Nuclear matrix attachment regions (MARs), which flank the immunoglobulin ? heavy-chain enhancer on either side, are required for the activation of the distal variable-region (V_H) promoter in transgenic mice. Previously, we have shown that the MARs extend a local domain of chromatin accessibility at the ? enhancer to more distal ...

Acute alcoholic hepatitis is characterized by disproportionate macrophage inflammatory cytokine responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Lack of knowledge of the underlying mechanism has limited progress toward effective therapy. We postulated a novel mechanism by which ethanol increases histone acetylation, increasing proinflammatory gene transcription ...

We have reported that dietary resistant starch (RS) reduces glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) mRNA levels along the jejunoileum in both normal and diabetic rats. In this study, we found that jejunal reduction of the GIP gene by feeding normal rats dietary RS was associated with decreases in histone H3 and H4 acetylation on the ...

Post-translational modifications of histones, particularly acetylation, are associated with the regulation of inflammatory gene expression. We used two animal models of inflammation of the bowel and biopsy samples from patients with Crohn's disease (CD) to study the expression of acetylated histones (H) 3 and 4 in inflamed mucosa. ...

We previously reported that gene delivery efficiency of 25-kDa, branched polyethylenimine (PEI) increased upon acetylation of up to 43% of the primary amines with acetic anhydride. In the present work, we investigated the effects of further increasing the degree of acetylation and elucidated the source of the higher ...

Histone acetyltransferases are associated with the elongating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) complex, supporting the idea that histone acetylation and transcription are intertwined mechanistically in gene coding sequences. Here, we studied the establishment and function of histone acetylation and transcription in noncoding sequences by ...

Gene expression is a key process for memory consolidation. Recently, the participation of epigenetic mechanisms like histone acetylation was evidenced in long-term memories. However, until now the training strength required and the persistence of the chromatin acetylation recruited are not well characterized. Here we studied whether ...

Acetylation of lysine residues is conserved in all three kingdoms; however, its role in prokaryotes is unknown. Here we demonstrate that acetylation enables the reference bacterium Escherichia coli to withstand environmental stress. Specifically, the bacterium reaches higher cell densities and becomes more resistant to heat and oxidative stress when its ...

Cellular acetylation signaling is important for viral gene regulation, particularly during the transactivation of retroviruses. The regulatory protein of bovine foamy virus (BFV), BTas, is a transactivator that augments viral gene transcription from both the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter and the internal promoter (IP). In this ...

BackgroundNF-?B regulates the expression of a large number of target genes involved in the immune and inflammatory response, apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. We have earlier reported that p65, a subunit of NF-?B, is acetylated in vitro and in vivo at three different lysines (K310, K314 and K315) by the histone acetyltransferase ...

Coenzyme A (CoA) and its thioester derivatives are important precursor molecules for many industrially useful compounds such as esters, PHBs, lycopene and polyketides. Previously, in our lab we could increase the intracellular levels of CoA and acetyl-Coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) by overexpressing one of the upstream rate-controlling enzymes pantothenate kinase ...

Increasing evidence suggests that AR (androgen receptor) acetylation is critical for prostate cancer cell growth. In the present study, we identified Pro-B3 (procyanidin B3) as a specific HAT (histone acetyltransferase) inhibitor. Pro-B3 selectively inhibited the activity of HATs, but not other epigenetic enzymes. Pro-B3 substantially inhibited the p300-mediated AR ...

Transcriptional activity of FoxO factors is controlled through the actions of multiple growth factors signaling through protein kinase B, whereby phosphorylation of FoxO factors inhibits FoxO-mediated transactivation by promoting nuclear export. Phosphorylation of FoxO factors is enhanced by p300-mediated acetylation, which decreases their affinity for ...

Using a variety of biochemical and cell-based approaches, we show that estrogen receptor a (ER?) is acetylated by the p300 acetylase in a ligand- and steroid receptor coactivator (SRC)-dependent manner. Using mutagenesis and mass spectrometry, we identified two conserved lysine residues in ER? (Lys266 and Lys268) that are the primary targets of p300-mediated ...

... The reversible acetylation of nuclear histones is an important mechanism of gene regulation. In general, addition of acetyl ...

BackgroundNuclear factor (NF)-?B inducing kinase (NIK) is a central player in the non-canonical NF ?B pathway, which phosphorylates I?B kinase ? (IKK?) resulting in enhancement of target gene expression. We have recently shown that IKK? responds to a variety of stimuli including oxidants and cigarette smoke (CS) regulating the histone modification in ...

Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) family proteins are key transcription factors controlling gene expression in myocytes, lymphocytes, and neurons. MEF2 proteins are known to be regulated by phosphorylation. We now provide evidence showing that MEF2C is acetylated by p300 both in vitro and in vivo. In C2C12 myogenic cells, MEF2 is ...

Differentiation of smooth muscle cells is accompanied by the transcriptional activation of an array of muscle-specific genes controlled by serum response factor (SRF). Myocardin is a cardiac and smooth muscle-specific expressed transcriptional coactivator of SRF and is sufficient and necessary for smooth muscle gene expression. Here, we show that myocardin ...

Acute injection of a high dose of lithium chloride (LiCl) increases c-Fos expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). We investigated if LiCl-induced c-Fos expression in the CeA is correlated with histone acetylation and phospho-acetylation. Chromatin modifications such as acetylation and phosphorylation are necessary for ...

BackgroundThe advancement of gene silencing via RNA interference is limited by the lack of effective short interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery vectors. Rational design of polymeric carriers has been complicated by the fact that most chemical modifications affect multiple aspects of the delivery process. In this work, the extent of primary amine acetylation of ...

Overexpression of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), resulting in increased polyamine metabolism, is a common feature of epithelial tumors. Polyamines play a complex role in promoting tumor development, affecting diverse cellular processes, including gene expression. One way polyamines may affect gene expression is to modulate the multiprotein complexes ...

J. Neurochem. (2011) 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07387.x ABSTRACT: The present study investigated regulation of histone acetylation by L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs), one of the machineries to provide Ca(2+) signals. Acetylation of histone through the phosphorylation of protein kinase C? (PKC?) in the development of methamphetamine ...

Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) proteins play a key role in promoting the expression of muscle-specific genes in differentiated muscle cells. MEF2 activity is regulated by the association with several transcriptional co-factors and by post-translational modifications. In the present report, we provide evidence for a novel regulatory mechanism of MEF2C ...

Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) proteins play a key role in promoting the expression of muscle-specific genes in differentiated muscle cells. MEF2 activity is regulated by the association with several transcriptional co-factors and by post-translational modifications. In the present report, we provide evidence for a novel regulatory mechanism of MEF2C ...

Histone H4 undergoes extensive post-translational modifications (PTMs) at its N-terminal tail. Many of these PTMs profoundly affect the on and off status of gene transcription. The molecular mechanism by which histone PTMs modulate genetic and epigenetic processes is not fully understood. In particular, how a PTM mark affects the presence and level of other histone ...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) following integration hijacks host cell machineries where chromatinization of the viral genome regulates its latency, transcription, and replication. The cooperation among ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factors, posttranslational modifying enzymes, and histone chaperones is well established during transcriptional activation in eukaryotes. However, ...

The authors studied acetylation of bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers to widen the applications of BC nanocomposites in optoelectronic devices. The slight acetylation of BC nanofibers significantly reduces the hygroscopicity of BC nanocomposites, while maintaining their high optical transparency and thermal stability. Furthermore, the degradation in ...