The Tumor Suppressor BCL7B Functions in the Wnt Signaling Pathway

Human BCL7 gene family consists of BCL7A, BCL7B, and BCL7C. A number of clinical studies have reported that BCL7 family is involved in cancer incidence, progression, and development. Among them, BCL7B, located on chromosome 7q11.23, is one of the deleted genes in patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome. Although several studies have suggested that malignant diseases occurring in patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome are associated with aberrations in BCL7B, little is known regarding the function of this gene at the cellular level. In this study, we focused on bcl-7, which is the only homolog of BCL7 gene family in Caenorhabditis elegans, and analyzed bcl-7 deletion mutants. As a result, we found that bcl-7 is required for the asymmetric differentiation of epithelial seam cells, which have self-renewal properties as stem cells and divide asymmetrically through the WNT pathway. Distal tip cell development, which is regulated by the WNT pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans, was also affected in bcl-7-knockout mutants. Interestingly, bcl-7 mutants exhibited nuclear enlargement, reminiscent of the anaplastic features of malignant cells. Furthermore, in KATOIII human gastric cancer cells, BCL7B knockdown induced nuclear enlargement, promoted the multinuclei phenotype and suppressed cell death. In addition, this study showed that BCL7B negatively regulates the Wnt-signaling pathway and positively regulates the apoptotic pathway. Taken together, our data indicate that BCL7B/BCL-7 has some roles in maintaining the structure of nuclei and is involved in the modulation of multiple pathways, including Wnt and apoptosis. This study may implicate a risk of malignancies with BCL7B-deficiency, such as Williams-Beuren syndrome.     

High Cell Density Upregulates Calcium Oscillation by Increasing Calcium Store Content via Basal Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activity

Calcium releases of non-excitable cells are generally a combination of oscillatory and non-oscillatory patterns, and factors affecting the calcium dynamics are still to be determined. Here we report the influence of cell density on calcium increase patterns of clonal cell lines. The majority of HeLa cells seeded at 1.5 x 10⁴/cm² showed calcium oscillations in response to histamine and ATP, whereas cells seeded at 0.5 x 10⁴/cm² largely showed transient and sustained calcium increases. Cell density also affected the response of HEK293 cells to ATP in a similar manner. High cell density increased the basal activity of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and calcium store content, and both calcium oscillation and calcium store content were down-regulated by a MAP kinase inhibitor, U0126. Thus, MAP kinase-mediated regulation of calcium store likely underlie the effect of cell density on calcium oscillation. Calcium increase patterns of HeLa cells were conserved at any histamine concentrations tested, whereas the overexpression of histamine H1 receptor, which robustly increased histamine-induced inositol phospholipid hydrolysis, converted calcium oscillations to sustained calcium increases only at high histamine concentrations. Thus, the consequence of modulating inositol phospholipid metabolism was distinct from that of changing cell density, suggesting the effect of cell density is not attributed to inositol phospholipid metabolism. Collectively, our results propose that calcium increase patterns of non-excitable cells reflect calcium store, which is regulated by the basal MAP kinase activity under the influence of cell density.     

Precocene II,a Trichothecene Production Inhibitor,Binds to Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel and Increases the Superoxide Level in Mitochondria of Fusarium graminearum

Precocene II, a constituent of essential oils, shows antijuvenile hormone activity in insects and inhibits trichothecene production in fungi. We investigated the molecular mechanism by which precocene II inhibits trichothecene production in Fusarium graminearum, the main causal agent of Fusarium head blight and trichothecene contamination in grains. Voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), a mitochondrial outer membrane protein, was identified as the precocene II-binding protein by an affinity magnetic bead method. Precocene II increased the superoxide level in mitochondria as well as the amount of oxidized mitochondrial proteins. Ascorbic acid, glutathione, and α-tocopherol promoted trichothecene production by the fungus. These antioxidants compensated for the inhibitory activity of precocene II on trichothecene production. These results suggest that the binding of precocene II to VDAC may cause high superoxide levels in mitochondria, which leads to stopping of trichothecene production.     

Real-time single-molecule observations of T7 Exonuclease activity in a microflow channel

T7 Exonuclease (T7 Exo) DNA digestion reactions were studied using direct single-molecule observations in microflow channels. DNA digestion reactions were directly observed by staining template DNA double-stranded regions with SYTOX Orange and staining single-stranded (digested) regions with a fluorescently labeled ssDNA-recognizing peptide (ssBP-488). Sequentially acquired photographs demonstrated that a double-stranded region monotonously shortened as a single-stranded region monotonously increased from the free end during a DNA digestion reaction. Furthermore, DNA digestion reactions were directly observed both under pulse-chase conditions and under continuous buffer flow conditions with T7 Exo. Under pulse-chase conditions, the double-stranded regions of λDNA monotonously shortened by a DNA digestion reaction with a single T7 Exo molecule, with an estimated average DNA digestion rate of 5.7 bases/s and a processivity of 6692 bases. Under continuous buffer flow conditions with T7 Exo, some pauses were observed during a DNA digestion reaction and double-stranded regions shortened linearly except during these pauses. The average DNA digestion rate was estimated to be 5.3 bases/s with a processivity of 5072 bases. Thus, the use of our direct single-molecule observations using a fluorescently labeled ssDNA-recognizing peptide (ssBP-488) was an effective analytic method for investigating DNA metabolic processes.     

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition of A549 cells is enhanced by co-cultured with THP-1 macrophages under hypoxic conditions

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In this study, we investigated EMT of human pulmonary epithelial-derived cells (A549). A549 cells was either cultured by itself or co-cultured with THP-1 macrophages under normoxic (21% O₂) and hypoxic (2% O₂) conditions. We evaluated the presence of EMT by determining the expression of EMT markers, E-cadherin, vimentin, and fibronectin. To determine the role of TGF-β1 and IL-1β in EMT of the A549 cells, we analyzed the effects of blocking their activity with TGF-β1 inhibitor or IL-1β neutralizing antibody respectively. The A549 cells presented EMT when they were co-cultured with THP-1 macrophages. The EMT of the A549 cells co-cultured with THP-1 macrophages was exacerbated under hypoxia. In addition, the EMT were prevented by the addition of TGF-β1 type I receptor kinase inhibitor. The hypoxic condition increased the mRNA levels of TGF-β1 in A549 cells and THP-1 macrophages and that of IL-1β in THP-1 macrophages when each cells were co-cultured. Anti-IL-1β neutralizing antibody attenuated TGF-β1 secretion in co-culture media under hypoxic conditions. Thus, the IL-1β from THP-1 macrophages up-regulated the TGF-β1 from A549 cells and THP-1 macrophages, and then the TGF-β1 from both cells induced and promoted the EMT of A549 cells when they were co-cultured under hypoxia. Together, these results demonstrate that the interaction between type II pneumocytes and macrophages under hypoxia is necessary for the development of pulmonary fibrosis.     

Intracellular Phospholipase A1 and Acyltransferase, Which Are Involved in Caenorhabditis elegans Stem Cell Divisions, Determine the sn-1 Fatty Acyl Chain of Phosphatidylinositol

Phosphatidylinositol (PI), an important constituent of membranes, contains stearic acid as the major fatty acid at the sn-1 position. This fatty acid is thought to be incorporated into PI through fatty acid remodeling by sequential deacylation and reacylation. However, the genes responsible for the reaction are unknown, and consequently, the physiological significance of the sn-1 fatty acid remains to be elucidated. Here, we identified acl-8, -9, and -10, which are closely related to each other, and ipla-1 as strong candidates for genes involved in fatty acid remodeling at the sn-1 position of PI. In both ipla-1 mutants and acl-8 acl-9 acl-10 triple mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans, the stearic acid content of PI is reduced, and asymmetric division of stem cell-like epithelial cells is defective. The defects in asymmetric division of these mutants are suppressed by a mutation of the same genes involved in intracellular retrograde transport, suggesting that ipla-1 and acl genes act in the same pathway. IPLA-1 and ACL-10 have phospholipase A₁ and acyltransferase activity, respectively, both of which recognize the sn-1 position of PI as their substrate. We propose that the sn-1 fatty acid of PI is determined by ipla-1 and acl-8, -9, -10 and crucial for asymmetric divisions.     

Farnesyltransferase inhibitor improved survival following endotoxin challenge in mice

Endotoxemia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of sepsis and is accompanied by dysregulated apoptosis of immune and non-immune cells. Treatment with statins reduces mortality in rodent models of sepsis and endotoxemia. Inhibition of protein isoprenylation, including farnesylation, has been proposed as a mechanism to mediate the lipid-lowering-independent effects of statins. Nonetheless, the effects of the inhibition of isoprenylation have not yet been studied. To investigate the role of farnesylation, we evaluated the effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitor and statin on survival following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in mice. Both simvastatin (2 mg/kg BW) and FTI-277 (20 mg/kg BW) treatment improved survival by twofold after LPS injection, as compared with vehicle alone (p < 0.01). LPS-induced cleavage (activation) of caspase-3, an indicator of apoptotic change, and increased protein expression of proapoptotic molecules, Bax and Bim, and activation of c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK/SAPK) in the liver and spleen were attenuated by both simvastatin and FTI-277. These results demonstrate that farnesyltransferase inhibitor as well as statin significantly reduced LPS-induced mortality in mice. Our findings also suggest that inhibition of protein farnesylation may contribute to the lipid-lowering-independent protective effects of statins in endotoxemia, and that protein farnesylation may play a role in LPS-induced stress response, including JNK/SAPK activation, and apoptotic change. Our data argue that farnesyltransferase may be a potential molecular target for treating patients with endotoxemia.     

The Caenorhabditis elegans HEN1 ortholog, HENN-1, methylates and stabilizes select subclasses of germline small RNAs

Small RNAs regulate diverse biological processes by directing effector proteins called Argonautes to silence complementary mRNAs. Maturation of some classes of small RNAs involves terminal 2'-O-methylation to prevent degradation. This modification is catalyzed by members of the conserved HEN1 RNA methyltransferase family. In animals, Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and some endogenous and exogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are methylated, whereas microRNAs are not. However, the mechanisms that determine animal HEN1 substrate specificity have yet to be fully resolved. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a HEN1 ortholog has not been studied, but there is evidence for methylation of piRNAs and some endogenous siRNAs. Here, we report that the worm HEN1 ortholog, HENN-1 (HEN of Nematode), is required for methylation of C. elegans small RNAs. Our results indicate that piRNAs are universally methylated by HENN-1. In contrast, 26G RNAs, a class of primary endogenous siRNAs, are methylated in female germline and embryo, but not in male germline. Intriguingly, the methylation pattern of 26G RNAs correlates with the expression of distinct male and female germline Argonautes. Moreover, loss of the female germline Argonaute results in loss of 26G RNA methylation altogether. These findings support a model wherein methylation status of a metazoan small RNA is dictated by the Argonaute to which it binds. Loss of henn-1 results in phenotypes that reflect destabilization of substrate small RNAs: dysregulation of target mRNAs, impaired fertility, and enhanced somatic RNAi. Additionally, the henn-1 mutant shows a weakened response to RNAi knockdown of germline genes, suggesting that HENN-1 may also function in canonical RNAi. Together, our results indicate a broad role for HENN-1 in both endogenous and exogenous gene silencing pathways and provide further insight into the mechanisms of HEN1 substrate discrimination and the diversity within the Argonaute family.     

QTL‐seq: rapid mapping of quantitative trait loci in rice by whole genome resequencing of DNA from two bulked populations

The majority of agronomically important crop traits are quantitative, meaning that they are controlled by multiple genes each with a small effect (quantitative trait loci, QTLs). Mapping and isolation of QTLs is important for efficient crop breeding by marker‐assisted selection (MAS) and for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the traits. However, since it requires the development and selection of DNA markers for linkage analysis, QTL analysis has been time‐consuming and labor‐intensive. Here we report the rapid identification of plant QTLs by whole‐genome resequencing of DNAs from two populations each composed of 20–50 individuals showing extreme opposite trait values for a given phenotype in a segregating progeny. We propose to name this approach QTL‐seq as applied to plant species. We applied QTL‐seq to rice recombinant inbred lines and F₂ populations and successfully identified QTLs for important agronomic traits, such as partial resistance to the fungal rice blast disease and seedling vigor. Simulation study showed that QTL‐seq is able to detect QTLs over wide ranges of experimental variables, and the method can be generally applied in population genomics studies to rapidly identify genomic regions that underwent artificial or natural selective sweeps.