1200, +500] relative to the transcription start sites. The motif detection...... is based on ab initio discovery of common cis-elements from the orthologous gene cluster from human, mouse and rat, thus reflecting a degree of promoter sequence preservation during evolution. The identified motifs are linked to transcription factor binding sites based on the TRANSFAC database. In addition...

  4. Mutations Inactivating Herpes Simplex Virus 1 MicroRNA miR-H2 Do Not Detectably Increase ICP0 Gene Expression in Infected Cultured Cells or Mouse Trigeminal Ganglia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Dongli; Pesola, Jean M; Li, Gang; McCarron, Seamus; Coen, Donald M

    2017-01-15

    Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) latency entails the repression of productive ("lytic") gene expression. An attractive hypothesis to explain some of this repression involves inhibition of the expression of ICP0, a lytic gene activator, by a viral microRNA, miR-H2, which is completely complementary to ICP0 mRNA. To test this hypothesis, we engineered mutations that disrupt miR-H2 without affecting ICP0 in HSV-1. The mutant virus exhibited drastically reduced expression of miR-H2 but showed wild-type levels of infectious virus production and no increase in ICP0 expression in lytically infected cells, which is consistent with the weak expression of miR-H2 relative to the level of ICP0 mRNA in that setting. Following corneal inoculation of mice, the mutant was not significantly different from wild-type virus in terms of infectious virus production in the trigeminal ganglia during acute infection, mouse mortality, or the rate of reactivation from explanted latently infected ganglia. Critically, the mutant was indistinguishable from wild-type virus for the expression of ICP0 and other lytic genes in acutely and latently infected mouse trigeminal ganglia. The latter result may be related to miR-H2 being less effective in inhibiting ICP0 expression in transfection assays than a host microRNA, miR-138, which has previously been shown to inhibit lytic gene expression in infected ganglia by targeting ICP0 mRNA. Additionally, transfected miR-138 reduced lytic gene expression in infected cells more effectively than miR-H2. While this study provides little support for the hypothesis that miR-H2 promotes latency by inhibiting ICP0 expression, the possibility remains that miR-H2 might target other genes during latency. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), which causes a variety of diseases, can establish lifelong latent infections from which virus can reactivate to cause recurrent disease. Latency is the most biologically interesting and clinically vexing feature of the virus. Ever since

  5. Targeted transcriptional repression using a chimeric TALE-SRDX repressor protein

    KAUST Repository

    Mahfouz, Magdy M.

    2011-12-14

    Transcriptional activator-like effectors (TALEs) are proteins secreted by Xanthomonas bacteria when they infect plants. TALEs contain a modular DNA binding domain that can be easily engineered to bind any sequence of interest, and have been used to provide user-selected DNA-binding modules to generate chimeric nucleases and transcriptional activators in mammalian cells and plants. Here we report the use of TALEs to generate chimeric sequence-specific transcriptional repressors. The dHax3 TALE was used as a scaffold to provide a DNA-binding module fused to the EAR-repression domain (SRDX) to generate a chimeric repressor that targets the RD29A promoter. The dHax3. SRDX protein efficiently repressed the transcription of the RD29A

  6. Targeted transcriptional repression using a chimeric TALE-SRDX repressor protein

    KAUST Repository

    Mahfouz, Magdy M.; Li, Lixin; Piatek, Marek J.; Fang, Xiaoyun; Mansour, Hicham; Bangarusamy, Dhinoth K.; Zhu, Jian-Kang

    2011-01-01

    Transcriptional activator-like effectors (TALEs) are proteins secreted by Xanthomonas bacteria when they infect plants. TALEs contain a modular DNA binding domain that can be easily engineered to bind any sequence of interest, and have been used to provide user-selected DNA-binding modules to generate chimeric nucleases and transcriptional activators in mammalian cells and plants. Here we report the use of TALEs to generate chimeric sequence-specific transcriptional repressors. The dHax3 TALE was used as a scaffold to provide a DNA-binding module fused to the EAR-repression domain (SRDX) to generate a chimeric repressor that targets the RD29A promoter. The dHax3. SRDX protein efficiently repressed the transcription of the RD29A

  7. Postinduction represssion of the β-interferon gene is mediated through two positive regulatory domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whittemore, L.A.; Maniatis, T.

    1990-01-01

    Virus induction of the human β-interferon (β-IFN) gene results in an increase in the rate of β-IFN mRNA synthesis, followed by a rapid postinduction decrease. In this paper, the authors show that two β-IFN promoter elements, positive regulatory domains I and II (PRDI and PRDII), which are required for virus induction of the β-IFN gene are also required for the postinduction turnoff. Although protein synthesis is not necessary for activation, it is necessary for repression of these promoter elements. Examination of nuclear extracts from cells infected with virus reveals the presence of virus-inducible, cycloheximide-sensitive, DNA-binding activities that interact specifically with PRDI or PRDII. They propose that the postinduction repression of β-IFN gene transcription involves virus inducible repressors that either bind directly to the positive regulatory elements of the β-IFN promoter or inactivate the positive regulatory factors bound to PRDI and PRDII

  8. The CPT1C 5'UTR contains a repressing upstream open reading frame that is regulated by cellular energy availability and AMPK.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ines Lohse

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Translational control is utilized as a means of regulating gene expression in many species. In most cases, posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms play an important role in stress response pathways and can lead to dysfunctional physiology if blocked by mutations. Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1 C (CPT1C, the brain-specific member of the CPT 1 family, has previously been shown to be involved in regulating metabolism in situations of energy surplus. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sequence analysis of the CPT1C mRNA revealed that it contains an upstream open reading frame (uORF in the 5' UTR of its mRNA. Using CPT1C 5' UTR/luciferase constructs, we investigated the role of the uORF in translational regulation. The results presented here show that translation from the CPT1C main open reading frame (mORF is repressed by the presence of the uORF, that this repression is relieved in response to specific stress stimuli, namely glucose deprivation and palmitate-BSA treatment, and that AMPK inhibition can relieve this uORF-dependent repression. SIGNIFICANCE: The fact that the mORF regulation is relieved in response to a specific set of stress stimuli rather than general stress response, hints at an involvement of CPT1C in cellular energy-sensing pathways and provides further evidence for a role of CPT1C in hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis.

  9. Repressive Tolerance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Morten Jarlbæk

    2017-01-01

    Consultation of organised interests and others when drafting laws is often seen as an important source of both input and output legitimacy. But whereas the input side of the equation stems from the very process of listening to societal actors, output legitimacy can only be strengthened if consult......Consultation of organised interests and others when drafting laws is often seen as an important source of both input and output legitimacy. But whereas the input side of the equation stems from the very process of listening to societal actors, output legitimacy can only be strengthened...... a substantial effect on the substance of laws – shows that there is a great difference in the amenability of different branches of government but that, in general, authorities do not listen much despite a very strong consultation institution and tradition. A suggestion for an explanation could be pointing...... to an administrative culture of repressive tolerance of organised interests: authorities listen but only reacts in a very limited sense. This bears in it the risk of jeopardising the knowledge transfer from societal actors to administrative ditto thus harming the consultation institutions’ potential for strengthening...

  10. Repression of estrogen receptor β function by putative tumor suppressor DBC1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyama, Satoshi; Wada-Hiraike, Osamu; Nakagawa, Shunsuke; Tanikawa, Michihiro; Hiraike, Haruko; Miyamoto, Yuichiro; Sone, Kenbun; Oda, Katsutoshi; Fukuhara, Hiroshi; Nakagawa, Keiichi; Kato, Shigeaki; Yano, Tetsu; Taketani, Yuji

    2010-01-01

    It has been well established that estrogen is involved in the pathophysiology of breast cancer. Estrogen receptor (ER) α appears to promote the proliferation of cancer tissues, while ERβ can protect against the mitogenic effect of estrogen in breast tissue. The expression status of ERα and ERβ may greatly influence on the development, treatment, and prognosis of breast cancer. Previous studies have indicated that the deleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1/KIAA1967) gene product has roles in regulating functions of nuclear receptors. The gene encoding DBC1 is a candidate for tumor suppressor identified by genetic search for breast cancer. Caspase-dependent processing of DBC1 promotes apoptosis, and depletion of the endogenous DBC1 negatively regulates p53-dependent apoptosis through its specific inhibition of SIRT1. In addition, DBC1 modulates ERα expression and promotes breast cancer cell survival by binding to ERα. Here we report an ERβ-specific repressive function of DBC1. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence studies show that ERβ and DBC1 interact in a ligand-independent manner similar to ERα. In vitro pull-down assays revealed a direct interaction between DBC1 amino-terminus and activation function-1/2 domain of ERβ. Although DBC1 shows no influence on the ligand-dependent transcriptional activation function of ERα, the expression of DBC1 negatively regulates the ligand-dependent transcriptional activation function of ERβin vivo, and RNA interference-mediated depletion of DBC1 stimulates the transactivation function of ERβ. These results implicate the principal role of DBC1 in regulating ERβ-dependent gene expressions.

  11. Existential Choice as Repressed Theism: Jean-Paul Sartre and Giorgio Agamben in Conversation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Antonio Norris

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This article brings Sartre’s notion of existential authenticity, or sovereign decisionism, into conversation with the work of contemporary political theorist Giorgio Agamben, who argues that sovereign decisionism is the repressed theological foundation of authoritarian governments. As such, the article seeks to accomplish two goals. The first is to show that Sartre’s depiction of sovereign decisionism directly parallels how modern democratic governments conduct themselves during a state of emergency. The second is to show that Sartre’s notion of existential authenticity models, what Agamben calls, secularized theism. Through an ontotheological critique of Sartre’s professed atheism, the article concludes that an existential belief in sovereign decision represses, rather than profanes, the divine origins of authoritarian law. I frame the argument with a reading of Sartre’s 1943 play The Flies, which models the repressed theological underpinnings of Sartre’s theory.

  12. A novel mTOR activating protein protects dopamine neurons against oxidative stress by repressing autophagy related cell death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Kyou-Chan; Kim, Shin-Hee; Ha, Ji-Young; Kim, Sang-Tae; Son, Jin H

    2010-01-01

    Our previous microarray analysis identified a neuroprotective protein Oxi-alpha, that was down-regulated during oxidative stress (OS)-induced cell death in dopamine neurons [Neurochem. Res. (2004) vol. 29, pp. 1223]. Here we find that the phylogenetically conserved Oxi-alpha protects against OS by a novel mechanism: activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase and subsequent repression of autophagic vacuole accumulation and cell death. To the best of our knowledge, Oxi-alpha is the first molecule discovered in dopamine neurons, which activates mTOR kinase. Indeed, the down-regulation of Oxi-alpha by OS suppresses the activation of mTOR kinase. The pathogenic effect of down-regulated Oxi-alpha was confirmed by gene-specific knockdown experiment, which resulted in not only the repression of mTOR kinase and the subsequent phosphorylation of p70 S6 kinase and 4E-BP1, but also enhanced susceptibility to OS. In accordance with these observations, treatment with rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor and autophagy inducer, potentiated OS-induced cell death, while similar treatment with an autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine protected the dopamine cells. Our findings present evidence for the presence of a novel class of molecule involved in autophagic cell death triggered by OS in dopamine neurons.

  13. β3 integrin promotes chemoresistance to epirubicin in MDA-MB-231 through repression of the pro-apoptotic protein, BAD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nair, Madhumathy G.; Desai, Krisha; Prabhu, Jyothi S.; Hari, P.S.; Remacle, Jose; Sridhar, T.S., E-mail: tssridhar@sjri.res.in

    2016-08-01

    Resistance to anthracycline based chemotherapy is a major limitation in the treatment of breast cancer, particularly of the triple negative sub-type that lacks targeted therapies. Resistance that arises from tumor-stromal interaction facilitated by integrins provides the possibility of targeted disruption. In the present study, we demonstrate that integrin β3 signaling inhibits apoptosis induced by a DNA-damaging chemotherapeutic agent, epirubicin, in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Drug efflux based mechanisms do not contribute to this effect. We show that integrin β3 employs the PI3K-Akt and the MAPK pathway for enabling cell survival and proliferation. Further, our results indicate that integrin β3 helps inhibit epirubicin induced cytotoxicity by repression of the pro-apoptotic protein BAD, thus promoting an anti-apoptotic response. Myristoylated RGT peptide and a monoclonal antibody against integrin β3 brought about a reversal of this effect and chemosensitized the cells. These results identify β3 integrin signaling via repression of BAD as an important survival pathway used by breast cancer cells to evade chemotherapy induced stress. - Highlights: • Integrin β3 signaling promotes chemoresistance to epirubicin in breast cancer cells. • Integrin β3 promotes cell survival and proliferation in drug treated cells through the PI3K and MAPK pathways. • Integrin signaling helps evade drug induced cytotoxicity by repression of pro-apoptotic molecule; BAD.

  14. msh/Msx gene family in neural development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Casto; Robert, Benoît

    2005-11-01

    The involvement of Msx homeobox genes in skull and tooth formation has received a great deal of attention. Recent studies also indicate a role for the msh/Msx gene family in development of the nervous system. In this article, we discuss the functions of these transcription factors in neural-tissue organogenesis. We will deal mainly with the interactions of the Drosophila muscle segment homeobox (msh) gene with other homeobox genes and the repressive cascade that leads to neuroectoderm patterning; the role of Msx genes in neural-crest induction, focusing especially on the differences between lower and higher vertebrates; their implication in patterning of the vertebrate neural tube, particularly in diencephalon midline formation. Finally, we will examine the distinct activities of Msx1, Msx2 and Msx3 genes during neurogenesis, taking into account their relationships with signalling molecules such as BMP.

  15. Repression of competition favours cooperation : experimental evidence from bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kümmerli, Rolf; van den Berg, Piet; Griffin, Ashleigh S; West, Stuart A; Gardner, Andy

    Repression of competition (RC) within social groups has been suggested as a key mechanism driving the evolution of cooperation, because it aligns the individual's proximate interest with the interest of the group. Despite its enormous potential for explaining cooperation across all levels of

  16. Corticosteroid-Induced MKP-1 Represses Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion by Enhancing Activity of Tristetraprolin (TTP) in ASM Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhala, Pavan; Bunge, Kristin; Ge, Qi; Ammit, Alaina J

    2016-10-01

    Exaggerated cytokine secretion drives pathogenesis of a number of chronic inflammatory diseases, including asthma. Anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapies, including corticosteroids, are front-line therapies and although they have proven clinical utility, the molecular mechanisms responsible for their actions are not fully understood. The corticosteroid-inducible gene, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase 1 (MKP-1, DUSP1) has emerged as a key molecule responsible for the repressive effects of steroids. MKP-1 is known to deactivate p38 MAPK phosphorylation and can control the expression and activity of the mRNA destabilizing protein-tristetraprolin (TTP). But whether corticosteroid-induced MKP-1 acts via p38 MAPK-mediated modulation of TTP function in a pivotal airway cell type, airway smooth muscle (ASM), was unknown. While pretreatment of ASM cells with the corticosteroid dexamethasone (preventative protocol) is known to reduce ASM synthetic function in vitro, the impact of adding dexamethasone after stimulation (therapeutic protocol) had not been explored. Whether dexamethasone modulates TTP in a p38 MAPK-dependent manner in this cell type was also unknown. We address this herein and utilize an in vitro model of asthmatic inflammation where ASM cells were stimulated with the pro-asthmatic cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and the impact of adding dexamethasone 1 h after stimulation assessed. IL-6 mRNA expression and protein secretion was significantly repressed by dexamethasone acting in a temporally distinct manner to increase MKP-1, deactivate p38 MAPK, and modulate TTP phosphorylation status. In this way, dexamethasone-induced MKP-1 acts via p38 MAPK to switch on the mRNA destabilizing function of TTP to repress pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion from ASM cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 2153-2158, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. CDK11p58 represses vitamin D receptor-mediated transcriptional activation through promoting its ubiquitin-proteasome degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chi, Yayun; Hong, Yi; Zong, Hongliang; Wang, Yanlin; Zou, Weiying; Yang, Junwu; Kong, Xiangfei; Yun, Xiaojing; Gu, Jianxin

    2009-01-01

    Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and regulates transcription of target genes. In this study, we identified CDK11 p58 as a novel protein involved in the regulation of VDR. CDK11 p58 , a member of the large family of p34cdc2-related kinases, is associated with cell cycle progression, tumorigenesis, and apoptotic signaling. Our study demonstrated that CDK11 p58 interacted with VDR and repressed VDR-dependent transcriptional activation. Furthermore, overexpression of CDK11 p58 decreased the stability of VDR through promoting its ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated degradation. Taken together, these results suggest that CDK11 p58 is involved in the negative regulation of VDR.

  18. A retinoblastoma orthologue is a major regulator of S-phase, mitotic, and developmental gene expression in Dictyostelium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimchi Strasser

    Full Text Available The retinoblastoma tumour suppressor, Rb, has two major functions. First, it represses genes whose products are required for S-phase entry and progression thus stabilizing cells in G1. Second, Rb interacts with factors that induce cell-cycle exit and terminal differentiation. Dictyostelium lacks a G1 phase in its cell cycle but it has a retinoblastoma orthologue, rblA.Using microarray analysis and mRNA-Seq transcriptional profiling, we show that RblA strongly represses genes whose products are involved in S phase and mitosis. Both S-phase and mitotic genes are upregulated at a single point in late G2 and again in mid-development, near the time when cell cycling is reactivated. RblA also activates a set of genes unique to slime moulds that function in terminal differentiation.Like its mammalian counterpart Dictyostelium, RblA plays a dual role, regulating cell-cycle progression and transcriptional events leading to terminal differentiation. In the absence of a G1 phase, however, RblA functions in late G2 controlling the expression of both S-phase and mitotic genes.

  19. Systematic identification of novel, essential host genes affecting bromovirus RNA replication.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brandi L Gancarz

    Full Text Available Positive-strand RNA virus replication involves viral proteins and cellular proteins at nearly every replication step. Brome mosaic virus (BMV is a well-established model for dissecting virus-host interactions and is one of very few viruses whose RNA replication, gene expression and encapsidation have been reproduced in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previously, our laboratory identified ∼100 non-essential host genes whose loss inhibited or enhanced BMV replication at least 3-fold. However, our isolation of additional BMV-modulating host genes by classical genetics and other results underscore that genes essential for cell growth also contribute to BMV RNA replication at a frequency that may be greater than that of non-essential genes. To systematically identify novel, essential host genes affecting BMV RNA replication, we tested a collection of ∼900 yeast strains, each with a single essential gene promoter replaced by a doxycycline-repressible promoter, allowing repression of gene expression by adding doxycycline to the growth medium. Using this strain array of ∼81% of essential yeast genes, we identified 24 essential host genes whose depleted expression reproducibly inhibited or enhanced BMV RNA replication. Relevant host genes are involved in ribosome biosynthesis, cell cycle regulation and protein homeostasis, among other cellular processes. BMV 2a(Pol levels were significantly increased in strains depleted for a heat shock protein (HSF1 or proteasome components (PRE1 and RPT6, suggesting these genes may affect BMV RNA replication by directly or indirectly modulating 2a(Pol localization, post-translational modification or interacting partners. Investigating the diverse functions of these newly identified essential host genes should advance our understanding of BMV-host interactions and normal cellular pathways, and suggest new modes of virus control.

  20. Telomeric trans-silencing: an epigenetic repression combining RNA silencing and heterochromatin formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thibaut Josse

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available The study of P-element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the telomeric Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE, a repression mechanism by which a transposon or a transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequence or TAS has the capacity to repress in trans in the female germline, a homologous transposon, or transgene located in euchromatin. TSE shows variegation among egg chambers in ovaries when silencing is incomplete. Here, we report that TSE displays an epigenetic transmission through meiosis, which involves an extrachromosomal maternally transmitted factor. We show that this silencing is highly sensitive to mutations affecting both heterochromatin formation (Su(var205 encoding Heterochromatin Protein 1 and Su(var3-7 and the repeat-associated small interfering RNA (or rasiRNA silencing pathway (aubergine, homeless, armitage, and piwi. In contrast, TSE is not sensitive to mutations affecting r2d2, which is involved in the small interfering RNA (or siRNA silencing pathway, nor is it sensitive to a mutation in loquacious, which is involved in the micro RNA (or miRNA silencing pathway. These results, taken together with the recent discovery of TAS homologous small RNAs associated to PIWI proteins, support the proposition that TSE involves a repeat-associated small interfering RNA pathway linked to heterochromatin formation, which was co-opted by the P element to establish repression of its own transposition after its recent invasion of the D. melanogaster genome. Therefore, the study of TSE provides insight into the genetic properties of a germline-specific small RNA silencing pathway.

  1. IS FINANCIAL REPRESSION REALLY BAD?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eun Young OH

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between reserve requirements, interest rate taxes, and long-term growth. I present a model which shows that the government might repress the financial sector as this is the easy way of channelling resources to productive sectors. In this endogenous model, I employ the government input in the firm production function. The implications of the model are confirmed in that, an increase in reserve requirements and interest rate controls have two different reverse effects on growth - one is the negative effect on the financial sector. The other is a growth enhancing effect from the effective public spending on the real sectors.

  2. Bistability in self-activating genes regulated by non-coding RNAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miro-Bueno, Jesus

    2015-01-01

    Non-coding RNA molecules are able to regulate gene expression and play an essential role in cells. On the other hand, bistability is an important behaviour of genetic networks. Here, we propose and study an ODE model in order to show how non-coding RNA can produce bistability in a simple way. The model comprises a single gene with positive feedback that is repressed by non-coding RNA molecules. We show how the values of all the reaction rates involved in the model are able to control the transitions between the high and low states. This new model can be interesting to clarify the role of non-coding RNA molecules in genetic networks. As well, these results can be interesting in synthetic biology for developing new genetic memories and biomolecular devices based on non-coding RNAs

  3. The BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) target genes are involved in the oxidative stress response and in control of the cell cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnatz, Hans-Jörg; Schmidt, Dominic; Manke, Thomas; Piccini, Ilaria; Sultan, Marc; Borodina, Tatiana; Balzereit, Daniela; Wruck, Wasco; Soldatov, Alexey; Vingron, Martin; Lehrach, Hans; Yaspo, Marie-Laure

    2011-07-01

    The regulation of gene expression in response to environmental signals and metabolic imbalances is a key step in maintaining cellular homeostasis. BTB and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) is a heme-binding transcription factor repressing the transcription from a subset of MAF recognition elements at low intracellular heme levels. Upon heme binding, BACH1 is released from the MAF recognition elements, resulting in increased expression of antioxidant response genes. To systematically address the gene regulatory networks involving BACH1, we combined chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analysis of BACH1 target genes in HEK 293 cells with knockdown of BACH1 using three independent types of small interfering RNAs followed by transcriptome profiling using microarrays. The 59 BACH1 target genes identified by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing were found highly enriched in genes showing expression changes after BACH1 knockdown, demonstrating the impact of BACH1 repression on transcription. In addition to known and new BACH1 targets involved in heme degradation (HMOX1, FTL, FTH1, ME1, and SLC48A1) and redox regulation (GCLC, GCLM, and SLC7A11), we also discovered BACH1 target genes affecting cell cycle and apoptosis pathways (ITPR2, CALM1, SQSTM1, TFE3, EWSR1, CDK6, BCL2L11, and MAFG) as well as subcellular transport processes (CLSTN1, PSAP, MAPT, and vault RNA). The newly identified impact of BACH1 on genes involved in neurodegenerative processes and proliferation provides an interesting basis for future dissection of BACH1-mediated gene repression in neurodegeneration and virus-induced cancerogenesis.

  4. Pseudomonas putida growing at low temperature shows increased levels of CrcZ and CrcY sRNAs, leading to reduced Crc-dependent catabolite repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Pilar; Moreno, Renata; Rojo, Fernando

    2013-01-01

    The Crc protein of Pseudomonas inhibits the expression of genes involved in the transport and assimilation of a number of non-preferred carbon sources when preferred substrates are available, thus coordinating carbon metabolism. Crc acts by binding to target mRNAs, inhibiting their translation. In Pseudomonas putida, the amount of free Crc available is controlled by two sRNAs, CrcY and CrcZ, which bind to and sequester Crc. The levels of these sRNAs vary according to metabolic conditions. Pseudomonas putida grows optimally at 30°C, but can also thrive at 10°C. The present work shows that when cells grow exponentially at 10°C, the repressive effect of Crc on many genes is significantly reduced compared with that seen at 30°C. Total Crc levels were similar at both temperatures, but those of CrcZ and CrcY were significantly higher at 10°C. Therefore, Crc-mediated repression may, at least in part, be reduced at 10°C because the fraction of Crc protein sequestered by CrcZ and CrcY is larger, reducing the amount of free Crc available to bind its targets. This may help P. putida to face cold stress. The results reported might help understanding the behaviour of this bacterium in bioremediation or rhizoremediation strategies at low temperatures. © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Dynamic association rules for gene expression data analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shu-Chuan; Tsai, Tsung-Hsien; Chung, Cheng-Han; Li, Wen-Hsiung

    2015-10-14

    The purpose of gene expression analysis is to look for the association between regulation of gene expression levels and phenotypic variations. This association based on gene expression profile has been used to determine whether the induction/repression of genes correspond to phenotypic variations including cell regulations, clinical diagnoses and drug development. Statistical analyses on microarray data have been developed to resolve gene selection issue. However, these methods do not inform us of causality between genes and phenotypes. In this paper, we propose the dynamic association rule algorithm (DAR algorithm) which helps ones to efficiently select a subset of significant genes for subsequent analysis. The DAR algorithm is based on association rules from market basket analysis in marketing. We first propose a statistical way, based on constructing a one-sided confidence interval and hypothesis testing, to determine if an association rule is meaningful. Based on the proposed statistical method, we then developed the DAR algorithm for gene expression data analysis. The method was applied to analyze four microarray datasets and one Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) dataset: the Mice Apo A1 dataset, the whole genome expression dataset of mouse embryonic stem cells, expression profiling of the bone marrow of Leukemia patients, Microarray Quality Control (MAQC) data set and the RNA-seq dataset of a mouse genomic imprinting study. A comparison of the proposed method with the t-test on the expression profiling of the bone marrow of Leukemia patients was conducted. We developed a statistical way, based on the concept of confidence interval, to determine the minimum support and minimum confidence for mining association relationships among items. With the minimum support and minimum confidence, one can find significant rules in one single step. The DAR algorithm was then developed for gene expression data analysis. Four gene expression datasets showed that the proposed

  6. Increased heme synthesis in yeast induces a metabolic switch from fermentation to respiration even under conditions of glucose repression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tiantian; Bu, Pengli; Zeng, Joey; Vancura, Ales

    2017-10-13

    Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration is a complex process that involves several signaling pathways and transcription factors as well as communication between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Under aerobic conditions, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolizes glucose predominantly by glycolysis and fermentation. We have recently shown that altered chromatin structure in yeast induces respiration by a mechanism that requires transport and metabolism of pyruvate in mitochondria. However, how pyruvate controls the transcriptional responses underlying the metabolic switch from fermentation to respiration is unknown. Here, we report that this pyruvate effect involves heme. We found that heme induces transcription of HAP4 , the transcriptional activation subunit of the Hap2/3/4/5p complex, required for growth on nonfermentable carbon sources, in a Hap1p- and Hap2/3/4/5p-dependent manner. Increasing cellular heme levels by inactivating ROX1 , which encodes a repressor of many hypoxic genes, or by overexpressing HEM3 or HEM12 induced respiration and elevated ATP levels. Increased heme synthesis, even under conditions of glucose repression, activated Hap1p and the Hap2/3/4/5p complex and induced transcription of HAP4 and genes required for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation, leading to a switch from fermentation to respiration. Conversely, inhibiting metabolic flux into the TCA cycle reduced cellular heme levels and HAP4 transcription. Together, our results indicate that the glucose-mediated repression of respiration in budding yeast is at least partly due to the low cellular heme level. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  7. Role of type II protein arginine methyltransferase 5 in the regulation of Circadian Per1 gene.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungtae Na

    Full Text Available Circadian clocks are the endogenous oscillators that regulate rhythmic physiological and behavioral changes to correspond to daily light-dark cycles. Molecular dissections have revealed that transcriptional feedback loops of the circadian clock genes drive the molecular oscillation, in which PER/CRY complexes inhibit the transcriptional activity of the CLOCK/BMAL1 heterodimer to constitute a negative feedback loop. In this study, we identified the type II protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5 as an interacting molecule of CRY1. Although the Prmt5 gene was constitutively expressed, increased interaction of PRMT5 with CRY1 was observed when the Per1 gene was repressed both in synchronized mouse liver and NIH3T3 cells. Moreover, rhythmic recruitment of PRMT5 and CRY1 to the Per1 gene promoter was found to be associated with an increased level of histone H4R3 dimethylation and Per1 gene repression. Consistently, decreased histone H4R3 dimethylation and altered rhythmic Per1 gene expression were observed in Prmt5-depleted cells. Taken together, these findings provide an insight into the link between histone arginine methylation by PRMT5 and transcriptional regulation of the circadian Per1 gene.

  8. Polycomb repressive complex 2 regulates MiR-200b in retinal endothelial cells: potential relevance in diabetic retinopathy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Anthony Ruiz

    Full Text Available Glucose-induced augmented vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF production is a key event in diabetic retinopathy. We have previously demonstrated that downregulation of miR-200b increases VEGF, mediating structural and functional changes in the retina in diabetes. However, mechanisms regulating miR-200b in diabetes are not known. Histone methyltransferase complex, Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2, has been shown to repress miRNAs in neoplastic process. We hypothesized that, in diabetes, PRC2 represses miR-200b through its histone H3 lysine-27 trimethylation mark. We show that human retinal microvascular endothelial cells exposed to high levels of glucose regulate miR-200b repression through histone methylation and that inhibition of PRC2 increases miR-200b while reducing VEGF. Furthermore, retinal tissue from animal models of diabetes showed increased expression of major PRC2 components, demonstrating in vivo relevance. This research established a repressive relationship between PRC2 and miR-200b, providing evidence of a novel mechanism of miRNA regulation through histone methylation.

  9. Nucleolin is required for DNA methylation state and the expression of rRNA gene variants in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frédéric Pontvianne

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available In eukaryotes, 45S rRNA genes are arranged in tandem arrays in copy numbers ranging from several hundred to several thousand in plants. Although it is clear that not all copies are transcribed under normal growth conditions, the molecular basis controlling the expression of specific sets of rRNA genes remains unclear. Here, we report four major rRNA gene variants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Interestingly, while transcription of one of these rRNA variants is induced, the others are either repressed or remain unaltered in A. thaliana plants with a disrupted nucleolin-like protein gene (Atnuc-L1. Remarkably, the most highly represented rRNA gene variant, which is inactive in WT plants, is reactivated in Atnuc-L1 mutants. We show that accumulated pre-rRNAs originate from RNA Pol I transcription and are processed accurately. Moreover, we show that disruption of the AtNUC-L1 gene induces loss of symmetrical DNA methylation without affecting histone epigenetic marks at rRNA genes. Collectively, these data reveal a novel mechanism for rRNA gene transcriptional regulation in which the nucleolin protein plays a major role in controlling active and repressed rRNA gene variants in Arabidopsis.

  10. Scuba: scalable kernel-based gene prioritization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zampieri, Guido; Tran, Dinh Van; Donini, Michele; Navarin, Nicolò; Aiolli, Fabio; Sperduti, Alessandro; Valle, Giorgio

    2018-01-25

    The uncovering of genes linked to human diseases is a pressing challenge in molecular biology and precision medicine. This task is often hindered by the large number of candidate genes and by the heterogeneity of the available information. Computational methods for the prioritization of candidate genes can help to cope with these problems. In particular, kernel-based methods are a powerful resource for the integration of heterogeneous biological knowledge, however, their practical implementation is often precluded by their limited scalability. We propose Scuba, a scalable kernel-based method for gene prioritization. It implements a novel multiple kernel learning approach, based on a semi-supervised perspective and on the optimization of the margin distribution. Scuba is optimized to cope with strongly unbalanced settings where known disease genes are few and large scale predictions are required. Importantly, it is able to efficiently deal both with a large amount of candidate genes and with an arbitrary number of data sources. As a direct consequence of scalability, Scuba integrates also a new efficient strategy to select optimal kernel parameters for each data source. We performed cross-validation experiments and simulated a realistic usage setting, showing that Scuba outperforms a wide range of state-of-the-art methods. Scuba achieves state-of-the-art performance and has enhanced scalability compared to existing kernel-based approaches for genomic data. This method can be useful to prioritize candidate genes, particularly when their number is large or when input data is highly heterogeneous. The code is freely available at https://github.com/gzampieri/Scuba .

  11. Protein translation and cell death: the role of rare tRNAs in biofilm formation and in activating dormant phage killer genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo García-Contreras

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available We discovered previously that the small Escherichia coli proteins Hha (hemolysin expression modulating protein and the adjacent, poorly-characterized YbaJ are important for biofilm formation; however, their roles have been nebulous. Biofilms are intricate communities in which cell signaling often converts single cells into primitive tissues. Here we show that Hha decreases biofilm formation dramatically by repressing the transcription of rare codon tRNAs which serves to inhibit fimbriae production and by repressing to some extent transcription of fimbrial genes fimA and ihfA. In vivo binding studies show Hha binds to the rare codon tRNAs argU, ileX, ileY, and proL and to two prophage clusters D1P12 and CP4-57. Real-time PCR corroborated that Hha represses argU and proL, and Hha type I fimbriae repression is abolished by the addition of extra copies of argU, ileY, and proL. The repression of transcription of rare codon tRNAs by Hha also leads to cell lysis and biofilm dispersal due to activation of prophage lytic genes rzpD, yfjZ, appY, and alpA and due to induction of ClpP/ClpX proteases which activate toxins by degrading antitoxins. YbaJ serves to mediate the toxicity of Hha. Hence, we have identified that a single protein (Hha can control biofilm formation by limiting fimbriae production as well as by controlling cell death. The mechanism used by Hha is the control of translation via the availability of rare codon tRNAs which reduces fimbriae production and activates prophage lytic genes. Therefore, Hha acts as a toxin in conjunction with co-transcribed YbaJ (TomB that attenuates Hha toxicity.

  12. Expression of the CTCF gene in bovine oocytes and preimplantation embryos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro F.L. Rios

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The CCCTC - binding factor (CTCF is a protein involved in repression, activation, hormone-inducible gene silencing, functional reading of imprinted genes and X-chromosome inactivation. We analyzed CTCF gene expression in bovine peripheral blood, oocytes and in different cellular stages (2-4 cells, 8-16 cells, 16-32 cells, morulae, and blastocysts of in vitro fertilized embryos. This is the first report of CTCF expression in oocytes and preimplantation bovine embryos and has implications for the production of embryonic stem cells and the development of novel medical technologies for humans.

  13. The rice YABBY1 gene is involved in the feedback regulation of gibberellin metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Mingqiu; Zhao, Yu; Ma, Qian; Hu, Yongfeng; Hedden, Peter; Zhang, Qifa; Zhou, Dao-Xiu

    2007-05-01

    Gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis is regulated by feedback control providing a mechanism for GA homeostasis in plants. However, regulatory elements involved in the feedback control are not known. In this report, we show that a rice (Oryza sativa) YABBY1 (YAB1) gene had a similar expression pattern as key rice GA biosynthetic genes GA3ox2 and GA20ox2. Overexpression of YAB1 in transgenic rice resulted in a semidwarf phenotype that could be fully rescued by applied GA. Quantification of the endogenous GA content revealed increases of GA(20) and decreases of GA(1) levels in the overexpression plants, in which the transcripts of the biosynthetic gene GA3ox2 were decreased. Cosuppression of YAB1 in transgenic plants induced expression of GA3ox2. The repression of GA3ox2 could be obtained upon treatment by dexamethasone of transgenic plants expressing a YAB1-glucocorticoid receptor fusion. Importantly, we show that YAB1 bound to a GA-responsive element within the GA3ox2 promoter. In addition, the expression of YAB1 was deregulated in GA biosynthesis and signaling mutants and could be either transiently induced by GA or repressed by a GA inhibitor. Finally, either overexpression or cosuppression of YAB1 impaired GA-mediated repression of GA3ox2. These data together suggest that YAB1 is involved in the feedback regulation of GA biosynthesis in rice.

  14. Suppressor of Overexpression of CO 1 Negatively Regulates Dark-Induced Leaf Degreening and Senescence by Directly Repressing Pheophytinase and Other Senescence-Associated Genes in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Junyi; Zhu, Xiaoyu; Ren, Jun; Qiu, Kai; Li, Zhongpeng; Xie, Zuokun; Gao, Jiong; Zhou, Xin; Kuai, Benke

    2017-03-01

    Although the biochemical pathway of chlorophyll (Chl) degradation has been largely elucidated, how Chl is rapidly yet coordinately degraded during leaf senescence remains elusive. Pheophytinase (PPH) is the enzyme for catalyzing the removal of the phytol group from pheophytin a , and PPH expression is significantly induced during leaf senescence. To elucidate the transcriptional regulation of PPH , we used a yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) one-hybrid system to screen for its trans-regulators. SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CO 1 (SOC1), a key flowering pathway integrator, was initially identified as one of the putative trans-regulators of PPH After dark treatment, leaves of an SOC1 knockdown mutant ( soc1-6 ) showed an accelerated yellowing phenotype, whereas those of SOC1 -overexpressing lines exhibited a partial stay-green phenotype. SOC1 and PPH expression showed a negative correlation during leaf senescence. Substantially, SOC1 protein could bind specifically to the CArG box of the PPH promoter in vitro and in vivo, and overexpression of SOC1 significantly inhibited the transcriptional activity of the PPH promoter in Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) protoplasts. Importantly, soc1-6 pph-1 (a PPH knockout mutant) double mutant displayed a stay-green phenotype similar to that of pph-1 during dark treatment. These results demonstrated that SOC1 inhibits Chl degradation via negatively regulating PPH expression. In addition, measurement of the Chl content and the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II of soc1-6 and SOC1-OE leaves after dark treatment suggested that SOC1 also negatively regulates the general senescence process. Seven SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED GENES ( SAGs ) were thereafter identified as its potential target genes, and NONYELLOWING1 and SAG113 were experimentally confirmed. Together, we reveal that SOC1 represses dark-induced leaf Chl degradation and senescence in general in Arabidopsis. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All

  15. One, Two, Three: Polycomb Proteins Hit All Dimensions of Gene Regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania del Prete

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Polycomb group (PcG proteins contribute to the formation and maintenance of a specific repressive chromatin state that prevents the expression of genes in a particular space and time. Polycomb repressive complexes (PRCs consist of several PcG proteins with specific regulatory or catalytic properties. PRCs are recruited to thousands of target genes, and various recruitment factors, including DNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs, are involved in the targeting. PcG proteins contribute to a multitude of biological processes by altering chromatin features at different scales. PcG proteins mediate both biochemical modifications of histone tails and biophysical modifications (e.g., chromatin fiber compaction and three-dimensional (3D chromatin conformation. Here, we review the role of PcG proteins in nuclear architecture, describing their impact on the structure of the chromatin fiber, on chromatin interactions, and on the spatial organization of the genome in nuclei. Although little is known about the role of plant PcG proteins in nuclear organization, much is known in the animal field, and we highlight similarities and differences in the roles of PcG proteins in 3D gene regulation in plants and animals.

  16. DsrA regulatory RNA represses both hns and rbsD mRNAs through distinct mechanisms in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalaouna, David; Morissette, Audrey; Carrier, Marie-Claude; Massé, Eric

    2015-10-01

    The 87 nucleotide long DsrA sRNA has been mostly studied for its translational activation of the transcriptional regulator RpoS. However, it also represses hns mRNA, which encodes H-NS, a major regulator that affects expression of nearly 5% of Escherichia coli genes. A speculative model previously suggested that DsrA would block hns mRNA translation by binding simultaneously to start and stop codon regions of hns mRNA (coaxial model). Here, we show that DsrA efficiently blocked translation of hns mRNA by base-pairing immediately downstream of the start codon. In addition, DsrA induced hns mRNA degradation by actively recruiting the RNA degradosome complex. Data presented here led to a model of DsrA action on hns mRNA, which supports a canonical mechanism of sRNA-induced mRNA degradation by binding to the translation initiation region. Furthermore, using MS2-affinity purification coupled with RNA sequencing technology (MAPS), we also demonstrated that DsrA targets rbsD mRNA, involved in ribose utilization. Surprisingly, DsrA base pairs far downstream of rbsD start codon and induces rapid degradation of the transcript. Thus, our study enables us to draw an extended DsrA targetome. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Finding gene regulatory network candidates using the gene expression knowledge base.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkatesan, Aravind; Tripathi, Sushil; Sanz de Galdeano, Alejandro; Blondé, Ward; Lægreid, Astrid; Mironov, Vladimir; Kuiper, Martin

    2014-12-10

    Network-based approaches for the analysis of large-scale genomics data have become well established. Biological networks provide a knowledge scaffold against which the patterns and dynamics of 'omics' data can be interpreted. The background information required for the construction of such networks is often dispersed across a multitude of knowledge bases in a variety of formats. The seamless integration of this information is one of the main challenges in bioinformatics. The Semantic Web offers powerful technologies for the assembly of integrated knowledge bases that are computationally comprehensible, thereby providing a potentially powerful resource for constructing biological networks and network-based analysis. We have developed the Gene eXpression Knowledge Base (GeXKB), a semantic web technology based resource that contains integrated knowledge about gene expression regulation. To affirm the utility of GeXKB we demonstrate how this resource can be exploited for the identification of candidate regulatory network proteins. We present four use cases that were designed from a biological perspective in order to find candidate members relevant for the gastrin hormone signaling network model. We show how a combination of specific query definitions and additional selection criteria derived from gene expression data and prior knowledge concerning candidate proteins can be used to retrieve a set of proteins that constitute valid candidates for regulatory network extensions. Semantic web technologies provide the means for processing and integrating various heterogeneous information sources. The GeXKB offers biologists such an integrated knowledge resource, allowing them to address complex biological questions pertaining to gene expression. This work illustrates how GeXKB can be used in combination with gene expression results and literature information to identify new potential candidates that may be considered for extending a gene regulatory network.

  18. The Mediator Kinase Module Restrains Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling and Represses Vulval Cell Fate Specification in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grants, Jennifer M; Ying, Lisa T L; Yoda, Akinori; You, Charlotte C; Okano, Hideyuki; Sawa, Hitoshi; Taubert, Stefan

    2016-02-01

    Cell signaling pathways that control proliferation and determine cell fates are tightly regulated to prevent developmental anomalies and cancer. Transcription factors and coregulators are important effectors of signaling pathway output, as they regulate downstream gene programs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, several subunits of the Mediator transcriptional coregulator complex promote or inhibit vulva development, but pertinent mechanisms are poorly defined. Here, we show that Mediator's dissociable cyclin dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) module (CKM), consisting of cdk-8, cic-1/Cyclin C, mdt-12/dpy-22, and mdt-13/let-19, is required to inhibit ectopic vulval cell fates downstream of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-Ras-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. cdk-8 inhibits ectopic vulva formation by acting downstream of mpk-1/ERK, cell autonomously in vulval cells, and in a kinase-dependent manner. We also provide evidence that the CKM acts as a corepressor for the Ets-family transcription factor LIN-1, as cdk-8 promotes transcriptional repression by LIN-1. In addition, we find that CKM mutation alters Mediator subunit requirements in vulva development: the mdt-23/sur-2 subunit, which is required for vulva development in wild-type worms, is dispensable for ectopic vulva formation in CKM mutants, which instead display hallmarks of unrestrained Mediator tail module activity. We propose a model whereby the CKM controls EGFR-Ras-ERK transcriptional output by corepressing LIN-1 and by fine tuning Mediator specificity, thus balancing transcriptional repression vs. activation in a critical developmental signaling pathway. Collectively, these data offer an explanation for CKM repression of EGFR signaling output and ectopic vulva formation and provide the first evidence of Mediator CKM-tail module subunit crosstalk in animals. Copyright © 2016 by the Genetics Society of America.

  19. Auxins upregulate nif and fix genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianco, Carmen; Defez, Roberto

    2010-10-01

    In a recent publication we analyzed the global effects triggered by IAA overproduction in S. meliloti RD64 under free-living conditions by comparing the gene expression pattern of wild type 1021 with that of RD64 and 1021 treated with IAA and other four chemically or functionally related molecules. Among the genes differentially expressed in RD64 and IAA-treated 1021 cells we found two genes of pho operon, phoT and phoC. Based on this finding we examined the mechanisms for mineral P solubilization in RD64 and the potential ability of this strain to improve Medicago growth under P-starved conditions. Here, we further analyze the expression profiles obtained in microarray analysis and evaluate the specificity and the extent of overlap between all treatments. Venn diagrams indicated that IAA- and 2,4-D-regulated genes were closely related. Furthermore, most differentially expressed genes from pSymA were induced in 1021 cells treated with 2,4-D, ICA, IND and Trp as compared to the untreated 1021 cells. RT-PCR analysis was employed to analyze the differential expression patterns of nitrogen fixation genes under free-living and symbiotic conditions. Under symbiotic condition, the relative expression levels of nif and fix genes were significantly induced in Mt- RD64 plants and in Mt-1021 plants treated with IAA and 2,4-D whereas they were unchanged or repressed in Mt-1021 plants treated with the other selected compounds when compared to the untreated Mt-1021 plants. © 2010 Landes Bioscience

  20. Mutational robustness of gene regulatory networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aalt D J van Dijk

    Full Text Available Mutational robustness of gene regulatory networks refers to their ability to generate constant biological output upon mutations that change network structure. Such networks contain regulatory interactions (transcription factor-target gene interactions but often also protein-protein interactions between transcription factors. Using computational modeling, we study factors that influence robustness and we infer several network properties governing it. These include the type of mutation, i.e. whether a regulatory interaction or a protein-protein interaction is mutated, and in the case of mutation of a regulatory interaction, the sign of the interaction (activating vs. repressive. In addition, we analyze the effect of combinations of mutations and we compare networks containing monomeric with those containing dimeric transcription factors. Our results are consistent with available data on biological networks, for example based on evolutionary conservation of network features. As a novel and remarkable property, we predict that networks are more robust against mutations in monomer than in dimer transcription factors, a prediction for which analysis of conservation of DNA binding residues in monomeric vs. dimeric transcription factors provides indirect evidence.

  1. Predictive networks: a flexible, open source, web application for integration and analysis of human gene networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haibe-Kains, Benjamin; Olsen, Catharina; Djebbari, Amira; Bontempi, Gianluca; Correll, Mick; Bouton, Christopher; Quackenbush, John

    2012-01-01

    Genomics provided us with an unprecedented quantity of data on the genes that are activated or repressed in a wide range of phenotypes. We have increasingly come to recognize that defining the networks and pathways underlying these phenotypes requires both the integration of multiple data types and the development of advanced computational methods to infer relationships between the genes and to estimate the predictive power of the networks through which they interact. To address these issues we have developed Predictive Networks (PN), a flexible, open-source, web-based application and data services framework that enables the integration, navigation, visualization and analysis of gene interaction networks. The primary goal of PN is to allow biomedical researchers to evaluate experimentally derived gene lists in the context of large-scale gene interaction networks. The PN analytical pipeline involves two key steps. The first is the collection of a comprehensive set of known gene interactions derived from a variety of publicly available sources. The second is to use these 'known' interactions together with gene expression data to infer robust gene networks. The PN web application is accessible from http://predictivenetworks.org. The PN code base is freely available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/predictivenets/.

  2. Depletion of Mediator Kinase Module Subunits Represses Superenhancer-Associated Genes in Colon Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuuluvainen, Emilia; Domènech-Moreno, Eva; Niemelä, Elina H; Mäkelä, Tomi P

    2018-06-01

    In cancer, oncogene activation is partly mediated by acquired superenhancers, which therefore represent potential targets for inhibition. Superenhancers are enriched for BRD4 and Mediator, and both BRD4 and the Mediator MED12 subunit are disproportionally required for expression of superenhancer-associated genes in stem cells. Here we show that depletion of Mediator kinase module subunit MED12 or MED13 together with MED13L can be used to reduce expression of cancer-acquired superenhancer genes, such as the MYC gene, in colon cancer cells, with a concomitant decrease in proliferation. Whereas depletion of MED12 or MED13/MED13L caused a disproportional decrease of superenhancer gene expression, this was not seen with depletion of the kinases cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK8) and CDK19. MED12-MED13/MED13L-dependent superenhancer genes were coregulated by β-catenin, which has previously been shown to associate with MED12. Importantly, β-catenin depletion caused reduced binding of MED12 at the MYC superenhancer. The effect of MED12 or MED13/MED13L depletion on cancer-acquired superenhancer gene expression was more specific than and partially distinct from that of BRD4 depletion, with the most efficient inhibition seen with combined targeting. These results identify a requirement of MED12 and MED13/MED13L for expression of acquired superenhancer genes in colon cancer, implicating these Mediator subunits as potential therapeutic targets for colon cancer, alone or together with BRD4. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  3. MTA3 regulates CGB5 and Snail genes in trophoblast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Ying [Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (United States); Miyazaki, Jun [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake (Japan); Division of Molecular Genetics, Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University, Toyoake (Japan); Nishizawa, Haruki [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake (Japan); Kurahashi, Hiroki [Division of Molecular Genetics, Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University, Toyoake (Japan); Leach, Richard, E-mail: Richard.Leach@hc.msu.edu [Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (United States); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Spectrum Health Medical Group, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (United States); Wang, Kai, E-mail: Kai.Wang@hc.msu.edu [Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (United States)

    2013-04-19

    Highlights: •Impaired MTA3, raised CGB5 and Snail expression are associated with preeclampsia. •Knock-down of MTA3 causes up-regulation of CGB5 and Snail genes in BeWo cells. •MTA3 occupies CGB5 and Snail gene promoters in BeWo cells. -- Abstract: Secreted by the placental trophoblast, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is an important hormone during pregnancy and is required for the maintenance of pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that dys-regulation of hCG expression is associated with preeclampsia. However, the exact relationship between altered hCG levels and development of preeclampsia is unknown. Metastasis associated protein 3 (MTA3), a chromatin remodeling protein, is abundantly expressed in the placental trophoblasts, but its function is unknown. In breast cancer, MTA3 has been shown to repress the expression of Snail and cell migration. However, whether MTA3 acts similarly in the trophoblast has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined the role of MTA3 in regulating the hCG β-subunit gene (gene name: CGB5) and Snail expression in the trophoblast cell line, BeWo, as well as its relevance to the high hCG expression levels seen in preeclampsia. First, we investigated MTA3 expression in preeclamptic placenta as compared to normal control placenta via gene expression microarray and qRT-PCR and found that MTA3 was significantly down-regulated, whereas both CGB5 and Snail were up-regulated in preeclamptic placenta. Secondly, we knocked down MTA3 gene in trophoblast cell line BeWo and found Snail and hCG were both up-regulated, suggesting that MTA3 represses Snail and hCG gene expression in trophoblasts. Next, we cloned the CGB5 and Snail promoters into the pGL3-basic vector individually and found that silencing of MTA3 by siRNA resulted in an increase of both CGB5 and Snail promoter activities. To confirm that this MTA3 inhibition is a direct effect, we performed a chromatin immune-precipitation (ChIP) assay and found that MTA3

  4. MTA3 regulates CGB5 and Snail genes in trophoblast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Ying; Miyazaki, Jun; Nishizawa, Haruki; Kurahashi, Hiroki; Leach, Richard; Wang, Kai

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Impaired MTA3, raised CGB5 and Snail expression are associated with preeclampsia. •Knock-down of MTA3 causes up-regulation of CGB5 and Snail genes in BeWo cells. •MTA3 occupies CGB5 and Snail gene promoters in BeWo cells. -- Abstract: Secreted by the placental trophoblast, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is an important hormone during pregnancy and is required for the maintenance of pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that dys-regulation of hCG expression is associated with preeclampsia. However, the exact relationship between altered hCG levels and development of preeclampsia is unknown. Metastasis associated protein 3 (MTA3), a chromatin remodeling protein, is abundantly expressed in the placental trophoblasts, but its function is unknown. In breast cancer, MTA3 has been shown to repress the expression of Snail and cell migration. However, whether MTA3 acts similarly in the trophoblast has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined the role of MTA3 in regulating the hCG β-subunit gene (gene name: CGB5) and Snail expression in the trophoblast cell line, BeWo, as well as its relevance to the high hCG expression levels seen in preeclampsia. First, we investigated MTA3 expression in preeclamptic placenta as compared to normal control placenta via gene expression microarray and qRT-PCR and found that MTA3 was significantly down-regulated, whereas both CGB5 and Snail were up-regulated in preeclamptic placenta. Secondly, we knocked down MTA3 gene in trophoblast cell line BeWo and found Snail and hCG were both up-regulated, suggesting that MTA3 represses Snail and hCG gene expression in trophoblasts. Next, we cloned the CGB5 and Snail promoters into the pGL3-basic vector individually and found that silencing of MTA3 by siRNA resulted in an increase of both CGB5 and Snail promoter activities. To confirm that this MTA3 inhibition is a direct effect, we performed a chromatin immune-precipitation (ChIP) assay and found that MTA3

  5. Periodic repression by the bHLH factor Hes7 is an essential mechanism for the somite segmentation clock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessho, Yasumasa; Hirata, Hiromi; Masamizu, Yoshito; Kageyama, Ryoichiro

    2003-01-01

    Hes7, a bHLH gene essential for somitogenesis, displays cyclic expression of mRNA in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). Here, we show that Hes7 protein is also expressed in a dynamic manner, which depends on proteasome-mediated degradation. Spatial comparison revealed that Hes7 and Lunatic fringe (Lfng) transcription occurs in the Hes7 protein-negative domains. Furthermore, Hes7 and Lfng transcription is constitutively up-regulated in the absence of Hes7 protein and down-regulated by stabilization of Hes7 protein. Thus, periodic repression by Hes7 protein is critical for the cyclic transcription of Hes7 and Lfng, and this negative feedback represents a molecular basis for the segmentation clock. PMID:12783854

  6. Bacterial competition reveals differential regulation of the pks genes by Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas-Bautista, Carol; Rahlwes, Kathryn; Straight, Paul

    2014-02-01

    Bacillus subtilis is adaptable to many environments in part due to its ability to produce a broad range of bioactive compounds. One such compound, bacillaene, is a linear polyketide/nonribosomal peptide. The pks genes encode the enzymatic megacomplex that synthesizes bacillaene. The majority of pks genes appear to be organized as a giant operon (>74 kb from pksC-pksR). In previous work (P. D. Straight, M. A. Fischbach, C. T. Walsh, D. Z. Rudner, and R. Kolter, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 104:305-310, 2007, doi:10.1073/pnas.0609073103), a deletion of the pks operon in B. subtilis was found to induce prodiginine production by Streptomyces coelicolor. Here, colonies of wild-type B. subtilis formed a spreading population that induced prodiginine production from Streptomyces lividans, suggesting differential regulation of pks genes and, as a result, bacillaene. While the parent colony showed widespread induction of pks expression among cells in the population, we found the spreading cells uniformly and transiently repressed the expression of the pks genes. To identify regulators that control pks genes, we first determined the pattern of pks gene expression in liquid culture. We next identified mutations in regulatory genes that disrupted the wild-type pattern of pks gene expression. We found that expression of the pks genes requires the master regulator of development, Spo0A, through its repression of AbrB and the stationary-phase regulator, CodY. Deletions of degU, comA, and scoC had moderate effects, disrupting the timing and level of pks gene expression. The observed patterns of expression suggest that complex regulation of bacillaene and other antibiotics optimizes competitive fitness for B. subtilis.

  7. Inhibition of tumor cell growth by Sigma1 ligand mediated translational repression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Felix J.; Schrock, Joel M.; Spino, Christina M.; Marino, Jacqueline C.; Pasternak, Gavril W.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Sigma1 ligand treatment mediates decrease in tumor cell mass. ► Identification of a Sigma1 ligand with reversible translational repressor actions. ► Demonstration of a role for Sigma1 in cellular protein synthesis. -- Abstract: Treatment with sigma1 receptor (Sigma1) ligands can inhibit cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. However, the cellular pathways engaged in response to Sigma1 ligand treatment that contribute to these outcomes remain largely undefined. Here, we show that treatment with putative antagonists of Sigma1 decreases cell mass. This effect corresponds with repressed cap-dependent translation initiation in multiple breast and prostate cancer cell lines. Sigma1 antagonist treatment suppresses phosphorylation of translational regulator proteins p70S6K, S6, and 4E-BP1. RNAi-mediated knockdown of Sigma1 also results in translational repression, consistent with the effects of antagonist treatment. Sigma1 antagonist mediated translational repression and decreased cell size are both reversible. Together, these data reveal a role for Sigma1 in tumor cell protein synthesis, and demonstrate that small molecule Sigma1 ligands can be used as modulators of protein translation.

  8. The Perils of Repressive Tolerance in Music Education Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrine, William M.

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, philosophers of music education have called for a greater degree of political engagement by music education practitioners. Using Marcuse's discussion of "repressive tolerance" as a conceptual framework, I argue that a politicized curriculum in music education works against the liberal ideas of free speech and a free…

  9. Global transcriptional repression in C. elegans germline precursors by regulated sequestration of TFIID component TAF-4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guven-Ozkan, Tugba; Nishi, Yuichi; Robertson, Scott M.; Lin, Rueyling

    2008-01-01

    In C. elegans, four asymmetric divisions, beginning with the zygote (P0), generate transcriptionally repressed germline blastomeres (P1–P4) and somatic sisters that become transcriptionally active. The protein PIE-1 represses transcription in the later germline blastomeres, but not in the earlier germline blastomeres P0 and P1. We show here that OMA-1 and OMA-2, previously shown to regulate oocyte maturation, repress transcription in P0 and P1 by binding to and sequestering in the cytoplasm TAF-4, a component critical for assembly of TFIID and the pol II preinitiation complex. OMA-1/2 binding to TAF-4 is developmentally regulated, requiring phosphorylation by the DYRK kinase MBK-2, which is activated at meiosis II following fertilization. OMA-1/2 are normally degraded after the first mitosis, but ectopic expression of wildtype OMA-1 is sufficient to repress transcription in both somatic and later germline blastomeres. We propose that phosphorylation by MBK-2 serves as a developmental switch, converting OMA-1/2 from oocyte to embryo regulators. PMID:18854162

  10. Transcription of lncRNA prt, clustered prt RNA sites for Mmi1 binding, and RNA polymerase II CTD phospho-sites govern the repression of pho1 gene expression under phosphate-replete conditions in fission yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Debashree; Sanchez, Ana M; Goldgur, Yehuda; Shuman, Stewart; Schwer, Beate

    2016-07-01

    Expression of fission yeast Pho1 acid phosphatase is repressed during growth in phosphate-rich medium. Repression is mediated by transcription of the prt locus upstream of pho1 to produce a long noncoding (lnc) prt RNA. Repression is also governed by RNA polymerase II CTD phosphorylation status, whereby inability to place a Ser7-PO4 mark (as in S7A) derepresses Pho1 expression, and inability to place a Thr4-PO4 mark (as in T4A) hyper-represses Pho1 in phosphate replete cells. Here we find that basal pho1 expression from the prt-pho1 locus is inversely correlated with the activity of the prt promoter, which resides in a 110-nucleotide DNA segment preceding the prt transcription start site. CTD mutations S7A and T4A had no effect on the activity of the prt promoter or the pho1 promoter, suggesting that S7A and T4A affect post-initiation events in prt lncRNA synthesis that make it less and more repressive of pho1, respectively. prt lncRNA contains clusters of DSR (determinant of selective removal) sequences recognized by the YTH-domain-containing protein Mmi1. Altering the nucleobase sequence of two DSR clusters in the prt lncRNA caused hyper-repression of pho1 in phosphate replete cells, concomitant with increased levels of the prt transcript. The isolated Mmi1 YTH domain binds to RNAs with single or tandem DSR elements, to the latter in a noncooperative fashion. We report the 1.75 Å crystal structure of the Mmi1 YTH domain and provide evidence that Mmi1 recognizes DSR RNA via a binding mode distinct from that of structurally homologous YTH proteins that recognize m(6)A-modified RNA. © 2016 Chatterjee et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

  11. Developmental Functions of miR156-Regulated SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Mingli; Hu, Tieqiang; Zhao, Jianfei; Park, Mee-Yeon; Earley, Keith W; Wu, Gang; Yang, Li; Poethig, R Scott

    2016-08-01

    Correct developmental timing is essential for plant fitness and reproductive success. Two important transitions in shoot development-the juvenile-to-adult vegetative transition and the vegetative-to-reproductive transition-are mediated by a group of genes targeted by miR156, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN (SBP) genes. To determine the developmental functions of these genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, we characterized their expression patterns, and their gain-of-function and loss-of-function phenotypes. Our results reveal that SBP-LIKE (SPL) genes in Arabidopsis can be divided into three functionally distinct groups: 1) SPL2, SPL9, SPL10, SPL11, SPL13 and SPL15 contribute to both the juvenile-to-adult vegetative transition and the vegetative-to-reproductive transition, with SPL9, SP13 and SPL15 being more important for these processes than SPL2, SPL10 and SPL11; 2) SPL3, SPL4 and SPL5 do not play a major role in vegetative phase change or floral induction, but promote the floral meristem identity transition; 3) SPL6 does not have a major function in shoot morphogenesis, but may be important for certain physiological processes. We also found that miR156-regulated SPL genes repress adventitious root development, providing an explanation for the observation that the capacity for adventitious root production declines as the shoot ages. miR156 is expressed at very high levels in young seedlings, and declines in abundance as the shoot develops. It completely blocks the expression of its SPL targets in the first two leaves of the rosette, and represses these genes to different degrees at later stages of development, primarily by promoting their translational repression. These results provide a framework for future studies of this multifunctional family of transcription factors, and offer new insights into the role of miR156 in Arabidopsis development.

  12. Flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-based fluorescent protein (FbFP) as reporter for gene expression in the anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobo, Leandro A; Smith, Charles J; Rocha, Edson R

    2011-04-01

    In this study, we show the expression of flavin mononucleotide-based fluorescent protein (FbFP) BS2 as a marker for gene expression in the opportunistic human anaerobic pathogen Bacteroides fragilis. Bacteroides fragilis 638R strain carrying osu∷bs2 constructs showed inducible fluorescence following addition of maltose anaerobically compared with nonfluorescent cells under glucose-repressed conditions. Bacteria carrying ahpC∷bs2 or dps∷bs2 constructs were fluorescent following induction by oxygen compared with nonfluorescent cells from the anaerobic control cultures. In addition, when these transcriptional fusion constructs were mobilized into B. fragilis IB263, a constitutive peroxide response strain, fluorescent BS2, was detected in both anaerobic and aerobic cultures, confirming the unique properties of the FbFP BS2 to yield fluorescent signal in B. fragilis in the presence and in the absence of oxygen. Moreover, intracellular expression of BS2 was also detected when cell culture monolayers of J774.1 macrophages were incubated with B. fragilis ahpC∷bs2 or dps∷bs2 strains within an anaerobic chamber. This suggests that ahpC and dps are induced following internalization by macrophages. Thus, we show that BS2 is a suitable tool for the detection of gene expression in obligate anaerobic bacteria in in vivo studies. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Next generation semiconductor based-sequencing of a nutrigenetics target gene (GPR120) and association with growth rate in Italian Large White pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontanesi, Luca; Bertolini, Francesca; Scotti, Emilio; Schiavo, Giuseppina; Colombo, Michela; Trevisi, Paolo; Ribani, Anisa; Buttazzoni, Luca; Russo, Vincenzo; Dall'Olio, Stefania

    2015-01-01

    The GPR120 gene (also known as FFAR4 or O3FAR1) encodes for a functional omega-3 fatty acid receptor/sensor that mediates potent insulin sensitizing effects by repressing macrophage-induced tissue inflammation. For its functional role, GPR120 could be considered a potential target gene in animal nutrigenetics. In this work we resequenced the porcine GPR120 gene by high throughput Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing of amplified fragments obtained from 8 DNA pools derived, on the whole, from 153 pigs of different breeds/populations (two Italian Large White pools, Italian Duroc, Italian Landrace, Casertana, Pietrain, Meishan, and wild boars). Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), two synonymous substitutions and one in the putative 3'-untranslated region (g.114765469C > T), were identified and their allele frequencies were estimated by sequencing reads count. The g.114765469C > T SNP was also genotyped by PCR-RFLP confirming estimated frequency in Italian Large White pools. Then, this SNP was analyzed in two Italian Large White cohorts using a selective genotyping approach based on extreme and divergent pigs for back fat thickness (BFT) estimated breeding value (EBV) and average daily gain (ADG) EBV. Significant differences of allele and genotype frequencies distribution was observed between the extreme ADG-EBV groups (P < 0.001) whereas this marker was not associated with BFT-EBV.

  14. Determinants of RNA binding and translational repression by the Bicaudal-C regulatory protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Park, Sookhee; Blaser, Susanne; Sheets, Michael D

    2014-03-14

    Bicaudal-C (Bic-C) RNA binding proteins function as important translational repressors in multiple biological contexts within metazoans. However, their RNA binding sites are unknown. We recently demonstrated that Bic-C functions in spatially regulated translational repression of the xCR1 mRNA during Xenopus development. This repression contributes to normal development by confining the xCR1 protein, a regulator of key signaling pathways, to specific cells of the embryo. In this report, we combined biochemical approaches with in vivo mRNA reporter assays to define the minimal Bic-C target site within the xCR1 mRNA. This 32-nucleotide Bic-C target site is predicted to fold into a stem-loop secondary structure. Mutational analyses provided evidence that this stem-loop structure is important for Bic-C binding. The Bic-C target site was sufficient for Bic-C mediated repression in vivo. Thus, we describe the first RNA binding site for a Bic-C protein. This identification provides an important step toward understanding the mechanisms by which evolutionarily conserved Bic-C proteins control cellular function in metazoans.

  15. CAR-mediated repression of Foxo1 transcriptional activity regulates the cell cycle inhibitor p21 in mouse livers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazantseva, Yuliya A.; Yarushkin, Andrei A.; Pustylnyak, Vladimir O.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • CAR activation decreased the level of Foxo1 in mouse livers. • CAR activation decreased the level of p21 in mouse livers. • CAR activation inhibited Foxo1 transcriptional activity in mouse livers. - Abstract: 1,4-Bis[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene (TCPOBOP), an agonist of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), is a well-known strong primary chemical mitogen for the mouse liver. Despite extensive investigation of the role of CAR in the regulation of cell proliferation, our knowledge of the intricate mediating mechanism is incomplete. In this study, we demonstrated that long-term CAR activation by TCPOBOP increased liver-to-body weight ratio and decreased tumour suppressor Foxo1 expression and transcriptional activity, which were correlated with reduced expression of genes regulated by Foxo1, including the cell-cycle inhibitor Cdkn1a(p21), and upregulation of the cell-cycle regulator Cyclin D1. Moreover, we demonstrated the negative regulatory effect of TCPOBOP-activated CAR on the association of Foxo1 with the target Foxo1 itself and Cdkn1a(p21) promoters. Thus, we identified CAR-mediated repression of cell cycle inhibitor p21, as mediated by repression of FOXO1 expression and transcriptional activity. CAR-FOXO1 cross-talk may provide new opportunities for understanding liver diseases and developing more effective therapeutic approaches to better drug treatments

  16. Nitric oxide inhibits larval settlement in Amphibalanus amphitrite cyprids by repressing muscle locomotion and molting

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Gen

    2015-08-28

    Nitric oxide (NO) is a universal signaling molecule and plays a negative role in the metamorphosis of many biphasic organisms. Recently, the NO/NO (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) signaling pathway was reported to repress larval settlement in the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite. To understand the underlying molecular mechanism, we analyzed changes in the proteome of A. amphitrite cyprids in response to different concentrations of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 62.5, 250 and 1000 μM) using a label-free proteomics method. Compared with the control, the expression of 106 proteins differed in all three treatments. These differentially expressed proteins were assigned to 13 pathways based on KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. SNP treatment stimulated the expression of heat shock proteins and arginine kinase, which are functionally related to NO synthases, increased the expression levels of glutathione transferases for detoxification, and activated the iron-mediated fatty acid degradation pathway and the citrate cycle through ferritin. Moreover, NO repressed the level of myosins and cuticular proteins, which indicated that NO might inhibit larval settlement in A. amphitrite by modulating the process of muscle locomotion and molting.

  17. Nitric oxide inhibits larval settlement in Amphibalanus amphitrite cyprids by repressing muscle locomotion and molting

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Gen; Wong, Yue-Him; Zhang, Yu; He, Li-sheng; Xu, Ying; Qian, Pei-Yuan

    2015-01-01

    Nitric oxide (NO) is a universal signaling molecule and plays a negative role in the metamorphosis of many biphasic organisms. Recently, the NO/NO (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) signaling pathway was reported to repress larval settlement in the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite. To understand the underlying molecular mechanism, we analyzed changes in the proteome of A. amphitrite cyprids in response to different concentrations of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 62.5, 250 and 1000 μM) using a label-free proteomics method. Compared with the control, the expression of 106 proteins differed in all three treatments. These differentially expressed proteins were assigned to 13 pathways based on KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. SNP treatment stimulated the expression of heat shock proteins and arginine kinase, which are functionally related to NO synthases, increased the expression levels of glutathione transferases for detoxification, and activated the iron-mediated fatty acid degradation pathway and the citrate cycle through ferritin. Moreover, NO repressed the level of myosins and cuticular proteins, which indicated that NO might inhibit larval settlement in A. amphitrite by modulating the process of muscle locomotion and molting.

  18. Norlichexanthone Reduces Virulence Gene Expression and Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus aureus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldry, Mara; Nielsen, Anita; Bojer, Martin S.

    2016-01-01

    characterise the mode of action of norlichexanthone and its effect on biofilm formation. We find that norlichexanthone reduces expression of both hla and RNAIII also in strain USA300. Structurally, norlichexanthone resembles ω-hydroxyemodin that recently was shown to bind the agr two component response......-hydroxyemodin however, norlichexanthone reduces staphylococcal biofilm formation. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that genes regulated by the SaeRS two-component system are repressed by norlichexanthone when compared to untreated cells, an effect that was mitigated in strain Newman carrying a partially constitutive...... SaeRS system. Our data show that norlichexanthone treatment reduces expression of key virulence factors in CA-MRSA strain USA300 via AgrA binding and represses biofilm formation....

  19. The low-recombining pericentromeric region of barley restricts gene diversity and evolution but not gene expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Katie; Bayer, Micha; Cook, Nicola; Dreißig, Steven; Dhillon, Taniya; Russell, Joanne; Hedley, Pete E; Morris, Jenny; Ramsay, Luke; Colas, Isabelle; Waugh, Robbie; Steffenson, Brian; Milne, Iain; Stephen, Gordon; Marshall, David; Flavell, Andrew J

    2014-01-01

    The low-recombining pericentromeric region of the barley genome contains roughly a quarter of the genes of the species, embedded in low-recombining DNA that is rich in repeats and repressive chromatin signatures. We have investigated the effects of pericentromeric region residency upon the expression, diversity and evolution of these genes. We observe no significant difference in average transcript level or developmental RNA specificity between the barley pericentromeric region and the rest of the genome. In contrast, all of the evolutionary parameters studied here show evidence of compromised gene evolution in this region. First, genes within the pericentromeric region of wild barley show reduced diversity and significantly weakened purifying selection compared with the rest of the genome. Second, gene duplicates (ohnolog pairs) derived from the cereal whole-genome duplication event ca. 60MYa have been completely eliminated from the barley pericentromeric region. Third, local gene duplication in the pericentromeric region is reduced by 29% relative to the rest of the genome. Thus, the pericentromeric region of barley is a permissive environment for gene expression but has restricted gene evolution in a sizeable fraction of barley's genes. PMID:24947331

  20. Repression of death consciousness and the psychedelic trip

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Varsha Dutta

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Death is our most repressed consciousness, it inheres our condition as the primordial fear. Perhaps it was necessary that this angst be repressed in man or he would be hurled against the dark forces of nature. Modern ethos was built on this edifice, where the ′denial of death′ while ′embracing one′s symbolic immortality′ would be worshipped, so this ideology simply overturned and repressed looking into the morass of the inevitable when it finally announced itself. Once this slowly pieced its way into all of life, ′death′ would soon become a terminology in medicine too and assert its position, by giving a push to those directly dealing with the dying to shy away from its emotional and spiritual affliction. The need to put off death and prolong one′s life would become ever more urgent. Research using psychedelics on the terminally ill which had begun in the 1950s and 1960s would coerce into another realm and alter the face of medicine; but the aggression with which it forced itself in the 1960s would soon be politically maimed, and what remained would be sporadic outpours that trickled its way from European labs and underground boot camps. Now, with the curtain rising, the question has etched itself again, about the use of psychedelic drugs in medicine, particularly psychedelic psychotherapy with the terminally ill. This study is an attempt to philosophically explore death anxiety from its existential context and how something that is innate in our condition cannot be therapeutically cured. Psychedelic use was immutably linked with ancient cultures and only recently has it seen its scientific revival, from which a scientific culture grew around psychedelic therapy. How much of what was threaded in the ritual and spiritual mores can be extricated and be interpreted in our own mechanized language of medicine is the question that nudges many.

  1. Selective translational repression of truncated proteins from frameshift mutation-derived mRNAs in tumors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwon Tae You

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Frameshift and nonsense mutations are common in tumors with microsatellite instability, and mRNAs from these mutated genes have premature termination codons (PTCs. Abnormal mRNAs containing PTCs are normally degraded by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD system. However, PTCs located within 50-55 nucleotides of the last exon-exon junction are not recognized by NMD (NMD-irrelevant, and some PTC-containing mRNAs can escape from the NMD system (NMD-escape. We investigated protein expression from NMD-irrelevant and NMD-escape PTC-containing mRNAs by Western blotting and transfection assays. We demonstrated that transfection of NMD-irrelevant PTC-containing genomic DNA of MARCKS generates truncated protein. In contrast, NMD-escape PTC-containing versions of hMSH3 and TGFBR2 generate normal levels of mRNA, but do not generate detectable levels of protein. Transfection of NMD-escape mutant TGFBR2 genomic DNA failed to generate expression of truncated proteins, whereas transfection of wild-type TGFBR2 genomic DNA or mutant PTC-containing TGFBR2 cDNA generated expression of wild-type protein and truncated protein, respectively. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism of gene expression regulation for PTC-containing mRNAs in which the deleterious transcripts are regulated either by NMD or translational repression.

  2. Conditional gene expression in the mouse using a Sleeping Beauty gene-trap transposon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hackett Perry B

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Insertional mutagenesis techniques with transposable elements have been popular among geneticists studying model organisms from E. coli to Drosophila and, more recently, the mouse. One such element is the Sleeping Beauty (SB transposon that has been shown in several studies to be an effective insertional mutagen in the mouse germline. SB transposon vector studies have employed different functional elements and reporter molecules to disrupt and report the expression of endogenous mouse genes. We sought to generate a transposon system that would be capable of reporting the expression pattern of a mouse gene while allowing for conditional expression of a gene of interest in a tissue- or temporal-specific pattern. Results Here we report the systematic development and testing of a transposon-based gene-trap system incorporating the doxycycline-repressible Tet-Off (tTA system that is capable of activating the expression of genes under control of a Tet response element (TRE promoter. We demonstrate that the gene trap system is fully functional in vitro by introducing the "gene-trap tTA" vector into human cells by transposition and identifying clones that activate expression of a TRE-luciferase transgene in a doxycycline-dependent manner. In transgenic mice, we mobilize gene-trap tTA vectors, discover parameters that can affect germline mobilization rates, and identify candidate gene insertions to demonstrate the in vivo functionality of the vector system. We further demonstrate that the gene-trap can act as a reporter of endogenous gene expression and it can be coupled with bioluminescent imaging to identify genes with tissue-specific expression patterns. Conclusion Akin to the GAL4/UAS system used in the fly, we have made progress developing a tool for mutating and revealing the expression of mouse genes by generating the tTA transactivator in the presence of a secondary TRE-regulated reporter molecule. A vector like the gene

  3. Molecular and functional analysis of DIR1; a novel gene with a potential role in induced radioresistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, S.M.; McKeen, H.; Valentine, A.; Burke, G.; Hirst, D.; Robson, T.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: There is now little doubt about the existence of radioprotective mechanisms that are upregulated following exposure to small doses of ionizing radiation and other DNA-damaging agents. The identification of genes whose expression is altered following exposure to a low dose of ionizing radiation will be an important step in understanding these phenomena. We have identified a novel gene, DIR1, that is transiently repressed by low radiation doses (Robson et al.,1997 and 1999) and is otherwise expressed in a wide range of cell lines and tissues. The repression of this gene is in the dose range where induced radioresistance is observed in a number of cell survival studies (Joiner et al., 2001) implicating this gene in induced radioresistance. Using antisense strategies, we have demonstrated that the DIR1 gene product appears to be involved in cell survival and DNA repair in a range of cell lines following exposure to X-rays (Robson et al., 1999 and 2000). Using microchip array analysis we have been able to identify a number of genes activated as a consequence of DIR1 repression. Preliminary data implicate genes involved in repair, cell cycle and stress response and include ATM and BRCA2. We are now confirming these responses using northern and western blot analysis. Yeast two hybrid analysis has also been useful in demonstrating interacting proteins. One protein, which interacts with DIR1 is similar to murine UIP28, a RING finger protein which interacts with the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, UbcM4. Interestingly, the ubiquitin (Ub)/proteosome pathway regulates many cellular processes including apoptosis, cell cycle progression, stress responses, development and transcriptional regulation. Further characterisation of these downstream genes and interacting proteins will allow us to:- i) dissect the cellular pathways involved in adaptation to oxidative and genotoxic stress ii) elucidate the mechanisms involved in many disease pathologies iii) identify new

  4. Detecting coordinated regulation of multi-protein complexes using logic analysis of gene expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeates Todd O

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many of the functional units in cells are multi-protein complexes such as RNA polymerase, the ribosome, and the proteasome. For such units to work together, one might expect a high level of regulation to enable co-appearance or repression of sets of complexes at the required time. However, this type of coordinated regulation between whole complexes is difficult to detect by existing methods for analyzing mRNA co-expression. We propose a new methodology that is able to detect such higher order relationships. Results We detect coordinated regulation of multiple protein complexes using logic analysis of gene expression data. Specifically, we identify gene triplets composed of genes whose expression profiles are found to be related by various types of logic functions. In order to focus on complexes, we associate the members of a gene triplet with the distinct protein complexes to which they belong. In this way, we identify complexes related by specific kinds of regulatory relationships. For example, we may find that the transcription of complex C is increased only if the transcription of both complex A AND complex B is repressed. We identify hundreds of examples of coordinated regulation among complexes under various stress conditions. Many of these examples involve the ribosome. Some of our examples have been previously identified in the literature, while others are novel. One notable example is the relationship between the transcription of the ribosome, RNA polymerase and mannosyltransferase II, which is involved in N-linked glycan processing in the Golgi. Conclusions The analysis proposed here focuses on relationships among triplets of genes that are not evident when genes are examined in a pairwise fashion as in typical clustering methods. By grouping gene triplets, we are able to decipher coordinated regulation among sets of three complexes. Moreover, using all triplets that involve coordinated regulation with the ribosome

  5. From sensorimotor inhibition to Freudian repression: insights from psychosis applied to neurosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariane eBazan

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available First, three case studies are presented of psychotic patients having in common an inability to hold something down or out. In line with other theories on psychosis, we propose that a key change is at the efference copy system. Going back to Freud’s mental apparatus, we propose that the messages of discharge of the motor neurones, mobilised to direct perception, also called indications of reality, are equivalent to the modern efference copies. With this key, the reading of the cases is coherent with the psychodynamic understanding of psychosis, being a downplay of secondary processes, and consequently, a dominance of primary processes. Moreover, putting together the sensorimotor idea of a failure of efference copy-mediated inhibition with the psychoanalytic idea of a failing repression in psychosis, the hypothesis emerges that the attenuation enabled by the efference copy dynamics is, in some instances, the physiological instantiation of repression. Second, we applied this idea to the mental organisation in neurosis. Indeed, the efference copy-mediated attenuation is thought to be the mechanism through which sustained activation of an intention, without reaching it – i.e. inhibition of an action – gives rise to mental imagery. Therefore, as inhibition is needed for any targeted action or for normal language understanding, acting in the world or processing language structurally induces mental imagery, constituting a subjective unconscious mental reality. Repression is a special instance of inhibition for emotionally threatening stimuli. These stimuli require stronger inhibition, leaving (the attenuation of the motor intentions totally unanswered, in order to radically prevent execution which would lead to development of excess affect. This inhibition, then, yields a specific type of motor imagery, called phantoms, which induce mental preoccupation, as well as symptoms which, especially through their form, refer to the repressed motor

  6. Tat-dependent repression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat promoter activity by fusion of cellular transcription factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Cunyou; Chen Yali; Park, Jiyoung; Kim, Jae Bum; Tang Hong

    2004-01-01

    Transcription initiation from HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter requires the virally encoded transactivator, Tat, and several cellular co-factors to accomplish the Tat-dependent processive transcription elongation. Individual cellular transcription activators, LBP-1b and Oct-1, on the other hand, have been shown to inhibit LTR promoter activities probably via competitive binding against TFIID to the TATA-box in LTR promoter. To explore the genetic interference strategies against the viral replication, we took advantage of the existence of the bipartite DNA binding domains and the repression domains of LBP-1b and Oct-1 factors to generate a chimeric transcription repressor. Our results indicated that the fusion protein of LBP-1b and Oct-1 exhibited higher DNA binding affinity to the viral promoter than the individual factors, and little interference with the host cell gene expression due to its anticipated rare cognate DNA sites in the host cell genome. Moreover, the chimera exerted increased Tat-dependent repression of transcription initiation at the LTR promoter both in vitro and in vivo compared to LBP-1b, Oct-1 or combination of LBP-1b and Oct-1. These results might provide the lead in generating a therapeutic reagent useful to suppress HIV-1 replication

  7. Acetate Repression of Methane Oxidation by Supplemental Methylocella silvestris in a Peat Soil Microcosm ▿ †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, M. Tanvir; Crombie, Andrew; Moussard, Hélène; Chen, Yin; Murrell, J. Colin

    2011-01-01

    Methylocella spp. are facultative methanotrophs that grow on methane and multicarbon substrates, such as acetate. Acetate represses transcription of methane monooxygenase of Methylocella silvestris in laboratory culture. DNA stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) using 13C-methane and 12C-acetate, carried out with Methylocella-spiked peat soil, showed that acetate also repressed methane oxidation by Methylocella in environmental samples. PMID:21515721

  8. Acetate Repression of Methane Oxidation by Supplemental Methylocella silvestris in a Peat Soil Microcosm ▿ †

    OpenAIRE

    Rahman, M. Tanvir; Crombie, Andrew; Moussard, Hélène; Chen, Yin; Murrell, J. Colin

    2011-01-01

    Methylocella spp. are facultative methanotrophs that grow on methane and multicarbon substrates, such as acetate. Acetate represses transcription of methane monooxygenase of Methylocella silvestris in laboratory culture. DNA stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) using 13C-methane and 12C-acetate, carried out with Methylocella-spiked peat soil, showed that acetate also repressed methane oxidation by Methylocella in environmental samples.

  9. Common changes in global gene expression induced by RNA polymerase inhibitors in Shigella flexneri.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Fu

    Full Text Available Characterization of expression profile of organisms in response to antimicrobials provides important information on the potential mechanism of action of the drugs. The special expression signature can be used to predict whether other drugs act on the same target. Here, the common response of Shigella flexneri to two inhibitors of RNA polymerase was examined using gene expression profiling. Consistent with similar effects of the two drugs, the gene expression profiles indicated that responses of the bacteria to these drugs were roughly the same, with 225 genes affected commonly. Of them, 88 were induced and 137 were repressed. Real-time PCR was performed for selected genes to verify the microarray results. Analysis of the expression data revealed that more than 30% of the plasmid-encoded genes on the array were up-regulated by the antibiotics including virF regulon, other virulence-related genes, and genes responsible for plasmid replication, maintenance, and transfer. In addition, some chromosome-encoded genes involved in virulence and genes acquired from horizontal transfer were also significantly up-regulated. However, the expression of genes encoding the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase was increased moderately. The repressed genes include those that code for products associated with the ribosome, citrate cycle, glycolysis, thiamine biosynthesis, purine metabolism, fructose metabolism, mannose metabolism, and cold shock proteins. This study demonstrates that the two antibiotics induce rapid cessation of RNA synthesis resulting in inhibition of translation components. It also indicates that the production of virulence factors involved in intercellular dissemination, tissue invasion and inflammatory destruction may be enhanced through derepressing horizontal transfer genes by the drugs.

  10. Ectopic Overexpression of a Novel R2R3-MYB, NtMYB2 from Chinese Narcissus Represses Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Tobacco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Anwar

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available R2R3 MYB transcription factors play key functions in the regulation of secondary metabolites. In the present study, a R2R3 MYB transcriptional factor NtMYB2 was identified from Chinese narcissus (Narcissus tazetta L. var. Chinensis Roem and functionally characterized. NtMYB2 belongs to subgroup 4 of the R2R3 MYB transcription factor family that are related to repressor MYBs involved in the regulation of anthocyanin and flavonoids. Transient expression confirmed that NtMYB2 strongly reduced the red pigmentation induced by MYB- anthocyanin activators in agro-infiltrated tobacco leaves. Ectopic expression of NtMYB2 in tobacco significantly reduced the pigmentation and altered the floral phenotypes in transgenic tobacco flowers. Gene expression analysis suggested that NtMYB2 repressed the transcript levels of structural genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, especially the UFGT gene. NtMYB2 gene is expressed in all examined narcissus tissues; the levels of transcription in petals and corona is higher than other tissues and the transcription level at the bud stage was highest. These results show that NtMYB2 is involved in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway and may act as a repressor by down regulating the transcripts of key enzyme genes in Chinese narcissus.

  11. Ectopic Overexpression of a Novel R2R3-MYB, NtMYB2 from Chinese Narcissus Represses Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Tobacco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwar, Muhammad; Wang, Guiqing; Wu, Jiacheng; Waheed, Saquib; Allan, Andrew C; Zeng, Lihui

    2018-03-28

    R2R3 MYB transcription factors play key functions in the regulation of secondary metabolites. In the present study, a R2R3 MYB transcriptional factor NtMYB2 was identified from Chinese narcissus ( Narcissus tazetta L. var. Chinensis Roem) and functionally characterized. NtMYB2 belongs to subgroup 4 of the R2R3 MYB transcription factor family that are related to repressor MYBs involved in the regulation of anthocyanin and flavonoids. Transient expression confirmed that NtMYB2 strongly reduced the red pigmentation induced by MYB- anthocyanin activators in agro-infiltrated tobacco leaves. Ectopic expression of NtMYB2 in tobacco significantly reduced the pigmentation and altered the floral phenotypes in transgenic tobacco flowers. Gene expression analysis suggested that NtMYB2 repressed the transcript levels of structural genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, especially the UFGT gene. NtMYB2 gene is expressed in all examined narcissus tissues; the levels of transcription in petals and corona is higher than other tissues and the transcription level at the bud stage was highest. These results show that NtMYB2 is involved in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway and may act as a repressor by down regulating the transcripts of key enzyme genes in Chinese narcissus.

  12. Regulation of the cellulolytic system in Trichoderma reesei by sophorose: induction of cellulase and repression of beta-glucosidase.

    OpenAIRE

    Sternberg, D; Mandels, G R

    1980-01-01

    Sophorose has two regulatory roles in the production of cellulase enzymes in Trichoderma reesei: beta-glucosidase repression and cellulase induction. Sophorose also is hydrolyzed by the mycelial-associated beta-glucosidase. Repression of beta-glucosidase reduces sophorose hydrolysis and thus may increase cellulase induction.

  13. Repression of both isoforms of disproportionating enzyme leads to higher malto-oligosaccharide content and reduced growth in potato

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Henrik Lütken; Lloyd, James Richard; Glaring, Mikkel A.

    2010-01-01

    Two glucanotransferases, disproportionating enzyme 1 (StDPE1) and disproportionating enzyme 2 (StDPE2), were repressed using RNA interference technology in potato, leading to plants repressed in either isoform individually, or both simultaneously. This is the first detailed report of their combin...

  14. Id1 represses osteoclast-dependent transcription and affects bone formation and hematopoiesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    April S Chan

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The bone-bone marrow interface is an area of the bone marrow microenvironment in which both bone remodeling cells, osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and hematopoietic cells are anatomically juxtaposed. The close proximity of these cells naturally suggests that they interact with one another, but these interactions are just beginning to be characterized.An Id1(-/- mouse model was used to assess the role of Id1 in the bone marrow microenvironment. Micro-computed tomography and fracture tests showed that Id1(-/- mice have reduced bone mass and increased bone fragility, consistent with an osteoporotic phenotype. Osteoclastogenesis and pit formation assays revealed that loss of Id1 increased osteoclast differentiation and resorption activity, both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting a cell autonomous role for Id1 as a negative regulator of osteoclast differentiation. Examination by flow cytometry of the hematopoietic compartment of Id1(-/- mice showed an increase in myeloid differentiation. Additionally, we found increased expression of osteoclast genes, TRAP, Oscar, and CTSK in the Id1(-/- bone marrow microenvironment. Lastly, transplantation of wild-type bone marrow into Id1(-/- mice repressed TRAP, Oscar, and CTSK expression and activity and rescued the hematopoietic and bone phenotype in these mice.In conclusion, we demonstrate an osteoporotic phenotype in Id1(-/- mice and a mechanism for Id1 transcriptional control of osteoclast-associated genes. Our results identify Id1 as a principal player responsible for the dynamic cross-talk between bone and bone marrow hematopoietic cells.

  15. MiR genes in brast cells: studies in development and neoplasia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zucchi, I.

    2009-01-01

    Micro RNAs, roughly 23 nucleotides long are a large family of non-coding small RNAs that function to suppress gene expression through post-transcriptional regulation via either translational repression or mRNA turnover. Although new classes of small RNA molecules continue to be identified as more sequencing data are generated, currently it is estimated that at least one third of human genes are predicted targets for micro RNAs. However, the role that micro RNAs have in stem cell and cancer stem cell function and the precise mechanism by which they suppress gene expression in these cell types remain to be unequivocally identified

  16. MiR genes in brast cells: studies in development and neoplasia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zucchi, I [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan (Italy)

    2009-07-01

    Micro RNAs, roughly 23 nucleotides long are a large family of non-coding small RNAs that function to suppress gene expression through post-transcriptional regulation via either translational repression or mRNA turnover. Although new classes of small RNA molecules continue to be identified as more sequencing data are generated, currently it is estimated that at least one third of human genes are predicted targets for micro RNAs. However, the role that micro RNAs have in stem cell and cancer stem cell function and the precise mechanism by which they suppress gene expression in these cell types remain to be unequivocally identified.

  17. Ezh2 represses the basal cell lineage during lung endoderm development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snitow, Melinda E; Li, Shanru; Morley, Michael P; Rathi, Komal; Lu, Min Min; Kadzik, Rachel S; Stewart, Kathleen M; Morrisey, Edward E

    2015-01-01

    The development of the lung epithelium is regulated in a stepwise fashion to generate numerous differentiated and stem cell lineages in the adult lung. How these different lineages are generated in a spatially and temporally restricted fashion remains poorly understood, although epigenetic regulation probably plays an important role. We show that the Polycomb repressive complex 2 component Ezh2 is highly expressed in early lung development but is gradually downregulated by late gestation. Deletion of Ezh2 in early lung endoderm progenitors leads to the ectopic and premature appearance of Trp63+ basal cells that extend the entire length of the airway. Loss of Ezh2 also leads to reduced secretory cell differentiation. In their place, morphologically similar cells develop that express a subset of basal cell genes, including keratin 5, but no longer express high levels of either Trp63 or of standard secretory cell markers. This suggests that Ezh2 regulates the phenotypic switch between basal cells and secretory cells. Together, these findings show that Ezh2 restricts the basal cell lineage during normal lung endoderm development to allow the proper patterning of epithelial lineages during lung formation. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  18. Regulation of gene expression by manipulating transcriptional repressor activity using a novel CoSRI technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yue; Li, Song Feng; Parish, Roger W

    2017-07-01

    Targeted gene manipulation is a central strategy for studying gene function and identifying related biological processes. However, a methodology for manipulating the regulatory motifs of transcription factors is lacking as these factors commonly possess multiple motifs (e.g. repression and activation motifs) which collaborate with each other to regulate multiple biological processes. We describe a novel approach designated conserved sequence-guided repressor inhibition (CoSRI) that can specifically reduce or abolish the repressive activities of transcription factors in vivo. The technology was evaluated using the chimeric MYB80-EAR transcription factor and subsequently the endogenous WUS transcription factor. The technology was employed to develop a reversible male sterility system applicable to hybrid seed production. In order to determine the capacity of the technology to regulate the activity of endogenous transcription factors, the WUS repressor was chosen. The WUS repression motif could be inhibited in vivo and the transformed plants exhibited the wus-1 phenotype. Consequently, the technology can be used to manipulate the activities of transcriptional repressor motifs regulating beneficial traits in crop plants and other eukaryotic organisms. © 2016 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Transcript profiling reveals rewiring of iron assimilation gene expression in Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Moran, Gary P

    2012-12-01

    Hyphal growth is repressed in Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis by the transcription factor Nrg1. Transcript profiling of a C. dubliniensis NRG1 mutant identified a common group of 28 NRG1-repressed genes in both species, including the hypha-specific genes HWP1, ECE1 and the regulator of cell elongation UME6. Unexpectedly, C. dubliniensis NRG1 was required for wild-type levels of expression of 10 genes required for iron uptake including seven ferric reductases, SIT1, FTR1 and RBT5. However, at alkaline pH and during filamentous growth in 10% serum, most of these genes were highly induced in C. dubliniensis. Conversely, RBT5, PGA10, FRE10 and FRP1 did not exhibit induction during hyphal growth when NRG1 is downregulated, indicating that in C. dubliniensis NRG1 is also required for optimal expression of these genes in alkaline environments. In iron-depleted medium at pH 4.5, reduced growth of the NRG1 mutant relative to wild type was observed; however, growth was restored to wild-type levels or greater at pH 6.5, indicating that alkaline induction of iron assimilation gene expression could rescue this phenotype. These data indicate that transcriptional control of iron assimilation and pseudohypha formation has been separated in C. albicans, perhaps promoting growth in a wider range of niches.

  20. Link-based quantitative methods to identify differentially coexpressed genes and gene Pairs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ye Zhi-Qiang

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Differential coexpression analysis (DCEA is increasingly used for investigating the global transcriptional mechanisms underlying phenotypic changes. Current DCEA methods mostly adopt a gene connectivity-based strategy to estimate differential coexpression, which is characterized by comparing the numbers of gene neighbors in different coexpression networks. Although it simplifies the calculation, this strategy mixes up the identities of different coexpression neighbors of a gene, and fails to differentiate significant differential coexpression changes from those trivial ones. Especially, the correlation-reversal is easily missed although it probably indicates remarkable biological significance. Results We developed two link-based quantitative methods, DCp and DCe, to identify differentially coexpressed genes and gene pairs (links. Bearing the uniqueness of exploiting the quantitative coexpression change of each gene pair in the coexpression networks, both methods proved to be superior to currently popular methods in simulation studies. Re-mining of a publicly available type 2 diabetes (T2D expression dataset from the perspective of differential coexpression analysis led to additional discoveries than those from differential expression analysis. Conclusions This work pointed out the critical weakness of current popular DCEA methods, and proposed two link-based DCEA algorithms that will make contribution to the development of DCEA and help extend it to a broader spectrum.