1  4573 71 MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPT, A LONG NONCODING RNA, IS OVEREXPRESSED DURING DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY DUE TO CHRONIC CHAGAS DISEASE. LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) MODULATE GENE EXPRESSION AT THE EPIGENETIC, TRANSCRIPTIONAL, AND POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVELS. DYSREGULATION OF THE LNCRNA KNOWN AS MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPT (MIAT) HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. CHAGAS DISEASE CAUSES A SEVERE INFLAMMATORY DILATED CHRONIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (CCC). WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLE OF MIAT IN CCC. A WHOLE-TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF HEART BIOPSY SPECIMENS AND FORMALIN-FIXED, PARAFFIN-EMBEDDED SAMPLES REVEALED THAT MIAT WAS OVEREXPRESSED IN PATIENTS WITH CCC, COMPARED WITH SUBJECTS WITH NONINFLAMMATORY DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CONTROLS. THESE RESULTS WERE CONFIRMED IN A MOUSE MODEL. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT MIAT IS A SPECIFIC BIOMARKER OF CCC.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
2   592 22 BET BROMODOMAIN PROTEINS REGULATE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPROGRAMMING IN GENETIC DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY. THE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL (BET) FAMILY COMPRISES EPIGENETIC READER PROTEINS THAT ARE IMPORTANT REGULATORS OF INFLAMMATORY AND HYPERTROPHIC GENE EXPRESSION IN THE HEART. WE PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED THE ACTIVATION OF PROINFLAMMATORY GENE NETWORKS AS A KEY EARLY DRIVER OF DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY (DCM) IN TRANSGENIC MICE EXPRESSING A MUTANT FORM OF PHOSPHOLAMBAN (PLNR9C) - A GENETIC CAUSE OF DCM IN HUMANS. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT BETS COACTIVATE THIS INFLAMMATORY PROCESS, REPRESENTING A CRITICAL NODE IN THE PROGRESSION OF DCM. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE TREATED PLNR9C OR AGE-MATCHED WT MICE LONGITUDINALLY WITH THE SMALL MOLECULE BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITOR JQ1 OR VEHICLE. BET INHIBITION ABROGATED ADVERSE CARDIAC REMODELING, REDUCED CARDIAC FIBROSIS, AND PROLONGED SURVIVAL IN PLNR9C MICE BY INHIBITING EXPRESSION OF PROINFLAMMATORY GENE NETWORKS AT ALL STAGES OF DISEASE. SPECIFICALLY, JQ1 HAD PROFOUND EFFECTS ON PROINFLAMMATORY GENE NETWORK EXPRESSION IN CARDIAC FIBROBLASTS, WHILE HAVING LITTLE EFFECT ON GENE EXPRESSION IN CARDIOMYOCYTES. CARDIAC FIBROBLAST PROLIFERATION WAS ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED BY JQ1. MECHANISTICALLY, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT BRD4 SERVES AS A DIRECT AND ESSENTIAL REGULATOR OF NF-KAPPAB-MEDIATED PROINFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION IN CARDIAC FIBROBLASTS. SUPPRESSING PROINFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION VIA BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITION COULD BE A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR CHRONIC DCM IN HUMANS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
3  2735 26 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION AND CARDIAC FIBROSIS THROUGH RAMAN MICROSPECTROSCOPY. CARDIOMYOPATHIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH FIBROTIC REMODELING OF THE HEART, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE EXCESSIVE ACCUMULATION OF COLLAGEN TYPE I (COL I) DUE TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND SUSPECTED EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES. DESPITE THE SEVERITY AND HIGH MORTALITY RATE OF CARDIAC FIBROSIS, CURRENT TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE OFTEN INADEQUATE, UNDERSCORING THE IMPORTANCE OF GAINING A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISEASE'S UNDERLYING MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS. IN THIS STUDY, THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) AND NUCLEI IN FIBROTIC AREAS OF DIFFERENT CARDIOMYOPATHIES WERE MOLECULARLY CHARACTERIZED BY RAMAN MICROSPECTROSCOPY AND IMAGING AND COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL MYOCARDIUM. PATIENT SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED FROM HEART TISSUE AFFECTED BY ISCHEMIA, HYPERTROPHY, AND DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY AND ANALYZED FOR FIBROSIS THROUGH CONVENTIONAL HISTOLOGY AND MARKER-INDEPENDENT RAMAN MICROSPECTROSCOPY (RMS). PROMINENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONTROL MYOCARDIUM AND CARDIOMYOPATHIES WERE REVEALED BY SPECTRAL DECONVOLUTION OF COL I RAMAN SPECTRA. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE AMIDE I REGION OF SPECTRAL SUBPEAK AT 1,608 CM(-1), WHICH IS A REPRESENTATIVE ENDOGENOUS MARKER FOR ALTERATIONS IN THE STRUCTURAL CONFORMATION OF COL I FIBERS. MOREOVER, EPIGENETIC 5MC DNA MODIFICATION WAS IDENTIFIED WITHIN CELL NUCLEI BY MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS. A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SIGNAL INTENSITIES OF SPECTRAL FEATURES INDICATIVE OF DNA METHYLATION WAS DETECTED IN CARDIOMYOPATHIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE 5MC STAINING. OVERALL, RMS IS A VERSATILE TECHNOLOGY IN THE DISCRIMINATION OF CARDIOMYOPATHIES BASED ON MOLECULAR EVALUATION OF COL I AND NUCLEI WHILE PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE DISEASES.NEW & NOTEWORTHY CARDIOMYOPATHIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE FIBROTIC REMODELING OF THE HEART, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE EXCESSIVE ACCUMULATION OF COLLAGEN TYPE I (COL I). IN THIS STUDY, WE USED MARKER-INDEPENDENT RAMAN MICROSPECTROSCOPY (RMS) TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISEASE'S UNDERLYING MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
4  3096 25 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
5  5225 25 PRMT1 MODULATES PROCESSING OF ASTHMA-RELATED PRIMARY MICRORNAS (PRI-MIRNAS) INTO MATURE MIRNAS IN LUNG EPITHELIAL CELLS. PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE-1 (PRMT1) IS AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC REGULATOR OF CELL FUNCTION AND CONTRIBUTES TO INFLAMMATION AND REMODELING IN ASTHMA IN A CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC MANNER. DISEASE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF MICRORNAS (MIRNA) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY LUNG DISEASES, INCLUDING ASTHMA. THE DE NOVO SYNTHESIS OF MIRNA DEPENDS ON THE TRANSCRIPTION OF PRIMARY MIRNA (PRI-MIRNA) TRANSCRIPT. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE ROLE OF PRMT1 ON PRI-MIRNA TO MATURE MIRNA PROCESS IN LUNG EPITHELIAL CELLS. HUMAN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS, BEAS-2B, WERE TRANSFECTED WITH THE PRMT1 EXPRESSION PLASMID PCDNA3.1-PRMT1 FOR 48 H. EXPRESSION PROFILES OF MIRNA WERE DETERMINED BY SMALL RNA DEEP SEQUENCING. COMPARING THESE MIRNAS WITH DATASETS OF MICROARRAYS FROM FIVE ASTHMA PATIENTS (GENE EXPRESSION OMNIBUS DATASET), 12 MIRNAS WERE IDENTIFIED THAT RELATED TO PRMT1 OVEREXPRESSION AND TO ASTHMA. THE OVEREXPRESSION OR KNOCKDOWN OF PRMT1 MODULATED THE EXPRESSION OF THE ASTHMA-RELATED MIRNAS AND THEIR PRI-MIRNAS. COIMMUNOPRECIPITATION SHOWED THAT PRMT1 FORMED A COMPLEX WITH STAT1 OR RUNX1 AND THUS ACTED AS A COACTIVATOR, STIMULATING THE TRANSCRIPTION OF PRI-MIRNAS. STIMULATION WITH TGF-BETA1 PROMOTED THE INTERACTION OF PRMT1 WITH STAT1 OR RUNX1, THEREBY UPREGULATING THE TRANSCRIPTION OF TWO MIRNAS: LET-7I AND MIR-423. SUBSEQUENT CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAYS REVEALED THAT THE BINDING OF THE PRMT1/STAT1 OR PRMT1/RUNX1 COACTIVATORS TO PRIMARY LET-7I (PRI-LET-7I) AND PRIMARY MIR (PRI-MIR) 423 PROMOTER WAS CRITICAL FOR PRI-LET-7I AND PRI-MIR-423 TRANSCRIPTION. THIS STUDY DESCRIBES A NOVEL ROLE OF PRMT1 AS A COACTIVATOR FOR STAT1 OR RUNX1, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION OF PRI-LET-7I AND PRI-MIR-423 IN EPITHELIAL CELLS AND MIGHT BE RELEVANT TO EPITHELIUM DYSFUNCTION IN ASTHMA.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
6   370 26 AN APICOMPLEXAN BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN, TGBDP1, ASSOCIATES WITH DIVERSE EPIGENETIC FACTORS TO REGULATE ESSENTIAL TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROCESSES IN TOXOPLASMA GONDII. THE PROTOZOAN PATHOGEN TOXOPLASMA GONDII RELIES ON TIGHT REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION TO INVADE AND ESTABLISH INFECTION IN ITS HOST. THE DIVERGENT GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF TOXOPLASMA AND RELATED APICOMPLEXAN PATHOGENS RELY HEAVILY ON REGULATORS OF CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS. THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION OF HISTONE ACETYLATION FOR TOXOPLASMA IN BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC INFECTION HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED, WHERE HISTONE ACETYLATION INCREASES AT ACTIVE GENE LOCI. HOWEVER, THE DIRECT CONSEQUENCES OF SPECIFIC HISTONE ACETYLATION MARKS AND THE CHROMATIN PATHWAY THAT INFLUENCES TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION IN RESPONSE TO THE MODIFICATION ARE UNCLEAR. AS A READER OF LYSINE ACETYLATION, THE BROMODOMAIN SERVES AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE ACETYLATED HISTONE AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORS. HERE WE SHOW THAT THE BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN, TGBDP1, WHICH IS CONSERVED AMONG APICOMPLEXA AND WITHIN THE ALVEOLATA SUPERPHYLUM, IS ESSENTIAL FOR TOXOPLASMA ASEXUAL PROLIFERATION. USING CLEAVAGE UNDER TARGETS AND TAGMENTATION, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT TGBDP1 IS RECRUITED TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL START SITES OF A LARGE PROPORTION OF PARASITE GENES. TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILING DURING TGBDP1 KNOCKDOWN REVEALED THAT LOSS OF TGBDP1 LEADS TO MAJOR DYSREGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION, IMPLYING MULTIPLE ROLES FOR TGBDP1 IN BOTH GENE ACTIVATION AND REPRESSION. THIS IS SUPPORTED BY INTERACTOME ANALYSIS OF TGBDP1 DEMONSTRATING THAT TGBDP1 FORMS A CORE COMPLEX WITH TWO OTHER BROMODOMAIN PROTEINS AND AN APIAP2 FACTOR. THIS CORE COMPLEX APPEARS TO INTERACT WITH OTHER EPIGENETIC FACTORS SUCH AS NUCLEOSOME REMODELING COMPLEXES. WE CONCLUDE THAT TGBDP1 INTERACTS WITH DIVERSE EPIGENETIC REGULATORS TO EXERT OPPOSING INFLUENCES ON GENE EXPRESSION IN THE TOXOPLASMA TACHYZOITE. IMPORTANCE HISTONE ACETYLATION IS CRITICAL FOR PROPER REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE SINGLE-CELLED EUKARYOTIC PATHOGEN TOXOPLASMA GONDII. BROMODOMAIN PROTEINS ARE "READERS" OF HISTONE ACETYLATION AND MAY LINK THE MODIFIED CHROMATIN TO TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. HERE, WE SHOW THAT THE BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN TGBDP1 IS ESSENTIAL FOR PARASITE SURVIVAL AND THAT LOSS OF TGBDP1 RESULTS IN GLOBAL DYSREGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. TGBDP1 IS RECRUITED TO THE PROMOTER REGION OF A LARGE PROPORTION OF PARASITE GENES, FORMS A CORE COMPLEX WITH TWO OTHER BROMODOMAIN PROTEINS, AND INTERACTS WITH DIFFERENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORY COMPLEXES. WE CONCLUDE THAT TGBDP1 IS A KEY FACTOR FOR SENSING SPECIFIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS TO INFLUENCE MULTIPLE FACETS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION IN TOXOPLASMA GONDII.	2023	

7  3941 30 LNCRNA DRAIR IS DOWNREGULATED IN DIABETIC MONOCYTES AND MODULATES THE INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) ARE INCREASINGLY IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOLOGY OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. HERE, WE EXAMINED THE ROLE OF LNCRNAS IN MONOCYTE DYSFUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2D). RNA SEQUENCING ANALYSIS OF CD14+ MONOCYTES FROM PATIENTS WITH T2D VERSUS HEALTHY CONTROLS REVEALED DOWNREGULATION OF ANTIINFLAMMATORY AND ANTIPROLIFERATIVE GENES, ALONG WITH SEVERAL LNCRNAS, INCLUDING A POTENTIALLY NOVEL DIVERGENT LNCRNA DIABETES REGULATED ANTIINFLAMMATORY RNA (DRAIR) AND ITS NEARBY GENE CPEB2. HIGH GLUCOSE AND PALMITIC ACID DOWNREGULATED DRAIR IN CULTURED CD14+ MONOCYTES, WHEREAS ANTIINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND MONOCYTE-TO-MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION UPREGULATED DRAIR VIA KLF4 TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR. DRAIR OVEREXPRESSION INCREASED ANTIINFLAMMATORY AND MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION GENES BUT INHIBITED PROINFLAMMATORY GENES. CONVERSELY, DRAIR KNOCKDOWN ATTENUATED ANTIINFLAMMATORY GENES, PROMOTED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, AND INHIBITED PHAGOCYTOSIS. DRAIR REGULATED TARGET GENE EXPRESSION THROUGH INTERACTION WITH CHROMATIN, AS WELL AS INHIBITION OF THE REPRESSIVE EPIGENETIC MARK H3K9ME2 AND ITS CORRESPONDING METHYLTRANSFERASE G9A. MOUSE ORTHOLOGOUS DRAIR AND CPEB2 WERE ALSO DOWNREGULATED IN PERITONEAL MACROPHAGES FROM T2D DB/DB MICE, AND DRAIR KNOCKDOWN IN NONDIABETIC MICE ENHANCED PROINFLAMMATORY GENES IN MACROPHAGES. THUS, DRAIR MODULATES THE INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE OF MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, AND ITS DOWNREGULATION IN T2D MAY PROMOTE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. AUGMENTATION OF ENDOGENOUS LNCRNAS LIKE DRAIR COULD SERVE AS NOVEL ANTIINFLAMMATORY THERAPIES FOR DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
8  2155 20 EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING IN FIBROGENESIS: DUAL TARGETING OF G9A AND DNMT1 FOR THE INHIBITION OF LIVER FIBROSIS. OBJECTIVE: HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS (HSC) TRANSDIFFERENTIATION INTO MYOFIBROBLASTS IS CENTRAL TO FIBROGENESIS. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, INCLUDING HISTONE AND DNA METHYLATION, PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. CONCERTED ACTION BETWEEN HISTONE AND DNA-MEHYLTRANSFERASES LIKE G9A AND DNMT1 IS A COMMON THEME IN GENE EXPRESSION REGULATION. WE AIMED TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF CM272, A FIRST-IN-CLASS DUAL AND REVERSIBLE G9A/DNMT1 INHIBITOR, IN HALTING FIBROGENESIS. DESIGN: G9A AND DNMT1 WERE ANALYSED IN CIRRHOTIC HUMAN LIVERS, MOUSE MODELS OF LIVER FIBROSIS AND CULTURED MOUSE HSC. G9A AND DNMT1 EXPRESSION WAS KNOCKED DOWN OR INHIBITED WITH CM272 IN HUMAN HSC (HHSC), AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC RESPONSES TO TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA1 (TGFBETA1) WERE EXAMINED. GLYCOLYTIC METABOLISM AND MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION WERE ANALYSED WITH SEAHORSE-XF TECHNOLOGY. GENE EXPRESSION REGULATION WAS ANALYSED BY CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR. ANTIFIBROGENIC ACTIVITY AND SAFETY OF CM272 WERE STUDIED IN MOUSE CHRONIC CCL(4) ADMINISTRATION AND BILE DUCT LIGATION (BDL), AND IN HUMAN PRECISION-CUT LIVER SLICES (PCLSS) IN A NEW BIOREACTOR TECHNOLOGY. RESULTS: G9A AND DNMT1 WERE DETECTED IN STROMAL CELLS IN AREAS OF ACTIVE FIBROSIS IN HUMAN AND MOUSE LIVERS. G9A AND DNMT1 EXPRESSION WAS INDUCED DURING MOUSE HSC ACTIVATION, AND TGFBETA1 TRIGGERED THEIR CHROMATIN RECRUITMENT IN HHSC. G9A/DNMT1 KNOCKDOWN AND CM272 INHIBITED TGFBETA1 FIBROGENIC RESPONSES IN HHSC. TGFBETA1-MEDIATED PROFIBROGENIC METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING WAS ABROGATED BY CM272, WHICH RESTORED GLUCONEOGENIC GENE EXPRESSION AND MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION THROUGH ON-TARGET EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. CM272 INHIBITED FIBROGENESIS IN MICE AND PCLSS WITHOUT TOXICITY. CONCLUSIONS: DUAL G9A/DNMT1 INHIBITION BY COMPOUNDS LIKE CM272 MAY BE A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR TREATING LIVER FIBROSIS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
9   749 32 CARDIAC EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN VEGF SIGNALING GENES ASSOCIATE WITH MYOCARDIAL MICROVASCULAR RAREFACTION IN EXPERIMENTAL CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IS COMMON IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE AND OFTEN RESULTS IN LEFT VENTRICULAR DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION (LVDD). HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR CARDIAC DAMAGE IN CKD-LVDD REMAIN TO BE ELUCIDATED. EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS MAY IMPOSE LONG-LASTING EFFECTS ON CELLULAR TRANSCRIPTION AND FUNCTION, BUT THEIR EXACT ROLE IN CKD-LVDD IS UNKNOWN. WE INVESTIGATE WHETHER CHANGES IN CARDIAC SITE-SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION PROFILES MIGHT BE IMPLICATED IN CARDIAC ABNORMALITIES IN CKD-LVDD. CKD-LVDD AND NORMAL CONTROL PIGS (N = 6 EACH) WERE STUDIED FOR 14 WK. RENAL AND CARDIAC HEMODYNAMICS WERE QUANTIFIED BY MULTIDETECTOR CT AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY. IN RANDOMLY SELECTED PIGS (N = 3/GROUP), CARDIAC SITE-SPECIFIC 5-METHYLCYTOSINE (5MC) IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (MEDIP)- AND MRNA-SEQUENCING (SEQ) WERE PERFORMED, FOLLOWED BY INTEGRATED (MEDIP-SEQ/MRNA-SEQ ANALYSIS), AND CONFIRMATORY EX VIVO STUDIES. MEDIP-SEQ ANALYSIS REVEALED 261 GENES WITH HIGHER (FOLD CHANGE > 1.4; P < 0.05) AND 162 GENES WITH LOWER (FOLD CHANGE < 0.7; P < 0.05) 5MC LEVELS IN CKD-LVDD VERSUS NORMAL PIGS, WHICH WERE PRIMARILY IMPLICATED IN VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR (VEGF)-RELATED SIGNALING AND ANGIOGENESIS. INTEGRATED MEDIP-SEQ/MRNA-SEQ ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED A SELECT GROUP OF VEGF-RELATED GENES IN WHICH 5MC LEVELS WERE HIGHER, BUT MRNA EXPRESSION WAS LOWER IN CKD-LVDD VERSUS NORMAL PIGS. CARDIAC VEGF SIGNALING GENE AND VEGF PROTEIN EXPRESSION WERE BLUNTED IN CKD-LVDD COMPARED WITH CONTROLS AND WERE ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED SUBENDOCARDIAL MICROVASCULAR DENSITY. CARDIAC EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN VEGF-RELATED GENES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPAIRED ANGIOGENESIS AND CARDIAC MICROVASCULAR RAREFACTION IN SWINE CKD-LVDD. THESE OBSERVATIONS MAY ASSIST IN DEVELOPING NOVEL THERAPIES TO AMELIORATE CARDIAC DAMAGE IN CKD-LVDD.NEW & NOTEWORTHY CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) OFTEN LEADS TO LEFT VENTRICULAR DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION (LVDD) AND HEART FAILURE. USING A NOVEL TRANSLATIONAL SWINE MODEL OF CKD-LVDD, WE CHARACTERIZE THE CARDIAC EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE, IDENTIFYING SITE-SPECIFIC 5-METHYLCYTOSINE CHANGES IN VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR (VEGF)-RELATED GENES ASSOCIATED WITH IMPAIRED ANGIOGENESIS AND CARDIAC MICROVASCULAR RAREFACTION. THESE OBSERVATIONS SHED LIGHT ON THE MECHANISMS OF CARDIAC MICROVASCULAR DAMAGE IN CKD-LVDD AND MAY ASSIST IN DEVELOPING NOVEL THERAPIES FOR THESE PATIENTS.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                      
10  3944 23 LNCRNA H19-EZH2 INTERACTION PROMOTES LIVER FIBROSIS VIA REPROGRAMMING H3K27ME3 PROFILES. LIVER FIBROSIS IS A WOUND-HEALING PROCESS CHARACTERIZED BY EXCESS FORMATION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) FROM ACTIVATED HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS (HSCS). PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOW THAT BOTH EZH2, AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR THAT CATALYZES LYSINE 27 TRIMETHYLATION ON HISTONE 3 (H3K27ME3), AND LONG NON-CODING RNA H19 ARE HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH FIBROGENESIS. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. VARIOUS MODELS OF LIVER FIBROSIS INCLUDING MDR2(-/-), BILE DUCT LIGATION (BDL) AND CCL(4) MICE WERE ADAPTED. WE FOUND THAT EZH2 WAS MARKEDLY UPREGULATED AND CORRELATED WITH H19 AND FIBROTIC MARKERS EXPRESSION IN THESE MODELS. ADMINISTRATION OF EZH2 INHIBITOR 3-DZNEP CAUSED SIGNIFICANT PROTECTIVE EFFECTS IN THESE MODELS. FURTHERMORE, TREATMENT WITH 3-DZNEP OR GSK126 SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBITED PRIMARY HSC ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION IN TGF-BETA-TREATED HSCS AND H19-OVEREXPREESING LX2 CELLS IN VIVO. USING RNA-PULL DOWN ASSAY COMBINED WITH RNA IMMUNOPRECIPITATION, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT H19 COULD DIRECTLY BIND TO EZH2. INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF RNA-SEQUENCING (RNA-SEQ) AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION SEQUENCING (CHIP-SEQ) FURTHER REVEALED THAT H19 REGULATED THE REPROGRAMMING OF EZH2-MEDIATED H3K27ME3 PROFILES, WHICH EPIGENETICALLY PROMOTED SEVERAL PATHWAYS FAVORING HSCS ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND WNT/BETA-CATENIN SIGNALING. IN CONCLUSION, HIGHLY EXPRESSED H19 IN CHRONIC LIVER DISEASES PROMOTES FIBROGENESIS BY REPROGRAMMING EZH2-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HSCS ACTIVATION. TARGETING THE H19-EZH2 INTERACTION MAY SERVE AS A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR LIVER FIBROSIS.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
11   131 21 A2B ADENOSINE SIGNALING REPRESSES CIITA TRANSCRIPTION VIA AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS. VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (VSMC), BY EXPRESSING AND PRESENTING MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX II (MHC II) MOLECULES, HELP RECRUIT T LYMPHOCYTE AND INITIATE THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE WITHIN THE VASCULATURE. WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY SHOWN THAT VSMCS ISOLATED FROM MICE WITH DEFICIENT ADENOSINE A2B RECEPTOR (A2B-NULL) EXHIBIT HIGHER EXPRESSION OF CLASS II TRANSACTIVATOR (CIITA), THE MASTER REGULATOR OF MHC II TRANSCRIPTION, COMPARED TO WILD TYPE LITTERMATES. HERE WE REPORT THAT ACTIVATION OF A2B ADENOSINE SIGNALING SUPPRESSES CIITA EXPRESSION IN HUMAN AORTIC SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS. DOWN-REGULATION OF CIITA EXPRESSION WAS LARGELY ATTRIBUTABLE TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION OF TYPE III AND IV PROMOTERS. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ANALYSES REVEALED THAT A2B SIGNALING REPRESSED CIITA TRANSCRIPTION BY ATTENUATING SPECIFIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS ON THE CIITA PROMOTERS IN A STAT1-DEPENDENT MANNER. STAT1 INTERACTED WITH PCAF/GCN5, HISTONE H3K9 ACETYLTRANSFERASES, AND WDR5, A KEY COMPONENT OF THE MAMMALIAN H3K4 METHYLTRANSFERASE COMPLEX, TO ACTIVATE CIITA TRANSCRIPTION. A2B SIGNALING PREVENTED RECRUITMENT OF PCAF/GCN5 AND WDR5 TO THE CIITA PROMOTERS IN A STAT1-DEPENDENT MANNER. IN CONCLUSION, OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT ADENOSINE A2B SIGNALING REPRESSES CIITA TRANSCRIPTION IN VSMCS BY MANIPULATING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN STAT1 AND THE EPIGENETIC MACHINERY.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
12  5601 19 RORALPHA IS CRUCIAL FOR ATTENUATED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO MAINTAIN INTESTINAL HOMEOSTASIS. RETINOIC ACID-RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR ALPHA (RORALPHA) FUNCTIONS AS A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FOR VARIOUS BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, INCLUDING CIRCADIAN RHYTHM, CANCER, AND METABOLISM. HERE, WE GENERATE INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELL (IEC)-SPECIFIC RORALPHA-DEFICIENT (RORALPHA(DELTAIEC)) MICE AND FIND THAT RORALPHA IS CRUCIAL FOR MAINTAINING INTESTINAL HOMEOSTASIS BY ATTENUATING NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY. RORALPHA(DELTAIEC) MICE EXHIBIT EXCESSIVE INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION AND HIGHLY ACTIVATED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN THE DEXTRAN SULFATE SODIUM (DSS) MOUSE COLITIS MODEL. TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS REVEALS THAT DELETION OF RORALPHA LEADS TO UP-REGULATION OF NF-KAPPAB TARGET GENES IN IECS. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS REVEALS CORECRUITMENT OF RORALPHA AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE 3 (HDAC3) ON NF-KAPPAB TARGET PROMOTERS AND SUBSEQUENT DISMISSAL OF CREB BINDING PROTEIN (CBP) AND BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) FOR TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION. TOGETHER, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT RORALPHA/HDAC3-MEDIATED ATTENUATION OF NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING CONTROLS THE BALANCE OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TARGETING THIS EPIGENETIC REGULATION COULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, INCLUDING INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD).	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
13  2244 22 EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF COLLAGEN 1A1: THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS IN FIBROSIS AND ENDOMETRIOSIS. PROGRESSIVE FIBROSIS IS RECALCITRANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY AND COMMONLY COMPLICATES CHRONIC DISEASES AND SURGICAL HEALING. WE EVALUATE HERE A NOVEL MECHANISM THAT REGULATES SCAR-TISSUE COLLAGEN (COL1A1/COL1A1) EXPRESSION AND CHARACTERIZES ITS TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE AS A TARGETED THERAPY FOR FIBROSIS IN AN ENDOMETRIOSIS DISEASE MODEL. ENDOMETRIOSIS IS CAUSED BY DISPLACEMENT AND IMPLANTATION OF UTERINE ENDOMETRIUM ONTO ABDOMINAL ORGANS AND SPREADS WITH PROGRESSIVE SCARRING. TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR KLF11 IS SPECIFICALLY DIMINISHED IN ENDOMETRIOSIS LESIONS. LOSS OF KLF11-MEDIATED REPRESSION OF COL1A1/COL1A1 EXPRESSION RESULTED IN INCREASED FIBROSIS. TO DETERMINE THE BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF COL1A1/COL1A1 EXPRESSION ON FIBROSIS, WE MODULATED ITS EXPRESSION. IN HUMAN ENDOMETRIAL-STROMAL FIBROBLASTS, KLF11 RECRUITED SIN3A/HDAC (HISTONE DEACETYLASE), RESULTING IN COL1A1-PROMOTER DEACETYLATION AND REPRESSION. THIS ROLE OF KLF11 WAS PHARMACOLOGICALLY REPLICATED BY A HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE INHIBITOR (GARCINOL). IN CONTRAST, OPPOSITE EFFECTS WERE OBTAINED WITH A HDAC INHIBITOR (SUBEROYL ANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID), CONFIRMING REGULATORY SPECIFICITY FOR THESE RECIPROCALLY ACTIVE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. FIBROSIS WAS CONCORDANTLY REVERSED IN KLF11(-/-)ANIMALS BY HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE INHIBITOR AND IN WILD-TYPE ANIMALS BY HDAC INHIBITOR TREATMENTS. ABERRANT LESIONAL COL1A1 REGULATION IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE FIBROSIS DEPENDED ON LESION RATHER THAN HOST GENOTYPE. THIS IS THE FIRST REPORT DEMONSTRATING FEASIBILITY FOR TARGETED PHARMACOLOGICAL REVERSAL OF FIBROSIS, AN INTRACTABLE PHENOTYPE OF DIVERSE CHRONIC DISEASES.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
14  2397 22 EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF AIRWAY MACROPHAGES PROMOTES POLARIZATION AND INFLAMMATION IN MUCO-OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE. LUNG DISEASES, SUCH AS CYSTIC FIBROSIS AND COPD, ARE CHARACTERIZED BY MUCUS OBSTRUCTION AND CHRONIC AIRWAY INFLAMMATION, BUT THEIR MECHANISTIC LINK REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE, WE FOCUS ON THE FUNCTION OF THE MUCOSTATIC AIRWAY MICROENVIRONMENT ON EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF AIRWAY MACROPHAGES (AM) AND RESULTING TRANSCRIPTOMIC AND PHENOTYPICAL CHANGES. USING A MOUSE MODEL OF MUCO-OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE (SCNN1B-TRANSGENIC), WE IDENTIFY EPIGENETICALLY CONTROLLED, DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATED PATHWAYS AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES AND MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION. FUNCTIONALLY, AMS FROM SCNN1B-TRANSGENIC MICE HAVE REDUCED EFFEROCYTOSIS AND PHAGOCYTOSIS, AND EXCESSIVE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES UPON LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE CHALLENGE, MEDIATED THROUGH ENHANCED IRF1 FUNCTION AND EXPRESSION. EX VIVO STIMULATION OF WILD-TYPE AMS WITH NATIVE MUCUS IMPAIRS EFFEROCYTOSIS AND PHAGOCYTOSIS CAPACITIES. IN ADDITION, MUCUS INDUCES GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES, COMPARABLE WITH THOSE OBSERVED IN AMS FROM SCNN1B-TRANSGENIC MICE. OUR DATA SHOW THAT MUCOSTASIS INDUCES EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF AMS, LEADING TO CHANGES FAVORING TISSUE DAMAGE AND DISEASE PROGRESSION. TARGETING THESE ALTERED AMS MAY SUPPORT THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN PATIENTS WITH MUCO-OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASES.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
15   692 19 BRD4 PROMOTES HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS ACTIVATION AND HEPATIC FIBROSIS VIA MEDIATING P300/H3K27AC/PLK1 AXIS. HEPATIC FIBROSIS (HF) IS A REVERSIBLE WOUND-HEALING RESPONSE CHARACTERIZED BY EXCESSIVE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) DEPOSITION AND SECONDARY TO PERSISTENT CHRONIC INJURY. BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) COMMONLY FUNCTIONS AS A "READER" TO REGULATE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS INVOLVED IN VARIOUS BIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL EVENTS, BUT THE MECHANISM OF HF REMAINS UNCLEAR. IN THIS STUDY, WE ESTABLISHED A CCL(4)-INDUCED HF MODEL AND SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY MODEL IN MICE AND FOUND ABERRANT BRD4 EXPRESSION, WHICH WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE RESULTS IN HUMAN HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS (HSCS)- LX2 CELLS IN VITRO. SUBSEQUENTLY, WE FOUND THAT DISTRICTION AND INHIBITION OF BRD4 RESTRAINED TGFBETA-INDUCED TRANS-DIFFERENTIATION OF LX2 CELLS INTO ACTIVATED, PROLIFERATIVE MYOFIBROBLASTS AND ACCELERATED APOPTOSIS, AND BRD4 OVEREXPRESSION BLOCKED MDI-INDUCED LX2 CELLS INACTIVATION AND PROMOTED THE PROLIFERATION AND INHIBITED APOPTOSIS OF INACTIVATED CELLS. ADDITIONALLY, ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS SEROTYPE 8-LOADED SHORT HAIRPIN RNA-MEDIATED BRD4 KNOCKDOWN IN MICE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED CCL(4)-INDUCED FIBROTIC RESPONSES INCLUDING HSCS ACTIVATION AND COLLAGEN DEPOSITION. MECHANISTICALLY, BRD4 DEFICIENCY INHIBITED PLK1 EXPRESSION IN ACTIVATED LX2 CELLS, AND CHIP AND CO-IP ASSAYS REVEALED THAT BRD4 REGULATION OF PLK1 WAS DEPENDENT ON P300-MEDIATED ACETYLATION MODIFICATION FOR H3K27 ON THE PLK1 PROMOTER. IN CONCLUSION, BRD4 DEFICIENCY IN THE LIVER ALLEVIATES CCL(4)-INDUCED HF IN MICE, AND BRD4 PARTICIPATES IN THE ACTIVATION AND REVERSAL OF HSCS THROUGH POSITIVELY REGULATING THE P300/H3K27AC/PLK1 AXIS, PROVIDING A POTENTIAL INSIGHT FOR HF THERAPY.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
16  5228 22 PRMT7 TARGETS OF FOXM1 CONTROLS ALVEOLAR MYOFIBROBLAST PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING ALVEOLOGENESIS. ALTHOUGH ABERRANT ALVEOLAR MYOFIBROBLASTS (AMYFS) PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ABNORMAL LUNG DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASES, SUCH AS BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA (BPD), CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), AND IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS (IPF), EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS REGULATING PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF AMYFS REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE 7 (PRMT7) IS THE ONLY REPORTED TYPE III ENZYME RESPONSIBLE FOR MONOMETHYLATION OF ARGININE RESIDUE ON BOTH HISTONE AND NONHISTONE SUBSTRATES. HERE WE PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR PRMT7'S FUNCTION IN REGULATING AMYFS PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING LUNG ALVEOLOGENESIS. IN PRMT7-DEFICIENT MICE, WE FOUND REDUCED AMYFS PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION, ABNORMAL ELASTIN DEPOSITION, AND FAILURE OF ALVEOLAR SEPTUM FORMATION. WE FURTHER SHOWN THAT ONCOGENE FORKHEAD BOX M1 (FOXM1) IS A DIRECT TARGET OF PRMT7 AND THAT PRMT7-CATALYZED MONOMETHYLATION AT HISTONE H4 ARGININE 3 (H4R3ME1) DIRECTLY ASSOCIATE WITH CHROMATIN OF FOXM1 TO ACTIVATE ITS TRANSCRIPTION, AND THEREBY REGULATE OF CELL CYCLE-RELATED GENES TO INHIBIT AMYFS PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION. OVEREXPRESSION OF FOXM1 IN ISOLATED MYOFIBROBLASTS (MYFS) SIGNIFICANTLY RESCUED PRMT7-DEFICIENCY-INDUCED CELL PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION DEFECTS. THUS, OUR RESULTS REVEAL A NOVEL EPIGENETIC MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH PRMT7-MEDIATED HISTONE ARGININE MONOMETHYLATION ACTIVATES FOXM1 TRANSCRIPTIONAL EXPRESSION TO REGULATE AMYFS PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING LUNG ALVEOLOGENESIS AND MAY REPRESENT A POTENTIAL TARGET FOR INTERVENTION IN PULMONARY DISEASES.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
17   197 29 ACINAR ATP8B1/LPC PATHWAY PROMOTES MACROPHAGE EFFEROCYTOSIS AND CLEARANCE OF INFLAMMATION DURING CHRONIC PANCREATITIS DEVELOPMENT. NONINFLAMMATORY CLEARANCE OF DYING CELLS BY PROFESSIONAL PHAGOCYTES, TERMED EFFEROCYTOSIS, IS FUNDAMENTAL IN BOTH HOMEOSTASIS AND INFLAMMATORY FIBROSIS DISEASE BUT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED TO OCCUR IN CHRONIC PANCREATITIS (CP). HERE, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER EFFEROCYTOSIS CONSTITUTES A NOVEL REGULATORY TARGET IN CP AND ITS MECHANISMS. PRSS1 TRANSGENIC (PRSS1(TG)) MICE WERE TREATED WITH CAERULEIN TO MIMIC CP DEVELOPMENT. PHOSPHOLIPID METABOLITE PROFILING AND EPIGENETIC ASSAYS WERE PERFORMED WITH PRSS1(TG) CP MODELS. THE POTENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF ATP8B1 IN CP MODEL WERE CLARIFIED USING ATP8B1-OVEREXPRESSING ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY(ELISA), AND LIPID METABOLOMIC APPROACHES. ATAC-SEQ COMBINED WITH RNA-SEQ WAS THEN USED TO IDENTIFY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS BINDING TO THE ATP8B1 PROMOTER, AND CHIP-QPCR AND LUCIFERASE ASSAYS WERE USED TO CONFIRM THAT THE IDENTIFIED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR BOUND TO THE ATP8B1 PROMOTER, AND TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC BINDING SITE. FLOW CYTOMETRY WAS PERFORMED TO ANALYZE THE PROPORTION OF PANCREATIC MACROPHAGES. DECREASED EFFEROCYTOSIS WITH AGGRAVATED INFLAMMATION WAS IDENTIFIED IN CP. THE LYSOPHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE (LPC) PATHWAY WAS THE MOST OBVIOUSLY DYSREGULATED PHOSPHOLIPID PATHWAY, AND LPC AND ATP8B1 EXPRESSION GRADUALLY DECREASED DURING CP DEVELOPMENT. H3K27ME3 CHIP-SEQ SHOWED THAT INCREASED ATP8B1 PROMOTER METHYLATION LED TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL INHIBITION. ATP8B1 COMPLEMENTATION SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED THE LPC CONCENTRATION AND IMPROVED CP OUTCOMES. BHLHA15 WAS IDENTIFIED AS A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR THAT BINDS TO THE ATP8B1 PROMOTER AND REGULATES PHOSPHOLIPID METABOLISM. OUR STUDY INDICATES THAT THE ACINAR ATP8B1/LPC PATHWAY ACTS AS AN IMPORTANT "FIND-ME" SIGNAL FOR MACROPHAGES AND PLAYS A PROTECTIVE ROLE IN CP, WITH ATP8B1 TRANSCRIPTION PROMOTED BY THE ACINAR CELL-SPECIFIC TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR BHLHA15. BHLHA15, ATP8B1, AND LPC COULD BE CLINICALLY TRANSLATED INTO VALUABLE THERAPEUTIC TARGETS TO OVERCOME THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT CP THERAPIES.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
18  1217 30 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
19  5990 21 TGF-BETA1 PROMOTES EXPRESSION OF FIBROSIS-RELATED GENES THROUGH THE INDUCTION OF HISTONE VARIANT H3.3 AND HISTONE CHAPERONE HIRA. RENAL FIBROSIS IS A HISTOLOGICAL MANIFESTATION THAT OCCURS IN ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. HISTONE VARIANT H3.3 AND ITS CHAPERONE, HISTONE CELL CYCLE REGULATION DEFECTIVE HOMOLOG A (HIRA), SERVE AS EPIGENETIC MARKS THAT REGULATE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY. IN THIS STUDY, WE ASSESSED THE ROLES OF HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA IN UNILATERAL URETERAL-OBSTRUCTION (UUO) MICE. IN UUO MICE, THE LEVELS OF HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY UPREGULATED IN THE KIDNEYS. THESE UPREGULATED LEVELS WERE DECREASED BY A TGF-BETA1 NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY. TGF-BETA1 INDUCED HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA EXPRESSION IN VITRO VIA A SMAD3-DEPENDENT PATHWAY IN NORMAL RAT KIDNEY (NRK)-52E CELLS. ADDITIONALLY, KNOCKDOWN OF HIRA EXPRESSION DECREASED HISTONE H3.3 EXPRESSION AND FIBROGENESIS IN NRK-52E CELLS AFTER TGF-BETA1 STIMULATION. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT PROMOTERS OF FIBROSIS-RELATED GENES WERE IMMUNOPRECIPITATED WITH BOTH HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA IN NRK-52E CELLS. LASTLY, IN HUMAN KIDNEY BIOPSIES FROM PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH IGA NEPHROPATHY, HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA IMMUNOSTAINING CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH AREAS OF FIBROSIS AND ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE. IN CONCLUSION, TGF-BETA1 INDUCES EXPRESSION OF HISTONE H3.3 AND HIRA, WHICH REGULATES EXPRESSION OF FIBROSIS-RELATED GENES.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
20  2345 25 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE-1 AND -3 EXPRESSION IN MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION. IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS (TB), THE INFLAMMATORY IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS (MTB) IS ASSOCIATED WITH TISSUE DESTRUCTION AND CAVITATION, WHICH DRIVES DISEASE TRANSMISSION, CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE, AND MORTALITY. MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE (MMP)-1 IS A HOST ENZYME CRITICAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAVITATION. MMP EXPRESSION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED IN OTHER INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SUCH MECHANISMS IN MTB-ASSOCIATED INDUCTION OF MMP-1 IS UNKNOWN. WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLE OF CHANGES IN HISTONE ACETYLATION IN MTB-INDUCED MMP EXPRESSION USING INHIBITORS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) AND HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASES (HAT), HDAC SIRNA, PROMOTER-REPORTER CONSTRUCTS, AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAYS. MTB INFECTION DECREASED CLASS I HDAC GENE EXPRESSION BY OVER 50% IN PRIMARY HUMAN MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES BUT NOT IN NORMAL HUMAN BRONCHIAL EPITHELIAL CELLS (NHBES). NON-SELECTIVE INHIBITION OF HDAC ACTIVITY DECREASED MMP-1/-3 EXPRESSION BY MTB-STIMULATED MACROPHAGES AND NHBES, WHILE CLASS I HDAC INHIBITION INCREASED MMP-1 SECRETION BY MTB-STIMULATED NHBES. MMP-3 EXPRESSION, BUT NOT MMP-1, WAS DOWNREGULATED BY SIRNA SILENCING OF HDAC1. INHIBITION OF HAT ACTIVITY ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED MMP-1/-3 SECRETION BY MTB-INFECTED MACROPHAGES. THE MMP-1 PROMOTER REGION BETWEEN -2,001 AND -2,942 BASE PAIRS FROM THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL START SITE WAS KEY IN CONTROL OF MTB-DRIVEN MMP-1 GENE EXPRESSION. HISTONE H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION AND RNA POL II BINDING IN THE MMP-1 PROMOTER REGION WERE INCREASED IN STIMULATED NHBES. IN SUMMARY, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF HISTONE ACETYLATION VIA HDAC AND HAT ACTIVITY HAS A KEY REGULATORY ROLE IN MTB-DEPENDENT GENE EXPRESSION AND SECRETION OF MMP-1 AND -3, ENZYMES WHICH DRIVE HUMAN IMMUNOPATHOLOGY. MANIPULATION OF EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS MAY HAVE POTENTIAL AS A HOST-DIRECTED THERAPY TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN THE ERA OF RISING TB DRUG RESISTANCE.	2017