Hypoxia initiates an intracellular signaling pathway leading to the activation of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). HIF-1 activity is regulated through different mechanisms involving stabilization of HIF-1␣, phosphorylations, modifications of redox conditions, and interactions with coactivators. However, it appears that some of these steps can be cell type-specific. Among them, the involvement of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway in the regulation of HIF-1 by hypoxia remains controversial. Here, we investigated the activation state of PI3K/Akt/glycogen synthase kinase 3␤ (GSK3␤) in HepG2 cells. Increasing incubation times in hypoxia dramatically decreased both the phosphorylation of Akt and the inhibiting phosphorylation of GSK3␤. The PI3K/Akt pathway was necessary for HIF-1␣ stabilization early during hypoxia. Indeed, its inhibition was sufficient to decrease HIF-1␣ protein level after 5-h incubation in hypoxia. However, longer exposure (16 h) in hypoxia resulted in a decreased HIF-1␣ protein level compared with early exposure (5 h). At that time, Akt was no longer present or active, which resulted in a decrease in the inhibiting phosphorylation of GSK3␤ on Ser-9 and hence in an increased GSK3␤ activity. GSK3 inhibition reverted the effect of prolonged hypoxia on HIF-1␣ protein level; more stabilized HIF-1␣ was observed as well as increased HIF-1 transcriptional activity. Thus, a prolonged hypoxia activates GSK3␤, which results in decreased HIF-1␣ accumulation. In conclusion, hypoxia induced a biphasic effect on HIF-1␣ stabilization with accumulation in early hypoxia, which depends on an active PI3K/Akt pathway and an inactive GSK3␤, whereas prolonged hypoxia results in the inactivation of Akt and activation of GSK3␤, which then down-regulates the HIF-1 activity through down-regulation of HIF-1␣ accumulation.Mammalian cells require a constant supply of oxygen to maintain adequate energy production, which is essential for maintaining normal function and for ensuring cell survival. The cellular response to decreased oxygen levels is regulated by a hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) 1 heterodimeric complex composed of two subunits, HIF-1␣ and arylhydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (1).This transcription factor binds to conserved regulatory sequences known as hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) found in the promoter of several target genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), erythropoietin, or glycolytic enzymes (aldolase A, enolase-␣, etc.) and controls their expression in response to hypoxia, leading to the adaptation of cells to decreased oxygen level (2).Only the HIF-1␣ subunit is regulated by a reduced oxygen level, and the regulation occurs in large part at post-translational modifications, resulting in its stabilization, nuclear translocation, DNA binding activity, and proper transcriptional activity. Under normal conditions, HIF-1␣ is hydroxylated at the prolines 564 and 462 residues in the oxygen-dependent degradation domain and, hence, inter...

Mitochondrial cytopathy has been associated with modifications of lipid metabolism in various situations, such as the acquisition of an abnormal adipocyte phenotype observed in multiple symmetrical lipomatosis or triglyceride (TG) accumulation in muscles associated with the myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers syndrome. However, the molecular signaling leading to fat metabolism dysregulation in cells with impaired mitochondrial activity is still poorly understood. Here, we found that preadipocytes incubated with inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration such as antimycin A (AA) accumulate TG vesicles but do not acquire specific markers of adipocytes. Although the uptake of TG precursors is not stimulated in 3T3-L1 cells with impaired mitochondrial activity, we found a strong stimulation of glucose uptake in AA-treated cells mediated by calcium and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt1/glycogen synthase kinase 3 ␤ , a pathway known to trigger the translocation of glucose transporter 4 to the plasma membrane in response to insulin. TG accumulation in AA-treated cells is mediated by a reduced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ␥ activity that downregulates muscle carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 expression and fatty acid ␤ -oxidation, and by a direct conversion of glucose into TGs accompanied by the activation of carbohydrate-responsive element binding protein, a lipogenic transcription factor. Taken together, these results could explain how mitochondrial impairment leads to the multivesicular phenotype found in some mitochondria-originating diseases associated with a dysfunction in fat metabolism. The role of mitochondria in lipid homeostasis has been strongly emphasized in recent studies focusing on mitochondrial respiratory deficiency. Indeed, chronic mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to diseases characterized by lipid metabolism disorders and pathological triglyceride (TG) accumulation in several cell types (1-3). Genetic mitochondrial pathologies usually result from point mutations or deletions in mitochondrial DNA that finally impair oxidative phosphorylation capacity (4). Interestingly, some mitochondrial disorders affect lipid-metabolizing tissues such as muscular and adipose tissues. For example, the myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers (MERRF) syndrome, commonly caused by a point mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA Lys -encoding gene (A8344G), is associated with myopathy, TG accumulation in muscles (5), and, in some cases, multiple symmetrical lipomatosis (MSL) (2, 6). MSL is a pathology characterized by the formation of lipomas containing abnormal white adipocytes smaller than normal adipocytes showing a multivesicular phenotype (1, 2, 7). Moreover, biochemical analyses have shown that cytochrome c oxidase activity is impaired in muscles from patients with MSL (8), supporting the fact that the disease is linked to mitochondrial dysfunction (6, 9). The role of mitochondria in the lipid metabolism of white adipose tissue was also strengthened in the pathogenesis of Abbreviations: AA,...

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a heterodimeric transcription factor that plays a major role in cellular adaptation to hypoxia. The mechanisms regulating HIF-1 activity occurs at multiple levels in vivo. The HIF-1a subunit is highly sensible to oxygen and is rapidly degraded by the proteasome 26S in normoxia. Activation in hypoxia occurs through a multistep process including inhibition of HIF-1a degradation, but also increase in the transactivation activity of HIF-1. Several data indicate that phosphorylation could play a role in this regulation. In this report, we investigated the role of casein kinase 2 (CK2), an ubiquitous serine/ threonine kinase, in the regulation of HIF-1 activity. Hypoxia was capable of increasing the expression of the b subunit of CK2, of inducing a relocalization of this subunit at the plasma membrane, of inducing nuclear translocation of the a subunit and of increasing CK2 activity. Three inhibitors of this kinase, DRB (5,6-dichloro-1-b-D-ribofuranosyl-benzimidazole), TBB (4,5,6,7-tetrabromotriazole) and apigenin, as well as overexpression of a partial dominant negative mutant of CK2a, were shown to inhibit HIF-1 activity as measured by a reporter assay and through hypoxiainduced VEGF and aldolase expression. This does not occur at the stabilization process since they did not affect HIF-1a protein level. DNA-binding activity was also not inhibited. We conclude that CK2 is an important regulator of HIF-1 transcriptional activity but the mechanism of this regulation remains to be determined. Since HIF-1 plays a major role in tumor angiogenesis and since CK2 has been described to be overexpressed in tumor cells, this new pathway of regulation can be one more way for tumor cells to survive. ' 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: casein kinase 2; HIF-1; neoangiogenesis HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor-1) is a key regulator of cell response to reduced oxygen level. In response to hypoxic conditions, HIF-1 increases the expression of downstream target genes such as erythropoietin (EPO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and glycolytic enzymes (aldolase A, enolase-a) and mediates adaptation of cells to decreased oxygen level. 1 The role of HIF-1 in the regulation of tumor growth by hypoxia via the initiation of angiogenesis is certainly the best example of such an adaptive response. 2 Oncogene activation and tumor-suppressor inactivation result in deregulated cellular proliferation. However, most tumors grown larger than 1 mm 3 contain regions of low oxygen tension (hypoxia) due to an imbalance between oxygen supply and consumption. Formation of new blood vessels or ''neoangiogenesis'' is thus essential for further tumor growth. It is also important to allow tumor cell dissemination at distant sites, i.e., metastasis.Several studies using HIF-1 mutant cells have shown that HIF-1 has a profound effect on tumor biology. For example, tumors grown from HIF-1a-defective embryonic stem cells display abnormal vascularity and reduced growth rate. 3 Moreover, HIF-1 is upregulated in a broad r...

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) represent potential targets for anticancer treatments as these cells play critical roles in tumor progression and frequently antagonize the response to treatments. TAMs are usually associated to an M2-like phenotype, characterized by anti-inflammatory and protumoral properties. This phenotype contrasts with the M1-like macrophages, which exhibits proinflammatory, phagocytic, and antitumoral functions. As macrophages hold a high plasticity, strategies to orchestrate the reprogramming of M2-like TAMs towards a M1 antitumor phenotype offer potential therapeutic benefits. One of the most used anticancer treatments is the conventional X-ray radiotherapy (RT), but this therapy failed to reprogram TAMs towards an M1 phenotype. While protontherapy is more and more used in clinic to circumvent the side effects of conventional RT, the effects of proton irradiation on macrophages have not been investigated yet. Here we showed that M1 macrophages (THP-1 cell line) were more resistant to proton irradiation than unpolarized (M0) and M2 macrophages, which correlated with differential DNA damage detection. Moreover, proton irradiation-induced macrophage reprogramming from M2 to a mixed M1/M2 phenotype. This reprogramming required the nuclear translocation of NFκB p65 subunit as the inhibition of IκBα phosphorylation completely reverted the macrophage re-education. Altogether, the results suggest that proton irradiation promotes NFκB-mediated macrophage polarization towards M1 and opens new perspectives for macrophage targeting with charged particle therapy.

The potential toxic effects of two types of copper(II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) with different specific surface areas, different shapes (rod or spheric), different sizes as raw materials and similar hydrodynamic diameter in suspension were studied on human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Both CuO NPs were shown to be able to enter into HepG2 cells and induce cellular toxicity by generating reactive oxygen species. CuO NPs increased the abundance of several transcripts coding for pro-inflammatory interleukins and chemokines. Transcriptomic data, siRNA knockdown and DNA binding activities suggested that Nrf2, NF-κB and AP-1 were implicated in the response of HepG2 cells to CuO NPs. CuO NP incubation also induced activation of MAPK pathways, ERKs and JNK/SAPK, playing a major role in the activation of AP-1. In addition, cytotoxicity, inflammatory and antioxidative responses and activation of intracellular transduction pathways induced by rod-shaped CuO NPs were more important than spherical CuO NPs. Measurement of Cu(2+) released in cell culture medium suggested that Cu(2+) cations released from CuO NPs were involved only to a small extent in the toxicity induced by these NPs on HepG2 cells.

Several mitochondrial pathologies are characterized by lipid redistribution and microvesicular cell phenotypes resulting from triglyceride accumulation in lipid-metabolizing tissues. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal fat distribution induced by mitochondrial dysfunction remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that inhibition of respiratory complex III by antimycin A as well as inhibition of mitochondrial protein synthesis trigger the accumulation of triglyceride vesicles in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. We also show that treatment with antimycin A triggers CREB activation in these cells. To better delineate how mitochondrial dysfunction induces triglyceride accumulation in preadipocytes, we developed a low-density DNA microarray containing 89 probes, which allows gene expression analysis for major effectors and/or markers of adipogenesis. We thus determined gene expression profiles in 3T3-L1 cells incubated with antimycin A and compared the patterns obtained with differentially expressed genes during the course of in vitro adipogenesis induced by a standard pro-adipogenic cocktail. After an 8-day treatment, a set of 39 genes was found to be differentially expressed in cells treated with antimycin A, among them CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), C/EBP homologous protein-10 (CHOP-10), mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDmit), and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1). We also demonstrate that overexpression of two dominant negative mutants of the cAMP-response element-binding protein CREB (K-CREB and M1-CREB) and siRNA transfection, which disrupt the factor activity and expression, respectively, inhibit antimycin-A-induced triglyceride accumulation. Furthermore, CREB knockdown with siRNA also downregulates the expression of several genes that contain cAMP-response element (CRE) sites in their promoter, among them one that is potentially involved in synthesis of triglycerides such as SCD1. These results highlight a new role for CREB in the control of triglyceride metabolism during the adaptative response of preadipocytes to mitochondrial dysfunction.

A low oxygen level is a characteristic feature of solid tumours and a negative prognostic factor for the survival of cancer patients. The response of cancer cells to hypoxia not only drives neo-angiogenesis, but also enhances cancer cell survival and malignant phenotype. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is the major regulator of the adaptive responses of cells to hypoxia [1]. It is a Bcl2 ⁄ adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein (bHLH-PAS) transcription factor composed of two subunits: aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), which is constitutively expressed in the nucleus, and HIF-1a, whose level and activity are regulated by the oxygen level. In the presence of oxygen, HIF-1a is post-translationally modified by prolyl hydroxylases, targeting the protein for proteasomal degradation, and by an asparagine hydroxylase, preventing its interactions with transcription coactivators [2]. Limiting oxygen availability prevents these modifications, leading to HIF-1a accumulation, translocation into the nucleus and interaction with coactivators. On activation, the active dimer binds to target gene promoters containing the core recognition sequence 5¢-RCGTC-3¢ (HRE, hypoxia response element), leading to overexpression of the genes involved in glucose metabolism, angiogenesis and cell survival [1]. This transcriptional response mediates cell adaptation to low oxygen level, but also contributes to tumour progression, neo-angiogenesis and metastasis [3,4]. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is now recognized as a possible target for cancer treatment. This transcription factor is responsible for the overexpression of several genes favouring cancer cell survival and inducing neoangiogenesis. Echinomycin has recently been described to inhibit HIF-1 DNA binding and transcriptional activity. In this work, it is shown that echinomycin strongly inhibits the activity of HIF-1 under hypoxic conditions, and also interferes with the activity of other transcription factors. These results demonstrate the lack of specificity of this molecule. Moreover, it is demonstrated that echinomycin induces an increase in HIF-1 activity under normoxic conditions, parallel to an increase in the expression of HIF-1 target genes. This effect is caused by an increase in HIF-1a protein level, resulting from an increase in the transcription of the HIF-1A gene in the presence of a low concentration of echinomycin. Transfection experiments with HIF-1a promoter constructs revealed the presence of an Sp1 binding element responsive to echinomycin. Furthermore, echinomycin enhanced Sp1 activity, as measured by the use of a specific reporter system. These findings show, for the first time, that echinomycin has a dual effect on HIF-1 activity under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, demonstrating that this molecule cannot be used in cancer treatment.Abbreviations AP-1, activator protein-1; ARNT, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator; DHG, DMEM high glucose; HB, hypotonic buffer; HIF-1, hypoxia-inducible factor-1; HRE, hypoxia response elem...

Cycling hypoxia (cyH), also called intermittent hypoxia, occurs in solid tumors and affects different cell types in the tumor microenvironment and in particular the tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). As cyH and TAMs both favor tumor progression, we investigated whether cyH could drive the pro-tumoral phenotype of macrophages. Here, the effects of cyH on human THP-1 macrophages and murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM), either unpolarized M0, or polarized in M1 or M2 phenotype were studied. In M0 macrophages, cyH induced a pro-inflammatory phenotype characterized by an increase in tnfα and IL-8/MIP-2 secretion. CyH amplified the pro-inflammatory phenotype of M1 macrophages evidenced by an increased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and pro-inflammatory gene expression. Furthermore, cyH increased c-jun activation in human M0 macrophages and highly increased c-jun and NF-κB activation in M1 macrophages. C-jun and p65 are implicated in the effects of cyH on M0 and M1 macrophages since inhibition of their activation prevented the cyH pro-inflammatory effects. In conclusion, we demonstrated that cyH induces or amplifies a pro-inflammatory phenotype in M0 and M1 macrophages by activating JNK/p65 signaling pathway. These results highlight a specific role of cyH in the amplification of tumor-related inflammation by modulating the inflammatory phenotype of macrophages. Tumors are complex tissues composed of multiple cell types interacting and influencing each other, namely malignant cells and stromal cells like endothelial cells, immune cells and fibroblasts 1. The intricate combination of tumor microenvironment composition and environmental factors strongly determines tumor outcome 2. A major factor altering the tumor microenvironment is the presence of low oxygen tension called hypoxia, that is a common feature of malignant tumors 3. Two types of hypoxia can be distinguished: chronic and cycling hypoxia (cyH). Chronic hypoxia (chH) is associated to the limited oxygen distribution in a tissue; it is mainly the result of uncontrolled proliferation of O 2-consuming cancer cells and the O 2 diffusion gradient from blood capillaries 4,5. In contrast, cyH, also called intermittent hypoxia, is related to the irregular erythrocyte flux circulating in the anarchical tumor blood network characterized by the presence of temporary occlusions 6-8. The instability of blood flow leads to periods of hypoxia followed by periods of reoxygenation, occurring over hours through a clear pattern of periodicity 9. We previously demonstrated that cyH amplifies the endothelial inflammatory response induced by TNFα notably through an overactivation of NF-κB. Moreover, we showed that cyH enhances the overall tumor inflammation characterized by a global increase in inflammatory gene expression and by an increase in intratumor leukocyte infiltration in tumor-bearing mice 10. Inflammation is indeed described to be mutagenic and to favor proliferation and survival of malignant cells, angiogenesis, metastasis, corruption of the adaptive immu...