ABCG2 is a member of the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which can pump a wide variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds out of cells. Widely expressed in stem cells, ABCG2 is also found to confer the side population phenotype and is recognized as a universal marker of stem cells. Although the precise ...

BackgroundEpigenetic alterations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of solid tumors, however, proto-oncogenes activated by promoter demethylation have been sporadically reported. We used an integrative method to analyze expression in primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and pharmacologically demethylated cell ...

Human ABCG2, a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporter superfamily, plays a key role in multidrug resistance and protecting cancer stem cells. ABCG2-knockout had no apparent adverse effect on the development, biochemistry, and life of mice. Thus, ABCG2 is an ...

ABCG2 encodes a transporter protein that is associated with multidrug-resistant phenotypes in many cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML); high levels of expression are generally associated with a poor prognosis. To better understand how expression of ABCG2 is controlled in pediatric AML, we performed a detailed analysis of the ABCG2 transcript ...

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly malignant disease that is generally not responding to chemotherapy. It is particularly predominant in China. Although ESCC is significantly associated with cigarette smoking, the relationship between its molecular pathogenesis and responsiveness to chemotherapy and cigarette smoke remains elusive. This study reported the constitutive activation ...

Heritable epigenetic inactivation of the maize Suppressor-mutator (Spm) transposon is associated with promoter methylation, and its reversal is mediated by the transposon-encoded TnpA protein. We have developed an assay that permits demethylation of the Spm sequence to be controlled by inducing the expression of TnpA in plant cells. Using this assay, we ...

Heritable epigenetic inactivation of the maize Suppressor-mutator (Spm) transposon is associated with promoter methylation, and its reversal is mediated by the transposon-encoded TnpA protein. We have developed an assay that permits demethylation of the Spm sequence to be controlled by inducing the expression of TnpA in plant cells. Using this assay, we ...

The oral bioavailability of the antiretroviral efavirenz (EFV) undergoes high inter and intra-individual variability, this fact supporting its therapeutic drug monitoring. Previously, it was demonstrated that the encapsulation of EFV within polymeric micelles increases the oral bioavailability of the drug. The breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP, ABCG2) ...

HhAntag691 (GDC-0449), a low-molecular weight inhibitor of the tumor-promoting hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, has been used to treat medulloblastoma in animal models and has recently entered clinical trials for a variety of solid tumors. Here, we show that HhAntag691 inhibits multiple ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. ATP-binding cassette transporters are within a ...

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification involved in transcriptional regulation, nuclear organization, development, aging, and disease. Although DNA methyltransferases have been characterized, the mechanisms for DNA demethylation remain poorly understood. Using a cell-based reporter assay, we performed a functional genomics screen to identify genes involved in ...

Methylation and demethylation of DNA are the complementary processes of epigenetic regulation. These two types of regulation influence a diverse array of cellular activities, including the maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal in embryonic stem cells. It was generally believed that DNA demethylation occurs passively over several cycles of DNA ...

The tumor suppressor gene Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1) has been found to be promoter hypermethylated and silenced in lung cancer cell lines and tissues. Curcuminoids are major active components of the spice turmeric, and have recently been reported to be potential hypomethylation agents. In the present study, the hypomethylation effects of three major curcuminoids, ...

Reprogramming of somatic cell nuclei to yield induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells makes possible derivation of patient-specific stem cells for regenerative medicine. However, iPS cell generation is asynchronous and slow (2�3 weeks), the frequency is low (, 0.1%), and DNA demethylation constitutes a bottleneck. To determine regulatory mechanisms involved in reprogramming, we ...

Cytosine methylation is the major covalent modification of mammalian genomic DNA and plays important roles in transcriptional regulation. The molecular mechanism underlying the enzymatic removal of this epigenetic mark, however, remains elusive. Here, we show that 5-methylcytosine (5mC) hydroxylase TET1, by converting 5mCs to 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5hmCs), promotes DNA ...

The methylation and demethylation of CpG dinucleotides that are embedded in promoters play an important role in controlling gene transcription. In the mammalian brain, CpG promoter methylation is a postreplicative process mediated by a group of DNA methyltransferases (DNMT), such as DNMT1 and DNMT3a, DNMT3b. Several studies demonstrate ...

Disclosed are compositions for promoting general health and well-being, comprising an extract of a botanical raw material, wherein said extract inhibits the carboxyl demethylating activity of a protein phosphatase, and methods of making and using same.

Unlike neural stem cells that maintain populations in the adult brains of both rodents and humans, cochlear stem cells appear to diminish in number after birth and may become quiescent in adult mammalian cochleae. Hypoxia has been observed to promote an undifferentiated cell state in various stem cell populations; however, little is known about such an effect on cochlear ...

Active DNA demethylation is involved in many vital developmental and physiological processes of plants and animals. Recent genetic and biochemical studies in Arabidopsis have demonstrated that a subfamily of DNA glycosylases function to promote DNA demethylation through a base excision-repair pathway. These specialized bifunctional DNA ...

DNA methylation is a major epigenetic mechanism for gene silencing. Whereas methyltransferases mediate cytosine methylation, it is less clear how unmethylated regions in mammalian genomes are protected from de novo methylation and whether an active demethylating activity is involved. Here, we show that either knockout or catalytic inactivation of the DNA repair enzyme thymine ...

Global mechanisms defining the gene expression programs specific for hematopoiesis are still not fully understood. Here, we show that promoter DNA demethylation is associated with the activation of hematopoietic-specific genes. Using genome-wide promoter methylation arrays, we identified 694 hematopoietic-specific genes repressed by ...

The DNA methyltransferase inhibitors azacytidine and decitabine represent archetypal drugs for epigenetic cancer therapy. To characterize the demethylating activity of azacytidine and decitabine we treated colon cancer and leukemic cells with both drugs and used array-based DNA methylation analysis of more than 14,000 gene promoters. Additionally, ...

BackgroundIn mammals, the dynamics of DNA methylation, in particular the regulated, active removal of cytosine methylation, has remained a mystery, partly due to the lack of appropriate model systems to study DNA demethylation. Previous work has largely focused on proliferating cell types that are mitotically arrested using pharmacological inhibitors to distinguish between ...

Pancreatic cancer is one of the life-threatening cancers due to the difficulty in the curative surgery and resistance against conventional therapeutic strategies. Recent studies indicated that cancer stem cells, which exist as a small number of cells within the entire cancer tissue, contribute to the disease progression. Cancer stem cells reveal resistance against conventional chemotherapy, which ...

Reelin and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD(67)) expression down-regulation in GABAergic interneurons of mice exposed to protracted treatment with l-methionine (MET) is attributed to RELN and GAD(67) promoter cytosine-5-hypermethylation. This process recruits various transcription repressor proteins [methyl-CpG binding protein (MeCP2) and histone deacetylases (HDACs)] ...

Gammaherpesviruses have a common biological characteristic, latency and lytic replication. The balance between these two phases in murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) is controlled by the replication and transcription activator (RTA) gene. In this report, we investigated the effect of DNA demethylation and histone acetylation on MHV-68 replication. We showed that distinctive ...

... ABCG2 and other stem-cell associated markers. ... BREAST CANCER, *STEM CELLS, DRUG TOLERANCE ... MEDICINE AND MEDICAL RESEARCH. ...

... Cancer Cell 8, 323�335. ... Stem Cells 23, 1073�1081. ... expression of the ATP- binding cassette transporter, Abcg2, identifies cardiac SP cells in the ...

The breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP, ABCG2) is among the latest discovered ABC proteins to be involved in MDR phenotype and for which only few inhibitors are known. In continuing our program aimed at discovering efficient multidrug resistance modulators, we conceived and synthesized new acridones as ABCG2 inhibitors. The design of target molecules ...

To examine the relationship between gene expression and DNA methylation, transcriptionally activated genes were screened in hypomethylated transgenic tobacco plants expressing an anti-DNA methyltransferase sequence. Among 16 genes initially identified, one clone was found to encode a glycerophosphodiesterase-like protein (NtGPDL), earlier reported to be responsive to aluminium stress. When ...

Mealey, K. L. ABCG2 transporter: therapeutic and physiologic implications in veterinary species. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.2011.01313.x. Drug transporters significantly influence drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. While P-glycoprotein, the product of the MDR1 (ABCB1) gene, is the most well-characterized ABC transporter, ...

Increased expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) has been reported in various malignancies including prostate cancer. However, the mechanism by which uPA is abnormally expressed in prostate cancer remains elusive. Here, we show that uPA is aberrantly expressed in a high-percentage of human prostate cancer ...

We use hepatic cellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common human cancers, as a model to delineate the landscape of promoter hypomethylation in cancer. Using a combination of methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and hybridization with comprehensive promoter arrays, we have identified approximately 3,700 promoters that are ...

in gene expression. For example, the activity-dependent expression of BDNF relies on phosphorylation-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoter. Furthermore, depolarization appears to lead to relative demethylation of CpGs near Ca2� -responsive elements in the BDNF promoter, further re-enforcing tran- scriptional

A subset of male germ line-specific genes, the MAGE-type genes, are activated in many human tumors, where they produce tumor-specific antigens recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes. Previous studies on gene MAGE-A1 indicated that transcription factors regulating its expression are present in all tumor cell lines whether or not they express the gene. The analysis of two CpG sites located in the ...

BackgroundThe hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major etiological factor of inflammation and damage to the liver resulting in hepatocellular carcinoma. Transcription factors play important roles in the disordered gene expression and liver injury caused by HBV. However, the molecular mechanisms behind this observation have not been defined.ResultsIn this study, we observed that circulating prostaglandin ...

ABCG2 is an important member of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter shown to confer drug resistance in cancer cells. Recent studies show that an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), gefitinib, is able to modulate the function of ABCG2 and reverse ABCG2-mediated multidrug ...

ABCG2 is an important member of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter shown to confer drug resistance in cancer cells. Recent studies show that an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), gefitinib, is able to modulate the function of ABCG2 and reverse ABCG2-mediated multidrug ...

Skeletal muscle contains progenitor cells (satellite cells) that maintain and repair muscle. It also contains muscle side population (SP) cells, which express Abcg2 and may participate in muscle regeneration or may represent a source of satellite cell replenishment. In Abcg2-null mice, the SP fraction is lost in skeletal muscle, although the significance ...

Genomic sequencing of two CG sites located in the 5'-flanking promoter region of the mouse beta-globin major gene shows these sites to be heavily methylated in the DNA from L929 mouse fibroblasts, a cell line that does not express the beta-globin gene. By contrast, the same CG sites in the DNA obtained from murine erythroleukemia cells, which can express the beta-globin gene, ...

The interferon (IFN)-? response gene interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) has antiproliferative properties in a number of biological systems. In the human melanoma cell line D10, IFITM3 is constitutively expressed and we show that the core promoter is significantly hypomethylated compared to ME15 cells, where IFITM3 is tightly controlled. We demonstrate that ...

Analyses of molecular events associated with reprogramming somatic nuclei to pluripotency are scarce. We previously reported the reprogramming of epithelial cells by extract of undifferentiated embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. We now demonstrate reprogramming of DNA methylation and histone modifications on regulatory regions of the developmentally regulated OCT4 and NANOG genes by exposure of 293T ...

To understand the mechanism of transcriptional down-regulation of BRCA1 by promoter methylation, we screened 51 breast cancer cell lines and identified HCC38 as another BRCA1 promoter-methylated cell line in addition to UACC3199. There was low expression of BRCA1 mRNA and BRCA1 protein in both cell lines as measured by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot ...

Breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2), the newest ABC transporter, was discovered independently by three groups in the late 1990s. ABCG2 is widely distributed in the body with expression in the brain, intestine, and liver, among others. ABCG2 plays an important role by ...

ABCG2 is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of transporters, the overexpression of which is associated with tumor resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents. Accordingly, combining ABCG2 inhibitor(s) with chemotherapy has the potential to improve treatment outcome. To search for clinically ...

PurposeTo evaluate the in vivo efficacy of curcumin as an inhibitor of the multidrug-resistance-linked ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) drug transporter, ABCG2.MethodsPhotoaffinity labeling with [¹²⁵I]-iodoarylazidoprazosin was used to characterize the interaction of sulfasalazine, a substrate of the mouse ...

ABCG2 is a membrane-localized, human transporter protein that has been demonstrated to reduce the intracellular accumulation of substrates through ATP-dependent efflux. Highly expressed in placental syncytiotrophoblasts, brain microvasculature and the gastrointestinal tract, ABCG2 has been shown to mediate normal ...

PurposeABCG2 overexpression has been linked to resistance to topoisomerase inhibitors, leading us to examine the potential interaction between ABCG2 and becatecarin.MethodsInteraction with ABCG2 was determined by ATPase assay, competition of [¹²⁵I]iodoarylazidoprazosin (IAAP) photolabeling ...

Aberrant biochemical processes in the brain frequently go along with subtle shifts of the cellular epigenetic profile that might support the pathogenic progression of psychiatric disorders. Although recent reports have implied the ability of certain antidepressants and mood stabilizers to modulate epigenetic parameters, studies comparing the actions of these compounds under the same conditions are ...

Hypermethylation of the Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1) promoter has been implicated in the overactivation of the Wnt pathway in human lung cancer. Curcuminoids exert anti-cancer effects and have been reported to act as hypomethylating agents. Previously, we have investigated and compared the demethylation effects of three curcuminoids and observed that ...

Molecular Cell Review Protein Arginine Methylation in Mammals: Who, What, and Why Mark T. Bedford1.12.013 The covalent marking of proteins by methyl group addition to arginine residues can promote their recognition, it is unclear to what extent protein arginine demethylation occurs. Physiological roles for protein arginine

It is well-established that silent regions of the genome replicate late during S phase. In this issue of Molecular Cell, Black et al. uncover a conserved role for the JMJD2 family of histone demethylases in promoting replication within silent chromatin regions that contain histone H3 lysine 9 methylation and HP1.

It has recently been demonstrated that genistein (GEN), a phytoestrogen in soy products, is an epigenetic modulator in various types of cells; but its effect on endometrium has not yet been determined. We investigated the effects of GEN on mouse uterine cells, in vivo and in vitro. Oral administration of GEN for 1week induced mild proliferation of the endometrium in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, ...

Distinct lysine methylation marks on histones create dynamic signatures deciphered by the 'effector' modules, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We identified the plant homeodomain- and Jumonji C domain-containing protein PHF2 as a novel histone H3K9 demethylase. We show in biochemical and crystallographic analyses that PHF2 recognizes histone H3K4 trimethylation ...

NK cells as a component of the innate immune system provide a first line of defense against viral infections and malignancies. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are a polymorphic gene family expressed on NK cells. The crucial role of DNA methylation in determining the variegated expression pattern of KIRs has recently been reported. In this study the direct effect of DNA ...

Hamster-human cell hybrids containing an inactive human X chromosome were treated with 5-azacytidine and derived clones were examined for phosphoglycerate kinase activity and cytosine methylation in the human PGK1 (X chromosome-linked phosphoglycerate kinase) gene. Comparisons between expressing and nonexpressing clones indicated that demethylation of several ...

Hydralazine was one of the first orally active antihypertensive drugs developed. Currently, it is used principally to treat pregnancy-associated hypertension. Hydralazine causes two types of side effects. The first type is an extension of the pharmacologic effect of the drug and includes headache, nausea, flushing, hypotension, palpitation, tachycardia, dizziness, and salt retention. The second ...

The primary purpose of this investigation was to study oxidative demethylation of DNA following ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/RI) that putatively influences posttransplant gene expression in transplanted kidneys. Our hypothesis was that as a result of I/RI, oxidative damage, which is inherent in solid organ transplantation, may lead to aberrant ...

To investigate the contributions of histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation and DNA methylation to p16, hMLH1 and MGMT silencing in ovarian cancer cells, we treated three ovarian cancer cell lines with Trichostatin A (TSA) and 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and examined the status of mRNA expression, DNA methylation and histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation at the promoter of p16, hMLH1 and MGMT. ...

Retinoblastomas consist of cone-like neoplastic cells and diverse non-neoplastic cells whose roles in tumorigenesis have not been defined. Here, we investigated the glial cells that constitute 2% to 3% of the cells in retinoblastoma tumors, including their origin, their relationship to a potential retinoblastoma stem cell population, and their effects on tumor cell proliferation. Retinoblastoma ...

Glutathione-S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) gene is commonly silenced by CpG island promoter hypermethylation in prostate, breast, and liver cancers. However, mechanisms leading to GSTP1 repression by promoter hypermethylation in leukemia and its relationship with pathological alterations of the chromatin structure remain poorly understood. A panel of leukemia ...

BackgroundCancer/testis antigens (CTAs) were first discovered as immunogenic targets normally expressed in germline cells, but differentially expressed in a variety of human cancers. In this study, we used an integrative epigenetic screening approach to identify coordinately expressed genes in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose transcription is driven by promoter ...

Aiming at structural optimization of potent and selective ABCG2 inhibitors, such as UR-ME22-1, from our laboratory, an efficient solid phase synthesis was developed to get convenient access to this class of compounds. 7-Carboxyisatoic anhydride was attached to Wang resin to give resin bound 2-aminoterephthalic acid. Acylation with quinoline-2- or ...

Accumulating evidence indicates that ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter ABCG2 plays a key role in regulating the cellular accumulation of porphyrin derivatives in cancer cells and thereby affects the efficacy of photodynamic therapy and photodynamic diagnosis. The activity of porphyrin efflux can be affected by genetic polymorphisms in the ABCG2 gene. ...

Our laboratory has a long-standing interest in non-Pgp mediated mechanisms of drug resistance, having established several cell line models of resistance focusing on the ABC half-transporter ABCG2. We successfully cloned ABCG2 from a mitoxantrone-resistant colon cancer cell line, S1-M1-80, that exhibited an ...

ABCG2 is a half ATP binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter that consists of a nucleotide binding domain (NBD) followed by a trans-membrane domain. This half ABC transporter is thought to form a homodimer in the plasma membrane where it transports anticancer drugs across the biological membranes in an ATP-dependent manner. Substitution of the putative ...

The expression of the chondromodulin-I (ChM-I) gene, a cartilage-specific gene, is regulated by the binding of Sp3 to the core promoter region, which is inhibited by the methylation of CpG in the target genome in the osteogenic lineage, osteosarcoma (OS) cells. The histone tails associated with the hypermethylated promoter region of the ChM-I gene were ...

Several members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily, including P-glycoprotein and the half-transporter ABCG2, can confer multidrug resistance to cancer cells in culture by functioning as ATP-dependent efflux pumps. ABCG2 variants harboring a mutation at arginine 482 have been cloned from ...

Vitamin K3 (Menadione; 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) is a structural precursor of vitamins K1 and K2 which are essential for blood clotting. The naturally occurring structural analog of this vitamin, plumbagin (5-hydroxy-menadione), is known to modulate cellular proliferation, apoptosis, carcinogenesis, and radioresistance. We, here, report that both vitamin K3 and plumbagin are substrates of the ...

The O-arylcarbamate URB937 is a potent inhibitor of fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), an intracellular serine hydrolase responsible for the deactivation of the endocannabinoid anandamide. URB937 is unique among FAAH inhibitors in that is actively extruded from the central nervous system (CNS), and therefore increases anandamide levels exclusively in peripheral tissues. Despite its limited ...

Ursodiol (UDCA) is useful for treating several cholestatic hepatic maladies, including intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Its taurine amidate (TUDC), which accumulates in the bile salt pool, could interact with ABCG2 (ATP-binding cassette transporter isoform G2), which is expressed in various tissues including the canalicular membrane of the hepatocyte and in the apical membrane of the ...

ABCG2, or Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP), is an ABC transporter that has been the subject of intense study since its discovery a decade ago. With high normal tissue expression in the brain endothelium, gastrointestinal tract, and placenta, ABCG2 is believed to be important in protection from xenobiotics, ...

Abnormal patterns of DNA methylation are observed in several types of human cancer. While localized DNA methylation of CpG islands has been associated with gene silencing, the effect that genome-wide loss of methylation has on tumorigenesis is not completely known. To examine its effect on tumorigenesis, we induced DNA demethylation in a rat model of human chondrosarcoma using ...

Loss of hair cells in the mammalian cochlea leads to permanent sensori-neural hearing loss. Hair cells degenerate and their places are taken by phalangeal scars formed by non-sensory supporting cells. Current data indicate that early postnatal post-mitotic supporting cells can proliferate and differentiate into hair cell-like cells in culture. In this study, we used GFAP and nestin ...

ATP-binding cassette, sub-family G, member 2 (ABCG2) is expressed in both normal and cancer cells, and plays a crucial role in the side population (SP) formation and efflux of xenobiotics and drugs. Nrf2, a redox sensing transcription factor, upon constitutive activation in non-small-cell lung cancer cells up-regulates a wide spectrum of genes involved in ...

ATP-binding cassette, subfamily G, member 2 (ABCG2) is expressed in both normal and cancer cells and plays a crucial role in side population (SP) formation and efflux of xenobiotics and drugs. Nrf2, a redox-sensing transcription factor, on constitutive activation in non-small-cell lung cancer cells upregulates a wide spectrum of genes involved in redox ...

Purpose: To investigate the effect of sub-atmospheric oxygen tensions on the maintenance and expansion of limbal epithelial cells in vitro. Materials and Methods: Limbal epithelial cells were isolated from rabbit corneas and cultured in 21%, 14%, 8%, and 2% oxygen in a co-culture system with Mitomycin C growth arrested 3T3 fibroblasts. The colony forming efficiency, proliferative ability, and cell ...

BackgroundInsulin is a critical component of metabolic control, and as such, insulin gene expression has been the focus of extensive study. DNA sequences that regulate transcription of the insulin gene and the majority of regulatory factors have already been identified. However, only recently have other components of insulin gene expression been investigated, and in this study we examine the role ...

Pib is a well-characterized rice blast-resistance gene belonging to the nucleotide binding site (NBS) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) superfamily. Expression of Pib was low under non-challenged conditions, but strongly induced by the blast-causing fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, thereby conferring resistance to the pathogen. It is generally established that cytosine methylation of the ...

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors CDKN2B and CDKN2A are tumor suppressor genes that are frequently dysregulated in a variety of cancers. Aberrant regulation via DNA hypermethylation causes gene silencing. Arsenic trioxide has been successfully used to treat malignant, hematopoietic diseases and is known to act by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cellular proliferation. However, arsenic ...

In the adenovirus type 2 (Ad2)-transformed hamster cell line HE3, the integrated late E2A promoter of Ad2 DNA is inactive, is methylated at all three 5'-CCGG-3' sequences, and can be reactivated by growing the cells in the presence of 50 microM 5-azacytidine (5-azaC). The three 5'-CCGG-3' sequences then become demethylated. ...

In the adenovirus type 2 (Ad2)-transformed hamster cell line HE3, the integrated late E2A promoter of Ad2 DNA is inactive, is methylated at all three 5'-CCGG-3' sequences, and can be reactivated by growing the cells in the presence of 50 microM 5-azacytidine (5-azaC). The three 5'-CCGG-3' sequences then become demethylated. ...

It is becoming increasingly clear that a dysfunction of the GABAergic/glutamatergic network in telencephalic brain structures may be the pathogenetic mechanism underlying psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar (BP) disorder patients. Data obtained in Costa's laboratory (1996-2009) suggest that this dysfunction may be mediated primarily by a downregulation in the expression of ...

Transcription intermediary factor 1? (TIF1?) was suggested to play a role in erythropoiesis. However, how TIF1? regulates the development of different blood cell lineages and whether TIF1? is involved in human hematological malignancies remain to be determined. Here we have shown that TIF1? was a tumor suppressor in mouse and human chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Loss of Tif1g in mouse ...

Transcription intermediary factor 1? (TIF1?) was suggested to play a role in erythropoiesis. However, how TIF1? regulates the development of different blood cell lineages and whether TIF1? is involved in human hematological malignancies remain to be determined. Here we have shown that TIF1? was a tumor suppressor in mouse and human chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Loss of Tif1g in mouse ...

BackgroundThe Gadd45 proteins play important roles in growth control, maintenance of genomic stability, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Recently, Gadd45 proteins have also been implicated in epigenetic gene regulation by promoting active DNA demethylation. Gadd45 proteins have sequence homology with the L7Ae/L30e/S12e RNA binding superfamily of ribosomal ...

Exposing genetically predisposed individuals to certain environmental agents is believed to cause human lupus. How environmental agents interact with the host to cause lupus is poorly understood. Procainamide and hydralazine are drugs that cause lupus in genetically predisposed individuals. Understanding how these environmental agents cause lupus may indicate mechanisms relevant to the idiopathic ...

Histone demethylase LSD1 (also known as KDM1 and AOF2) is active in various cancer cells, but its biological significance in human carcinogenesis is unexplored. In this study, we explored hypothesized interactions between LSD1 and MYPT1, a known regulator of RB1 phosphorylation. We found that MYPT1 was methylated in vitro and in vivo by histone lysine methyltransferase SETD7 and ...

We report the isolation of the 5? flanking region of GRAF (GTPase regulator associated with the focal adhesion kinase), previously described as a putative tumour suppressor gene of acute myelogenous leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, and demonstrate its promoter activity in reporter gene assays. Two putative protein-binding sites are identified of which one was sensitive ...

The vast landscape of environmental chemicals has motivated the need for alternative methods to traditional whole-animal bioassays in toxicity testing. Embryonic stem (ES) cells provide an in vitro model of embryonic development and an alternative method for assessing developmental toxicity. Here, we evaluated 309 environmental chemicals, mostly food-use pesticides, from the ToxCast� chemical ...

The vast landscape of environmental chemicals has motivated the need for alternative methods to traditional whole-animal bioassays in toxicity testing. Embryonic stem (ES) cells provide an in vitro model of embryonic development and an alternative method for assessing developmental toxicity. Here, we evaluated 309 environmental chemicals, mostly food-use pesticides, from the ToxCast� chemical ...

Adult stem cells are important cell sources in regenerative medicine, but isolating them is technically challenging. This study employed a novel strategy to generate stem-like corneal epithelial cells and promote the functional properties of these cells by coculture with embryonic stem cells. The primary corneal epithelial cells were labelled with GFP and cocultured with ...

In proliferating myoblasts, muscle specific genes are silenced by epigenetic modifications at their promoters, including histone H3K9 methylation. Derepression of the promoter of the gene encoding the myogenic factor myogenin (Myog) is key for initiation of muscle differentiation. The mechanism of H3K9 demethylation at the Myog ...

RAPGEF1 (also known as C3G and GRF2) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor that releases GDP from the inactive Rap1 protein, facilitating its subsequent activation by the binding of GTP. Rap1 plays regulatory roles in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Amplification and overexpression of RAPGEF1 have been found in small cell lung cancers, suggesting an oncogenic role. In contrast, ...

Mesenchymal progenitor cells can be differentiated in vitro into myotubes that exhibit many characteristic features of primary mammalian skeletal muscle fibers. However, in general, they do not show the functional excitation-contraction coupling or the striated sarcomere arrangement typical of mature myofibers. Epigenetic modifications have been shown to play a key role in regulating the ...

Curcumin (CUR), a major bioactive polyphenolic component from turmeric curry, Curcuma longa, has been shown to be a potent anti-cancer phytochemical with well-established anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects. Chromatin remodeling-related epigenetic regulation has emerged as an important mechanism of carcinogenesis, chemoprevention, and chemotherapy. CUR has been found to inhibit ...

This patent describes a method for extracting demethylated lignin from demethylated lignin-containing aqueous solution. It comprises mixing the demethylated lignin-containing aqueous solution with a polar, partially water immiscible organic solvent to form a demethylated lignin-containing aqueous solution/organic ...

Demethylation at distinct lysine residues in histone H3 by lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) causes either gene repression or activation. As a component of co-repressor complexes, LSD1 contributes to target gene repression by removing mono- and dimethyl marks from lysine 4 of histone H3 (H3K4). In contrast, during androgen receptor (AR)-activated gene expression, LSD1 ...

The efflux pumps ABCB1 (p-gp, MDR1) and ABCG2 (BCRP) are expressed to a high extent by endothelial cells at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and other barrier tissues and are involved in drug resistance of tumor (stem) cells. Whereas numerous ABCB1 inhibitors are known, only a few ABCG2 modulators with submicromolar activity have been published. Starting from ...

The breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) is a member of the G-subfamiliy of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-transporter superfamily. This half-transporter is assumed to function as an important mechanism limiting cellular accumulation of various compounds. In context of its tissue distribution with localization in the sinusoidal membrane of ...

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with a wide variety of complex diseases, but do not address gene function or establish causality of disease-associated SNPs. We recently used GWAS to identify SNPs in a genomic region on chromosome 4 that associate with serum urate levels and gout, a consequence of elevated ...

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with a wide variety of complex diseases, but do not address gene function or establish causality of disease-associated SNPs. We recently used GWAS to identify SNPs in a genomic region on chromosome 4 that associate with serum urate levels and gout, a consequence of elevated ...

Glutathione (GSH) transport is vital for maintenance of intracellular and extracellular redox balance. Only a few human proteins have been identified as transporters of GSH, glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and/or GSH conjugates (GS-X). Human epithelial MDA1586, A549, H1975, H460, HN4, and H157 cell lines were exposed to 2',5'-dihydroxychalcone, which induces a GSH efflux response. A real-time gene ...

Glutathione (GSH) transport is vital for maintenance of intracellular and extracellular redox balance. Only a few human proteins have been identified as transporters of GSH, glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and/or GSH conjugates (GS-X). Human epithelial MDA1586, A549, H1975, H460, HN4, and H157 cell lines were exposed to 2?,5?-dihydroxychalcone, which induces a GSH efflux response. A real-time gene ...

Multidrug resistance due to reduced drug accumulation is a phenomenon predominantly caused by the overexpression of members of the ATP-binding cassette transporters, including ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein), ABCG2 and several ABCC family members (MRPs). We previously reported that a thiosemicarbazone derivative, NSC73306, is cytotoxic to carcinoma cells that ...

BackgroundThe sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is strongly associated with activating EGFR mutations. Although not as sensitive as patients harboring these mutations, some patients with wild-type EGFR (wtEGFR) remain responsive to EGFR TKIs, suggesting that the existence of unexplored mechanisms renders most of wtEGFR-expressing ...

The human ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, ABCG2 (BCRP/MXR/ABCP), is a plasma membrane protein containing intramolecular and intermolecular disulfide bonds and an N-linked glycan at Asn596. We have recently reported that the intramolecular disulfide bond is a critical checkpoint for determining the degradation fates of ABCG2. In the present study, ...

Xenotoxic damage in inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is importantly compounded by reduced activity of the xenobiotic transporter ABCG2 during the inflammatory state. An association between activation of the unfolded protein response pathway and inflammation prompted us to investigate the possibility that reduced ...

BackgroundMethylation-mediated silencing of genes is one epigenetic mechanism implicated in cancer. Studies regarding the role of modulation of gene expression utilizing inhibitors of DNA methylation, such as decitabine, in osteosarcoma (OS) have been limited. A biological understanding of the overall effects of decitabine in OS is important because this particular agent is currently undergoing ...

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed in EBV-associated tumors and cell lines, but the regulation mechanism of their expression is unclear yet. We investigated whether the expression of EBV miRNAs is epigenetically regulated in EBV-infected B cell lines. The expression of BART miRNAs was inversely related with the methylation level of the BART promoter at ...

The novel cancer/testis antigen gene, NY-SAR-35, is expressed exclusively in normal testis and in various histological types of tumor. However, the NY-SAR-35 gene expression is observed to be aberrant in several cancer cell lines and tissues. The analysis of methylation status of the NY-SAR-35 gene promoter in various cancer cell lines showed that its expression was related to ...

BTG3/ANA/APRO4 has been reported to be a tumor suppressor gene in some malignancies. It constitutes important negative regulatory mechanism for Src-mediated signaling, a negative regulator of the cell cycle and inhibits transcription factor E2F1. We report that BTG3 is downregulated in renal cancer and that the mechanism of inactivation is through promoter hypermethylation. ...

The Myc/Max/Mad network transcription factors are known to govern target gene expression through recruiting histone acetyltransferases or deacetylases. In the present study, we show that Mad1 recruits the histone demethylase RBP2 to the Myc target telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene promoter to repress transcription. With differentiation of leukemic HL60 cells, Mad1 ...

Epigenetic editing of gene expression by aberrant methylation of DNA may help tumor cells escape attack from the innate and acquired immune systems. Resistance to antiproliferative effects and apoptosis induction by interferons (IFNs) was postulated to result from silencing of IFN response genes by promoter hypermethylation. Treatment of human ACHN renal cell carcinoma (RCC) ...

Purpose: To investigate the influence of demethylation with 5-aza-cytidine (AZA) on radiation sensitivity and to define the intrinsic radiation sensitivity of methylation deficient colorectal carcinoma cells. Methods and Materials: Radiation sensitizing effects of AZA were investigated in four colorectal carcinoma cell lines (HCT116, SW480, L174 T, Co115), defining influence ...

-demethylation of buprenorphine intermediates by C. echincelata (NRRL 2384) was reported by Carnell13 in 2002. The N buprenorphine (13) FIG. 3 N-Demethylation of 7-acetyl-6,14-endo-ethenotetrahydrothebaine and buprenorphine inter

The human breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) is widely expressed in human tissues, including the kidney. In mice, Bcrp1 (murine BCRP ortholog) mediates the transport of acyclovir into breast milk. It is plausible that acyclovir is also a substrate for the human BCRP. The objective of the study was to determine whether acyclovir is a substrate ...

In mammalian cloning, evidence suggests that genomic reprogramming factors are located in the nucleus rather than the cytoplasm of oocytes or zygotes. However, little is known about the mechanisms of reprogramming, and new methods using nuclear factors have not succeeded in producing cloned mice from differentiated somatic cell nuclei. We aimed to determine whether there are functional ...

Reversible histone methylation and demethylation are highly regulated processes that are crucial for chromatin reorganization and regulation of gene transcription in response to extracellular conditions. However, the mechanisms that regulate histone-modifying enzymes are largely unknown. Here, we characterized a protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent histone lysine demethylase ...

Dynamic methylation/demethylation of histones and non-histone proteins occurs during the cell cycle. Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) exhibits diverse transcriptional activities through catalyzing demethylation of mono- and di-methylated histone H3 on lysine 4 (H3K4) and lysine 9 (H3K9). We show here that inhibition of LSD1 expression by siRNA leads to ...

JMJD2A-D belong to the JmjC domain-containing family of histone demethylases. JMJD2D is the most structurally divergent JMJD2 protein as it lacks the PHD and Tudor domains present in JMJD2A-C. Here, we systematically analyzed the histone demethylase specificity of JMJD2 proteins in vivo. We found that JMJD2A and C demethylate tri- and dimethylated H3K9 and H3K36, whereas ...

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is resistant to chemo-therapy partly due to the overexpression of the P-glycoprotein. Several tumor suppressor genes have been reported to be silenced by hypermethylation of the promoter region in RCC. We recently reported that the in vitro cytotoxicity of vinblastine (VBL) was enhanced by pre-treatment with the demethylating ...

Thiopurines including 6-thioguanine ((S)G), 6-mercaptopurine, and azathioprine are effective anticancer agents with remarkable success in clinical practice, especially in effective treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). (S)G is understood to act as a DNA hypomethylating agent in ALL cells, however, the underlying mechanism leading to global cytosine demethylation ...