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Slováčková J, Slavík J, Kulich P, Večeřa J, Kováč O, Paculová H, Straková N, Fedr R, Silva JP, Carvalho F, Machala M, Procházková J. Polychlorinated environmental toxicants affect sphingolipid metabolism during neurogenesis in vitro. Toxicology 2021; 463:152986. [PMID: 34627992 DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2021.152986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Sphingolipids (SLs) are important signaling molecules and functional components of cellular membranes. Although SLs are known as crucial regulators of neural cell physiology and differentiation, modulations of SLs by environmental neurotoxicants in neural cells and their neuronal progeny have not yet been explored. In this study, we used in vitro models of differentiated neuron-like cells, which were repeatedly exposed during differentiation to model environmental toxicants, and we analyzed changes in sphingolipidome, cellular morphology and gene expression related to SL metabolism or neuronal differentiation. We compared these data with the results obtained in undifferentiated neural cells with progenitor-like features. As model polychlorinated organic pollutants, we used 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), 3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB11) and 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153). PCB153 revealed itself as the most prominent deregulator of SL metabolism and as potent toxicant during early phases of in vitro neurogenesis. TCDD exerted only minor changes in the levels of analysed lipid species, however, it significantly changed the rate of pro-neuronal differentiation and deregulated expression of neuronal markers during neurogenesis. PCB11 acted as a potent disruptor of in vitro neurogenesis, which induced significant alterations in SL metabolism and cellular morphology in both differentiated neuron-like models (differentiated NE4C and NG108-15 cells). We identified ceramide-1-phosphate, lactosylceramides and several glycosphingolipids to be the most sensitive SL species to exposure to polychlorinated pollutants. Additionally, we identified deregulation of several genes related to SL metabolism, which may be explored in future as potential markers of developmental neurotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Slováčková
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Slavík
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Kulich
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Večeřa
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Kováč
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Paculová
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Nicol Straková
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Fedr
- Department of Cytokinetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 61265, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - João Pedro Silva
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Portugal
| | - Félix Carvalho
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Portugal
| | - Miroslav Machala
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jiřina Procházková
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Cytokinetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 61265, Brno, Czech Republic.
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Večeřa J, Procházková J, Šumberová V, Pánská V, Paculová H, Lánová MK, Mašek J, Bohačiaková D, Andersson ER, Pacherník J. Hypoxia/Hif1α prevents premature neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells through the activation of Hes1. Stem Cell Res 2020; 45:101770. [PMID: 32276221 DOI: 10.1016/j.scr.2020.101770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs), comprising neuroepithelial and radial glial cells, are indispensable precursors of neurons and glia in the mammalian developing brain. Since the process of neurogenesis occurs in a hypoxic environment, the question arises of how NSCs deal with low oxygen tension and whether it affects their stemness. Genes from the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) family are well known factors governing cellular response to hypoxic conditions. In this study, we have discovered that the endogenous stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) during neural induction is critical for the normal development of the NSCs pool by preventing its premature depletion and differentiation. The knock-out of the Hif1α gene in mESC-derived neurospheres led to a decrease in self-renewal of NSCs, paralleled by an increase in neuronal differentiation. Similarly, neuroepithelial cells differentiated in hypoxia exhibited accelerated neurogenesis soon after Hif1α knock-down. In both models, the loss of Hif1α was accompanied by an immediate drop in neural repressor Hes1 levels while changes in Notch signaling were not observed. We found that active Hif1α/Arnt1 transcription complex bound to the evolutionarily conserved site in Hes1 gene promoter in both neuroepithelial cells and neural tissue of E8.5 - 9.5 embryos. Taken together, these results emphasize the novel role of Hif1α in the regulation of early NSCs population through the activation of neural repressor Hes1, independently of Notch signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Večeřa
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jiřina Procházková
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Šumberová
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Pánská
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Paculová
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martina Kohutková Lánová
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Mašek
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Neo, Blickagången 16, SE-141 83 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Dáša Bohačiaková
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Emma Rachel Andersson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Neo, Blickagången 16, SE-141 83 Huddinge, Sweden; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedicum, Solnavägen 9, SE-171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Jiří Pacherník
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
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Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of both cell cycle progression and transcription. Since dysregulation of CDKs is a frequently occurring event driving tumorigenesis, CDKs have been tested extensively as targets for cancer therapy. Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) is a transcription-associated kinase which participates in various cellular processes, including DNA damage response, development and cellular differentiation, as well as splicing and pre-mRNA processing. CDK12 mutations and amplification have been recently reported in different types of malignancies, including loss-of-function mutations in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas, and that has led to assumption that CDK12 is a tumor suppressor. On the contrary, CDK12 overexpression in other tumors suggests the possibility that CDK12 has oncogenic properties, similarly to other transcription-associated kinases. In this review, we discuss current knowledge concerning the role of CDK12 in ovarian and breast tumorigenesis and the potential for chemical inhibitors of CDK12 in future cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Paculová
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, Brno, 621 00 Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Kohoutek
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, Brno, 621 00 Czech Republic
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Paculová H, Kramara J, Šimečková Š, Fedr R, Souček K, Hylse O, Paruch K, Svoboda M, Mistrík M, Kohoutek J. BRCA1 or CDK12 loss sensitizes cells to CHK1 inhibitors. Tumour Biol 2017; 39:1010428317727479. [PMID: 29025359 DOI: 10.1177/1010428317727479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A broad spectrum of tumors develop resistance to classic chemotherapy, necessitating the discovery of new therapies. One successful strategy exploits the synthetic lethality between poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1/2 proteins and DNA damage response genes, including BRCA1, a factor involved in homologous recombination-mediated DNA repair, and CDK12, a transcriptional kinase known to regulate the expression of DDR genes. CHK1 inhibitors have been shown to enhance the anti-cancer effect of DNA-damaging compounds. Since loss of BRCA1 increases replication stress and leads to DNA damage, we tested a hypothesis that CDK12- or BRCA1-depleted cells rely extensively on S-phase-related CHK1 functions for survival. The silencing of BRCA1 or CDK12 sensitized tumor cells to CHK1 inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. BRCA1 downregulation combined with CHK1 inhibition induced excessive amounts of DNA damage, resulting in an inability to complete the S-phase. Therefore, we suggest CHK1 inhibition as a strategy for targeting BRCA1- or CDK12-deficient tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Paculová
- 1 Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Juraj Kramara
- 2 Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Šimečková
- 3 Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno,Czech Republic.,4 Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Fedr
- 3 Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno,Czech Republic.,5 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Souček
- 3 Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno,Czech Republic.,4 Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,5 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Hylse
- 5 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.,6 Department of Chemistry, CZ Openscreen, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kamil Paruch
- 5 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.,6 Department of Chemistry, CZ Openscreen, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Svoboda
- 7 Department of Comprehensive Cancer Care, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mistrík
- 2 Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Kohoutek
- 1 Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
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