The E2f7 and E2f8 family members are thought to function as transcriptional repressors important for the control of cell proliferation. Here, we have analyzed the consequences of inactivating E2f7 and E2f8 in mice and show that their individual loss had no significant effect on development. Their combined ablation, however, resulted in massive apoptosis and dilation of blood vessels, culminating in lethality by embryonic day E11.5. A deficiency in E2f7 and E2f8 led to an increase in E2f1 and p53, as well as in many stress-related genes. Homo- and heterodimers of E2F7 and E2F8 were found on target promoters, including E2f1. Importantly, loss of either E2f1 or p53 suppressed the massive apoptosis in double-mutant embryos. These results identify E2F7 and E2F8 as a unique repressive arm of the E2F transcriptional network that is critical for embryonic development and control of the E2F1-p53 apoptotic axis.

The WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) gene encodes a 46-kDa tumor suppressor. The Wwox protein contains two N-terminal WW domains that interact with several transcriptional activators containing proline-tyrosine motifs and a central short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase domain that has been suggested to play a role in steroid metabolism. Recently, we have shown that targeted deletion of the Wwox gene in mice leads to postnatal lethality and defects in bone growth. Here, we report that Wwox-deficient mice display impaired steroidogenesis. Mutant homozygous mice are born with gonadal abnormalities, including failure of Leydig cell development in testis and reduced theca cell proliferation in ovary. Furthermore, Wwox(-/-) mice displayed impaired gene expression of key steroidogenesis enzymes. Affymetrix microarray gene analysis revealed differentially expressed related genes in steroidogenesis in knockout mice testis and ovary as compared with control mice. These results demonstrate the essential requirement for the Wwox tumor suppressor in proper steroidogenesis.

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB) is targeted for inactivation in the majority of human tumors, underscoring its critical role in attenuating cellular proliferation. RB inhibits proliferation by repressing the transcription of genes that are essential for cell cycle progression. To repress transcription, RB assembles multiprotein complexes containing chromatin-modifying enzymes, including histone deacetylases (HDACs). However, the extent to which HDACs participate in transcriptional repression and are required for RB-mediated repression has not been established. Here, we investigated the role of HDACs in RB-dependent cell cycle inhibition and transcriptional repression. We find that active RB mediates histone deacetylation on cyclin A, Cdc2, topoisomerase II␣, and thymidylate synthase promoters. We also demonstrate that this deacetylation is HDAC dependent, since the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) prevented histone deacetylation at each promoter. However, TSA treatment blocked RB repression of only a specific subset of genes, thereby demonstrating that the requirement of HDACs for RB-mediated transcriptional repression is promoter specific. The HDAC-independent repression was not associated with DNA methylation or gene silencing but was readily reversible. We show that this form of repression resulted in altered chromatin structure and was dependent on SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling activity. Importantly, we find that cell cycle inhibitory action of RB is not intrinsically dependent on the ability to recruit HDAC activity. Thus, while HDACs do play a major role in RB-mediated repression, they are dispensable for the repression of critical targets leading to cell cycle arrest.The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, RB, functions as a negative regulator of cell cycle progression that is frequently inactivated in human cancers (10,22,75). In G 0 and early G 1 cells, RB is hypophosphorylated and inhibits the transition into the S phase of the cell cycle. Mitogenic signaling cascades activate CDK4/cyclin D1 complexes that initiate the phosphorylation of RB on a subset of serine and threonine residues (65). Subsequent phosphorylation catalyzed by CDK2/cyclin E leads to RB hyperphosphorylation (23). These combined events serve to functionally inactivate RB and thereby facilitate progression through the S phase (2, 23). In contrast with mitogenic signaling pathways, antimitogens (e.g., transforming growth factor ␤ or DNA damage) serve to inhibit RB phosphorylation and prevent progression through the cell cycle (28). Thus, RB integrates multiple signaling cascades to modify proliferation. In cancer, RB is inactivated through the activity of several disparate mechanisms. These modes of inactivation include the biallelic inactivation of the RB gene, binding by oncoproteins of DNA tumor viruses, and aberrant phosphorylation (2,3,30,59,62,76). Through these distinct mechanisms of RB inactivation, tumors are able to evade cell cycle regulation and proliferate uncontrollably.RB inhibits cellular proliferation by...

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-proten-coding transcripts of more than 200 nucleotides generated by RNA polymerase II and their expressions are tightly regulated in cell type specific- and/or cellular differential stage specific- manner. MIAT, originally isolated as a candidate gene for myocardial infarction, encodes lncRNA (termed MIAT). Here, we determined the expression level of MIAT in established leukemia/lymphoma cell lines and found its upregulation in lymphoid but not in myeloid cell lineage with mature B cell phenotype. MIAT expression level was further determined in chronic lymphocytic leukemias (CLL), characterized by expansion of leukemic cells with mature B phenotype, to demonstrate relatively high occurrence of MIAT upregulation in aggressive form of CLL carrying either 17p-deletion, 11q-deletion, or Trisomy 12 over indolent form carrying 13p-deletion. Furthermore, we show that MIAT constitutes a regulatory loop with OCT4 in malignant mature B cell, as was previously reported in mouse pulripotent stem cell, and that both molecules are essential for cell survival.

Switch (SWI)/sucrose nonfermentable (SNF)is an evolutionarily conserved complex with ATPase function, capable of regulating nucleosome position to alter transcriptional programs within the cell. It is known that the SWI/SNF complex is responsible for regulation of many genes involved in cell cycle control and proliferation, and it has recently been implicated in cancer development. The ATPase action of SWI/SNF is conferred through either the brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1) or brahma (Brm) subunit of the complex, and it is of central importance to the modification of nucleosome position. In this study, the role of the Brg1 and Brm subunits were examined as they relate to chromatin structure and organization. Deletion of the Brg1 ATPase results in dissolution of pericentromeric heterochromatin domains and a redistribution of histone modifications associated with these structures. This effect was highly specific to Brg1 and is not reproduced by the loss of Brm or SNF5/BAF47/INI1. Brg1 deficiency is associated with the appearance of micronuclei and aberrant mitoses that are a by-product of dissociated chromatin structure. Thus, Brg1 plays a critical role in maintaining chromatin structural integrity. INTRODUCTIONThe switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) complex uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis to modulate nucleosome position and density across promoters and thus plays an important role in regulating gene expression. The SWI/SNF ATPase function is necessary for its chromatin remodeling activities (Laurent et al., 1993), and this function is manifested through one of two mutually exclusive subunits, brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1) or brahma (Brm). Although both Brg1 and Brm can function as the central ATPase in the SWI/SNF complex, each defines a discrete complex with unique biochemical activity. In addition, specific accessory factors interact with the ATPase subunits and play critical roles in chromatin remodeling activity. For example, SNF5/ BAF47/INI1 is present in both Brg1-and Brm-associated complexes and is required for maximal chromatin remodeling activity, both in vitro and in yeast. Surprisingly, although Brg1 and Brm have Ͼ75% sequence homology, the impact of each individual subunit on chromatin biology and underlying cell biology is poorly understood (Phelan et al., 1999).Due to its central function in chromatin remodeling, SWI/ SNF function is required in many facets of gene regulation. Correspondingly, it is estimated that approximately 5% of the yeast genome is transcriptionally regulated by the SWI/ SNF complex (Holstege et al., 1998;Sudarsanam et al., 2000). In mammalian cells, SWI/SNF plays a critical role in the activation of a diverse set of genes and has been shown to be recruited directly to transcriptional activation domains (De- Hassan et al., 2001). In contrast, SWI/ SNF is also required for transcriptional repression. For example, transcriptional repression of cell cycle genes mediated by the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor is dependent on SWI/SNF, implicating the involvement of SWI/SNF in cell...

Plk1 (Polo-like kinase 1) is a critical regulator of cell cycle progression that harbors oncogenic activity and exhibits aberrant expression in multiple tumors. However, the mechanism through which Plk1 expression is regulated has not been extensively studied. Here we demonstrate that Plk1 is a target of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (RB) pathway. Activation of RB and related pocket proteins p107/p130 mediate attenuation of Plk1. Conversely, RB loss deregulates the control of Plk1 expression. RB pathway activation resulted in the repression of Plk1 promoter activity, and this action was dependent on the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. Although SWI/SNF subunits are lost during tumorigenesis and cooperate with RB for transcriptional repression, the mechanism through which SWI/ SNF impinges on RB action is unresolved. Therefore, we delineated the requirement of SWI/SNF for three critical facets of Plk1 promoter regulation: transcription factor binding, corepressor binding, and histone modification. We find that E2F4 and pocket protein association with the Plk1 promoter is independent of SWI/SNF. However, these analyses revealed that SWI/SNF is required for histone deacetylation of the Plk1 promoter. The importance of SWI/SNF-dependent histone deacetylation of the Plk1 promoter was evident, because blockade of this event restored Plk1 expression in the presence of active RB. In summary, these data demonstrate that Plk1 is a target of the RB pathway. Moreover, these findings demonstrate a hierarchical role for SWI/SNF in the control of promoter activity through histone modification.

Heterochromatin domains are important for gene silencing, centromere organization, and genomic stability. These genomic domains are marked with specific histone modifications, heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) binding and DNA methylation. The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, RB mediates transcriptional repression and functionally interacts with a number of factors that are involved in heterochromatin biology including HP1, Suv39h1, DNMT1, and components of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. To analyze the specific influence of RB loss on chromatin modification, mouse adult fibroblasts (MAFs) derived from Rb(loxP/loxP) mice were utilized to acutely knockout RB. In this setting, target genes of RB are deregulated. Additionally, changes in histone modifications were observed. Specifically, histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation was absent from heterochromatin domains following loss of RB and there were changes in the relative levels of histone modifications between RB-proficient and deficient cells. While RB loss significantly altered the modifications associated with heterochromatin domains, these domains were readily identified and efficiently mediated the recruitment of HP1alpha. Kinetic analyses of HP1alpha within the heterochromatin domains present in RB-deficient cells indicated that loss of RB retarded HP1alpha dynamics, indicating that HP1alpha is paradoxically more tightly associated with heterochromatin in the absence of RB function. Combined, these analyses demonstrate that loss of RB has global effects on chromatin modifications and dynamics.

Purpose Neuroblastoma is an embryonic childhood cancer with high mortality. 13-cis retinoic acid (13-cisRA) improves survival for some patients, but many recur, suggesting clinical resistance. The mechanism of resistance, and the normal differentiation pathway, are poorly understood. Three-Amino-acid Loop Extension (TALE) family genes are master regulators of differentiation. Since retinoids promote differentiation in neuroblastoma, we evaluated TALE family gene expression in neuroblastoma. Experimental Design We evaluated expression of TALE family genes in RA-sensitive and -resistant neuroblastoma cell lines, with and without 13cis-RA treatment, identifying genes whose expression correlate with retinoid sensitivity. We evaluated the roles of one gene, PBX1, in neuroblastoma cell lines, including proliferation and differentiation. We evaluated PBX1 expression in primary human neuroblastoma samples by RT-qPCR, and three independent clinical cohort microarray datasets. Results We confirmed induction of PBX1 expression, and no other TALE family genes, was associated with 13-cisRA responsiveness in NB cell lines. Exogenous PBX1 expression in neuroblastoma cell lines, mimicking induced PBX1 expression, significantly impaired proliferation and anchorage-independent growth, and promoted RA-dependent and -independent differentiation. Reduced PBX1 protein levels produced an aggressive growth phenotype and RA resistance. PBX1 expression correlated with histological neuroblastoma subtypes, with highest expression in benign ganglioneuromas and lowest in high-risk neuroblastomas. High PBX1 expression is prognostic of survival, including in multivariate analysis, in the three clinical cohorts. Conclusions PBX1 is an essential regulator of differentiation in neuroblastoma and potentiates retinoid-induced differentiation. Neuroblastoma cells and tumors with low PBX1 expression have an immature phenotype with poorer prognosis, independent of other risk factors.