PI3K/AKT信号通路调控Myogenin和MCK基因的表达

骨骼肌分化过程受多个信号通路调控, PI3K/AKT信号通路是其中最重要的信号转导通路之一。PI3K/AKT信号通路可以调控骨骼肌分化, 但在染色质水平上的调控机制还不是很清楚。文章以小鼠成肌细胞(C2C12)为研究材料, 采用免疫印迹、染色质免疫共沉淀(Chromatin immunoprecipitation, ChIP)、定量PCR (Q-PCR)的方法研究PI3K/AKT信号通路调控Myogenin和MCK基因的表达。研究发现, C2C12细胞分化过程中添加PI3K/AKT信号通路激活剂处理24 h, Myogenin和MCK蛋白表达水平显著升高, 组蛋白H3K27me3去甲基化酶UTX的表达也升高, H3K27me3在Myogenin基因启动子区和MCK基因启动子及增强子区的富集与对照组相比显著降低。用PI3K/AKT信号通路抑制剂处理, 结果相反。因此, PI3K/AKT信号通路可能通过调控组蛋白去甲基化酶UTX的表达活性改变靶基因的H3K27me3的富集进而调控骨骼肌分化。     

Polycomblike家族蛋白参与表观遗传调控的分子机制及其生物学意义

PRC2复合物是Polycomb家族蛋白的重要复合物之一,在细胞的增殖、分化和谱系特征的维持等生理过程中发挥着至关重要的作用. PRC2主要通过修饰染色质和调控染色质结构的方式对基因表达起抑制作用,其中PRC2的核心组分EZH2在组蛋白H3第27位赖氨酸上留下的三甲基化修饰(H3K27me3)是与基因抑制相关的重要标记之一. PRC2的核心组分需要与其他结合蛋白结合形成全酶才能发挥出最大催化活性. PRC2的结合蛋白,例如Polycomblike(PCL)蛋白,对PRC2的功能起着重要的调控作用.近些年的研究表明, PCL蛋白对PRC2的活性和其在染色质上的招募起着重要的调控作用.此外, PCL蛋白的表达异常与多种人类癌症相关.因此PCL蛋白结构与功能的研究对深入了解其调控PRC2的机制以及靶向PCL相关的药物研发均具重要意义.本文就近年来关于PCL蛋白的结构和功能研究进展进行总结,着重阐述人源PCL蛋白的分子机制和生物学功能.     

肿瘤干细胞中受H3K9me2调控的干性基因的筛选

为了分析比较甲基转移酶G9a和组蛋白H3K9me2修饰在胶质瘤干细胞与非干细胞中存在的差异,筛选出维持胶质瘤干细胞干性的相关基因。通过G9a抑制剂促进U87细胞成球和过表达G9a促进U87细胞分化的方法,培养了成球的胶质瘤干细胞和贴壁的非干细胞,这两种细胞的CD133表达差异明显。再利用H3K9me2抗体通过Ch IP-seq技术比较H3K9me2修饰在干细胞组与非干细胞组中的差异,在存在差异的基因中,对TSS±2 000 bp范围内的基因进行了GO分析,并随机选出10个转录因子进行QPCR验证,结果与Ch IP-seq实验基本一致。     

PcG蛋白转录抑制复合物组分的功能及构成的时空特征

PcG蛋白主要以PRC1和PRC2两组复合物的形式存在,通过参与核小体组蛋白翻译后修饰等机制,发挥调控靶基因转录的功能.PRC1复合体中的RING1A/B具有使组蛋白H2AK119泛素化的活性;PRC2中的EZH2具有使组蛋白H3K27三甲基化的活性,形成PRC1锚定到核小体上的位点.PcG蛋白的表达特征具有发育阶段和细胞类型时空特异性.长链非编码RNA等反式作用因子能募集PcG蛋白结合于靶基因,发挥靶向作用.本文就PcG蛋白功能、构成的时空特异性、募集机制及其与疾病发生的关系研究进展做一综述.     

PcG蛋白转录抑制复合物组份的功能及构成的时空特征

PcG蛋白主要以PRC1和PRC2两组复合物的形式存在,通过参与核小体组蛋白翻译后修饰等机制,发挥调控靶基因转录的功能. PRC1复合体中的RING1A/B具有使组蛋白H2AK119泛素化的活性;PRC2中的EZH2具有使组蛋白H3K27三甲基化的活性,形成PRC1锚定到核小体上的位点. PcG蛋白的表达特征具有发育阶段和细胞类型时空特异性. 长链非编码RNA等反式作用因子能募集PcG蛋白结合于靶基因,发挥靶向作用. 本文就PcG蛋白功能、构成的时空特异性、募集机制及其与疾病发生的关系研究进展做一综述.     

一种微小染色质免疫共沉淀方法的建立

染色质免疫共沉淀(chromatin immunoprecipitation assay,ChIP)是目前研究蛋白与DNA相互作用的强有力的技术之一.然而传统的ChIP实验方法的最大缺陷是要求大量的细胞数,这限制了它应用于少量细胞数的样品.在传统ChIP实验的基础上综合国外文献建立了一种能在少量细胞样品中进行的染色质免疫共沉淀实验,称之为微小染色质免疫共沉淀(miniChIP).并通过对诱导前后的MEL细胞中表达的β珠蛋白基因簇组蛋白H4乙酰化(acH4)的研究,证实了其可靠性和特异性.结果显示:高敏位点HS2和活跃基因β-maj的启动子区域存在一定的组蛋白H4乙酰化水平,DMSO诱导后显著增加,而不活跃基因Ey的启动子区域则检测到极低水平的组蛋白H4乙酰化,且诱导后无明显变化.     

EZH2:调节癌症发展的多重表观遗传因子

果蝇zeste基因增强子的人类同源物2(enhancer of zeste homolog 2,EZH2)是表观遗传调控因子多梳抑制复合体2(polycomb repressive complex 2,PRC2)的催化亚基,可催化组蛋白H3第27位的赖氨酸三甲基化并沉默靶基因转录,调控癌症进展及干细胞干性维持等多种生命活动。多项研究证明,EZH2不仅具有经典的PRC2依赖的转录抑制作用,还可通过非PRC2依赖的方式激活靶基因转录,亦或通过其激活性或失活性的突变调节下游靶基因的活性。目前,已在多种癌细胞中检测到了EZH2的过表达或突变,并且其变化与癌症的恶性程度密切相关。因此,靶向EZH2及其介导的信号通路的研究将成为一个全新的癌症基因治疗的方向。     

Egr-1对APP基因表达的调控作用

该研究构建了含有APP启动子的荧光素酶报告质粒以及缺失突变的报告质粒,将该质粒与Egr-1真核表达载体p CDNA3-Egr-1共转染到HEK293与U87MG细胞中进行荧光素酶活性测定,以确定Egr-1对APP基因表达的调控作用。通过染色质免疫共沉淀实验(chromatin immunoprecipitation assay,Ch IP)和凝胶电泳迁移实验(electrophoretic mobility shift assay,EMSA)确定Egr-1蛋白在APP启动子上的结合部位,同时利用组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂TSA(trichostatin A)和butyrate诱导内源性Egr-1的表达以及Egr-1抑制剂suramin来作用于细胞,通过蛋白免疫印迹分析(Western blot)检测Egr-1对APP蛋白表达的作用。结果显示,Egr-1蛋白在APP基因启动子上5′UTR区域有特异性的结合部位,去除该结合部位则Egr-1失去对APP基因启动子的调控作用,Ch IP和EMSA的结果也证实了该结合位点;通过HDAC抑制剂和suramin干扰内源性Egr-1的表达则显著影响了Egr-1对APP基因表达的调控作用。     

MER-ERK信号通路调控H3K27me3甲基化酶和去甲基化酶基因表达的研究

在人的某些癌症细胞中,组蛋白H3K27me3甲基化酶EZH2基因存在过表达的现象,很多研究已经证明,这可能是受MEK ERK信号通路调控的.为了确定这种调控模式在小鼠细胞系中是否同样存在,以及MEK ERK信号通路是否同时调控H3K27me3甲基化酶EZH1基因和去甲基化酶UTX、JMJD3基因的表达,用RT PCR和Western印迹方法检测不同浓度的MEK ERK抑制剂U0126（0、10、20、40 μmol/L）对C2C12、C127、NIH3T3三种小鼠细胞系处理后,EZH1、EZH2基因和UTX、JMJD3基因表达变化.结果显示：MEK-ERK抑制剂处理后,3种细胞中EZH1和EZH2基因的表达与对照相比都有不同程度的降低,其中EZH2基因表达变化在C2C12、NIH3T3两种细胞达到显著水平(P<0.05). H3K27me3去甲基化酶UTX、JMJD3基因在3种细胞中表达均有升高,JMJD3升高达到显著水平（P<0.05).因此,在小鼠细胞系MEK ERK信号通路可能参与调控EZH2、JMJD3基因的表达,但对EZH1、UTX基因的表达调控作用不明显.
关键词MEK ERK信号通路;     

低温压力下水通道蛋白1b(aqp1b)基因的表达及表观调控

水通道蛋白是(aquaporins,AQPs)介导水分子被动跨膜转运的内在膜蛋白。本研究发现在低温胁迫下斑马鱼胚胎成纤维细胞(ZF4)中aqp1b基因相对表达水平显著升高,为研究低温胁迫下斑马鱼水通道蛋白(aqp1b)基因的表达调控机制,采用染色质免疫共沉淀-实时荧光定量PCR(Ch IP-q PCR)法和甲基化DNA免疫沉淀-实时荧光定量PCR(Me DIP-q PCR)法,研究低温压力下ZF4细胞中aqp1b基因启动子区域组蛋白修饰和DNA甲基化水平的变化。Ch IP-q PCR分析表明:低温处理5 d后aqp1b基因启动子区域H3K4me3(激活性组蛋白修饰标志)修饰水平比对照组显著提高3.1倍(p0.05);而H3K27me3(抑制性组蛋白修饰标志)修饰水平比对照组显著降低2.1倍(p0.01)。Me DIP-q PCR分析表明:低温处理组aqp1b基因启动子区域甲基化水平比对照组显著下调7.3倍(p0.01)。研究表明,低温压力下ZF4细胞中aqp1b基因的表达受到了表观遗传机制调控以适应低温压力。     

Interruption of intrachromosomal looping by CCCTC binding factor decoy proteins abrogates genomic imprinting of human insulin-like growth factor II

Monoallelic expression of IGF2 is regulated by CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) binding to the imprinting control region (ICR) on the maternal allele, with subsequent formation of an intrachromosomal loop to the promoter region. The N-terminal domain of CTCF interacts with SUZ12, part of the polycomb repressive complex-2 (PRC2), to silence the maternal allele. We synthesized decoy CTCF proteins, fusing the CTCF deoxyribonucleic acid-binding zinc finger domain to CpG methyltransferase Sss1 or to enhanced green fluorescent protein. In normal human fibroblasts and breast cancer MCF7 cell lines, the CTCF decoy proteins bound to the unmethylated ICR and to the IGF2 promoter region but did not interact with SUZ12. EZH2, another part of PRC2, was unable to methylate histone H3-K27 in the IGF2 promoter region, resulting in reactivation of the imprinted allele. The intrachromosomal loop between the maternal ICR and the IGF2 promoters was not observed when IGF2 imprinting was lost. CTCF epigenetically governs allelic gene expression of IGF2 by orchestrating chromatin loop structures involving PRC2.     

The phosphatase interactor NIPP1 regulates the occupancy of the histone methyltransferase EZH2 at Polycomb targets

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are key regulators of stem-cell and cancer biology. They mainly act as repressors of differentiation and tumor-suppressor genes. One key silencing step involves the trimethylation of histone H3 on Lys27 (H3K27) by EZH2, a core component of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). The mechanism underlying the initial recruitment of mammalian PRC2 complexes is not well understood. Here, we show that NIPP1, a regulator of protein Ser/Thr phosphatase-1 (PP1), forms a complex with PP1 and PRC2 components on chromatin. The knockdown of NIPP1 or PP1 reduced the association of EZH2 with a subset of its target genes, whereas the overexpression of NIPP1 resulted in a retargeting of EZH2 from fully repressed to partially active PcG targets. However, the expression of a PP1-binding mutant of NIPP1 (NIPP1m) did not cause a redistribution of EZH2. Moreover, mapping of the chromatin binding sites with the DamID technique revealed that NIPP1 was associated with multiple PcG target genes, including the Homeobox A cluster, whereas NIPP1m showed a deficient binding at these loci. We propose that NIPP1 associates with a subset of PcG targets in a PP1-dependent manner and thereby contributes to the recruitment of the PRC2 complex.     

A key role for EZH2 in epigenetic silencing of HOX genes in mantle cell lymphoma

The chromatin modifier EZH2 is overexpressed and associated with inferior outcome in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Recently, we demonstrated preferential DNA methylation of HOX genes in MCL compared with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), despite these genes not being expressed in either entity. Since EZH2 has been shown to regulate HOX gene expression, to gain further insight into its possible role in differential silencing of HOX genes in MCL vs. CLL, we performed detailed epigenetic characterization using representative cell lines and primary samples. We observed significant overexpression of EZH2 in MCL vs. CLL. Chromatin immune precipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that EZH2 catalyzed repressive H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), which was sufficient to silence HOX genes in CLL, whereas in MCL H3K27me3 is accompanied by DNA methylation for a more stable repression. More importantly, hypermethylation of the HOX genes in MCL resulted from EZH2 overexpression and subsequent recruitment of the DNA methylation machinery onto HOX gene promoters. The importance of EZH2 upregulation in this process was further underscored by siRNA transfection and EZH2 inhibitor experiments. Altogether, these observations implicate EZH2 in the long-term silencing of HOX genes in MCL, and allude to its potential as a therapeutic target with clinical impact.