Assignment of AR1, transcription factor 20 (TCF20), to human chromosome 22q13.3 with somatic cell hybrids and in situ hybridization

Prognostic significance of Cytokeratin 20-positive lymph node vascular endothelial growth factor A mRNA and chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 4 in pN0 colorectal cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Cytokeratin 20-positive cells in lymph nodes from pN0 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were detected previously by us. The aims of this study were to investigate which tumor metastasis-related genes were involved and their potential clinical significance.

RESULTS

Fourteen of 84 (17%) genes were differentially expressed by at least 2-fold. Among them, 10 genes were up-regulated whereas 4 genes were down-regulated. Those differential expressed genes were validated in the second cohort of specimens. Follow-up analysis for 60 months showed that patients with lymph node vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) mRNA and chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 4 (CHD4) mRNA expression higher than the median copies had significantly shorter time to recurrence than those with lower than the median copies. Multivariate analysis showed that VEGF-A mRNA, CHD4 mRNA and lymphatic vessel involvement were independent prognostic factors for disease recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

VEGF-A mRNA and CHD4 mRNA were up-regulated in CK20-positive pN0 lymph nodes and they may have prognostic significance in pN0 CRC patients.

METHODS

Two cohorts of lymph node specimens from pN0 CRC patients of each with and without CK20-positive cells were recruited. In the first cohort, tumor metastasis genes were profiled using gene expression arrays. Differential expressed genes were validated in the second cohort. Moreover, their prognostic significance was examined by following-up the second cohort of patients with CK20-positive cells for 60 months and all histopathological findings were correlated to recurrence.

Potential role of CYP2D6 in the central nervous system

1. Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a pivotal enzyme responsible for a major drug oxidation polymorphism in human populations. Distribution of CYP2D6 in brain and its role in serotonin metabolism suggest that CYP2D6 may have a function in the central nervous system. 2. To establish an efficient and accurate platform for the study of CYP2D6 in vivo, a human CYP2D6 (Tg-2D6) model was generated by transgenesis in wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice using a P1 phage artificial chromosome clone containing the complete human CYP2D locus, including the CYP2D6 gene and 5'- and 3'-flanking sequences. 3. Human CYP2D6 was expressed not only in the liver but also in the brain. The abundance of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in brain of Tg-2D6 is higher than in WT mice, either basal levels or after harmaline induction. Metabolomics of brain homogenate and cerebrospinal fluid revealed a significant up-regulation of L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, pantothenic acid, 2'-deoxycytidine diphosphate (dCDP), anandamide, N-acetylglucosaminylamine and a down-regulation of stearoyl-L-carnitine in Tg-2D6 mice compared with WT mice. Anxiety tests indicate Tg-2D6 mice have a higher capability to adapt to anxiety. 4. Overall, these findings indicate that the Tg-2D6 mouse model may serve as a valuable in vivo tool to determine CYP2D6-involved neurophysiological metabolism and function.

SPBP is a phosphoserine-specific repressor of estrogen receptor alpha

Multiple signaling pathways stimulate the activity of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) by direct phosphorylation within its N-terminal activation function 1 (AF1). How phosphorylation affects AF1 activity remains poorly understood. We performed a phage display screen for human proteins that are exclusively recruited to the phosphorylated form of AF1 and found the stromelysin-1 platelet-derived growth factor-responsive element-binding protein (SPBP). In a purified system, SPBP bound only the in vitro-phosphorylated form of the ERalpha AF1 or the phosphoserine mimic S118E, and the interaction domain could be mapped to a 42-amino-acid fragment of SPBP. In cells, SPBP preferentially interacted with liganded and phosphorylated ERalpha. Functionally, SPBP behaved as a repressor of activated ERalpha, which extends its previously demonstrated roles as a DNA binding transactivation factor and coactivator of other transcription factors. By targeting the phosphorylated form of AF1, SPBP may contribute to attenuating and fine-tuning ERalpha activity. A functional consequence is that SPBP inhibits the proliferation of ERalpha-dependent but not ERalpha-independent breast cancer cell lines, mirroring a reported negative correlation with the ERalpha status of breast tumors.

Regulation of HIV-1 transcription by NF-IL6 in activated Jurkat T cells

To examine the mechanism of HIV-1 regulation by NF-IL6 in activated human cells, we selected a Jurkat cell line that did not contain endogenous NF-IL6. In this cellular environment, we evaluated the effect of exogenous NF-IL6 on transcription mediated by native and deleted LTR sequences. In Jurkat cells stimulated with LPS and PMA, LTR-mediated transcription was enhanced by NF-IL6. The results of deletion studies revealed a central role for the basal LTR region and the TATA element in the LTR, in upregulation of reporter gene expression by NF-IL6 in activated cells. In the selected cellular environment, regulation of transcription by NF-IL6 was not evident in studies of promoter regions of other genes. The results implied that the basal region of HIV-1 LTR includes molecular properties that support activation of HIV-1 by NF-IL6 in stimulated cells.

Regulation of HIV-1 transcription in activated monocyte macrophages

DNA-binding and functional assays examined the role played by NF-IL6 in regulation of HIV-1 transcription in human monocyte/macrophages (U937 cells), stimulated with LPS+PMA. When incubated with nuclear extracts from stimulated cells, a region (-189/-147), containing the major NF-IL6-binding sequence and the USF site, interacted selectively with USF1 and USF2. Anti-C/EBPbeta reacted poorly with the complexes produced with the wild-type probe. In contrast, complex formation with NF-IL6 was clearly evident in experiments analyzing a probe containing an insertion in the USF site. In functional assays, increasing concentrations of a decoy against NF-IL6 reduced gene expression from the LTR of the wild-type HIV-1 variant, supporting a critical role for NF-IL6 in regulation of HIV-1 transcription in stimulated monocyte/macrophages. The decoy also reduced gene expression from a deletion construct lacking NF-IL6-binding sequences. The results implied that in LPS+PMA-stimulated monocyte/macrophages, the endogenous NF-IL6 could act via a site-independent pathway in upregulation of HIV-1 transcription. Analysis of a short DNA segment, containing the -189/-147 region, suggested functional interactions of NF-IL6 and USF. In activated cells exogenous NF-IL6 enhanced dramatically gene expression through a short DNA segment containing the NF-kappaB sites, supporting functional interactions of NF-IL6 and NF-kappaB.

The nuclear factor SPBP contains different functional domains and stimulates the activity of various transcriptional activators

SPBP (stromelysin-1 platelet-derived growth factor-responsive element binding protein) was originally cloned from a cDNA expression library by virtue of its ability to bind to a platelet-derived growth factor-responsive element in the human stromelysin-1 promoter. A 937-amino acid-long protein was deduced from a 3995-nucleotide murine cDNA sequence. By analyses of both human and murine cDNAs, we now show that SPBP is twice as large as originally found. The human SPBP gene contains six exons and is located on chromosome 22q13.1-13.3. Two isoforms differing in their C termini are expressed due to alternative splicing. PCR analyses of multitissue cDNA panels showed that SPBP is expressed in most tissues except for ovary and prostate. Functional mapping revealed that SPBP is a nuclear, multidomain protein containing an N-terminal region with transactivating ability, a novel type of DNA-binding domain containing an AT hook motif, and a bipartite nuclear localization signal as well as a C-terminal zinc finger domain. This type of zinc finger domain is also found in the trithorax family of chromatin-based transcriptional regulator proteins. Using cotransfection experiments, we find that SPBP enhances the transcriptional activity of various transcription factors such as c-Jun, Ets1, Sp1, and Pax6. Hence, SPBP seems to act as a transcriptional coactivator.