1 3305 142 HIGH-LEVEL EXPRESSION OF BCL3 DIFFERENTIATES T(2;5)(P23;Q35)-POSITIVE ANAPLASTIC LARGE CELL LYMPHOMA FROM HODGKIN DISEASE. ANAPLASTIC LARGE CELL LYMPHOMA (ALCL) WITH T(2;5)(P23;Q35) AND HODGKIN DISEASE (HD) SHARE MANY CELLULAR FEATURES, INCLUDING EXPRESSION OF CD30. WE COMPARED GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES OF 4 ALCL (KARPAS 299, SU-DHL-1, DEL, SR-786) AND 3 HD CELL LINES AND FOUND THAT BCL3, WHICH ENCODES A NUCLEAR PROTEIN BELONGING TO THE I KAPPA B FAMILY OF INHIBITORS OF NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPA B) TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTORS, WAS EXPRESSED AT HIGHER LEVELS IN ALCL THAN HD. NORTHERN AND WESTERN BLOTTING ANALYSES CONFIRMED THE HIGH-LEVEL EXPRESSION OF BCL3 IN ALCL AT BOTH MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS. WE ESTABLISHED A REAL-TIME REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE-MEDIATED POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ASSAY TO MEASURE THE BCL3 MRNA LEVEL AND FOUND A PREDOMINANT LEVEL OF BCL3 EXPRESSION IN T(2;5)(+) ALCL; THE LEVELS OF CELL LINES AND CLINICAL MATERIALS WERE COMPARABLE TO OR HIGHER THAN THAT OF A B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CARRYING T(14;19)(Q32;Q13). SOUTHERN BLOTTING AND FLUORESCENCE IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION DISCLOSED THAT THE BCL3 GENE COPIES WERE AMPLIFIED IN SU-DHL-1, WHEREAS KARPAS 299 CARRIED 4 BCL3 GENE LOCI. THE BCL3 GENE CONTAINS 2 CYTOSINE-GUANINE DINUCLEOTIDE (CPG) ISLANDS, AND THE INTRAGENIC 3' CPG WAS ENTIRELY DEMETHYLATED IN SU-DHL-1 AND DEL. IN CONTRAST TO HD, IN WHICH NF-KAPPA B WAS CONSTITUTIVELY ACTIVATED, ALCL CELLS CONSISTENTLY SHOWED (P50)(2) HOMODIMER BINDING ACTIVITY ON ELECTROPHORETIC MOBILITY SHIFT ASSAY. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR BCL-3 SEQUESTERS THE (P50)(2) HOMODIMER TO THE NUCLEUS, WHICH MAY ACCOUNT FOR THE CONTRADICTORY EFFECT OF CD30 STIMULATION ON ALCL AND HD. WE PROPOSE THAT BCL3 IS OVEREXPRESSED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, POTENTIALLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF T(2;5)(+) ALCL. 2003 2 16 41 4CRNA NEAT1 SPONGE ADSORPTION OF MIR-378 MODULATES ACTIVITY OF LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-TREATED ARTICULAR CHONDROCYTES AND INFLUENCES THE PATHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. CONTEXT: OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IS A CHRONIC JOINT DISEASE THAT CAN EVENTUALLY LEAD TO DEGENERATION, FIBROSIS, FRACTURES, AND DEFECTS OF THE ARTICULAR CARTILAGE. LONG NON-CODING RNA (LNCRNA) IS A KEY SUBSTANCE IN MANY PROCESSES, SUCH AS EPIGENETIC REGULATION AND CELL-CYCLE AND CELL-DIFFERENTIATION MODULATION, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH OA HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY VERIFIED. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY INTENDED TO CLARIFY THE INFLUENCE OF LNCRNA NUCLEAR ENRICHED ABUNDANT TRANSCRIPT 1 (NEAT1), LNCRNA NEAT1, ON LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS)-INDUCED OA CHONDROCYTES THROUGH SPONGE ADSORPTION OF MICRORNA-378 (MIR-378) AND TO PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO FUTURE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF OA. DESIGN: THE RESEARCH TEAM PERFORMED AN ANIMAL STUDY. SETTING: THE STUDY TOOK PLACE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE AT LINYI PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL IN LINYI, SHANGDONG, CHINA. ANIMALS: THE STUDY'S ANIMALS WERE 10 SPRAGUE DAWLEY (SD) RATS, 3-5 DAYS OLD AND 10-15 G IN WEIGHT, OF THE SPECIFIC-PATHOGEN-FREE (SPF) GRADE. INTERVENTION: THE RAT CHONDROCYTES FOR THE POSITIVE CONTROL GROUP (THE MODEL GROUP) WERE TREATED WITH 500 NG/ML OF LPS TO INDUCE OA. CHONDROCYTES TREATED WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF NORMAL SALINE WERE USED AS THE NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUP. THE CHONDROCYTES OF THE LPS-INDUCED RATS WERE INTO SIX GROUPS: (1) A POSITIVE CONTROL GROUP TRANSFECTED WITH NEAT1-INTERFERING RNA, THE SH-NEAT1 GROUP; (2) A NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUP NOT TRANSFECTED WITH NEAT1-INTERFERING RNA, THE NEAT1 EMPTY VECTOR (NC-NEAT1) GROUP; (3) AN INTERVENTION GROUP CO-TRANSFECTED WITH NEAT1 INTERFERING RNA AND THE MIR-378 INHIBITOR SEQUENCE (INH-MIR-378 THE SH-NEAT1+ INH-MIR-378 GROUP; (4) A NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUP TRANSFECTED WITH NEAT1 INTERFERING RNA BUT NOT TRANSFECTED WITH THE MIR-378 INHIBITOR SEQUENCE, THE SH-NEAT1+ MIR-378 NEGATIVE CONTROL (NC-MIR-378) GROUP; (5) A NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUP TRANSFECTED WITH THE MIR-378 INHIBITOR SEQUENCE BUT NOT TRANSFECTED WITH NEAT1 INTERFERING RNA, THE NEAT1 EMPTY VECTOR (NC-NEAT1) + INH-MIR-378 GROUP; (6) A NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUP NOT TRANSFECTED WITH EITHER NEAT1 INTERFERING RNA OR THE MIR-378 INHIBITOR SEQUENCE, THE NC-NEAT1 + NC-MIR-378 GROUP. OUTCOME MEASURES: AN OA-CHONDROCYTE MODEL WAS INDUCED BY LPS AND MEASUREMENTS OF NEAT1 AND MIR-378 EXPRESSION WERE MADE BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION (QRT)- POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR). THEN, SMALL NEAT1-INTERFERING RNA (SH-NEAT1), EMPTY VECTOR NEAT1 (NC-NEAT1), INHIBITOR-SEQUENCE-MIR-378 (INH-MIR-378), AND NEGATIVE-CONTROL-MIR-378 (NC-MIR-378) WERE TRANSFECTED INTO CELLS, AND CELL VIABILITY AND APOPTOSIS RATE WERE MEASURED. FINALLY, THE STUDY VERIFIED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEAT1 AND MIR-378. RESULTS: COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, NEAT1 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED IN THE MODEL GROUP, AND ITS MIR-378 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. SILENCING NEAT1 CAN ENHANCE OA-CHONDROCYTE ACTIVITY AND DECREASE APOPTOSIS. WHEN NEAT1 AND MIR-378 WERE INHIBITED TOGETHER, AS SHOWN FORT THE NC-NEAT1 + NC-MIR-378 GROUP, NEAT1 EXPRESSION, AS WELL AS THE MULTIPLICATION AND APOPTOSIS ABILITY OF THE OA-MODEL CELLS, WERE THE SAME AS THOSE OF CELLS TRANSFECTED WITH AN EMPTY VECTOR, THE NC-NEAT1 GROUP. ALSO, THE NEAT1 + NC-MIR-378 GROUP'S CELL ACTIVITY WAS LOWER THAN THAT OF THE SH-NEAT1+NC-MIR-378 GROUP BUT HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE NC-NEAT1 + INH-MIR-378 GROUP. FINALLY, HIGHER FLUORESCENCE ACTIVITY OCCURRED FOR NEAT1-MUTANT TYPE (MUT) TRANSFECTED WITH INH-MIR-378. CONCLUSIONS: NEAT1, WHICH IS HIGHLY EXPRESSED IN OA, MEDIATES LPS-INDUCED OA-CHONDROCYTE ACTIVITY THROUGH SPONGE ADSORPTION OF MIR-378. 2022 3 1421 25 DIFFERENTIAL BRAIN ADRA2A AND ADRA2C GENE EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA. EFFECT OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUG TREATMENT. POSTSYNAPTIC ALPHA(2A)-ADRENOCEPTOR DENSITY IS ENHANCED IN THE DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC) OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC-TREATED SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS. THIS ALTERATION MIGHT BE DUE TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION, AND COULD BE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS HISTONE POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS (PTMS). THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE ADRA2A AND ADRA2C GENE EXPRESSION (CODIFYING FOR ALPHA(2)-ADRENOCEPTOR SUBTYPES), AND PERMISSIVE AND REPRESSIVE HISTONE PTMS AT GENE PROMOTER REGIONS IN THE DLPFC OF SUBJECTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND MATCHED CONTROLS (N = 24 PAIRS). WE STUDIED THE EFFECT OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC (AP) TREATMENT IN AP-FREE (N = 12) AND AP-TREATED (N = 12) SUBGROUPS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS AND IN RATS ACUTELY AND CHRONICALLY TREATED WITH TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS. ADRA2A MRNA EXPRESSION WAS SELECTIVELY UPREGULATED IN AP-TREATED SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS (+93%) WHEREAS ADRA2C MRNA EXPRESSION WAS UPREGULATED IN ALL SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS (+53%) REGARDLESS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC TREATMENT. ACUTE AND CHRONIC CLOZAPINE TREATMENT IN RATS DID NOT ALTER BRAIN CORTEX ADRA2A MRNA EXPRESSION BUT INCREASED ADRA2C MRNA EXPRESSION. BOTH ADRA2A AND ADRA2C PROMOTER REGIONS SHOWED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION BY HISTONE METHYLATION AND ACETYLATION IN HUMAN DLPFC. THE UPREGULATION OF ADRA2A EXPRESSION IN AP-TREATED SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS MIGHT BE RELATED TO OBSERVED BIVALENT CHROMATIN AT ADRA2A PROMOTER REGION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA (DEPICTED BY INCREASED PERMISSIVE H3K4ME3 AND REPRESSIVE H3K27ME3) AND COULD BE TRIGGERED BY THE ENHANCED H4K16AC AT ADRA2A PROMOTER. IN CONCLUSION, EPIGENETIC PREDISPOSITION DIFFERENTIALLY MODULATED ADRA2A AND ADRA2C MRNA EXPRESSION IN DLPFC OF SCHIZOPHRENIA SUBJECTS. 2021 4 1843 31 EFFECTS OF TELOMERASE INHIBITOR ON EPIGENETIC CHROMATIN MODIFICATION ENZYMES IN MALIGNANCIES. TELOMERASE HAS A CRITICAL ROLE IN CELL PROLIFERATION, TUMOR MAINTAINING, AND THERAPY RESISTANCE, WHICH ACT BY MODIFYING MANY SIGNALING PATHWAYS. 2-[(E)-3-NAPHTALEN-2-YL-BUT-2-ENOYLAMINO]-BENZOIC ACID (BIBR1532) IS ONE OF THE MOST STUDIED TELOMERASE INHIBITORS, AND IT TARGETS TELOMERASE COMPONENTS TERC AND TERT. IN THIS NOVEL STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF BIBR1532 ON BOTH HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES AND SOLID TUMORS. K-562 HUMAN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA CELL LINE AND U87MG GLIOBLASTOMA CELL LINE WERE COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUPS WITHOUT BIBR1532 TREATMENT. CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS OF BIBR1532 WERE DETERMINED BY USING WST-1 ASSAY. APOPTOTIC EFFECTS OF BIBR1532 WERE DETECTED BY USING ANNEXIN V METHOD. TO ASSESS EXPRESSION CHANGES IN THE HUMAN EPIGENETIC CHROMATIN MODIFICATION ENZYME GENES, TOTAL RNA WAS ISOLATED FROM K-562 AND U87MG CELLS TREATED WITH BIBR1532 AND UNTREATED CONTROL CELLS. BIBR1532 INDUCED 2.41-FOLD APOPTOTIC CELL DEATH IN U87MG CELL LINES COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUPS. APOPTOSIS WAS SLIGHTLY INDUCED IN K-562 CELLS WITH BIBR1532 TREATMENT COMPARED WITH CONTROL CELLS. WE OBSERVED THAT BIBR1532 ALSO REGULATES SIMILAR GENES IN BOTH CELL LINES, AND IT IS USEFUL ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. AS A RESULT, TELOMERASE INHIBITOR BIBR1532 HAS A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON BOTH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES AND SOLID TUMORS. 2018 5 5017 30 PERSISTENT INFECTION OF CULTURED CELLS WITH MOUSE HEPATITIS VIRUS (MHV) RESULTS FROM THE EPIGENETIC EXPRESSION OF THE MHV RECEPTOR. THE A59 STRAIN OF MURINE CORONAVIRUS MOUSE HEPATITIS VIRUS (MHV) CAN CAUSE PERSISTENT INFECTION OF 17C1-1 CELLS AND OTHER MURINE CELL LINES. PERSISTENTLY INFECTED CULTURES RELEASED LARGE AMOUNTS OF VIRUS (10(7) TO 10(8) PFU/ML) AND WERE RESISTANT TO SUPERINFECTION WITH MHV BUT NOT TO INFECTION WITH UNRELATED SEMLIKI FOREST AND VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUSES. THE CULTURE MEDIUM FROM PERSISTENTLY INFECTED CULTURES DID NOT CONTAIN A SOLUBLE INHIBITOR SUCH AS INTERFERON THAT PROTECTED UNINFECTED CELLS FROM INFECTION BY MHV OR VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS. THE PERSISTENT INFECTION WAS CURED IF FEWER THAN 100 CELLS WERE TRANSFERRED DURING SUBCULTURING, AND SUCH CURED CULTURES WERE SUSCEPTIBLE TO REINFECTION AND THE REESTABLISHMENT OF PERSISTENT INFECTION. CULTURES OF 17C1-1 CELLS THAT HAD BEEN NEWLY CLONED FROM SINGLE CELLS CONSISTED OF A MIXTURE OF MHV-RESISTANT AND -SUSCEPTIBLE CELLS. 17C1-1/#97 CELLS, WHICH WERE CURED BY SUBCLONING AFTER 97 PASSAGES OF A PERSISTENTLY INFECTED CULTURE OVER A 1-YEAR PERIOD, CONTAINED 5 TO 10% OF THEIR POPULATION AS SUSCEPTIBLE CELLS, WHILE 17C1-1/#402 CELLS, WHICH WERE CURED BY SUBCLONING AFTER 402 PASSAGES OVER A 3-YEAR PERIOD, HAD LESS THAN 1% SUSCEPTIBLE CELLS. SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTION CORRELATED WITH THE EXPRESSION OF MHV RECEPTOR GLYCOPROTEIN (MHVR [BGP1A]). FLUORESCENCE-ACTIVATED CELL SORTER ANALYSIS WITH ANTIBODY TO MHVR SHOWED THAT 17C1-1/#97 CELLS CONTAINED A SMALL FRACTION OF MHVR-EXPRESSING CELLS. THESE MHVR-EXPRESSING CELLS WERE SELECTIVELY ELIMINATED WITHIN 24 H AFTER CHALLENGE WITH MHV-A59, AND PRETREATMENT OF 17C1-1/#97 CELLS WITH MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY CC1, WHICH BINDS TO THE N-TERMINAL DOMAIN OF MHVR, BLOCKED INFECTION. WE CONCLUDE THAT THE SUBPOPULATION OF MHVR-EXPRESSING CELLS WERE INFECTED AND KILLED IN ACUTELY OR PERSISTENTLY INFECTED CULTURES, WHILE THE SUBPOPULATION OF MHVR-NONEXPRESSING CELLS SURVIVED AND PROLIFERATED. THE SUBPOPULATION OF MHVR-NEGATIVE CELLS PRODUCED A SMALL PROPORTION OF PROGENY CELLS THAT EXPRESSED MHVR AND BECAME INFECTED, THEREBY MAINTAINING THE PERSISTENT INFECTION AS A STEADY-STATE CARRIER CULTURE. THUS, IN 17C1-1 CELL CULTURES, THE UNSTABLE OR EPIGENETIC EXPRESSION OF MHVR PERMITTED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERSISTENT, CHRONIC INFECTION. 1995 6 1791 28 EFFECT OF CHRONIC RADIATION ON THE FLAX (LINUM USITATISSIMUM L.) GENOME GROWN FOR SIX CONSECUTIVE GENERATIONS IN THE RADIOACTIVE CHERNOBYL AREA. THE GROWTH OF PLANTS UNDER CHRONIC RADIATION STRESS IN THE CHERNOBYL AREA MAY CAUSE CHANGES IN THE GENOME OF PLANTS. TO ASSESS THE EXTENT OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN NUCLEAR DNA, SEEDS OF THE ANNUAL CROP FLAX (LINUM USITATISSIMUM L.) OF THE KYIVSKYI VARIETY, SOWN 21 YEARS AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND GROWN FOR SIX GENERATIONS IN RADIOACTIVE (RAD) AND REMEDIATED (REM) FIELDS WERE ANALYSED. FLAXSEED USED FOR SOWING FIRST GENERATION, WHICH SERVED AS A REFERENCE (REF), WAS ALSO ANALYSED. THE AFLP (AMPLIFIED FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM) REVEALED A HIGHER NUMBER OF SPECIFIC ECORI-MSEI LOCI (3.4-FOLD) IN POOLED FLAXSEED SAMPLES HARVESTED FROM THE RAD FIELD COMPARED WITH THE REM FIELD, INDICATING A LINK BETWEEN THE MUTATION PROCESS IN THE FLAX GENOME AND THE ONGOING ADAPTATION PROCESS. MSAP (METHYLATION-SENSITIVE AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHISM) DETECTING ECORI-MSPI AND ECORI-HPAII LOCI IN FLAX NUCLEAR DNA GENOME SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN METHYLATION LEVEL, REACHING ABOUT 33% IN EACH OF THE GROUPS STUDIED. ON THE OTHER HAND, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DNA METHYLATION PATTERN OF FLAXSEED SAMPLES HARVESTED FROM THE RAD FIELD COMPARED WITH CONTROLS WERE DETECTED. PAIRWISE F(ST) COMPARISON REVEALED WITHIN BOTH, ECORI-MSPI AND TRANSFORMED METHYLATION-SENSITIVE DATA SETS MORE THAN A 3-FOLD INCREASE OF GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN THE RAD FIELD COMPARED WITH BOTH CONTROLS. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE NUCLEAR GENOME OF FLAX EXPOSED TO CHRONIC RADIATION FOR SIX GENERATIONS HAS MORE MUTATIONS AND USES DNA METHYLATION AS ONE OF THE ADAPTATION MECHANISMS FOR SUSTAINABILITY UNDER ADVERSE CONDITIONS. 2022 7 1217 33 CREG PROTECTS FROM MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY BY REGULATING MYOCARDIAL AUTOPHAGY AND APOPTOSIS. AIMS: HUMAN CELLULAR REPRESSOR OF E1A-STIMULATED GENES (CREG) IS A SECRETED GLYCOPROTEIN THAT REGULATES TISSUE AND CELL HOMEOSTASIS AND HAS BEEN SHOWN TO ANTAGONIZE HEART FIBROSIS, WHICH INDICATES A POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF CREG AGAINST CARDIOMYOCYTE CHRONIC DAMAGE. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ROLE OF CREG IN MYOCARDIAL TISSUE ACUTE INJURY, IN THIS STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF CREG IN MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION (MI/R) INJURY AND CLARIFY THE MECHANISM OF ACTION. METHODS AND RESULTS: WILD-TYPE CREG (CREG(+/+)), HETEROZYGOUS CREG (CREG(+/-)) MICE AND MICE PRETREATED WITH INFUSION OF RECOMBINANT 0.3MG/KG.D CREG PROTEIN (RECREG(+/+)) WERE SUBJECTED TO 30MIN OF LEFT ASCENDING CORONARY ISCHEMIA AND 24H OF REPERFUSION. EVAN'S BLUE-TRIPHENYL- TETRAZOLIUM CHLORIDE (TTC) SOLUTION AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY ANALYSIS WERE USED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF CREG ON MI/R MICE. THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS WERE FURTHER DETERMINED BY CULTURED MYOCARDIAL CELLS IN VITRO. OUR FINDINGS REVEALED THAT THE LEVEL OF CREG PROTEIN IN MOUSE HEARTS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER MICE WERE SUBJECTED TO MI/R. MOREOVER, CREG(+/-) MICE HAD LARGER INFARCTION SIZE 2H AFTER REPERFUSION AND WORSE CARDIAC FUNCTION 28DAYS AFTER MI/R INJURY COMPARED TO THAT IN CREG(+/+) MICE. HOWEVER, RECREG(+/+) MICE COULD MAINTAIN CREG AT A HIGH LEVEL EVEN AFTER MI/R INJURY, AND MITIGATED INFARCTION SIZE AND IMPROVED CARDIAC FUNCTION SIGNIFICANTLY. IN CREG(+/-) MICE, MYOCARDIAL AUTOPHAGY WAS DYSFUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZED BY ACCUMULATION OF LC3A AND P62, WHILE APOPTOTIC CELL NUMBER INCREASE WAS DETECTED BY CLEAVED CASPASE-3 BLOTTING AND TUNEL STAINING. CONVERSELY, DECREASED APOPTOSIS AND ACTIVATED AUTOPHAGY WERE DETECTED IN RECREG(+/+) MICE. FURTHERMORE, CHLOROQUINE, A KIND OF AUTOPHAGY BLOCKER, WAS USED TO DEMONSTRATE RECOMBINANT CREG PROTECTED CARDIOMYOCYTES AGAINST APOPTOSIS MEDIATED BY ACTIVATING AUTOPHAGY BOTH IN VIVO AND IN VITRO. FINALLY, WE FOUND CREG WAS INVOLVED INTO LYSOSOMAL PROTEIN TRANSFER AND IMPROVE CELLULAR AUTOPHAGY. CONCLUSION: CREG PROTECTS HEART AGAINST MI/R INJURY-INDUCED CARDIOMYOCYTES APOPTOSIS BY ACTIVATING LYSOSOMAL AUTOPHAGY. THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ENTITLED: GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF HEART FAILURE - EDITED BY JUN REN AND MEGAN YINGMEI ZHANG. 2017 8 1951 35 EPIGENETIC ACTIVATION OF THE TUSC3 GENE AS A POTENTIAL THERAPY FOR XMEN DISEASE. BACKGROUND: X-LINKED MAGT1 DEFICIENCY WITH INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION AND N-LINKED GLYCOSYLATION DEFECT (XMEN) DISEASE IS A RARE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY CAUSED BY LOSS-OF-FUNCTION MUTATIONS IN THE MAGNESIUM TRANSPORTER 1 (MAGT1) GENE. MAGT1 DEFICIENCY IMPAIRS MAGNESIUM TRANSPORT AND THE N-LINKED GLYCOSYLATION OF A PANEL OF PROTEINS, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY ABOLISHES THE EXPRESSION OF KEY IMMUNE RECEPTORS SUCH AS NATURAL KILLER GROUP 2, MEMBER D (AKA NKG2D). THESE EFFECTS INDUCE IMMUNE SYSTEM ABNORMALITIES, CHRONIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION, AND NEOPLASIA. RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MAGT1 AND TUMOR CANDIDATE SUPPRESSOR 3 (TUSC3) SHARE HIGH SEQUENCE AND FUNCTIONAL SIMILARITY. OBJECTIVE: WE SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF ACTIVATING TUSC3 EXPRESSION TO PROVIDE A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR XMEN DISEASE. METHODS: THE EXPRESSION PROFILES OF MAGT1 AND TUSC3 WERE ANALYZED USING MULTIPLE DATABASES, REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR, AND WESTERN BLOT. THE EFFECTS OF DECITABINE AND PANOBINOSTAT ON THE REGULATION OF TUSC3 EXPRESSION WERE EXPLORED IN BOTH MAGT1 KNOCKOUT (KO)/PATIENT-DERIVED LYMPHOCYTES AND MAGT1 KO HEPATOCYTES. RESULTS: ALTHOUGH TUSC3 IS WIDELY EXPRESSED, IT IS UNDETECTABLE SPECIFICALLY IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND LIVER, CONSISTENT WITH THE MAIN DISEASED TISSUES IN PATIENTS WITH XMEN DISEASE. CRISPR/CAS9-MEDIATED KO OF MAGT1 IN THE NKL CELL LINE SUCCESSFULLY MIMICKED THE PHENOTYPES OF XMEN PATIENT-DERIVED LYMPHOCYTES, AND EXOGENOUS EXPRESSION OF TUSC3 RESCUED THE DEFICIENCIES IN KO NKL CELLS. USING THIS IN VITRO MODEL, WE IDENTIFIED 2 EPIGENETIC DRUGS, DECITABINE AND PANOBINOSTAT, BY SCREENING. COMBINATION TREATMENT USING THESE 2 DRUGS SIGNIFICANTLY UPREGULATED TUSC3 EXPRESSION AND RESCUED THE IMMUNE AND LIVER ABNORMALITIES. CONCLUSIONS: EPIGENETIC ACTIVATION OF TUSC3 EXPRESSION CONSTITUTES AN EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR XMEN DISEASE. 2023 9 1016 29 CIITA EXPRESSION IS REGULATED BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE ENZYMES AND HAS A ROLE IN ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN PRE-FORMED FIBRIL-INDUCED ANTIGEN PRESENTATION IN MURINE MICROGLIAL CELL LINE. AIM: PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD) IS A CHRONIC NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER RELATED WITH SEVERAL GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. IN THE CONTEXT OF EPIGENETIC FACTORS, HISTONE ACETYLATION IS ONE OF THE MOST ASSOCIATED MECHANISMS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE PROGRESSION. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF THE INCREASED HISTONE ACETYLATION ON ANTIGEN PRESENTATION IN MICROGLIAL CELLS WHICH WERE INDUCED BY PRE-FORMED FIBRILS OF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN (PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN). METHODS: PARKINSON'S DISEASE MODEL WAS CREATED WITH PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN ADMINISTRATION TO THE BV-2 MICROGLIAL CELLS. BV-2 CELLS WERE CO-TREATED WITH CUDC-907 AND TMP-195 TO INCREASE HISTONE ACETYLATION IN THE PRESENCE OF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN. ANTIGEN REPRESENTATION WAS EVALUATED BY DETERMINING EXPRESSION LEVELS OF MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX-II (MHC-II) AND CLASS-II MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX (CIITA). RESULTS: OUR RESULTS SHOWED THAT PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED MHC-II EXPRESSION, AND THAT EFFECT WAS MOST SEVERE AT 6 H OF ADMINISTRATION OF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN. INCREASING HISTONE ACETYLATION VIA CUDC-907 AND TMP-195 ENHANCED MHC-II LEVELS EXPRESSION, WHICH WAS MORE SEVERE IN CUDC-907. ADDITIONALLY, CIITA EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED WITH PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN ADMINISTRATION AND INTENSIFIED WITH THE CO-TREATMENT OF CUDC-907 AND TMP-195. FURTHERMORE, PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN CAUSED A TIME-DEPENDENT INCREASE IN THE IFN-GAMMA (IFN-?) AND INTERLEUKIN-16(IL-16) LEVELS, AND THAT INCREASE WAS POTENTIATED WITH CUDC-907 AND TMP-195. CONCLUSION: CHANGES IN MHC-II AND CIITA EXPRESSION INDICATE THAT HISTONE ACETYLATION INCREASES THE ANTIGEN PRESENTATION PROPERTIES OF MICROGLIAL CELLS AFTER PFF ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN OR HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR (HDACI) ADMINISTRATION. OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT MICROGLIAL ANTIGEN PRESENTATION MIGHT HAVE AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE PATHOLOGY OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE, AND ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN LIKELY TO PLAY A PRIMARY ROLE IN THIS MECHANISM. 2022 10 850 33 CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA EXHIBIT HIGH EXPRESSION OF HUMAN ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUSES TRIM28 AND SETDB1. CHRONIC IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA (CITP) IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE WHOSE UNDERLYING BIOLOGIC MECHANISMS REMAIN ELUSIVE. HUMAN ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUSES (HERVS) DERIVE FROM ANCESTRAL INFECTIONS AND CONSTITUTE ABOUT 8% OF OUR GENOME. A WEALTH OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES HIGHLIGHTS THEIR PIVOTAL PATHOGENETIC ROLE IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, SUCH AS THOSE MODULATED BY TRIM28 AND SETDB1, ARE INVOLVED IN HERV ACTIVATION AND REGULATION OF IMMUNE RESPONSE. WE ASSESSED, THROUGH A POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION REAL-TIME TAQMAN AMPLIFICATION ASSAY, THE TRANSCRIPTION LEVELS OF POL GENES OF HERV-H, HERV-K, AND HERV-W; ENV GENES OF SYNCYTIN (SYN)1, SYN2, AND HERV-W; AS WELL AS TRIM28 AND SETDB1 IN WHOLE BLOOD FROM 34 CHILDREN WITH CITP AND AGE-MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROLS (HC). THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVELS OF ALL HERV SEQUENCES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HERV-W-ENV, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED IN CHILDREN WITH CITP AS COMPARED TO HC. PATIENTS ON ELTROMBOPAG TREATMENT EXHIBITED LOWER EXPRESSION OF SYN1, SYN2, AND HERV-W-ENV AS COMPARED TO UNTREATED PATIENTS. THE MRNA CONCENTRATIONS OF TRIM28 AND SETDB1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AND WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THOSE OF HERVS IN CITP PATIENTS. THE OVER-EXPRESSIONS OF HERVS AND TRIM28/SETDB1 AND THEIR POSITIVE CORRELATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH CITP ARE SUGGESTIVE CLUES OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE DISEASE AND SUPPORT INNOVATIVE INTERVENTIONS TO INHIBIT HERV AND TRIM28/SETDB1 EXPRESSIONS IN PATIENTS UNRESPONSIVE TO STANDARD THERAPIES. 2023 11 2080 30 EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION OF EBI3 MODULATES HUMAN INTERLEUKIN-35 FORMATION VIA NFKB SIGNALING: A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC OPTION IN ULCERATIVE COLITIS. ULCERATIVE COLITIS (UC), A SEVERE CHRONIC DISEASE WITH UNCLEAR ETIOLOGY THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK FOR COLORECTAL CANCER, IS ACCOMPANIED BY DYSREGULATION OF CYTOKINES. EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS-INDUCED GENE 3 (EBI3) ENCODES A SUBUNIT IN THE UNIQUE HETERODIMERIC IL-12 CYTOKINE FAMILY OF EITHER PRO- OR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FUNCTION. AFTER HAVING RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED THAT UPREGULATION OF EBI3 BY HISTONE ACETYLATION ALLEVIATES DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN A DEXTRAN SULFATE SODIUM (DSS)-TREATED MOUSE MODEL OF CHRONIC COLITIS, WE NOW AIMED TO EXAMINE A POSSIBLE FURTHER EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF EBI3 BY DNA METHYLATION UNDER INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. TREATMENT WITH THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR (DNMTI) DECITABINE (DAC) AND TNFALPHA LED TO SYNERGISTIC UPREGULATION OF EBI3 IN HUMAN COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS (HCEC). USE OF DIFFERENT SIGNALING PATHWAY INHIBITORS INDICATED NFKAPPAB SIGNALING WAS NECESSARY AND PROPORTIONAL TO THE SYNERGISTIC EBI3 INDUCTION. MALDI-TOF/MS AND HPLC-ESI-MS/MS ANALYSIS OF DAC/TNFALPHA-TREATED HCEC IDENTIFIED IL-12P35 AS THE MOST PROBABLE BINDING PARTNER TO FORM A FUNCTIONAL PROTEIN. EBI3/IL-12P35 HETERODIMERS (IL-35) INDUCE THEIR OWN GENE UPREGULATION, SOMETHING THAT WAS INDEED OBSERVED IN HCEC CULTURED WITH MEDIA FROM PREVIOUSLY DAC/TNFALPHA-TREATED HCEC. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT UNDER INFLAMMATORY AND DEMETHYLATING CONDITIONS THE UPREGULATION OF EBI3 RESULTS IN THE FORMATION OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY IL-35, WHICH MIGHT BE CONSIDERED AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN COLITIS. 2021 12 5487 29 REVERSIBLE ALTERATION IN THE EXPRESSION OF THE GAP JUNCTIONAL PROTEIN CONNEXIN 32 DURING TUMOR PROMOTION IN RAT LIVER AND ITS ROLE DURING CELL PROLIFERATION. ALTHOUGH NUMEROUS BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS CAN IDENTIFY PUTATIVE PRENEOPLASTIC ALTERED HEPATIC FOCI (AHF) IN RAT LIVER, NO CONSISTENT PATTERN OF EXPRESSION DURING HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS HAS EMERGED. USING QUANTITATIVE STEREOLOGIC ANALYSES WE DEMONSTRATED THAT DECREASED EXPRESSION OF THE MAJOR HEPATOCYTE GAP JUNCTION PROTEIN, CONNEXIN 32 (CX32), IN RAT AHF IS A CONSISTENT OBSERVATION IN SEVERAL PROTOCOLS OF MULTISTAGE HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS. THIS CHANGE WAS OBSERVED AFTER INITIATION BY EITHER ETHYLNITROSOUREA (ENU) OR DIETHYLNITROSAMINE (DEN), FOLLOWED BY PROMOTION WITH PHENOBARBITAL (PB), DIOXIN, CHLORENDIC ACID, C.I. SOLVENT YELLOW, OR TAMOXIFEN. AHF GENERATED BY WY-14,643, CIPROFIBRATE, AND A CHOLINE/METHIONINE-DEFICIENT DIETARY REGIMEN ALSO SHOWED DECREASED CX32 EXPRESSION. THE DECREASE OF CX32 IN AHF WAS RAPIDLY REVERSIBLE AFTER WITHDRAWAL OF PB, AND THIS CHANGE PRECEDED A REDUCTION IN PLACENTAL ISOZYME OF GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASE (GST) EXPRESSION IN THE SAME AHF. WITHIN 20 DAYS OF WITHDRAWAL, FEWER THAN 4% OF GST-POSITIVE AHF WERE CX32 DEFICIENT, WHILE THE VOLUME OF TOTAL AHF DECREASED 30%. CHRONIC PB TREATMENT ALSO RESULTED IN A REVERSIBLE DECREASE IN CX32 SPECIFICALLY IN MID- AND CENTRO-LOBULAR HEPATOCYTES. CONTINUOUS THYMIDINE LABELING DEMONSTRATED THAT CX32 COULD BE UNCOUPLED FROM THE CELL CYCLE, SUGGESTING THAT SOME LIVER PROMOTERS MAY ACT DIRECTLY TO ALTER THE EXPRESSION OF CX32. THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT A DECREASE IN CX32 CONTENT WAS A RELATIVELY COMMON EPIGENETIC CHANGE IN AHF INDUCED DURING HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS BY A NUMBER OF INITIATING AND PROMOTING AGENTS BUT THAT THIS CHANGE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR CARCINOGENESIS. THIS CHANGE, HOWEVER, MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THE MECHANISM(S) OF TUMOR PROMOTION, SINCE CX32-POSITIVE AHF DID NOT PROLIFERATE AS READILY AS CX32-DEFICIENT AHF. 1990 13 2649 23 EPIGENOMIC, GENOMIC, AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC LANDSCAPE OF SCHWANNOMATOSIS. SCHWANNOMATOSIS (SWNTS) IS A GENETIC CANCER PREDISPOSITION SYNDROME THAT MANIFESTS AS MULTIPLE AND OFTEN PAINFUL NEURONAL TUMORS CALLED SCHWANNOMAS (SWNS). WHILE GERMLINE MUTATIONS IN SMARCB1 OR LZTR1, PLUS SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN NF2 AND LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY IN CHROMOSOME 22Q HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN A SUBSET OF PATIENTS, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EPIGENOMIC AND GENOMIC ALTERATIONS THAT DRIVE SWNTS-RELATED SWNS (SWNTS-SWNS) IN A MAJORITY OF THE CASES. WE PERFORMED MULTIPLATFORM GENOMIC ANALYSIS AND ESTABLISHED THE MOLECULAR SIGNATURE OF SWNTS-SWNS. WE SHOW THAT SWNTS-SWNS HARBOR DISTINCT GENOMIC FEATURES RELATIVE TO THE HISTOLOGICALLY IDENTICAL NON-SYNDROMIC SPORADIC SWNS (NS-SWNS). WE DEMONSTRATE THE EXISTENCE OF FOUR DISTINCT DNA METHYLATION SUBGROUPS OF SWNTS-SWNS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAMS AND TUMOR LOCATION. WE SHOW SEVERAL NOVEL RECURRENT NON-22Q DELETIONS AND STRUCTURAL REARRANGEMENTS. WE DETECTED THE SH3PXD2A-HTRA1 GENE FUSION IN SWNTS-SWNS, WITH PREDOMINANCE IN LZTR1-MUTANT TUMORS. IN ADDITION, WE IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ACTIONABLE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH PAINFUL SWNTS-SWNS INCLUDING PIGF, VEGF, MEK, AND MTOR PATHWAYS, WHICH MAY BE HARNESSED FOR MANAGEMENT OF THIS SYNDROME. 2021 14 5298 33 PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE 5 SUPPRESSES THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE RB FAMILY OF TUMOR SUPPRESSORS IN LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA CELLS. THE PROPER EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF CHROMATIN BY PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASES (PRMTS) IS CRUCIAL FOR NORMAL CELL GROWTH AND HEALTH. THE HUMAN SWI/SNF-ASSOCIATED PRMT5 IS INVOLVED IN THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION OF TARGET GENES BY DIRECTLY METHYLATING H3R8 AND H4R3. TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF PRMT5-MEDIATED HISTONE METHYLATION ON CANCER, WE ANALYZED ITS EXPRESSION IN NORMAL AND TRANSFORMED HUMAN B LYMPHOCYTES. OUR FINDINGS REVEAL THAT PRMT5 PROTEIN LEVELS ARE ENHANCED IN VARIOUS HUMAN LYMPHOID CANCER CELLS, INCLUDING TRANSFORMED CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (B-CLL) CELL LINES. PRMT5 OVEREXPRESSION IS CAUSED BY THE ALTERED EXPRESSION OF THE PRMT5-SPECIFIC MICRORNAS 19A, 25, 32, 92, 92B, AND 96 AND RESULTS IN THE INCREASED GLOBAL SYMMETRIC METHYLATION OF H3R8 AND H4R3. AN EVALUATION OF BOTH EPIGENETIC MARKS AT PRMT5 TARGET GENES SUCH AS RB1 (P105), RBL1 (P107), AND RBL2 (P130) SHOWED THAT PROMOTERS H3R8 AND H4R3 ARE HYPERMETHYLATED, WHICH IN TURN TRIGGERS POCKET PROTEIN TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION. FURTHERMORE, REDUCING PRMT5 EXPRESSION IN WAC3CD5 B-CLL CELLS ABOLISHES H3R8 AND H4R3 HYPERMETHYLATION, RESTORES RBL2 EXPRESSION, AND INHIBITS CANCER CELL PROLIFERATION. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT PRMT5 OVEREXPRESSION EPIGENETICALLY ALTERS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF KEY TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES AND SUGGEST A CAUSAL ROLE OF THE ELEVATED SYMMETRIC METHYLATION OF H3R8 AND H4R3 AT THE RBL2 PROMOTER IN TRANSFORMED B-LYMPHOCYTE PATHOLOGY. 2008 15 2125 28 EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF DLX4 IS ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION OF VARIOUS GENES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML). OUR STUDY WAS INTENDED TO INVESTIGATE DLX4 METHYLATION PATTERN IN DIFFERENT CLINICAL STAGES OF CML AND FURTHER DETERMINE ITS ROLE IN REGULATING DLX4 EXPRESSION. REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR AND BISULFITE SEQUENCING PCR WERE APPLIED TO DETECT DLX4 METHYLATION. 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE (5-AZA-DC) WAS USED FOR DEMETHYLATION STUDIES. DLX4 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HYPERMETHYLATED IN CML PATIENTS (P = 0.002) ESPECIALLY IN BLASTIC PHASE (BC) STAGE (P < 0.001) AS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. MOREOVER, DLX4 METHYLATION LEVEL IN BC STAGE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN IN CHRONIC PHASE (CP) STAGE (P < 0.001). DLX4 METHYLATION DENSITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DURING THE PROGRESSION OF CML AMONG THE TESTED TWO PATIENTS (P < 0.001). DLX4 HYPERMETHYLATION OCCURRED WITH THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE IN BC STAGE (83%), LOWER INCIDENCE IN ACUTE PHASE (AP) STAGE (43%), AND THE LOWEST INCIDENCE IN CP STAGE (26%) (P = 0.001). MOREOVER, T(9; 22) WITH ADDITIONAL ALTERATION CASES HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FREQUENCY OF DLX4 HYPERMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH THE OTHER CYTOGENETICS (P = 0.010). SIGNIFICANTLY NEGATIVE CORRELATION WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN DLX4 METHYLATION AND DLX4-TV2 (THE SHORTER DLX4 ISOFORM) EXPRESSION (R = -0.382, P = 0.001, N = 78) BUT NOT BETWEEN DLX4 METHYLATION AND BP1 (THE LONGER DLX4 ISOFORM) EXPRESSION (R = 0.134, P = 0.244, N = 78) IN CML PATIENTS. BOTH DLX4-TV2 AND BP1 MRNA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER 5-AZA-DC TREATMENT IN K562 CELL LINE (P < 0.001). OUR STUDY INDICATED THAT HYPERMETHYLATION OF DLX4 CORRELATED WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION OF CML. MOREOVER, DLX4 EXPRESSION WAS REGULATED BY ITS METHYLATION IN CML. 2015 16 3239 27 HEPATIC INACTIVATION OF THE TYPE 2 DEIODINASE CONFERS RESISTANCE TO ALCOHOLIC LIVER STEATOSIS. BACKGROUND: A MOUSE WITH HEPATOCYTE-SPECIFIC DEIODINASE TYPE II INACTIVATION (ALB-D2KO) IS RESISTANT TO DIET-INDUCED OBESITY, HEPATIC STEATOSIS, AND HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA DUE TO PERINATAL EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN THE LIVER. THIS PHENOTYPE IS LINKED TO LOW LEVELS OF ZFP125, A HEPATIC TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR THAT PROMOTES LIVER STEATOSIS BY INHIBITING GENES INVOLVED IN PACKAGING AND SECRETION OF VERY-LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN. METHODS: HERE, WE USED CHRONIC AND BINGE ETHANOL (ETOH) IN MICE TO CAUSE LIVER STEATOSIS. RESULTS: THE ETOH TREATMENT CAUSES A 2.3-FOLD INCREASE IN HEPATIC TRIGLYCERIDE CONTENT; ZFP125 LEVELS WERE APPROXIMATELY 50% HIGHER IN THESE ANIMALS. IN CONTRAST, ALB-D2KO MICE DID NOT DEVELOP ETOH-INDUCED LIVER STEATOSIS. THEY ALSO FAILED TO ELEVATE ZFP125 TO THE SAME LEVELS, DESPITE BEING ON THE ETOH-CONTAINING DIET FOR THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME. THEIR PHENOTYPE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH 1.3- TO 2.9-FOLD UP-REGULATION OF HEPATIC GENES INVOLVED IN LIPID TRANSPORT AND EXPORT THAT ARE NORMALLY REPRESSED BY ZFP125, THAT IS, MTTP, ABCA1, LDLR, APOC1, APOC3, APOE, APOH, AND AZGP1. FURTHERMORE, GENES INVOLVED IN THE ETOH METABOLIC PATHWAY, THAT IS, ALDH2 AND ACSS2, WERE ALSO 1.6- TO 3.1-FOLD UP-REGULATED IN ALB-D2KO ETOH MICE COMPARED WITH CONTROL ANIMALS KEPT ON ETOH. CONCLUSIONS: ETOH CONSUMPTION ELEVATES EXPRESSION OF ZFP125. ALB-D2KO ANIMALS, WHICH HAVE LOWER LEVELS OF ZFP125, ARE MUCH LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO ETOH-INDUCED LIVER STEATOSIS. 2019 17 1950 35 EPIGENETIC ACTIVATION OF TENSIN 4 PROMOTES GASTRIC CANCER PROGRESSION. GASTRIC CANCER (GC) IS A COMPLEX DISEASE INFLUENCED BY MULTIPLE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAUSED BY HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION AND DIETARY RISK FACTORS CAN RESULT IN THE ACCUMULATION OF ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION IN GASTRIC MUCOSA, WHICH PROMOTES GC DEVELOPMENT. TENSIN 4 (TNS4), A MEMBER OF THE TENSIN FAMILY OF PROTEINS, IS LOCALIZED TO FOCAL ADHESION SITES, WHICH CONNECT THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX AND CYTOSKELETAL NETWORK. WE IDENTIFIED UPREGULATION OF TNS4 IN GC USING QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION PCR WITH 174 PAIRED SAMPLES OF GC TUMORS AND ADJACENT NORMAL TISSUES. TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION OF TNS4 OCCURRED EVEN DURING THE EARLY STAGE OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT. TNS4 DEPLETION IN GC CELL LINES THAT EXPRESSED HIGH TO MODERATE LEVELS OF TNS4, I.E., SNU-601, KATO III, AND MKN74, REDUCED CELL PROLIFERATION AND MIGRATION, WHEREAS ECTOPIC EXPRESSION OF TNS4 IN THOSE LINES THAT EXPRESSED LOWER LEVELS OF TNS4, I.E., SNU-638, MKN1, AND MKN45 INCREASED COLONY FORMATION AND CELL MIGRATION. THE PROMOTER REGION OF TNS4 WAS HYPOMETHYLATED IN GC CELL LINES THAT SHOWED UPREGULATION OF TNS4. WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN TNS4 EXPRESSION AND CPG METHYLATION IN 250 GC TUMORS BASED ON THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS (TCGA) DATA. THIS STUDY ELUCIDATES THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF TNS4 ACTIVATION AND FUNCTIONAL ROLES OF TNS4 IN GC DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION AND SUGGESTS A POSSIBLE APPROACH FOR FUTURE GC TREATMENTS. 2023 18 3279 29 HERITABLE ALTERATION IN DNA METHYLATION INDUCED BY NITROGEN-DEFICIENCY STRESS ACCOMPANIES ENHANCED TOLERANCE BY PROGENIES TO THE STRESS IN RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.). CYTOSINE METHYLATION IS RESPONSIVE TO VARIOUS BIOTIC- AND ABIOTIC-STRESSES, WHICH MAY PRODUCE HERITABLE EPIALLELES. NITROGEN (N)-DEFICIENCY IS AN ABIOTIC STRESS BEING REPEATEDLY EXPERIENCED BY PLANTS. TO ADDRESS POSSIBLE EPIGENETIC CONSEQUENCES OF N-DEFICIENCY-STRESS, WE INVESTIGATED THE STABILITY OF CYTOSINE METHYLATION IN RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) SUBSEQUENT TO A CHRONIC (A WHOLE-GENERATION) N-DEFICIENCY AT TWO LEVELS, MODERATE (20MG/L) AND SEVERE (10MG/L), UNDER HYDROPONIC CULTURE. MSAP ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT LOCUS-SPECIFIC METHYLATION ALTERATION OCCURRED IN LEAF-TISSUE OF THE STRESSED PLANTS (S(0)) EXPERIENCING EITHER LEVEL OF N-DEFICIENCY, WHICH WAS VALIDATED BY GEL-BLOTTING. ANALYSIS ON THREE NON-STRESSED SELF-FED PROGENIES (S(1), S(2) AND S(3)) BY GEL-BLOTTING INDICATED THAT CA. 50% OF THE ALTERED METHYLATION PATTERNS IN SOMATIC CELLS (LEAF) OF THE STRESSED S(0) PLANTS WERE RECAPTURED IN S(1), WHICH WERE THEN STABLY INHERITED TO S(2) AND S(3). BISULFITE SEQUENCING OF TWO VARIANT MSAP LOCI WITH HOMOLOGY TO LOW-COPY RETROTRANSPOSONS ON ONE STRESSED PLANT (S(0)) AND ITS NON-STRESSED PROGENIES (S(1) AND S(2)) SHOWED THAT WHEREAS ONE LOCUS EXHIBITED LIMITED AND NON-HERITABLE CHH METHYLATION ALTERATION, THE OTHER LOCUS MANIFESTED DRAMATIC HERITABLE HYPERMETHYLATION AT NEARLY ALL CYTOSINE SITES WITHIN THE ASSAYED REGION. INTRIGUINGLY, WHEN TWO GROUPS OF S(2) PLANTS DESCENDED FROM THE SAME N-DEFICIENCY-STRESSED S(0) PLANT WERE RE-SUBJECTED TO THE STRESS, THE GROUP INHERITING THE MODIFIED METHYLATION PATTERNS SHOWED ENHANCED TOLERANCE TO THE N-DEFICIENCY-STRESS COMPARED WITH THE GROUP BEARING THE ORIGINAL PATTERNS. OUR RESULTS THUS DEMONSTRATE HERITABILITY OF AN ACQUIRED ADAPTIVE TRAIT IN RICE, WHICH WAS ACCOMPANIED BY EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE OF MODIFIED CYTOSINE METHYLATION PATTERNS, IMPLICATING AN EPIGENETIC BASIS UNDERLYING THE INHERITANCE OF AN ACQUIRED TRAIT IN PLANTS. 2011 19 5677 27 SHORT AIP1 (ASK1-INTERACTING PROTEIN-1) ISOFORM LOCALIZES TO THE MITOCHONDRIA AND PROMOTES VASCULAR DYSFUNCTION. OBJECTIVE: VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (ECS) NORMALLY MAINTAIN VASCULAR HOMEOSTASIS AND ARE REGULATED BY PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES. A HUMAN GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IDENTIFIED THAT AIP1 (ASK1 [APOPTOSIS SIGNAL-REGULATING KINASE 1]-INTERACTING PROTEIN-1; ALSO IDENTIFIED AS DAB2IP) GENE VARIANTS CONFER SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, BUT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM IS UNKNOWN. APPROACH AND RESULTS: WE DETECTED A NORMAL AIP1 FORM (NAMED AIP1A) IN THE HEALTHY AORTA, BUT A SHORTER FORM OF AIP1 (NAMED AIP1B) WAS FOUND IN DISEASED AORTAE THAT CONTAINED ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES AND GRAFT ARTERIOSCLEROSIS. AIP1B TRANSCRIPTION IN RESTING ECS WAS SUPPRESSED THROUGH EPIGENETIC INHIBITION BY RIF1 (RAP1 [RAS-RELATED PROTEIN 1]-INTERACTING FACTOR 1)/H3K9 (HISTONE H3 LYSINE 9) METHYLTRANSFERASE-MEDIATED H3K9 TRIMETHYLATION, AND THIS INHIBITION WAS RELEASED BY PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. AIP1A, BUT NOT AIP1B, WAS DOWNREGULATED BY PROTEOLYTIC DEGRADATION THROUGH A SMURF1 (SMAD [SUPPRESSOR OF MOTHERS AGAINST DECAPENTAPLEGIC MISCELLANEOUS] UBIQUITYLATION REGULATORY FACTOR 1)-DEPENDENT PATHWAY IN ECS UNDER INFLAMMATION. THEREFORE, AIP1B WAS THE MAJOR FORM PRESENT DURING INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. AIP1B, WHICH LACKS THE N-TERMINAL PLECKSTRIN HOMOLOGY DOMAIN OF AIP1A, LOCALIZED TO THE MITOCHONDRIA AND AUGMENTED TNFALPHA (TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA)-INDUCED MITOCHONDRIAL REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES GENERATION AND EC ACTIVATION. AIP1B-ECTG (EC-SPECIFIC AIP1B TRANSGENIC) MICE EXHIBITED AUGMENTED REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION, EC ACTIVATION, AND NEOINTIMA FORMATION IN VASCULAR REMODELING MODELS. CONCLUSIONS: OUR CURRENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT A SHIFT FROM ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AIP1A TO PROINFLAMMATORY AIP1B DURING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN INFLAMMATORY VASCULAR DISEASES. 2020 20 2134 33 EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF THE MIR129-2 IN HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. BACKGROUND: MIR129-2 HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE A TUMOR SUPPRESSOR MICRORNA HYPERMETHYLATED IN EPITHELIAL CANCERS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF MIR129-2 WAS STUDIED BY METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR (MSP) IN 13 CELL LINES (EIGHT MYELOMA AND FIVE LYMPHOMA), 15 NORMAL CONTROLS AND 344 PRIMARY SAMPLES INCLUDING ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML), ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL), CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML), CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL), NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA (NHL), MULTIPLE MYELOMA (MM) AT DIAGNOSIS, MM AT RELAPSE/PROGRESSION, AND MONOCLONAL GAMMOPATHY OF UNDETERMINED SIGNIFICANCE (MGUS). EXPRESSION OF MIR129 AND ITS TARGET, SOX4, IN CELL LINES WAS MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER HYPOMETHYLATING TREATMENT AND MIR129 OVEREXPRESSION. MIR129 EXPRESSION WAS CORRELATED WITH MIR129-2 METHYLATION STATUS IN PRIMARY LYMPHOMA SAMPLES. TUMOR SUPPRESSOR FUNCTION OF MIR129 WAS DEMONSTRATED BY MTT AND TRYPAN BLUE EXCLUSION ASSAY AFTER MIR129 OVEREXPRESSION. RESULTS: THE SENSITIVITY OF THE METHYLATED-MSP WAS ONE IN 10(3). DIFFERENT MSP STATUSES, INCLUDING COMPLETE METHYLATION, PARTIAL METHYLATION, AND COMPLETE UNMETHYLATION, WERE VERIFIED BY QUANTITATIVE BISULFITE PYROSEQUENCING. ALL FIVE LYMPHOMA AND SEVEN OF EIGHT MYELOMA CELL LINES SHOWED COMPLETE AND PARTIAL MIR129-2 METHYLATION. IN PRIMARY SAMPLES, MIR129-2 METHYLATION WAS ABSENT IN AML AND CML, BUT DETECTED IN 5% ALL, 45.9% CLL, 49.5% MM AT DIAGNOSIS, AND 59.1% NHL. IN CLL, MIR129-2 METHYLATION ADVERSELY IMPACTED ON SURVIVAL (P=0.004). IN MM, MIR129-2 METHYLATION INCREASED FROM 27.5% MGUS TO 49.5% MM AT DIAGNOSIS AND 41.5% AT RELAPSE/PROGRESSION (P=0.023). IN NHL, MIR129-2 METHYLATION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MIR124-1 AND MIR203 METHYLATION (P<0.001), AND LOWER MIR129 EXPRESSION (P=0.009). HYPOMETHYLATION TREATMENT OF JEKO-1, HOMOZYGOUSLY METHYLATED FOR MIR129-2, LED TO MIR129-2 DEMETHYLATION AND MIR129 RE-EXPRESSION, WITH DOWNREGULATION OF SOX4 MRNA. MOREOVER, MIR129 OVEREXPRESSION IN BOTH MANTLE CELL LINES, JEKO-1 AND GRANTA-519, INHIBITED CELLULAR PROLIFERATION AND ENHANCED CELL DEATH, WITH CONCOMITANT SOX4 MRNA DOWNREGULATION. CONCLUSIONS: MIR129-2 IS A TUMOR SUPPRESSIVE MICRORNA FREQUENTLY METHYLATED IN LYMPHOID BUT NOT MYELOID MALIGNANCIES, LEADING TO REVERSIBLE MIR129-2 SILENCING. IN CLL, MIR129-2 METHYLATION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INFERIOR SURVIVAL. IN MM, MIR129-2 METHYLATION MIGHT BE ACQUIRED DURING PROGRESSION FROM MGUS TO SYMPTOMATIC MM. IN NHL, MIR129-2 METHYLATION MIGHT COLLABORATE WITH MIR124-1 AND MIR203 METHYLATION IN LYMPHOMAGENESIS. 2013