Sequential activation of Elk-1/Egr-1/GADD45α by arsenic

Unveiling the link between arsenic toxicity and diabetes: an in silico exploration into the role of transcription factors

Arsenic-induced diabetes, despite being a relatively newer finding, is now a growing area of interest, owing to its multifaceted nature of development and the diversity of metabolic conditions that result from it, on top of the already complicated manifestation of arsenic toxicity. Identification and characterization of the common and differentially affected cellular metabolic pathways and their regulatory components among various arsenic and diabetes-associated complications may aid in understanding the core molecular mechanism of arsenic-induced diabetes. This study, therefore, explores the effects of arsenic on human cell lines through 14 transcriptomic datasets containing 160 individual samples using in silico tools to take a systematic, deeper look into the pathways and genes that are being altered. Among these, we especially focused on the role of transcription factors due to their diverse and multifaceted roles in biological processes, aiming to comprehensively investigate the underlying mechanism of arsenic-induced diabetes as well as associated health risks. We present a potential mechanism heavily implying the involvement of the TGF-β/SMAD3 signaling pathway leading to cell cycle alterations and the NF-κB/TNF-α, MAPK, and Ca2+ signaling pathways underlying the pathogenesis of arsenic-induced diabetes. This study also presents novel findings by suggesting potential associations of four transcription factors (NCOA3, PHF20, TFDP1, and TFDP2) with both arsenic toxicity and diabetes; five transcription factors (E2F5, ETS2, EGR1, JDP2, and TFE3) with arsenic toxicity; and one transcription factor (GATA2) with diabetes. The novel association of the transcription factors and proposed mechanism in this study may serve as a take-off point for more experimental evidence needed to understand the in vivo cellular-level diabetogenic effects of arsenic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43188-024-00255-y.

SAM and folic acid prevent arsenic-induced oxidative and nitrative DNA damage in human lymphoblast cells by modulating expression of inflammatory and DNA repair genes

Growing evidence suggests that arsenic exposure increases the risk of developing a variety of inflammation-associated chronic diseases and cancers. Our previous study revealed that increased transcript levels of inflammatory genes (i.e. COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3) coupled with hypomethylation of the promoter regions of these genes was associated with increased DNA damage in arsenic-exposed newborns through their early childhood. This study further investigated the ability of the methyl group donors, S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) and folic acid, to prevent promoter hypomethylation that results in decreased mRNA expression of inflammatory genes (COX2, EGR1, and SOCS3), and a reduction in arsenic-induced oxidative and nitrative DNA damage in human lymphoblast cells. Pretreatment with SAM (100 nM, 2 days) increased promoter methylation, reduced the mRNA levels of these inflammatory genes, and decreased both 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-nitroguanine levels by 50% (p < 0.01) in arsenic-treated cells. In addition, pretreatment with folic acid (10 μM, 7 days), a micronutrient, led to a significant increase in promoter methylation associated with the reduction in mRNA levels of these inflammatory genes and decreased levels of 8-OHdG and 8-nitroguanine by 80% and 90% (p < 0.01), respectively, compared with arsenic treatment alone. Moreover, pretreatments with these methyl group donors increased mRNA expression of an antioxidant defense regulator (Nrf2) and DNA repair genes (hOGG1, XRCC1, and PARP1). This study shows for the first time that SAM or folic acid supplementation can prevent arsenic-induced oxidative and nitrative DNA damage. This suggests the potential use of SAM or folic acid for prevention of arsenic toxicity in human populations.

EGR1/GADD45α Activation by ROS of Non-Thermal Plasma Mediates Cell Death in Thyroid Carcinoma

Simple Summary

Recent studies have identified new anti-cancer mechanisms of nonthermal plasma (NTP) in several cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect on thyroid cancer have not been elucidated. The objective of this study was to understand the anticancer effects of NTP-activated medium (NTPAM) on thyroid cancer cells and elucidate the signaling mechanisms responsible for NTPAM-induced thyroid cancer cell death.

Abstract

(1) Background: Nonthermal plasma (NTP) induces cell death in various types of cancer cells, providing a promising alternative treatment strategy. Although recent studies have identified new mechanisms of NTP in several cancers, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect on thyroid cancer (THCA) have not been elucidated. (2) Methods: To investigate the mechanism of NTP-induced cell death, THCA cell lines were treated with NTP-activated medium -(NTPAM), and gene expression profiles were evaluated using RNA sequencing. (3) Results: NTPAM upregulated the gene expression of early growth response 1 (EGR1). NTPAM-induced THCA cell death was enhanced by EGR1 overexpression, whereas EGR1 small interfering RNA had the opposite effect. NTPAM-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) affected EGR1 expression and apoptotic cell death in THCA. NTPAM also induced the gene expression of growth arrest and regulation of DNA damage-inducible 45α (GADD45A) gene, and EGR1 regulated GADD45A through direct binding to its promoter. In xenograft in vivo tumor models, NTPAM inhibited tumor progression of THCA by increasing EGR1 levels. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that NTPAM induces apoptotic cell death in THCA through a novel mechanism by which NTPAM-induced ROS activates EGR1/GADD45α signaling. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that the regulation of the EGR1/GADD45α axis can be a novel strategy for the treatment of THCA.

Non-Phosphorylatable PEA-15 Sensitises SKOV-3 Ovarian Cancer Cells to Cisplatin

The efficacy of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in ovarian cancer is often limited by the development of drug resistance. In most ovarian cancer cells, cisplatin activates extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) signalling. Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes (PEA-15) is a ubiquitously expressed protein, capable of sequestering ERK1/2 in the cytoplasm and inhibiting cell proliferation. This and other functions of PEA-15 are regulated by its phosphorylation status. In this study, the relevance of PEA-15 phosphorylation state for cisplatin sensitivity of ovarian carcinoma cells was examined. The results of MTT-assays indicated that overexpression of PEA-15AA (a non-phosphorylatable variant) sensitised SKOV-3 cells to cisplatin. Phosphomimetic PEA-15DD did not affect cell sensitivity to the drug. While PEA-15DD facilitates nuclear translocation of activated ERK1/2, PEA-15AA acts to sequester the kinase in the cytoplasm as shown by Western blot. Microarray data indicated deregulation of thirteen genes in PEA-15AA-transfected cells compared to non-transfected or PEA-15DD-transfected variants. Data derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) showed that the expression of seven of these genes including EGR1 (early growth response protein 1) and FLNA (filamin A) significantly correlated with the therapy outcome in cisplatin-treated cancer patients. Further analysis indicated the relevance of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Nrf2/ARE) signalling for the favourable effect of PEA-15AA on cisplatin sensitivity. The results warrant further evaluation of the PEA-15 phosphorylation status as a potential candidate biomarker of response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

GADD45α-targeted suicide gene therapy driven by synthetic CArG promoter E9NS sensitizes NSCLC cells to cisplatin, resveratrol, and radiation regardless of p53 status

Background: GADD45α is a tumor suppressor protein often upregulated by environmental stresses and DNA-damage agents to cause growth arrest, apoptosis, tumor growth inhibition, and anti-angiogenesis. A novel suicide gene therapy vector pE9NS.G45α was engineered by cloning GADD45α opening reading frame downstream to the synthetic CArG promoter E9NS, which contains nine repeats of CArG element with modified core A/T sequence and functions as a molecular switch to drive the expression of GADD45α. The current study aims to determine the efficacy of this suicide gene therapy vector in combination with cisplatin, resveratrol, and radiation in NSCLC cell lines with various p53 statuses. Methods: Three NSCLC cell lines, H1299 (deleted p53), A549 (wild-type p53), and H23 (mutated p53), were examined in the present investigation to represent NSCLC with different p53 functions. MTT assay was conducted to select suitable doses of cisplatin, resveratrol, and radiation for gene therapy, and dual luciferase assay was performed to validate the activation of promoter E9NS. The efficacy of gene therapy combinations was evaluated by the amount of GADD45α expression, cell survival, and apoptosis. Results: All the combinations successfully activated promoter E9NS to elevate intracellular GADD45α protein levels and subsequently enhanced cell viability reduction and apoptosis induction regardless of p53 status. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that GADD45α-targeted suicide gene therapy controlled by synthetic promoter E9NS sensitizes NSCLC cells to cisplatin, resveratrol, and radiation and is effective against NSCLC at least in vitro.

Protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 Ser503 phosphorylation-mediated Elk-1 SUMOylation promotes neuronal survival in APP/PS1 mice

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 (PIAS1) is phosphorylated by IKKα at Ser⁹⁰ in a PIAS1 E3 ligase activity-dependent manner. Whether PIAS1 is also phosphorylated at other residues and the functional significance of these additional phosphorylation events are not known. The transcription factor Elk-1 remains SUMOylated under basal conditions, but the role of Elk-1 SUMOylation in brain is unknown. Here, we examined the functional significance of PIAS1-mediated Elk-1 SUMOylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the APP/PS1 mouse model of AD and amyloid β (Aβ) microinjections in vivo.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Novel phosphorylation site(s) on PIAS1 were identified by LC-MS/MS, and MAPK/ERK-mediated phosphorylation of Elk-1 demonstrated using in vitro kinase assays. Elk-1 SUMOylation by PIAS1 in brain was determined using in vitro SUMOylation assays. Apoptosis in hippocampus was assessed by measuring GADD45α expression by western blotting, and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in APP/PS1 mice was assessed by TUNEL assay.

KEY RESULTS

Using LC-MS/MS, we identified a novel MAPK/ERK-mediated phosphorylation site on PIAS1 at Ser⁵⁰³ and showed this phosphorylation determines PIAS1 E3 ligase activity. In rat brain, Elk-1 was SUMOylated by PIAS1, which decreased Elk-1 phosphorylation and down-regulated GADD45α expression. Moreover, lentiviral-mediated transduction of Elk-1-SUMO1 reduced the number of hippocampal apoptotic neurons in APP/PS1 mice.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

MAPK/ERK-mediated phosphorylation of PIAS1 at Ser⁵⁰³ determines PIAS1 E3 ligase activity. Moreover, PIAS1 mediates SUMOylation of Elk-1, which functions as an endogenous defence mechanism against Aβ toxicity in vivo. Targeting Elk-1 SUMOylation could be considered a novel therapeutic strategy against AD.

Fetal-sex dependent genomic responses in the circulating lymphocytes of arsenic-exposed pregnant women in New Hampshire

Exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) during pregnancy is associated with adverse health outcomes present both at birth and later in life. A biological mechanism may include epigenetic and genomic alterations in fetal genes involved in immune functioning. To investigate the role of the maternal immune response to in utero iAs exposure, we conducted an analysis of the expression of immune-related genes in pregnant women from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study. A set of 31 genes was identified with altered expression in association with levels of urinary total arsenic, urinary iAs, urinary monomethylated arsenic and urinary dimethylated arsenic. Notably, maternal gene expression signatures differed when stratified on fetal sex, with a more robust inflammatory response observed in male pregnancies. Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were also related to birth outcomes. These findings highlight the sex-dependent nature of the maternal iAs-induced inflammatory response in relationship to fetal outcomes.

Arsenic exposure from drinking water is associated with decreased gene expression and increased DNA methylation in peripheral blood

BACKGROUND

Exposure to inorganic arsenic increases the risk of cancer and non-malignant diseases. Inefficient arsenic metabolism is a marker for susceptibility to arsenic toxicity. Arsenic may alter gene expression, possibly by altering DNA methylation.

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the associations between arsenic exposure, gene expression, and DNA methylation in peripheral blood, and the modifying effects of arsenic metabolism.

METHODS

The study participants, women from the Andes, Argentina, were exposed to arsenic via drinking water. Arsenic exposure was assessed as the sum of arsenic metabolites in urine (U-As), using high performance liquid-chromatography hydride-generation inductively-coupled-plasma-mass-spectrometry, and arsenic metabolism efficiency was assessed by the urinary fractions (%) of the individual metabolites. Genome-wide gene expression (N=80 women) and DNA methylation (N=93; 80 overlapping with gene expression) in peripheral blood were measured using Illumina DirectHyb HumanHT-12 v4.0 and Infinium Human-Methylation 450K BeadChip, respectively.

RESULTS

U-As concentrations, ranging 10-1251μg/L, was associated with decreased gene expression: 64% of the top 1000 differentially expressed genes were down-regulated with increasing U-As. U-As was also associated with hypermethylation: 87% of the top 1000CpGs were hypermethylated with increasing U-As. The expression of six genes and six individual CpG sites were significantly associated with increased U-As concentration. Pathway analyses revealed enrichment of genes related to cell death and cancer. The pathways differed somewhat depending on arsenic metabolism efficiency. We found no overlap between arsenic-related gene expression and DNA methylation for individual genes.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased arsenic exposure was associated with lower gene expression and hypermethylation in peripheral blood, but with no evident overlap.

Caffeic acid attenuated acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by inhibiting ERK1/2-mediated early growth response-1 transcriptional activation

Caffeic acid (CA) is a natural compound abundant in fruits, coffee and plants. This study aims to investigate the involved mechanism of the therapeutic detoxification of CA against acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity. CA (10, 30 mg/kg) was orally given to mice at 1 h after mice were pre-administrated with APAP (300 mg/kg). The therapeutic detoxification of CA against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity was observed by detecting serum aminotransferases, liver malondialdehyde (MDA) amount and liver histological evaluation in vivo. CA reduced APAP-induced increase in the mRNA expression of early growth response 1 (Egr1) in hepatocytes, and inhibited APAP-induced Egr1 transcriptional activation in vitro and in vivo. CA reduced the increased expression of growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein (Gadd45)α induced by APAP in hepatocytes. Moreover, Egr1 siRNA reduced Gadd45α expression and reversed APAP-induced cytotoxicity in hepatocytes. Further results showed that CA blocked APAP-induced activation of extracellular-regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2) signaling cascade in vivo and in vitro. In addition, the application of ERK1/2 inhibitors (PD98059 and U0126) abrogated the nuclear translocation of Egr1 induced by APAP in hepatocytes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the therapeutic detoxification of CA against APAP-induced liver injury, and the inhibition of CA on ERK1/2-mediated Egr1 transcriptional activation was involved in this process.

HE4 promotes collateral resistance to cisplatin and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer cells

Background

Chemotherapy resistance presents a difficult challenge in treating epithelial ovarian cancer patients, particularly when tumors exhibit resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic agents. A few studies have shown that elevated serum levels of the ovarian cancer biomarker HE4 correlate with tumor chemoresistance, response to treatment, and survival. Here, we sought to confirm our previous results that HE4 contributes to collateral resistance to cisplatin and paclitaxel in vitro and uncover factors that may contribute to HE4-mediated chemoresistance.

Methods

MTS assays and western blots for cleaved PARP were used to assess resistance of HE4-overexpressing SKOV3 and OVCAR8 clones to cisplatin and paclitaxel. CRISPR/Cas technology was used to knockdown HE4 in HE4-overexpressing SKOV3 cells. A microarray was conducted to determine differential gene expression between SKOV3 null vector-transfected and HE4-overexpressing clones upon cisplatin exposure, and results were validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Regulation of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and tubulins were assessed by western blot.

Results

HE4-overexpressing SKOV3 and OVCAR8 clones displayed increased resistance to cisplatin and paclitaxel. Knockdown of HE4 in HE4-overexpressing SKOV3 cells partially reversed chemoresistance. Microarray analysis revealed that HE4 overexpression resulted in suppression of cisplatin-mediated upregulation of EGR1, a MAPK-regulated gene involved in promoting apoptosis. Upregulation of p38, a MAPK activated in response to cisplatin, was suppressed in HE4-overexpressing clones. No differences in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation were noted in HE4-overexpressing clones treated with 25 μM cisplatin, but ERK activation was partially suppressed in HE4-overexpressing clones treated with 80 μM cisplatin. Furthermore, treatment of cells with recombinant HE4 dramatically affected ERK activation in SKOV3 and OVCAR8 wild type cells. Recombinant HE4 also upregulated α-tubulin and β-tubulin levels in SKOV3 and OVCAR8 cells, and microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) gene expression was increased in SKOV3 HE4-overexpressing clones.

Conclusions

Overexpression of HE4 promotes collateral resistance to cisplatin and paclitaxel, and downregulation of HE4 partially reverses this chemoresistance. Multiple factors could be involved in HE4-mediated chemoresistance, including deregulation of MAPK signaling, as well as alterations in tubulin levels or stability.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13048-016-0240-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Role and mechanism of miR-222 in arsenic-transformed cells for inducing tumor growth

High levels of arsenic in drinking water, soil, and air are associated with the higher incidences of several kinds of cancers worldwide, but the mechanism is yet to be fully discovered. Recently, a number of evidences show that dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) induces carcinogenesis. In this study, we found miR-222 was upregulated in arsenic-transformed human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells (As-T cells). Anti-miR-222 inhibitor treatment decreased cell proliferation, migration, tube formation, and induced apoptosis. In addition, anti-miR-222 inhibitor expression decreased tumor growth in vivo. We also found that inhibition of miR-222 induced the expression of its direct targets ARID1A and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), and activated apoptosis of As-T cells in part through ARID1A downregulation. These results indicate that miR-222 plays an important role in arsenic-induced tumor growth.

CArG-driven GADD45α activated by resveratrol inhibits lung cancer cells

We report anticarcinogenic effects of suicide gene therapy that relies on the use of resveratrol-responsive CArG elements from the Egr-1 promoter to induce GADD45α. In A549 lung cancer cells, endogenous GADD45α was not induced upon resveratrol treatment. Therefore, induction of exogenous GADD45α resulted in growth inhibition. Resveratrol transiently induced Egr-1 through ERK/JNK-ElK-1. Hence, we cloned natural or synthetic Egr-1 promoter upstream of GADD45α cDNA to create a suicide gene therapy vector. Since natural promoter may have antagonized effects, we tested synthetic promoter that contains either five, six or nine repeats of CArG elements essential in the Egr-1 promoter to drive the expression of GADD45α upon resveratrol treatment. Further analysis confirmed that both synthetic promoter and natural Egr-1 promoter were able to “turn on” the expression of GADD45α when combined with resveratrol, and subsequently led to suppression of cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Low-dose arsenic-mediated metabolic shift is associated with activation of Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1)

Arsenic is a well-established human carcinogen associated with cancers of the skin, liver, lung, kidney, and bladder. Although numerous carcinogenic pathways have been proposed, the molecular mechanisms underlying arsenic-associated cancer etiology are still elusive. The cellular responses to arsenic exposure are dose dependent. It was recently shown that low-dose arsenic leads to a metabolic shift from mitochondrial respiration to aerobic glycolysis via inactivation of tumor suppressor p53 and activation of NF-κB. However, how inactivation of p53, activation of NF-κB, and metabolic change are coordinated in response to low-dose arsenic exposure is still not completely understood. Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a well- documented regulator in many cell cycle-related events. Herein, we showed that low-dose arsenic leads to elevation of Plk1 in an NF-κB-dependent manner and that elevation of Plk1 contributes to the metabolic change from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis via activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, we showed that inhibition/depletion of Plk1 reverses low-dose arsenic-associated phenotypes, including enhanced cell proliferation, activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and increased glycolysis. Finally, inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway also antagonizes the enhanced glycolytic influx due to low-dose arsenic exposure. Our studies support the notion that Plk1 likely plays a critical role in cellular responses to low-dose arsenic.