1 5449 94 REPRESSION OF THE ANTIOXIDANT NRF2 PATHWAY IN PREMATURE AGING. HUTCHINSON-GILFORD PROGERIA SYNDROME (HGPS) IS A RARE, INVARIABLY FATAL PREMATURE AGING DISORDER. THE DISEASE IS CAUSED BY CONSTITUTIVE PRODUCTION OF PROGERIN, A MUTANT FORM OF THE NUCLEAR ARCHITECTURAL PROTEIN LAMIN A, LEADING, THROUGH UNKNOWN MECHANISMS, TO DIVERSE MORPHOLOGICAL, EPIGENETIC, AND GENOMIC DAMAGE AND TO MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL (MSC) ATTRITION IN VIVO. USING A HIGH-THROUGHPUT SIRNA SCREEN, WE IDENTIFY THE NRF2 ANTIOXIDANT PATHWAY AS A DRIVER MECHANISM IN HGPS. PROGERIN SEQUESTERS NRF2 AND THEREBY CAUSES ITS SUBNUCLEAR MISLOCALIZATION, RESULTING IN IMPAIRED NRF2 TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY AND CONSEQUENTLY INCREASED CHRONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS. SUPPRESSED NRF2 ACTIVITY OR INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS IS SUFFICIENT TO RECAPITULATE HGPS AGING DEFECTS, WHEREAS REACTIVATION OF NRF2 ACTIVITY IN HGPS PATIENT CELLS REVERSES PROGERIN-ASSOCIATED NUCLEAR AGING DEFECTS AND RESTORES IN VIVO VIABILITY OF MSCS IN AN ANIMAL MODEL. THESE FINDINGS IDENTIFY REPRESSION OF THE NRF2-MEDIATED ANTIOXIDATIVE RESPONSE AS A KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO THE PREMATURE AGING PHENOTYPE. 2016 2 5153 23 PPP2R2B HYPERMETHYLATION CAUSES ACQUIRED APOPTOSIS DEFICIENCY IN SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAUSES TARGET ORGAN DAMAGE IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE FACTORS THAT ALLOW THIS PROTRACTED RESPONSE ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE ANALYZED THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF PPP2R2B (B55SS), A MOLECULE NECESSARY FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE, IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. ALTERED EXPRESSION OF B55SS CONDITIONED RESISTANCE TO CYTOKINE WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED DEATH (CWID) IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE IMPAIRED UPREGULATION OF B55SS WAS CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION-DRIVEN HYPERMETHYLATION OF SPECIFIC CYTOSINES LOCATED WITHIN A REGULATORY ELEMENT OF PPP2R2B PREVENTING CTCF BINDING. THIS PHENOTYPE COULD BE INDUCED IN HEALTHY T CELLS BY EXPOSURE TO TNF-ALPHA. OUR RESULTS REVEAL A GENE WHOSE EXPRESSION IS AFFECTED BY AN ACQUIRED DEFECT, THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM, IN THE SETTING OF SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNITY. BECAUSE FAILURE TO REMOVE ACTIVATED T CELLS THROUGH CWID COULD CONTRIBUTE TO AUTOIMMUNE PATHOLOGY, THIS MECHANISM ILLUSTRATES A VICIOUS CYCLE THROUGH WHICH AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO ITS OWN PERPETUATION. 2019 3 2818 13 FIBROSIS UNDER ARREST. APPROXIMATELY 5% OF PEOPLE THAT ARE HOSPITALIZED FOR ANY REASON DEVELOP ACUTE KIDNEY FAILURE, WHICH, IN SOME CASES, PROGRESSES TO A CHRONIC CONDITION RESULTING IN FIBROSIS OF THE KIDNEY AND PERMANENT CHANGES IN THE ORGAN'S FUNCTION. TWO NEW STUDIES SUGGEST THAT CELL CYCLE ARREST OF EPITHELIAL CELLS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS HAVE KEY ROLES IN THE SWITCH TO CHRONIC DISEASE (PAGES 535-543 AND 544-550). 2010 4 3327 29 HISTONE DEACETYLASE 4 PROMOTES CHOLESTATIC LIVER INJURY IN THE ABSENCE OF PROHIBITIN-1. PROHIBITIN-1 (PHB1) IS AN EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED PLEIOTROPIC PROTEIN THAT PARTICIPATES IN DIVERSE PROCESSES DEPENDING ON ITS SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION AND INTERACTOME. RECENT DATA HAVE INDICATED A DIVERSE ROLE FOR PHB1 IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF OBESITY, CANCER, AND INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, AMONG OTHERS. DATA PRESENTED HERE SUGGEST THAT PHB1 IS ALSO LINKED TO CHOLESTATIC LIVER DISEASE. EXPRESSION OF PHB1 IS MARKEDLY REDUCED IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY BILIARY CIRRHOSIS AND BILIARY ATRESIA OR WITH ALAGILLE SYNDROME, TWO MAJOR PEDIATRIC CHOLESTATIC CONDITIONS. IN THE EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF BILE DUCT LIGATION, SILENCING OF PHB1 INDUCED LIVER FIBROSIS, REDUCED ANIMAL SURVIVAL, AND INDUCED BILE DUCT PROLIFERATION. IMPORTANTLY, THE MODULATORY EFFECT OF PHB1 IS NOT DEPENDENT ON ITS KNOWN MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION. ALSO, PHB1 INTERACTS WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE 4 (HDAC4) IN THE PRESENCE OF BILE ACIDS. HENCE, PHB1 DEPLETION LEADS TO INCREASED NUCLEAR HDAC4 CONTENT AND ITS ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES. REMARKABLY, HDAC4 SILENCING AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE HDAC INHIBITOR PARTHENOLIDE DURING OBSTRUCTIVE CHOLESTASIS IN VIVO PROMOTE GENOMIC REPROGRAMMING, LEADING TO REGRESSION OF THE FIBROTIC PHENOTYPE IN LIVER-SPECIFIC PHB1 KNOCKOUT MICE. CONCLUSION: PHB1 IS AN IMPORTANT MEDIATOR OF CHOLESTATIC LIVER INJURY THAT REGULATES THE ACTIVITY OF HDAC4, WHICH CONTROLS SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC MARKERS; THESE RESULTS IDENTIFY POTENTIAL NOVEL STRATEGIES TO TREAT LIVER INJURY AND FIBROSIS, PARTICULARLY AS A CONSEQUENCE OF CHRONIC CHOLESTASIS. 2015 5 5433 21 REL/NF-KAPPA B/I KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN THE GENERATION AND TREATMENT OF HUMAN CANCER. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B FAMILY IS A GROUP OF STRUCTURALLY-RELATED, TIGHTLY-REGULATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF A MULTITUDE OF GENES INVOLVED IN KEY CELLULAR AND ORGANISMAL PROCESSES. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAY IS MISREGULATED IN A VARIETY OF HUMAN CANCERS, ESPECIALLY ONES OF LYMPHOID CELL ORIGIN, DUE EITHER TO GENETIC CHANGES (SUCH AS CHROMOSOMAL REARRANGEMENTS, AMPLIFICATIONS, AND MUTATIONS) OR TO CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE PATHWAY BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. CONSTITUTIVE ACTIVATION OF THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE ONCOGENIC STATE IN SEVERAL WAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, BY DRIVING PROLIFERATION, BY ENHANCING CELL SURVIVAL, OR BY PROMOTING ANGIOGENESIS OR METASTASIS. IN MANY CASES, INHIBITION OF REL/NF-KAPPA B ACTIVITY REVERSES ALL OR PART OF THE MALIGNANT STATE. THUS, THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY HAS RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION AS A FOCAL POINT FOR CLINICAL INTERVENTION. 2002 6 669 21 BONE MARROW STROMAL CELL ANTIGEN-1 (CD157) REGULATED BY SPHINGOSINE KINASE 2 MEDIATES KIDNEY FIBROSIS. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IS A PROGRESSIVE DISEASE THAT MAY LEAD TO END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE. INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS DEVELOPS AS THE DISEASE PROGRESSES. THERAPIES THAT FOCUS ON FIBROSIS TO DELAY OR REVERSE PROGRESSIVE RENAL FAILURE ARE LIMITED. WE AND OTHERS SHOWED THAT SPHINGOSINE KINASE 2-DEFICIENT MICE (SPHK2 (-/-)) DEVELOP LESS FIBROSIS IN MOUSE MODELS OF KIDNEY FIBROSIS. SPHINGOSINE KINASE2 (SPHK2), ONE OF TWO SPHINGOSINE KINASES THAT PRODUCE SPHINGOSINE 1-PHOSPHATE (S1P), IS PRIMARILY LOCATED IN THE NUCLEUS. S1P PRODUCED BY SPHK2 INHIBITS HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) AND CHANGES HISTONE ACETYLATION STATUS, WHICH CAN LEAD TO ALTERED TARGET GENE EXPRESSION. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT SPHK2 EPIGENETICALLY REGULATES DOWNSTREAM GENES TO INDUCE FIBROSIS, AND WE PERFORMED A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS USING THE COMBINATION OF RNA-SEQ AND CHIP-SEQ. BST1/CD157 WAS IDENTIFIED AS A GENE THAT IS REGULATED BY SPHK2 THROUGH A CHANGE IN HISTONE ACETYLATION LEVEL, AND BST1 (-/-) MICE WERE FOUND TO DEVELOP LESS RENAL FIBROSIS AFTER UNILATERAL ISCHEMIA-REPERFUSION INJURY, A MOUSE MODEL OF KIDNEY FIBROSIS. ALTHOUGH BST1 IS A CELL-SURFACE MOLECULE THAT HAS A WIDE VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS THROUGH ITS VARIED ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES AND DOWNSTREAM INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS, NO STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF BST1 IN KIDNEY DISEASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED PREVIOUSLY. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT BST1 IS A GENE THAT IS REGULATED BY SPHK2 THROUGH EPIGENETIC CHANGE AND IS CRITICAL IN KIDNEY FIBROSIS. 2022 7 3096 24 GENOMIC CHARACTERIZATION REVEALS NOVEL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE VALOSIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN-MEDIATED CARDIAC PROTECTION AGAINST HEART FAILURE. CHRONIC HYPERTENSION IS A KEY RISK FACTOR FOR HEART FAILURE. HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES FOUND THAT THE VALOSIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN (VCP), AN ATPASE-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN, WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE HYPERTENSIVE HEART TISSUES. IN THIS STUDY, WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT RESTORATION OF VCP PROTECTED THE HEART AGAINST PRESSURE OVERLOAD-INDUCED HEART FAILURE. WITH A CARDIAC-SPECIFIC TRANSGENIC (TG) MOUSE MODEL, WE SHOWED THAT A MODERATE INCREASE OF VCP WAS ABLE TO ATTENUATE CHRONIC PRESSURE OVERLOAD-INDUCED MALADAPTIVE CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY AND DYSFUNCTION. RNA SEQUENCING AND A COMPREHENSIVE BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS FURTHER DEMONSTRATED THAT OVEREXPRESSION OF VCP IN THE HEART NORMALIZED THE PRESSURE OVERLOAD-STIMULATED HYPERTROPHIC SIGNALS AND REPRESSED THE STRESS-INDUCED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. IN ADDITION, VCP OVEREXPRESSION PROMOTED CELL SURVIVAL BY ENHANCING THE MITOCHONDRIA RESISTANCE TO THE OXIDATIVE STRESS VIA ACTIVATING THE RICTOR-MEDIATED-GENE NETWORKS. VCP WAS ALSO FOUND TO BE INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE SPLICING AND DIFFERENTIAL ISOFORM EXPRESSION FOR SOME GENES THAT ARE RELATED TO ATP PRODUCTION AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS BY INTERACTING WITH LONG NO-CODING RNAS AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES, INDICATING A NOVEL EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF VCP IN INTEGRATING CODING AND NONCODING GENOMIC NETWORK IN THE STRESSED HEART. IN SUMMARY, OUR STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT THE RESCUING OF A DEFICIENT VCP IN THE HEART COULD PREVENT PRESSURE OVERLOAD-INDUCED HEART FAILURE BY RECTIFYING CARDIAC HYPERTROPHIC AND INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING AND ENHANCING THE CARDIAC RESISTANCE TO OXIDATIVE STRESS, WHICH BROUGHT IN NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISM OF VCP IN PROTECTING PATIENTS FROM HYPERTENSIVE HEART FAILURE. 2020 8 5009 24 PERK IS A CRITICAL METABOLIC HUB FOR IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE FUNCTION IN MACROPHAGES. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION TRIGGERS COMPENSATORY IMMUNOSUPPRESSION TO STOP INFLAMMATION AND MINIMIZE TISSUE DAMAGE. STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS AUGMENTS THE SUPPRESSIVE PHENOTYPES OF IMMUNE CELLS; HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERPINNING THIS PROCESS AND HOW IT LINKS TO THE METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE MACROPHAGES REMAIN ELUSIVE. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE REPORT THAT THE HELPER T CELL 2 CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN-4 AND THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT INCREASE THE ACTIVITY OF A PROTEIN KINASE RNA-LIKE ER KINASE (PERK)-SIGNALING CASCADE IN MACROPHAGES AND PROMOTE IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE M2 ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION. LOSS OF PERK SIGNALING IMPEDED MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION AND LIPID OXIDATION CRITICAL FOR M2 MACROPHAGES. PERK ACTIVATION MEDIATED THE UPREGULATION OF PHOSPHOSERINE AMINOTRANSFERASE 1 (PSAT1) AND SERINE BIOSYNTHESIS VIA THE DOWNSTREAM TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR ATF-4. INCREASED SERINE BIOSYNTHESIS RESULTED IN ENHANCED MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION AND ALPHA-KETOGLUTARATE PRODUCTION REQUIRED FOR JMJD3-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION. INHIBITION OF PERK SUPPRESSED MACROPHAGE IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY AND COULD ENHANCE THE EFFICACY OF IMMUNE CHECKPOINT PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH PROTEIN 1 INHIBITION IN MELANOMA. OUR FINDINGS DELINEATE A PREVIOUSLY UNDESCRIBED CONNECTION BETWEEN PERK SIGNALING AND PSAT1-MEDIATED SERINE METABOLISM CRITICAL FOR PROMOTING IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE FUNCTION IN M2 MACROPHAGES. 2022 9 6012 20 THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY REGULATES POST-STROKE NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS HAVE EMERGED AS ATTRACTIVE MOLECULAR SUBSTRATES THAT INTEGRATE EXTRINSIC CHANGES INTO THE DETERMINATION OF CELL IDENTITY. SINCE STROKE-RELATED BRAIN DAMAGE RELEASES MICRO-ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, WE EXAMINED THE ROLE OF A SIGNALING-INDUCED EPIGENETIC PATHWAY, AN ATYPICAL PROTEIN KINASE C (APKC)-MEDIATED PHOSPHORYLATION OF CREB-BINDING PROTEIN (CBP), IN POST-STROKE NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING. USING A KNOCKIN MOUSE STRAIN (CBPS436A) WHERE THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY WAS DEFECTIVE, WE SHOW THAT DISRUPTION OF THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY IN A MURINE FOCAL ISCHEMIC STROKE MODEL INCREASES THE REPROGRAMMING EFFICIENCY OF ISCHEMIA-ACTIVATED PERICYTES (I-PERICYTES) TO NEURAL PRECURSORS. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ENHANCED CELLULAR REPROGRAMMING, CBPS436A MICE SHOW AN INCREASED TRANSIENT POPULATION OF LOCALLY DERIVED NEURAL PRECURSORS AFTER STROKE, WHILE DISPLAYING A REDUCED NUMBER OF I-PERICYTES, IMPAIRED VASCULAR REMODELING, AND PERTURBED MOTOR RECOVERY DURING THE CHRONIC PHASE OF STROKE. TOGETHER, THIS STUDY ELUCIDATES THE ROLE OF THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY IN MODULATING NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY FOLLOWING FOCAL ISCHEMIC STROKE. 2017 10 5636 22 SERELAXIN ALLEVIATES CARDIAC FIBROSIS THROUGH INHIBITING ENDOTHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION VIA RXFP1. RATIONALE: CARDIAC FIBROSIS IS AN INTEGRAL CONSTITUENT OF EVERY FORM OF CHRONIC HEART DISEASE, AND PERSISTENCE OF FIBROSIS REDUCES TISSUE COMPLIANCE AND ACCELERATES THE PROGRESSION TO HEART FAILURE. RELAXIN-2 IS A HUMAN HORMONE, WHICH HAS VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS SUCH AS MEDIATING RENAL VASODILATION IN PREGNANCY. ITS RECOMBINANT FORM SERELAXIN HAS RECENTLY BEEN TESTED IN CLINICAL TRIALS AS A THERAPY FOR ACUTE HEART FAILURE BUT DID NOT MEET ITS PRIMARY ENDPOINTS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXAMINE WHETHER SERELAXIN HAS AN ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECT IN THE HEART AND THEREFORE COULD BE BENEFICIAL IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE. METHODS: WE UTILIZED TWO DIFFERENT CARDIAC FIBROSIS MOUSE MODELS (ASCENDING AORTIC CONSTRICTION (AAC) AND ANGIOTENSIN II (ATII) ADMINISTRATION VIA OSMOTIC MINIPUMPS) TO ASSESS THE ANTI-FIBROTIC POTENTIAL OF SERELAXIN. HISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE STAINING AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS WERE PERFORMED TO ASSESS THE FIBROSIS LEVEL AND INDICATE ENDOTHELIAL CELLS WHICH ARE UNDERGOING ENDMT. IN VITRO TGFBETA1-INDUCED ENDOTHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (ENDMT) ASSAYS WERE PERFORMED IN HUMAN CORONARY ARTERY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AND MOUSE CARDIAC ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (MCECS) AND WERE EXAMINED USING MOLECULAR METHODS. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION-QPCR ASSAY WAS UTILIZED TO IDENTIFY THE SERELAXIN EFFECT ON CHROMATIN REMODELING IN THE RXFP1 PROMOTER REGION IN MCECS. RESULTS: OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE A SIGNIFICANT AND DOSE-DEPENDENT ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECT OF SERELAXIN IN THE HEART IN BOTH MODELS. WE FURTHER SHOW THAT SERELAXIN MEDIATES THIS EFFECT, AT LEAST IN PART, THROUGH INHIBITION OF ENDMT THROUGH THE ENDOTHELIAL RELAXIN FAMILY PEPTIDE RECEPTOR 1 (RXFP1). WE FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THAT SERELAXIN ADMINISTRATION IS ABLE TO INCREASE ITS OWN RECEPTOR EXPRESSION (RXFP1) THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN FORM OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS BY ATTENUATING TGFBETA-PSMAD2/3 SIGNALING IN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY THAT SERELAXIN INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF ITS OWN RECEPTOR RXFP1 AND THAT THIS MEDIATES THE INHIBITION OF ENDMT AND CARDIAC FIBROSIS, SUGGESTING THAT SERELAXIN MAY HAVE A BENEFICIAL EFFECT AS ANTI-FIBROTIC THERAPY IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE. 2020 11 3049 22 GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS REVEALS ZINC TRANSPORTER ZIP9 REGULATED BY DNA METHYLATION PROMOTES RADIATION-INDUCED SKIN FIBROSIS VIA THE TGF-BETA SIGNALING PATHWAY. RADIATION-INDUCED SKIN FIBROSIS IS A DETRIMENTAL AND CHRONIC DISORDER THAT OCCURS AFTER RADIATION EXPOSURE. DNA METHYLATION HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS AN IMPORTANT REGULATORY MECHANISM OF MULTIPLE PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. IN THIS STUDY, WE COMPARED THE GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION STATUS IN RADIATION-INDUCED FIBROTIC SKIN AND ADJACENT NORMAL TISSUES OF RATS BY METHYLATED DNA IMMUNOPRECIPITATION SEQUENCING. RADIATION-INDUCED FIBROTIC SKIN SHOWED DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH 3,650 PROTEIN-CODING GENES, 72 MICRORNAS, 5,836 LONG NONCODING RNAS AND 3 PIWI-INTERACTING RNAS. BY INTEGRATING THE MRNA AND METHYLATION PROFILES, THE ZINC TRANSPORTER SLC39A9/ZIP9 WAS INVESTIGATED IN GREATER DETAIL. THE PROTEIN LEVEL OF ZIP9 WAS INCREASED IN IRRADIATED SKIN TISSUES OF HUMANS, MONKEYS, AND RATS, ESPECIALLY IN RADIOGENIC FIBROTIC SKIN TISSUES. RADIATION INDUCED THE DEMETHYLATION OF A CPG DINUCLEOTIDE IN EXON 1 OF ZIP9 THAT RESULTED IN RECRUITMENT OF THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTOR SP1 AND INCREASED ZIP9 EXPRESSION. OVEREXPRESSION OF ZIP9 RESULTED IN ACTIVATION OF THE PROFIBROTIC TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA SIGNALING PATHWAY THROUGH PROTEIN KINASE B IN HUMAN FIBROBLASTS. IN ADDITION, RADIATION-INDUCED SKIN FIBROSIS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED ZINC ACCUMULATION. THE ZINC CHELATOR N,N,N',N'-TETRAKIS(2-PYRIDYLMETHYL)-1,2-ETHYLENEDIAMINE ABROGATED ZIP9-INDUCED ACTIVATION OF THE TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA SIGNALING PATHWAY AND ATTENUATED RADIATION-INDUCED SKIN FIBROSIS IN A RAT MODEL. IN SUMMARY, OUR FINDINGS ILLUSTRATE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF ZIP9 AND ITS CRITICAL ROLE IN PROMOTING RADIATION-INDUCED SKIN FIBROSIS. 2020 12 984 23 CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ALTERS GENE EXPRESSION IN RAT COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS PROMOTING CHROMATIN REMODELING, BARRIER DYSFUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION. CHRONIC STRESS IS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED ABDOMINAL PAIN (VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY), BUT THE CELLULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HOW CHRONIC STRESS INDUCES VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. IN THIS STUDY, WE EXAMINED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IN COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS FROM A RAT MODEL USING RNA-SEQUENCING TO EXAMINE STRESS-INDUCED CHANGES TO THE TRANSCRIPTOME. FOLLOWING CHRONIC STRESS, THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY UP-REGULATED GENES INCLUDED ATG16L1, COQ10B, DCAF13, NAT2, PTBP2, RRAS2, SPINK4 AND DOWN-REGULATED GENES INCLUDING ABAT, CITED2, CNNM2, DAB2IP, PLEKHM1, SCD2, AND TAB2. THE PRIMARY ALTERED BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES REVEALED BY NETWORK ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS WERE INFLAMMATION/IMMUNE RESPONSE, TISSUE MORPHOGENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT, AND NUCLEOSOME/CHROMATIN ASSEMBLY. THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN-REGULATED PROCESS WAS THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT/FUNCTION, WHEREAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY UP-REGULATED PROCESSES WERE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, ORGANISMAL INJURY, AND CHROMATIN REMODELING MEDIATED BY H3K9 METHYLATION. FURTHERMORE, A SUBPOPULATION OF STRESSED RATS DEMONSTRATED VERY SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED GENE EXPRESSION AND TRANSCRIPT ISOFORMS, ENRICHED FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, INCLUDING UPREGULATION OF CYTOKINE AND CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR GENE EXPRESSION COUPLED WITH DOWNREGULATION OF EPITHELIAL ADHERENS AND TIGHT JUNCTION MRNAS. IN SUMMARY, THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THAT CHRONIC STRESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED LEVELS OF CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES, THEIR DOWNSTREAM SIGNALING PATHWAYS COUPLED TO DYSREGULATION OF INTESTINAL CELL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CHROMATIN REMODELING LIKELY PLAYS A PROMINENT ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. RESULTS ALSO SUGGEST THAT SUPER ENHANCERS PLAY A PRIMARY ROLE IN CHRONIC STRESS-ASSOCIATED INTESTINAL BARRIER DYSFUNCTION. 2022 13 3390 21 HOPX PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS INDUCED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION AND CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY. PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV (PLWH) HAVE TO TAKE AN ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) FOR LIFE AND SHOW NONCOMMUNICABLE ILLNESSES SUCH AS CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, IMMUNE ACTIVATION, AND MULTIORGAN DYSREGULATION. RECENT STUDIES SUGGEST THAT LONG-TERM USE OF ART INDUCES COMORBID CONDITIONS AND IS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF HEART FAILURE IN PLWH. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS (ARVS) INDUCED HEART FAILURE IS UNCLEAR. TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISM OF ARVS INDUCED CARDIAC DYSFUNCTION, WE PERFORMED GLOBAL TRANSCRIPTOMIC PROFILING OF ARVS TREATED NEONATAL RAT VENTRICULAR CARDIOMYOCYTES IN CULTURE. DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES WERE IDENTIFIED BY RNA-SEQUENCING. OUR DATA SHOW THAT ARVS TREATMENT CAUSES UPREGULATION OF SEVERAL BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOTOXICITY, HYPERTROPHY, AND HEART FAILURE. GLOBAL GENE EXPRESSION DATA WERE VALIDATED IN CARDIAC TISSUE ISOLATED FROM HIV PATIENTS HAVING A HISTORY OF ART. INTERESTINGLY, WE FOUND THAT HOMEODOMAIN-ONLY PROTEIN HOMEOBOX (HOPX) EXPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN CARDIOMYOCYTES TREATED WITH ARVS AND IN THE HEART TISSUE OF HIV PATIENTS. FURTHERMORE, WE FOUND THAT HOPX PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ARVS MEDIATED CELLULAR HYPERTROPHY. MECHANISTICALLY, WE FOUND THAT HOPX PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION, THROUGH DEACETYLATION OF HISTONE, WHILE THE HDAC INHIBITOR, TRICHOSTATIN A, CAN RESTORE THE ACETYLATION LEVEL OF HISTONE 3 IN THE PRESENCE OF ARVS. 2021 14 4867 22 OSSIFYING FIBROMA TUMOR STEM CELLS ARE MAINTAINED BY EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF A TSP1/TGF-BETA/SMAD3 AUTOCRINE LOOP. ABNORMAL STEM CELL FUNCTION MAKES A KNOWN CONTRIBUTION TO MANY MALIGNANT TUMORS, BUT THE ROLE OF STEM CELLS IN BENIGN TUMORS IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. HERE, WE SHOW THAT OSSIFYING FIBROMA (OF) CONTAINS A STEM CELL POPULATION THAT RESEMBLES MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS (OFMSCS) AND IS CAPABLE OF GENERATING OF-LIKE TUMOR XENOGRAFTS. MECHANISTICALLY, OFMSCS SHOW ENHANCED TGF-BETA SIGNALING THAT INDUCES ABERRANT PROLIFERATION AND DEFICIENT OSTEOGENESIS VIA NOTCH AND BMP SIGNALING PATHWAYS, RESPECTIVELY. THE ELEVATED TGF-BETA ACTIVITY IS TIGHTLY REGULATED BY JHDM1D-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THROMBOSPONDIN-1 (TSP1), FORMING A JHDM1D/TSP1/TGF-BETA/SMAD3 AUTOCRINE LOOP. INHIBITION OF TGF-BETA SIGNALING IN OFMSCS CAN RESCUE THEIR ABNORMAL OSTEOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION AND ELEVATED PROLIFERATION RATE. FURTHERMORE, CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF TGF-BETA CAN CONVERT NORMAL MSCS INTO OF-LIKE MSCS VIA ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS JHDM1D/TSP1/TGF-BETA/SMAD3 AUTOCRINE LOOP. THESE RESULTS REVEAL THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TGF-BETA SIGNALING IN MSCS GOVERNS THE BENIGN TUMOR PHENOTYPE IN OF AND HIGHLIGHT TGF-BETA SIGNALING AS A CANDIDATE THERAPEUTIC TARGET. 2013 15 1461 29 DISRUPTION OF RCAN1.4 EXPRESSION MEDIATED BY YY1/HDAC2 MODULATES CHRONIC RENAL ALLOGRAFT INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS. CHRONIC ALLOGRAFT DYSFUNCTION (CAD) IS A MAJOR FACTOR THAT HINDERS KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL IN THE LONG RUN. EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS/TUBULAR ATROPHY (IF/TA), WHICH IS THE MAIN HISTOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURE OF CAD. ABERRANT EXPRESSION OF THE REGULATOR OF CALCINEURIN 1 (RCAN1), RECOGNIZED AS AN ENDOGENOUS INHIBITOR OF THE CALCINEURIN PHOSPHATASE, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EXTENSIVELY INVOLVED IN VARIOUS KIDNEY DISEASES. HOWEVER, IT REMAINS UNCLEAR HOW RCAN1.4 REGULATES IF/TA FORMATION IN CAD PATIENTS. HEREIN, AN IN VIVO MOUSE RENAL TRANSPLANTATION MODEL AND AN IN VITRO MODEL OF HUMAN RENAL TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS (HK-2) TREATED WITH TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) WERE EMPLOYED. OUR RESULTS PROVED THAT RCAN1.4 EXPRESSION WAS DECREASED IN VIVO AND IN VITRO, IN ADDITION TO THE UP-REGULATION OF YIN YANG 1 (YY1), A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO CONVEY MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). KNOCKING IN OF RCAN1.4 EFFICIENTLY ATTENUATED CHRONIC RENAL ALLOGRAFT INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS IN VIVO AND INHIBITED TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED EMT IN VITRO THROUGH REGULATING ANTI-OXIDATIVE STRESS AND THE CALCINEURIN/NUCLEAR FACTOR OF ACTIVATED T CELLS CYTOPLASMIC 1 (NFATC1) SIGNALING PATHWAY. IN ADDITION, SUPPRESSION OF YY1 MEDIATED BY SHRNA OR SIRNA ALLEVIATED TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED EMT THROUGH ABOLISHING REACTIVE SPECIES PARTLY IN AN RCAN1.4-DEPENDENT MANNER. NOTABLY, WE CONFIRMED THAT YY1 NEGATIVELY REGULATED RCAN1.4 TRANSCRIPTION BY DIRECTLY INTERACTING WITH THE RCAN1.4 PROMOTER. IN ADDITION, HISTONE DEACETYLASE 2 (HDAC2) INTERACTED WITH YY1 TO FORM A MULTI-MOLECULAR COMPLEX, WHICH WAS INVOLVED IN TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED RCAN1.4 TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION. THEREFORE, RCAN1.4 IS SUGGESTED TO BE MODULATED BY THE YY1/HDAC2 TRANSCRIPTION REPRESSOR COMPLEX IN AN EPIGENETIC MANNER, WHICH IS A MEDIATED NEPHROPROTECTIVE EFFECT PARTLY THROUGH MODULATING O2?- GENERATION AND THE CALCINEURIN/NFATC1 SIGNALING PATHWAY. THUS, THE YY1-RCAN1.4 AXIS CONSTITUTES AN INNOVATIVE TARGET FOR IF/TA TREATMENT IN CAD PATIENTS. 2023 16 6659 29 UPREGULATION OF AKT3 CONFERS RESISTANCE TO THE AKT INHIBITOR MK2206 IN BREAST CANCER. ACQUIRED RESISTANCE TO MOLECULAR TARGETED THERAPY REPRESENTS A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR THE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF CANCER. HYPERACTIVATION OF THE PI3K/AKT PATHWAY IS FREQUENTLY OBSERVED IN VIRTUALLY ALL HUMAN MALIGNANCIES, AND NUMEROUS PI3K AND AKT INHIBITORS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CLINICAL EVALUATION. HOWEVER, MECHANISMS OF ACQUIRED RESISTANCE TO AKT INHIBITORS HAVE YET TO BE DESCRIBED. HERE, WE USE A BREAST CANCER PRECLINICAL MODEL TO IDENTIFY RESISTANCE MECHANISMS TO A SMALL MOLECULE ALLOSTERIC AKT INHIBITOR, MK2206. USING A STEP-WISE AND CHRONIC HIGH-DOSE EXPOSURE, BREAST CANCER CELL LINES HARBORING ONCOGENIC PI3K RESISTANT TO MK2206 WERE ESTABLISHED. USING THIS MODEL, WE REVEAL THAT AKT3 EXPRESSION IS MARKEDLY UPREGULATED IN AKT INHIBITOR-RESISTANT CELLS. INDUCTION OF AKT3 IS REGULATED EPIGENETICALLY BY THE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRA TERMINAL DOMAIN PROTEINS. IMPORTANTLY, KNOCKDOWN OF AKT3, BUT NOT AKT1 OR AKT2, IN RESISTANT CELLS RESTORES SENSITIVITY TO MK2206. AKT INHIBITOR-RESISTANT CELLS ALSO DISPLAY AN EPITHELIAL TO MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION PHENOTYPE AS ASSESSED BY ALTERATIONS IN THE LEVELS OF E-CADHERIN, N-CADHERIN, AND VIMENTIN, AS WELL AS ENHANCED INVASIVENESS OF TUMOR SPHEROIDS. NOTABLY, THE INVASIVE MORPHOLOGY OF RESISTANT SPHEROIDS IS DIMINISHED UPON AKT3 DEPLETION. WE ALSO SHOW THAT RESISTANCE TO MK2206 IS REVERSIBLE BECAUSE UPON DRUG REMOVAL RESISTANT CELLS REGAIN SENSITIVITY TO AKT INHIBITION, ACCOMPANIED BY REEXPRESSION OF EPITHELIAL MARKERS AND REDUCTION OF AKT3 EXPRESSION, IMPLYING THAT EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING CONTRIBUTES TO ACQUISITION OF RESISTANCE. THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE A RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING THERAPEUTICS TARGETING AKT3 TO CIRCUMVENT ACQUIRED RESISTANCE IN BREAST CANCER. MOL CANCER THER; 15(8); 1964-74. (C)2016 AACR. 2016 17 1449 16 DIRECT LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING FOR INDUCED KERATINOCYTE STEM CELLS: A POTENTIAL APPROACH FOR SKIN REPAIR. SEVERE TRAUMA OR CHRONIC WOUNDS CAN DEPLETE THE KERATINOCYTE STEM CELLS (KSCS) PRESENT IN THE EPIDERMAL BASAL LAYER OR INHIBIT THEIR MIGRATION LEADING TO COMPROMISED WOUND HEALING. SUPPLEMENTING KSCS IS THE KEY TO SOLUTION WHILE LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING PROVIDES A NEW APPROACH TO ACQUIRING KSCS. THROUGH DIRECT LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING, INDUCED KSCS (IKSCS) CAN BE PRODUCED FROM SOMATIC CELLS, WHICH EXHIBIT GREAT APPLICATION POTENTIAL. TWO STRATEGIES ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED TO DIRECTLY GENERATE IKSCS, LINEAGE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (TF)-MEDIATED AND PLURIPOTENCY FACTORS-MEDIATED. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON LINEAGE TF-MEDIATED DIRECT REPROGRAMMING AND DESCRIBES THE CONVERSION PROCESS ALONG WITH THE UNDERLYING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. IT ALSO DISCUSSES OTHER POTENTIAL INDUCTION STRATEGIES TO GENERATE IKSCS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH IN SITU REPROGRAMMING FOR SKIN REPAIR. 2023 18 3762 25 INTEGRATING THE TUMOR-SUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY OF MASPIN WITH P53 IN RETUNING THE EPITHELIAL HOMEOSTASIS: A WORKING HYPOTHESIS AND APPLICABLE PROSPECTS. EPITHELIAL MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION AND TUMOROUS DEVELOPMENT WERE BELIEVED TO BE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOSS OF ITS MICROENVIRONMENT INTEGRITY AND HOMEOSTASIS. THE TUMOR-SUPPRESSIVE MOLECULES MASPIN AND P53 WERE DEMONSTRATED TO PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN BODY EPITHELIAL AND IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS. DOWNREGULATION OF MASPIN AND MUTATION OF P53 WERE FREQUENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION AND POOR PROGNOSIS IN VARIOUS HUMAN CANCERS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUSED ON SUMMARIZING THE PROGRESS OF THE MOLECULAR NETWORK OF MASPIN IN STUDYING EPITHELIAL TUMOROUS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS RESPONSE TO CLINIC TREATMENT AND TRY TO CLARIFY THE UNDERLYING ANTITUMOR MECHANISM. NOTABLY, MASPIN EXPRESSION WAS REPORTED TO BE TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVATED BY P53, AND THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY OF P53 WAS DEMONSTRATED TO BE ENHANCED BY ITS ACETYLATION THROUGH INHIBITION OF HDAC1. AS AN ENDOGENOUS INHIBITOR OF HDAC1, MASPIN POSSIBLY POTENTIATES THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY OF P53 BY ACETYLATING THE P53 PROTEIN. HEREBY, IT COULD FORM A "SELF-PROPELLING" ANTITUMOR MECHANISM. THUS, WE SUMMARIZED THAT, UPON STIMULATION OF CELLULAR STRESS AND BY INTEGRATING WITH P53, THE AROUSED MASPIN PLAYED THE EPIGENETIC SURVEILLANT ROLE TO PREVENT THE EPITHELIAL DIGRESSIONAL PROCESS AND RETUNE THE EPITHELIAL HOMEOSTASIS, WHICH IS INVOLVED IN ACTIVATING HOST IMMUNE SURVEILLANCE, REGULATING THE INFLAMMATORY FACTORS, AND FINE-TUNING ITS ASSOCIATED CELL SIGNALING PATHWAYS. CONSEQUENTIALLY, IN A NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITION, ACTIVATION OF THE ABOVE "SELF-PROPELLING" ANTITUMOR MECHANISM OF MASPIN AND P53 COULD REDUCE CELLULAR STRESS (E.G., CHRONIC INFECTION/INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, TRANSFORMATION) EFFECTIVELY AND ACHIEVE CANCER PREVENTION. MEANWHILE, DESIGNING A STRATEGY OF MIMICKING MASPIN'S EPIGENETIC REGULATION ACTIVITY WITH INTEGRATING P53 TUMOR-SUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY COULD ENHANCE THE CHEMOTHERAPY EFFICACY THEORETICALLY IN A PATHOLOGICAL CONDITION OF CANCER. 2022 19 1335 19 DERMAL FIBROBLASTS CULTURED FROM DONORS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS RETAIN AN EPIGENETIC MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH POOR WOUND HEALING RESPONSES. THE PREVALENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) IS ESCALATING GLOBALLY. PATIENTS SUFFER FROM MULTIPLE COMPLICATIONS INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC WOUNDS THAT CAN LEAD TO AMPUTATION. THESE WOUNDS ARE CHARACTERISED BY AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING ELEVATED TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA). DERMAL FIBROBLASTS (DF) ARE CRITICAL FOR EFFECTIVE WOUND HEALING, SO WE SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH WHETHER THERE WERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN DF CULTURED FROM T2DM DONORS OR THOSE WITHOUT DIABETES (ND-DF). ND- AND T2DM-DF WHEN CULTURED SIMILARLY IN VITRO SECRETED COMPARABLE CONCENTRATIONS OF TNF-ALPHA. FUNCTIONALLY, PRE-TREATMENT WITH TNF-ALPHA REDUCED THE PROLIFERATION OF ND-DF AND TRANSIENTLY ALTERED ND-DF MORPHOLOGY; HOWEVER, T2DM-DF WERE RESISTANT TO THESE TNF-ALPHA INDUCED CHANGES. IN CONTRAST, TNF-ALPHA INHIBITED ND- AND T2DM-DF MIGRATION AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEASE EXPRESSION TO THE SAME DEGREE, ALTHOUGH T2DM-DF EXPRESSED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LEVELS OF TISSUE INHIBITOR OF METALLOPROTEASES (TIMP)-2. FINALLY, TNF-ALPHA SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE SECRETION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (INCLUDING CCL2, CXCL1 AND SERPINE1) IN ND-DF, WHILST THIS EFFECT IN T2DM-DF WAS BLUNTED, PRESUMABLY DUE TO THE TENDENCY TO HIGHER BASELINE PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE EXPRESSION OBSERVED IN THIS CELL TYPE. COLLECTIVELY, THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT T2DM-DF EXHIBIT A SELECTIVE LOSS OF RESPONSIVENESS TO TNF-ALPHA, PARTICULARLY REGARDING PROLIFERATIVE AND SECRETORY FUNCTIONS. THIS HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANT PHENOTYPIC CHANGES IN T2DM-DF THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC WOUNDS IN THESE PATIENTS. 2021 20 4002 22 LOSS OF P120 CATENIN AND LINKS TO MITOTIC ALTERATIONS, INFLAMMATION, AND SKIN CANCER. TUMOR FORMATION INVOLVES EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AND MICROENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AS WELL AS CUMULATIVE GENETIC ALTERATIONS ENCOMPASSING SOMATIC MUTATIONS, LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY, AND ANEUPLOIDY. HERE, WE SHOW THAT CONDITIONAL TARGETING OF P120 CATENIN IN MICE LEADS TO PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SKIN NEOPLASIAS ASSOCIATED WITH INTRINSIC NF-KAPPAB ACTIVATION. WE FIND THAT, SIMILARLY, SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS IN HUMANS DISPLAY ALTERED P120 AND ACTIVATED NF-KAPPAB. WE SHOW THAT EPIDERMAL HYPERPROLIFERATION ARISING FROM P120 LOSS CAN BE ABROGATED BY IKAPPAB KINASE 2 INHIBITORS. ALTHOUGH THIS UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PATHWAY, THE ROLE OF NF-KAPPAB IN HYPERPROLIFERATION APPEARS ROOTED IN ITS IMPACT ON EPIDERMAL MICROENVIRONMENT BECAUSE AS P120-NULL KERATINOCYTES DISPLAY A GROWTH-ARRESTED PHENOTYPE IN CULTURE. WE TRACE THIS TO A MITOTIC DEFECT, RESULTING IN UNSTABLE, BINUCLEATED CELLS IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. WE SHOW THAT THE ABNORMAL MITOSES CAN BE AMELIORATED BY INHIBITING RHOA, THE ACTIVITY OF WHICH IS ABNORMALLY HIGH. CONVERSELY, WE CAN ELICIT SUCH MITOTIC DEFECTS IN CONTROL KERATINOCYTES BY ELEVATING RHOA ACTIVITY. THE ABILITY OF P120 DEFICIENCY TO ELICIT MITOTIC ALTERATIONS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, THAT TOGETHER MAY FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENETIC INSTABILITY IN VIVO, PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO WHY IT FIGURES SO PROMINENTLY IN SKIN CANCER PROGRESSION. 2008