Analysis of transcriptional modulation of the presenilin 1 gene promoter by ZNF237, a candidate binding partner of the Ets transcription factor ERM

Investigation of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-Plasma Membrane Interaction in Live Cells and the Influence of GPI Glycan Structure on the Interaction

Glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) need to interact with other components in the cell membrane to transduce transmembrane signals. A bifunctional GPI probe was employed for photoaffinity-based proximity labelling and identification of GPI-interacting proteins in the cell membrane. This probe contained the entire core structure of GPIs and was functionalized with photoreactive diazirine and clickable alkyne to facilitate its crosslinking with proteins and attachment of an affinity tag. It was disclosed that this probe was more selective than our previously reported probe containing only a part structure of the GPI core for cell membrane incorporation and an improved probe for studying GPI-cell membrane interaction. Eighty-eight unique membrane proteins, many of which are related to GPIs/GPI-anchored proteins, were identified utilizing this probe. The proteomics dataset is a valuable resource for further analyses and data mining to find new GPI-related proteins and signalling pathways. A comparison of these results with those of our previous probe provided direct evidence for the profound impact of GPI glycan structure on its interaction with the cell membrane.

Amyloid Precursor Protein and Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders associated with age or inherited mutations. It is characterized by severe dementia in the late stages that affect memory, cognitive functions, and daily life overall. AD progression is linked to the accumulation of cytotoxic amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau protein combined with other pathological features such as synaptic loss, defective energy metabolism, imbalances in protein, and metal homeostasis. Several treatment options for AD are under investigation, including antibody-based therapy and stem cell transplantation. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a membrane protein considered to play a main role in AD pathology. It is known that APP in physiological conditions follows a non-amyloidogenic pathway; however, it can proceed to an amyloidogenic scenario, which leads to the generation of extracellular deleterious Aβ plaques. Not all steps of APP biogenesis are clear so far, and these questions should be addressed in future studies. AD is a complex chronic disease with many factors that contribute to disease progression.

E26 transformation-specific transcription variant 5 in development and cancer: modification, regulation and function

E26 transformation-specific (ETS) transcription variant 5 (ETV5), also known as ETS-related molecule (ERM), exerts versatile functions in normal physiological processes, including branching morphogenesis, neural system development, fertility, embryonic development, immune regulation, and cell metabolism. In addition, ETV5 is repeatedly found to be overexpressed in multiple malignant tumors, where it is involved in cancer progression as an oncogenic transcription factor. Its roles in cancer metastasis, proliferation, oxidative stress response and drug resistance indicate that it is a potential prognostic biomarker, as well as a therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Post-translational modifications, gene fusion events, sophisticated cellular signaling crosstalk and non-coding RNAs contribute to the dysregulation and abnormal activities of ETV5. However, few studies to date systematically summarized the role and molecular mechanisms of ETV5 in benign diseases and in oncogenic progression. In this review, we specify the molecular structure and post-translational modifications of ETV5. In addition, its critical roles in benign and malignant diseases are summarized to draw a panorama for specialists and clinicians. The updated molecular mechanisms of ETV5 in cancer biology and tumor progression are delineated. Finally, we prospect the further direction of ETV5 research in oncology and its potential translational applications in the clinic.

Ammonia as a Potential Neurotoxic Factor in Alzheimer's Disease

Ammonia is known to be a potent neurotoxin that causes severe negative effects on the central nervous system. Excessive ammonia levels have been detected in the brain of patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer disease (AD). Therefore, ammonia could be a factor contributing to the progression of AD. In this review, we provide an introduction to the toxicity of ammonia and putative ammonia transport proteins. We also hypothesize how ammonia may be linked to AD. Additionally, we discuss the evidence that support the hypothesis that ammonia is a key factor contributing to AD progression. Lastly, we summarize the old and new experimental evidence that focuses on energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammatory responses, excitatory glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurotransmission, and memory in support of our ammonia-related hypotheses of AD.

Application of array comparative genomic hybridization in 256 patients with developmental delay or intellectual disability

We used whole-genome exon-targeted oligonucleotide array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) in a cohort of 256 patients with developmental delay (DD)/intellectual disability (ID) with or without dysmorphic features, additional neurodevelopmental abnormalities, and/or congenital malformations. In 69 patients, we identified 84 non-polymorphic copy-number variants, among which 41 are known to be clinically relevant, including two recently described deletions, 4q21.21q21.22 and 17q24.2. Chromosomal microarray analysis revealed also 15 potentially pathogenic changes, including three rare deletions, 5q35.3, 10q21.3, and 13q12.11. Additionally, we found 28 copy-number variants of unknown clinical significance. Our results further support the notion that copy-number variants significantly contribute to the genetic etiology of DD/ID and emphasize the efficacy of the detection of novel candidate genes for neurodevelopmental disorders by whole-genome array CGH.

Transcriptional regulation and its misregulation in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of memory and cognitive function. A key neuropathological event in AD is the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. The production and clearance of Aβ in the brain are regulated by a large group of genes. The expression levels of these genes must be fine-tuned in the brain to keep Aβ at a balanced amount under physiological condition. Misregulation of AD genes has been found to either increase AD risk or accelerate the disease progression. In recent years, important progress has been made in uncovering the regulatory elements and transcriptional factors that guide the expression of these genes. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation for the known AD genes and the misregualtion that leads to AD susceptibility.

Repression of transcription of presenilin-1 inhibits γ-secretase independent ER Ca²⁺ leak that is impaired by FAD mutations

Genetic deletion or mutations of presenilin genes (PS1/PS2) cause familial Alzheimer's disease and calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling abnormalities. PS1/PS2 act as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca²⁺ leak channels that facilitate passive Ca²⁺ leak across ER membrane. Studies with PS1/PS2 double knockout (PS1/PS2-DKO) mouse embryonic fibroblasts showed that PS1/PS2 were responsible for 80% of passive Ca²⁺ leak from the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum to cytosol. Transient transfection of the wild type PS1 expression construct increased cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ as a result of Ca²⁺ leak across ER membrane whereas the FADPS1 (PS1-M146V) mutation construct alone or in combination with the wild type PS1 expression construct abrogated Ca²⁺ leak in SK-N-SH cells. Inhibition of basal c-jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) activity by JNK inhibitor SP600125 repressed PS1 transcription and PS1 protein expression by augmenting p53 protein level in SK-N-SH cells (Lee and Das 2008). In this report we also showed that repression of PS1 transcription by JNK inhibitor SP600125 inhibited passive Ca²⁺ leak across ER membrane which could be rescued by expressing PS1 wild type and not by expressing FADPS1 (PS1-M146V) under a SP600125 non-responsive promoter. Treatment of SK-N-SH cells with SP600125 also triggered InsP3R-mediated Ca²⁺ release from the ER by addition of 500 nM bradykinin, an agonist of InsP3 receptor (InsP3R1) without changing the expression of InsP3R1. This data confirms that SP600125 increases the Ca²⁺ store in the ER by inhibiting PS1-mediated Ca²⁺ leak across ER membrane. p53, ZNF237 and Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 3 which are repressors of PS1 transcription, also reduced Ca²⁺ leak across ER membrane in SK-N-SH cells but γ-secretase inhibitor or dominant negative γ-secretase-specific PS1 mutant (PS1-D257A) had no significant effect. Therefore, p53, ZNF237, and Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 3 inhibit the function ER Ca²⁺ leak channels to regulate both ER and cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ levels and may potentially control Ca²⁺-signaling function of PS1.

Solution structure of the N-terminal transactivation domain of ERM modified by SUMO-1

ERM is a member of the PEA3 group of the Ets transcription factor family that plays important roles in development and tumorigenesis. The PEA3s share an N-terminal transactivation domain (TADn) whose activity is inhibited by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO). However, the consequences of sumoylation and its underlying molecular mechanism remain unclear. The domain structure of ERM TADn alone or modified by SUMO-1 was analyzed using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Low resolution shapes determined ab initio from the scattering data indicated an elongated shape and an unstructured conformation of TADn in solution. Covalent attachment of SUMO-1 does not perturb the structure of TADn as indicated by the linear arrangement of the SUMO moiety with respect to TADn. Thus, ERM belongs to the growing family of proteins that contain intrinsically unstructured regions. The flexible nature of TADn may be instrumental for ERM recognition and binding to diverse molecular partners.

ERM transcription factor contains an inhibitory domain which functions in sumoylation-dependent manner

ERM, PEA3 and ETV1 belong to the PEA3 group of ETS transcription factors. They are involved in many developmental processes and are transcriptional regulators in metastasis. The PEA3 group members share an N-terminal transactivation domain (TAD) whose activity is inhibited by a flanking domain named the negative regulatory domain (NRD). The mechanism of this inhibition is still unknown. Here we show that the NRD maps to residues 73 to 298 in ERM and contains three of the five SUMO sites previously identified in the protein. We demonstrate that these three SUMO sites are responsible for NRD's inhibitory function in the Gal4 system. Although the presence of the three sites is required to obtain maximal inhibition, only one SUMO site is sufficient to repress transcription whatever its localization within the NRD. We also show that NRD is a SUMO-dependent repression domain that can act in cis and in trans to downregulate the powerful TAD of the VP16 viral protein. In addition, we find that the SUMO sites outside the NRD also play a role in the negative regulation of full-length ERM activity. We thus postulate that each SUMO site in ERM may function as an inhibitory motif.