Volume 395, Issue 11

Purine-rich box1 (PU.1) is a transcription factor that not only has a key role in the development of most hematopoietic cell lineages but also in the suppression of leukemia. To exert these functions, PU.1 can cross-talk with multiple different proteins by forming complexes in order to activate or repress transcription. Among its protein partners are chromatin remodelers, DNA methyltransferases, and a number of other transcription factors with important roles in hematopoiesis. While a great deal of knowledge has been acquired about PU.1 function over the years, it was the development of novel genome-wide technologies, which boosted our understanding of how PU.1 acts on the chromatin to drive its repertoire of target genes. This review summarizes current knowledge and ideas of molecular mechanisms by which PU.1 controls hematopoiesis and suppresses leukemia.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Despite advances in the characterization of genomic and epigenetic aberrations contributing to PCa, the etiology of PCa is still far from being understood. Research over the past decade demonstrated the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in deregulation of target genes mainly through epigenetic mechanisms. In PCa, evidence accumulated that hundreds of lncRNAs are dysregulated. Functional analyses revealed their contribution to prostate carcinogenesis by targeting relevant pathways and gene regulation mechanisms including PTEN/AKT and androgen receptor signaling as well as chromatin remodeling complexes. Here we summarize our current knowledge on the roles of lncRNAs in PCa and their potential use as biomarkers for aggressive PCa and as novel therapeutic targets.

A plant’s experience of abiotic or biotic stress can lead to stress memory in order to react faster and more efficiently to subsequent stresses. Molecularly, the memory of a stress can rely on stable inheritance through mitotic and meiotic cell divisions, thus epigenetic inheritance. The key epigenetic regulators are DNA cytosine methyltransferases and the Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins, which control numerous developmental processes. PcG and TrxG proteins act antagonistically on stable gene repression through mediating trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and H3K4me3, respectively, and target thousands of genes in plants, including many genes responsive to stress. The role of PcG/TrxG proteins in regulating stress responses and memory, however, is just emerging. While it is well investigated that stress can induce changes of histone modifications at genes regulated by stress, it is largely unclear whether these changes are mitotically and/or meiotically heritable, hence confer somatic and/or transgenerational stress memory. As the literature on the role of DNA methylation in regulating stress responses has recently been extensively summarized, we focus this review on the current knowledge on the role of PcG and TrxG in stress responses and memory.

Eukaryotic genomes – until recently dealt with as if they were a cohort of linear DNA molecules – are perplexed three-dimensional structures, the exact conformation of which profoundly affects genome function. Recent advances in molecular biology and DNA sequencing technologies have led to a new understanding of the folding of chromatin in the nucleus. Changes in chromatin structure underlie deployment of new gene expression programs during development, differentiation, or disease. In this review, we revisit data pointing to, arguably, the major force that shapes genomes: transcription of DNA into RNA.

Aging is associated with the deterioration of biological functions, which is either caused by accumulation of random defects or mediated by a controlled process. This article provides an overview of age-associated epigenetic alterations in the histone code, DNA-methylation (DNAm) pattern, and chromatin structure. In particular, age-related DNAm changes are highly reproducible at specific sites in the genome. The DNAm level at few CpGs facilitates estimation of chronological age and there is evidence that such predictions are indicative for biological age. Overall, aging appears to be associated with a tightly regulated epigenetic process, but the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated.

A cancer dogma states that inactivation of oncogene(s) can cause cancer remission, implying that oncogenes are the Achilles’ heel of cancers. This current model of cancer has kept oncogenes firmly in focus as therapeutic targets and is in agreement with the fact that in human cancers all cancerous cells, with independence of the cellular heterogeneity existing within the tumour, carry the same oncogenic genetic lesions. However, recent studies of the interactions between an oncogene and its target cell have shown that oncogenes contribute to cancer development via developmental reprogramming of the epigenome within the target cell. These results provide the first evidence that carcinogenesis can be initiated by epigenetic stem cell reprogramming, and uncover a new role for oncogenes in the origin of cancer. Here we analyse these evidences and discuss how this vision offers new avenues for developing novel anti-cancer interventions.

Eukaryotic cells express numerous ArfGAPs (ADP-ribosylation factor GTPase-activating proteins). There is increasing knowledge about the function of the brain-specific protein ADAP1 [ArfGAP with dual pleckstrin homology (PH) domain] as well as about its biochemical properties. The ADAP subfamily, also designated centaurin-α, has an N-terminal ArfGAP domain followed by two PH domains. The mammalian ADAP subfamily consists of two identified isoforms, ADAP1 and ADAP2 (centaurin-α1 and -α2). ADAP1 is highly expressed in neurons. We highlight the functional roles of ADAP1 in neuronal differentiation and neurodegeneration. Because of interactions with different proteins and phosphoinositol-lipids, ADAP1 can function as a scaffolding protein in several signal transduction pathways. Firstly, ADAP1 mediates cytoskeletal crosstalk. This is indicated by multiple interactions of ADAP1 with components of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton. Secondly, regulation of neuronal polarity formation and axon specification by ADAP1 is suggested by crystal structural data obtained for human ADAP1, and the complexes of ADAP1-Ins(1,3,4,5)P 4 and/or the forkhead-associated domain of the kinesin KIF13B. These structures support the concept that a KIF13B-ADAP1 complex enhances the local accumulation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 at the tips of neurites, and thus favors neuronal polarity. Thirdly, recent evidence unravels a pathological role of ADAP1 because upregulation of ADAP1 by amyloid β-peptide causes ADAP1-Ras-ERK-dependent translocation of Elk-1 to mitochondria. This impairs mitochondrial functions with subsequent synaptic dysfunction and exacerbates neurodegeneration, as in Alzheimer’s disease.

The giant sarcomeric protein titin has multiple important functions in striated muscle cells. Due to its gigantic size, its central position in the sarcomere and its elastic I-band domains, titin is a scaffold protein that is important for sarcomere assembly, and serves as a molecular spring that defines myofilament distensibility. This review focuses on the emerging role of titin in mechanosensing and hypertrophic signaling, and further highlights recent evidence that links titin to sarcomeric protein turnover.

Plasmodial heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) chaperones represent a promising new class of antimalarial drug targets because of the important roles they play in the survival and pathogenesis of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum . This study assessed a set of small molecules (lapachol, bromo-β-lapachona and malonganenones A, B and C) as potential modulators of two biologically important plasmodial Hsp70s, the parasite-resident PfHsp70-1 and the exported PfHsp70-x. Compounds of interest were assessed for modulatory effects on the steady-state basal and heat shock protein 40 (Hsp40)-stimulated ATPase activities of PfHsp70-1, PfHsp70-x and human Hsp70, as well as on the protein aggregation suppression activity of PfHsp70-x. The antimalarial marine alkaloid malonganenone A was of particular interest, as it was found to have limited cytotoxicity to mammalian cell lines and exhibited the desired properties of an effective plasmodial Hsp70 modulator. This compound was found to inhibit plasmodial and not human Hsp70 ATPase activity (Hsp40-stimulated), and hindered the aggregation suppression activity of PfHsp70-x. Furthermore, malonganenone A was shown to disrupt the interaction between PfHsp70-x and Hsp40. This is the first report to show that PfHsp70-x has chaperone activity, is stimulated by Hsp40 and can be specifically modulated by small molecule compounds.