Traditionally considered as a critical intermediate in the toxic and carcinogenic response to dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD), the Aryl hydrocarbon/Dioxin receptor (AhR) has proven to be also an important regulator of cell physiology and organ homeostasis. AhR has become an interesting and actual area of research mainly boosted by a significant number of recent studies analyzing its contribution to the proper functioning of the immune, hepatic, cardiovascular, vascular and reproductive systems. At the cellular level, AhR establishes functional interactions with signaling pathways governing cell proliferation and cell cycle, cell morphology, cell adhesion and cell migration. Two exciting new aspects in AhR biology deal with its implication in the control of cell differentiation and its more than likely involvement in cell pluripotency and stemness. In fact, it is possible that AhR could help modulate the balance between differentiation and pluripotency in normal and transformed tumor cells. At the molecular level, AhR regulates an increasingly large array of physiologically relevant genes either by traditional transcription-dependent mechanisms or by unforeseen processes involving genomic insulators, chromatin dynamics and the transcription of mobile genetic elements. AhR is also closely related to epigenetics, not only from the point of view of target gene expression but also with respect to its own regulation by promoter methylation. It is reasonable to consider that deregulation of these many functions could have a causative role, or at least contribute to, human disease. Consequently, several laboratories have proposed that AhR could be a valuable tool as diagnostic marker and/or therapeutic target in human pathologies. An additional point of interest is the possibility of regulating AhR activity by endogenous non-toxic low weight molecules agonist or antagonist molecules that could be present or included in the diet. In this review, we will address these molecular and functional features of AhR biology within physiological and pathological contexts.

Epigenetic mechanisms and transcription factor networks essential for differentiation of cardiac myocytes have been uncovered. However, reshaping of the epigenome of these terminally differentiated cells during fetal development, postnatal maturation, and in disease remains unknown. Here, we investigate the dynamics of the cardiac myocyte epigenome during development and in chronic heart failure. We find that prenatal development and postnatal maturation are characterized by a cooperation of active CpG methylation and histone marks at cis-regulatory and genic regions to shape the cardiac myocyte transcriptome. In contrast, pathological gene expression in terminal heart failure is accompanied by changes in active histone marks without major alterations in CpG methylation and repressive chromatin marks. Notably, cis-regulatory regions in cardiac myocytes are significantly enriched for cardiovascular disease-associated variants. This study uncovers distinct layers of epigenetic regulation not only during prenatal development and postnatal maturation but also in diseased human cardiac myocytes.

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Resveratrol (RES), a chemopreventive molecule, inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells of different etiologies. We previously showed that RES alters the cell cycle and induces apoptosis in MCF-7 breast tumor cells by interfering with the estrogen receptor (ERa)-dependent phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Here, we analyzed signaling downstream of PI3K, to understand the mechanisms of RES-induced apoptosis. Apoptotic death by RES in MCF-7 was mediated by Bcl-2 downregulation since overexpression of this protein abolished apoptosis. Decreased Bcl-2 levels were not related to cytochrome c release, activation of caspases 3/8 or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase proteolysis. However, RES decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and increased reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide production. NF-kB, a regulator of Bcl-2 expression, and calpain protease activity, a regulator of NF-kB, were both inhibited by RES. The patterns for NFkB and calpain activities followed that of PI3K and were inhibited by LY294002. NF-kB inhibition coincided with diminished MMP-9 activity and cell migration. These data suggest that RES-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 could involve an oxidative, caspase-independent mechanism, whereby inhibition of PI3K signaling converges to Bcl-2 through NF-kB and calpain protease activity. Therefore, Bcl-2 and NF-kB could be considered potential targets for the chemopreventive activity of RES in estrogen-responsive tumor cells. ' 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: resveratrol; caspase; Bcl-2; NF-kB; apoptosis Among natural compounds with beneficial effects on human health, RES (3,4 0 ,5-trihydroxystilbene) has attracted considerable interest. This molecule, present at relevant concentrations in red wine, 1 has been associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease. Different studies have also suggested a beneficial effect of RES in cancer since it inhibits proliferation and promotes death in tumor cell lines of different origins, 2-4 and, in vivo, suppresses the formation of skin 5 and mammary gland 6 tumors in rodent models of carcinogenesis.We, as well as other laboratories, have found that the ability of RES to inhibit cell viability and proliferation in the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 was unrelated to ERa status. 7,8 However, apoptotic cell death was present only in ERapositive MCF-7 and involved cell-specific regulation of the G 1 /S and G 2 /M transitions of the cell cycle. 2,8 RES properties are related to ERa since this compound has estrogenic or antiestrogenic activities depending on its concentration and the phenotype of the target cell. 9,10 ERa, in addition to its nuclear role as a transcription factor, is involved in regulating the PI3K pathway, which controls cell growth, proliferation and apoptosis. [11][12][13] In MCF-7 cells, RES induced a biphasic pattern of PI3K activity that increased at low concentrations and decreased at high concentrations. Activation of downstream PI3K effectors PKB/AKT and GSK-3 closely followed the pattern of PI3K activity. 14 The ...

SUMMARY Many signals must be integrated to maintain self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and to enable induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming. However, the exact molecular regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. To unravel the essential internal and external signals required for sustaining the ESC state, we conducted a short hairpin (sh) RNA screen of 104 ESC-associated phosphoregulators. Depletion of one such molecule, aurora kinase A (Aurka), resulted in compromised self-renewal and consequent differentiation. By integrating global gene expression and computational analyses, we discovered that loss of Aurka leads to up-regulated p53 activity that triggers ESC differentiation. Specifically, Aurka regulates pluripotency through phosphorylation-mediated inhibition of p53-directed ectodermal and mesodermal gene expression. Phosphorylation of p53 not only impairs p53-induced ESC differentiation but also p53-mediated suppression of iPSC reprogramming. Our studies demonstrate an essential role for Aurka-p53 signaling in the regulation of self-renewal, differentiation, and somatic cell reprogramming.

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Although the dioxin receptor, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), is considered a major regulator of xenobiotic-induced carcinogenesis, its role in tumor formation in the absence of xenobiotics is still largely unknown. Trying to address this question, we have produced immortalized cell lines from wild-type (T-FGMAhR؉/؉) and mutant (T-FGM-AhR؊/؊) mouse mammary fibroblasts by stable co-transfection with the simian virus 40 (SV-40) large T antigen and proto-oncogenic c-HRas. Both cell lines had a myofibroblast phenotype and similar proliferation, doubling time, SV-40 and c-H-Ras expression and activity, and cell cycle distribution. AhR؉/؉ and AhR؊/؊ cells were also equally able to support growth factor-and anchorage-independent proliferation. However, the ability of T-FGM-AhR؊/؊ to induce subcutaneous tumors (leimyosarcomas) in NOD/ SCID-immunodeficient mice was close to 4-fold lower than T-FGM-AhR؉/؉. In culture, T-FGM-AhR؊/؊ had diminished migration in collagen-I and decreased lamellipodia formation. VEGFR-1/Flt-1, a VEGF receptor that regulates cell migration and blood vessel formation, was also down-regulated in AhR؊/؊ cells. Signaling through the ERK-FAK-PKB/AKT-Rac-1 pathway, which contributes to cell motility and invasion, was also significantly inhibited in T-FGM-AhR؊/؊. Thus, the lower tumorigenic potential of T-FGM-AhR؊/؊ could result from a compromised adaptability of these cells to the in vivo microenvironment, possibly because of an impaired ability to migrate and to respond to angiogenesis.

The transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) has relevant functions in cell proliferation. Interestingly, the AhR can either promote or inhibit proliferation depending on the cell phenotype. Although recent data reveal potential pathways for AhR signaling in cell proliferation, the mechanisms that regulate its activity in tumor cells remain unknown. Here, we have analyzed promoter hypermethylation as a potential mechanism controlling AhR expression in human tumor cells. AhR promoter CpG methylation was sporadic in a panel of 19 tumor cell lines except for the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 and the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) REH. When compared with normal lymphocytes, REH had very low constitutive AhR expression that could be attributed to promoter hypermethylation since treatment with the DNA demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycitidine (AZA) significantly increased AhR mRNA and protein. These results in leukemia-derived cell lines were further confirmed in primary ALL, where 33% of the patients (7/21) had AhR promoter hypermethylation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) showed that methylation impaired binding of the transcription factor Sp1 to the AhR promoter, thus providing a mechanism for AhR downregulation in REH cells. Therefore, promoter hypermethylation represents a novel epigenetic mechanism downregulating AhR activity in hematological malignancies such as ALL.