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Enhanced expression of PDX-1 and Ngn3 by exendin-4 during beta cell regeneration in STZ-treated mice.

Progenitor cells exist in the adult pancreas and transform to endocrine cells in pathological conditions. To address the mechanism of beta cell regeneration, mice were treated with streptozotocin (STZ group) or streptozotocin and exendin-4 (STZ + Ex-4 group), and the expression of PDX-1, Ngn3, insulin, IRS-2, and Foxo1 was investigated. PDX-1 mRNA was upregulated biphasically and induction of Ngn3 mRNA occurred shortly after the first increase of PDX-1 expression, a pattern similar to that observed during embryogenesis. PDX-1-positive cells appeared only in islet-like cell clusters (ICCs) in STZ group, but they appeared both in ducts and ICCs in STZ + Ex-4 group. Ngn3-positive cells emerged in ICCs but not in ducts. Therefore, regeneration seemed to occur mainly from intra-islet stem/progenitor cells. Exendin-4 upregulated PDX-1 expression which paralleled increased IRS-2 expression and translocation of Foxo1 from nucleus to cytoplasm. Further analysis of beta cell regeneration should help in the design of novel therapy for diabetes.

Animals↗

FOXM1c is activated by cyclin E/Cdk2, cyclin A/Cdk2, and cyclin A/Cdk1, but repressed by GSK-3alpha.

Two different inhibitory domains, N-terminus and central domain, keep FOXM1c almost inactive despite its strong transactivation domain. Here, we demonstrate that cyclin E/Cdk2, cyclin A/Cdk2, and cyclin A/Cdk1 activate FOXM1c. Cyclin E/Cdk2 does not target its transactivation domain or its DNA-binding domain. Instead, its activating effect strictly depends on the presence of either the central domain or the N-terminus of FOXM1c and thus is completely lost if both inhibitory domains are deleted. Cyclin E/Cdk2 activates FOXM1c by releasing its transactivation domain from the repression by these two inhibitory domains. However, it does not directly increase the transactivation potential of the TAD. The DNA-binding is not affected by cyclin E/Cdk2, neither directly nor indirectly. These two activating effects of cyclin E/Cdk2 via central domain and N-terminus are additive. Cyclin A/Cdk2 and cyclin A/Cdk1 show similar characteristics. GSK-3alpha, another proliferation-associated kinase, represses FOXM1c.

Cyclin A↗

FOXM1c and Sp1 transactivate the P1 and P2 promoters of human c-myc synergistically.

We have previously shown that FOXM1c transactivates the c-myc P1 and P2 promoters via their TATA-boxes by a new transactivation mechanism, namely by directly binding to the P1 and P2 TATA-boxes and to TBP, TFIIA, and TFIIB. We now confirm this surprising mechanism by demonstrating that FOXM1c transactivates the human c-myc P1 and P2 promoters synergistically with Sp1, a transcription factor known to bind and transactivate these two promoters. This synergism requires the P1 or P2 TATA-boxes as well as the respective Sp1-binding sites. Moreover FOXM1c binds directly to Sp1. Cooperative DNA binding, if it should occur, is not sufficient for synergism of Sp1 and FOXM1c at P1, but their contacts to multiple components of the basal transcription complex (TFIID, TFIIA, TFIIB) seem to be essential. However, FOXM1c does not synergize with Sp1 if it transactivates via its conventional binding site.

Binding Sites↗

Multimodal genetic diagnosis of solid variant alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

The most common types of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are alveolar RMS (ARMS), which are characterized by the specific translocation t(2;13)(q35;q14) or its rarer variant, t(1;13)(p36;q14), producing the fusion genes PAX3-FKHR and PAX7-FKHR, respectively, and embryonal RMS (ERMS), which is characterized by multiple numeric chromosome changes. A solid variant of ARMS that is morphologically indistinguishable from ERMS has been described recently. We present two cases with an initial histopathologic diagnosis of ERMS in which the combined findings by cytogenetic, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analyses demonstrate that both tumors were in fact the solid variant of ARMS. The cytogenetic analysis of patient 1 revealed a t(2;13)(q35;q14) and the RT-PCR study detected the corresponding PAX3-FKHR chimeric transcript. In patient 2, the cytogenetic finding of multiple trisomies was compatible with the initial histopathologic diagnosis of ERMS, but the finding of a PAX7-FKHR fusion transcript by RT-PCR pointed to the diagnosis of ARMS. Interestingly, the CGH findings of this case reconciled the molecular and cytogenetic data by detecting, in addition to the trisomies, amplification of chromosomal bands 1p36 and 13q14, where the PAX7 and FKHR genes are located, respectively. Our data indicate that this multimodal genetic analysis could be important for the differential diagnosis of these tumors. Furthermore, our findings and previous studies indicate that there are no apparent genetic differences between solid variant and typical ARMS.

Base Sequence↗

Nutritional regulation of hepatic heme biosynthesis and porphyria through PGC-1alpha.

Inducible hepatic porphyrias are inherited genetic disorders of enzymes of heme biosynthesis. The main clinical manifestations are acute attacks of neuropsychiatric symptoms frequently precipitated by drugs, hormones, or fasting, associated with increased urinary excretion of delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Acute attacks are treated by heme infusion and glucose administration, but the mechanisms underlying the precipitating effects of fasting and the beneficial effects of glucose are unknown. We show that the rate-limiting enzyme in hepatic heme biosynthesis, 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-1), is regulated by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha). Elevation of PGC-1alpha in mice via adenoviral vectors increases the levels of heme precursors in vivo as observed in acute attacks. The induction of ALAS-1 by fasting is lost in liver-specific PGC-1alpha knockout animals, as is the ability of porphyrogenic drugs to dysregulate heme biosynthesis. These data show that PGC-1alpha links nutritional status to heme biosynthesis and acute hepatic porphyria.

5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) mimics insulin action on the transcription factor FOXO1a and elicits cellular responses in the presence and absence of insulin.

The green tea flavonoid epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is one of several compounds that have been reported to have insulin-like glucose-lowering properties in mammals. EGCG is understood to act at least in part by repression of gluconeogenic genes such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase but the transcription factors that are targeted to achieve this are unknown. We show here that EGCG induces phosphorylation of insulin-sensitive residues on the transcription factor FOXO1a. Like insulin, EGCG induced FOXO1a phosphorylation is abolished by the PtdIns 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002 but not by PD98059 (an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade) or by rapamycin (an inhibitor of signalling to p70 S6 kinase). EGCG differs from insulin and IGF-1 however, in that its induction of FOXO1a phosphorylation is sensitive to scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These results indicate that EGCG exerts its insulin mimetic effects at least in part by phosphorylation of the FOXOs through a mechanism that is similar but not identical to insulin and IGF-1 induced FOXO phosphorylation. Our results suggest that agents acting in the manner of EGCG may be useful antidiabetic agents.

Catechin↗

Mitogen-activated protein kinases, Erk and p38, phosphorylate and regulate Foxo1.

The members of the transcription factor Foxo family regulate the expression of genes concerned with the stress response, cell cycle and gluconeogenesis. Foxo1 (FKHR) contains 15 consensus phosphorylation sites for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. Therefore, we hypothesized that MAPKs could directly regulate the transcriptional activity of Foxo1 via phosphorylation. In vitro kinase assay showed that Foxo1 was phosphorylated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) and p38 MAPK (p38) but not by c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). In NIH3T3 cells, epidermal growth factor or anisomycin increased phosphorylation of exogenous Foxo1, which was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with an MEK 1 inhibitor, PD98059, or a p38 inhibitor, SB203580. Two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping using mutation of phosphorylation sites for MAPK revealed that the nine serine residues in Foxo1 are specifically phosphorylated by Erk and that five of the nine residues are phosphorylated by p38 in vivo. Moreover, we also found that Foxo1 interacts with Ets-1 and functions as a coactivator for Ets-1 on the fetal liver kinase (Flk)-1 promoter in bovine carotid artery endothelial cells. Mutation of the nine phosphorylation sites for Erk in Foxo1 was shown to lead to less binding and synergistic activity for Ets-1 on the Flk-1 promoter when compared with wild-type Foxo1. These results suggest that Foxo1 is specifically phosphorylated by Erk and p38, and that this phosphorylation regulates the function of Foxo1 as a coactivator for Ets-1.

Animals↗

Targeting FOXO kills two birds with one stone.

PTEN deficiency activates Akt signaling and results in a variety of human malignancies. Encouragingly, recent studies demonstrate that small molecules can regulate FOXO1a, an Akt target, to suppress tumor growth, and FOXO1a is therefore a promising anticancer drug target.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Ablation in mice of the mTORC components raptor, rictor, or mLST8 reveals that mTORC2 is required for signaling to Akt-FOXO and PKCalpha, but not S6K1.

The mTOR kinase controls cell growth, proliferation, and survival through two distinct multiprotein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. mTOR and mLST8 are in both complexes, while raptor and rictor are part of only mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively. To investigate mTORC1 and mTORC2 function in vivo, we generated mice deficient for raptor, rictor, or mLST8. Like mice null for mTOR, those lacking raptor die early in development. However, mLST8 null embryos survive until e10.5 and resemble embryos missing rictor. mLST8 is necessary to maintain the rictor-mTOR, but not the raptor-mTOR, interaction, and both mLST8 and rictor are required for the hydrophobic motif phosphorylation of Akt/PKB and PKCalpha, but not S6K1. Furthermore, insulin signaling to FOXO3, but not to TSC2 or GSK3beta, requires mLST8 and rictor. Thus, mTORC1 function is essential in early development, mLST8 is required only for mTORC2 signaling, and mTORC2 is a necessary component of the Akt-FOXO and PKCalpha pathways.

Animals↗

Another fork in the road: Foxo3a regulates NF-kappaB activation.

Previous studies have implicated the transcription factor FoxO3a in apoptosis induction. Thus, it comes as a surprise in this issue of Immunity that lymphoproliferative disease in Foxo3a-deficient mice may be due to T cell hyperactivity instead of cell death defects. Lin and colleagues provide important new evidence that disease development is associated with NF-kappaB hyperactivation in T cells.

Animals↗

Enteric neuroblasts require the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/Forkhead pathway for GDNF-stimulated survival.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)/Ret signaling is required for enteric neural crest survival, proliferation, migration and process extension, but signaling pathways that mediate enteric nervous system (ENS) precursor development are poorly understood. We therefore examined GDNF effects on immunoselected ENS precursor survival and neuronal process extension in the presence of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibitors. These studies demonstrated that GDNF promotes ENS precursor survival through phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase. Specifically, GDNF induces phosphorylation of Akt and loss of the Akt substrates FOXO1 and FOXO3a from the nucleus of ENS precursors. Furthermore, dominant negative Akt or active FOXO1 constructs promote ENS precursor cell death while a dominant negative FOXO1 construct prevents cell death. In contrast, the MAPK kinase inhibitor PD98059 did not influence ENS precursor survival or neurite extension. These data demonstrate a critical role for PI-3 kinase/Akt/FOXO signaling, but not for MAPK in ENS precursor survival and neurite extension.

Animals↗

Substrate availability and transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes in human skeletal muscle during recovery from exercise.

In skeletal muscle of humans, transcription of several metabolic genes is transiently induced during recovery from exercise when no food is consumed. To determine the potential influence of substrate availability on the transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes during recovery from exercise, 9 male subjects (aged 22-27) completed 75 minutes of cycling exercise at 75% Vo2 max on 2 occasions, consuming either a high-carbohydrate (HC) or low-carbohydrate (LC) diet during the subsequent 24 hours of recovery. Nuclei were isolated and tissue frozen from vastus lateralis muscle biopsies obtained before exercise and 2, 5, 8, and 24 hours after exercise. Muscle glycogen was restored to near resting levels within 5 hours in the HC trial, but remained depressed through 24 hours in the LC trial. During the 2- to 8-hour recovery period, leg glucose uptake was 5- to 15-fold higher with HC ingestion, whereas arterial plasma free fatty acid levels were approximately 3- to 7-fold higher with LC ingestion. Exercise increased (P < .05) transcription and/or mRNA content of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4, uncoupling protein 3, lipoprotein lipase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, hexokinase II, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha, and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha. Providing HC during recovery reversed the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4, uncoupling protein 3, lipoprotein lipase, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I within 5 to 8 hours after exercise, whereas providing LC during recovery elicited a sustained/enhanced increase in activation of these genes through 8 to 24 hours of recovery. These findings provide evidence that factors associated with substrate availability and/or cellular metabolic recovery (eg, muscle glycogen restoration) influence the transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes in skeletal muscle of humans during recovery from exercise.

Adult↗

Exercise activates the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway.

Physical exercise is known to enhance psychological well-being and coping capacity. Voluntary physical exercise in rats also robustly and rapidly up-regulates hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA levels, which are potentiated following a regimen of chronic antidepressant treatment. Increased BDNF levels are associated with enhanced activity of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB). So far, relatively little is known about the intracellular signaling mechanisms mediating this effect of exercise. We wished to explore the possibility that exercise and/or antidepressant treatment activate the hippocampal phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase pathway, which mediates cellular survival. In young male Sprague-Dawley rats, we examined the effects of 2 weeks of daily voluntary wheel-running activity and/or tranylcypromine (n = 7 per group) on the levels of the active forms of protein-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1), PI-3 kinase, phospho-thr308-Akt, phospho-ser473-Akt, and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta; inactive form), as well as BDNF, activated CREB, and the phospho-Trk receptor, in the rat hippocampus, and compared these with sedentary saline-treated controls. Immunoblotting analyses revealed that in exercising rats, there was a significant increase in PI-3 kinase expression (4.61 times that of controls, P = 0.0161) and phosphorylation of PDK-1 (2.73 times that of controls, P = 0.0454), thr308-Akt (2.857 times that of controls, P = 0.0082), CREB (60.27 times that of controls, P = 0.05), and Trk (35.3 times that of controls, P < 0.0001) in the hippocampi of exercising animals; BDNF was also increased (3.2 times that of controls), but this was not statistically significant. In rats receiving both exercise and tranylcypromine, BDNF (4.51 times that of controls, P = 0.0068) and PI-3 kinase (4.88 times that of controls, P = 0.0103), and the phospho- forms of Trk (13.67 times that of controls, P = 0.0278), thr308-Akt (3.644 times that of controls, P = 0.0004), GSK-3beta (2.93 times that of controls, P = 0.026), and CREB (88.97 times that of controls, P = 0.0053) were significantly increased. These results suggest that the exercise-induced expression of BDNF is associated with the increased expression of several key intermediates of the PI-3 kinase/Akt pathway, which is known for its role in enhancing neuronal survival.

Analysis of Variance↗

Oleandrin induces apoptosis in human, but not in murine cells: dephosphorylation of Akt, expression of FasL, and alteration of membrane fluidity.

Common practice to evaluate the efficacy of any compound as drug is done in cell-based in vitro system followed by in vivo murine model prior to clinical trial in human. Cardiac glycosides are very effective to kill human cells, but not murine cells. In this report, we describe the comparative molecular mechanism of oleandrin, a cardiac glycoside action in human and murine cells. Treatment with oleandrin facilitated nuclear translocation of FKHR in human, but not murine cells by dephosphorylating Akt. It activated MAPK and JNK in human, but not in murine cells and also induced expression of FasL leads to apoptosis in human cells as detected by assaying caspases activation, PARP cleavage, nuclear fragmentation, and annexin staining. Oleandrin interacted with human plasma membrane as evaluated by HPLC, altered its fluidity as detected by DPH binding, inhibited Na+/K+-ATPase activity, and increased intracellular free Ca2+ level followed by calcineurin activity only in human, but not in murine cells. Results suggest that human plasma membrane might be different than murine, which interact with oleandrin that disturb Na+/K+-ATPase pump resulting in the calcification followed by induction of Ca2+-dependent cellular responses such as apoptosis.

Animals↗

Does chasing selected 'Fox' to the nucleus prevent diabetes?

Foxa2 (Hnf3beta) is a winged-helix/forkhead transcription factor that regulates gene expression in the liver, pancreatic islets and adipocytes. It is required for the maintenance of glucose and lipid homeostasis. Hyperinsulinemia-mediated inactivation of Foxa2 by nuclear exclusion has recently been implicated in the development of liver steatosis and insulin resistance in three animal models of diabetes. These abnormalities were cured by adenovirus-mediated expression of a constitutively active form of Foxa2 containing a mutated T156 phosphorylation site, which increases fatty acid oxidation and reduces its biosynthesis. Accordingly, the prevention of phosphorylation of Foxa2 was suggested as a pharmacological target for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.

Animals↗