Functional characterization of the reveals its role in vitamin D biosynthesis.

Vitamin D deficiency poses a widespread health challenge, shaped by environmental and genetic determinants. A recent discovery identified a genetic regulator, rs11542462, in the gene, though its biological implications remain largely unexplored. Our bioinformatic assessments revealed pronounced expression in skin keratinocytes and the analogous HaCaT human keratinocyte cell lines, prompting us to select the latter as an experimental model.

Development of a cancer metastasis-on-chip assay for high throughput drug screening.

Metastasis is the cause of most triple-negative breast cancer deaths, yet anti-metastatic therapeutics remain limited. To develop new therapeutics to prevent metastasis, pathophysiologically relevant assays that recapitulate tumor microenvironment is essential for disease modeling and drug discovery. Here, we have developed a microfluidic metastasis-on-chip assay of the early stages of cancer metastasis integrated with the triple-negative breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231), stromal fibroblasts and a perfused microvessel.

Control of TGFβ signalling by ubiquitination independent function of E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIP12.

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) pathway is a master regulator of cell proliferation, differentiation, and death. Deregulation of TGFβ signalling is well established in several human diseases including autoimmune disorders and cancer. Thus, understanding molecular pathways governing TGFβ signalling may help better understand the underlying causes of some of those conditions.

Accelerated epigenetic aging and DNA methylation alterations in Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy.

Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy type 2 (CGL2) is a very rare human genetic disorder with potential significance to the understanding of the pathobiology of aging. CGL2 patients display characteristic progeroid features and suffer from type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and fatty liver. In this study, we profiled genome-wide DNA methylation levels in CGL2 patients with BSCL2 mutations to study epigenetic age acceleration and DNA methylation alterations.

Loss of the Fbw7 tumor suppressor rewires cholesterol metabolism in cancer cells leading to activation of the PI3K-AKT signalling axis.

The sterol regulatory-element binding proteins (SREBPs) are transcription factors controlling cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis and metabolism. There are three SREBP proteins, SREBP1a, SREBP1c and SREBP2, with SREBP1a being the strongest transcription factor. The expression of SREBP1a is restricted to rapidly proliferating cells, including cancer cells.

Understanding the Role of GLUT2 in Dysglycemia Associated with Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome.

Fanconi−Bickel Syndrome (FBS) is a rare disorder of carbohydrate metabolism that is characterized by the accumulation of glycogen mainly in the liver. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner due to mutations in the SLC2A2 gene. SLC2A2 encodes for the glucose transporter GLUT2 and is expressed in tissues that are involved in glucose homeostasis.

The SREBP-dependent regulation of cyclin D1 coordinates cell proliferation and lipid synthesis.

The sterol regulatory-element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors regulates cholesterol, fatty acid, and triglyceride synthesis and metabolism. However, they are also targeted by the ubiquitin ligase Fbw7, a major tumor suppressor, suggesting that they could regulate cell growth. Indeed, enhanced lipid synthesis is a hallmark of many human tumors.

Understanding the Mechanism of Dysglycemia in a Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome Patient.

Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome (FBS) is a rare disorder of carbohydrate metabolism that is characterized mainly by the accumulation of glycogen in the liver and kidney. It is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the gene, which encodes for GLUT2. Patients with FBS have dysglycemia but the molecular mechanisms of dysglycemia are still not clearly understood.

Understanding the Mechanism of Diabetes Mellitus in a LRBA-Deficient Patient.

The scope of this study is to show that DM in a LRBA-deficient patient with a stop codon mutation (c.3999 G > A) was not mediated through autoimmunity. We have evaluated the ability of the proband’s T cells to be activated by assessing their CTLA-4 expression.

The phosphorylation-dependent regulation of nuclear SREBP1 during mitosis links lipid metabolism and cell growth.

The SREBP transcription factors are major regulators of lipid metabolism. Disturbances in lipid metabolism are at the core of several health issues facing modern society, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. In addition, the role of lipid metabolism in cancer cell growth is receiving increased attention.

Fbw7 dimerization determines the specificity and robustness of substrate degradation.

The Fbw7 tumor suppressor targets a broad network of proteins for ubiquitylation. Here we show critical functions for Fbw7 dimerization in regulating the specificity and robustness of degradation. Dimerization enables Fbw7 to target substrates through concerted binding to two suboptimal and independent recognition sites.

Regulation of lipogenesis by cyclin-dependent kinase 8-mediated control of SREBP-1.

Altered lipid metabolism underlies several major human diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, lipid metabolism pathophysiology remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Insulin is the primary stimulator of hepatic lipogenesis through activation of the SREBP-1c transcription factor.

TRAF6 ubiquitinates TGFβ type I receptor to promote its cleavage and nuclear translocation in cancer.

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a pluripotent cytokine promoting epithelial cell plasticity during morphogenesis and tumour progression. TGFβ binding to type II and type I serine/threonine kinase receptors (TβRII and TβRI) causes activation of different intracellular signaling pathways. TβRI is associated with the ubiquitin ligase tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 6 (TRAF6).

Increased lipogenesis, induced by AKT-mTORC1-RPS6 signaling, promotes development of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: De novo lipogenesis is believed to be involved in oncogenesis. We investigated the role of aberrant lipid biosynthesis in the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We evaluated expression of enzymes that regulate lipogenesis in human normal liver tissues and HCC and surrounding, nontumor, liver tissues from patients using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical assays.

The ubiquitin ligase Fbxw7 controls adipocyte differentiation by targeting C/EBPalpha for degradation.

Adipose tissue controls body lipid and energy metabolism, as well as food intake, and abnormalities in adipose function play a central role in diseases such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. Adipocyte differentiation is controlled by a transcriptional cascade involving PPARgamma and members of the C/EBP family of transcription factors. Here, we demonstrate that C/EBPalpha is targeted for degradation by the ubiquitin ligase Fbxw7 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.

Novel genes in cell cycle control and lipid metabolism with dynamically regulated binding sites for sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 and RNA polymerase II in HepG2 cells detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation with microarray detection.

Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins 1 and 2 (SREBP-1 and SREBP-2) are important regulators of genes involved in cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism, but have also been implicated in the regulation of the cell cycle and have been associated with the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and obesity, among others. In this study, we aimed to characterize the binding sites of SREBP-1 and RNA polymerase II through chromatin immunoprecipitation and microarray analysis in 1% of the human genome, as defined by the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements consortium, in a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). Our data identified novel binding sites for SREBP-1 in genes directly or indirectly involved in cholesterol metabolism, e.

A phosphorylation cascade controls the degradation of active SREBP1.

Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are a family of transcription factors that regulates cholesterol and lipid metabolism. The active forms of these transcription factors are targeted by a number of post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of Thr-426 and Ser-430 in SREBP1a creates a docking site for the ubiquitin ligase Fbw7, resulting in the degradation of the transcription factor.

Isoform- and cell cycle-dependent substrate degradation by the Fbw7 ubiquitin ligase.

The SCF(FBW7) ubiquitin ligase degrades proteins involved in cell division, growth, and differentiation and is commonly mutated in cancers. The Fbw7 locus encodes three protein isoforms that occupy distinct subcellular localizations, suggesting that each has unique functions. We used gene targeting to create isoform-specific Fbw7-null mutations in human cells and found that the nucleoplasmic Fbw7alpha isoform accounts for almost all Fbw7 activity toward cyclin E, c-Myc, and sterol regulatory element binding protein 1.

Fatty acid synthase gene is up-regulated by hypoxia via activation of Akt and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1.

The fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene is significantly up-regulated in various types of cancers, and blocking the FAS expression results in apoptosis of tumor cells. Therefore, FAS is considered to be an attractive target for anticancer therapy. However, the molecular mechanism by which the FAS gene is up-regulated in tumor cells is poorly understood.

SREBP in signal transduction: cholesterol metabolism and beyond.

The last few years have seen important advances in defining the mechanisms that cells use to monitor changes in cholesterol levels and regulate lipid metabolism. This work has unraveled a feedback system that enables cholesterol and certain sterol intermediates to regulate the proteolysis and transport of specific membrane proteins. The sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors is at the center of this feedback system.

The DNA binding activities of Smad2 and Smad3 are regulated by coactivator-mediated acetylation.

Phosphorylation-dependent activation of the transcription factors Smad2 and Smad3 plays an important role in TGFbeta-dependent signal transduction. Following phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3, these molecules are translocated to the nucleus where they interact with coactivators and/or corepressors, including p300, CBP, and P/CAF, and regulate the expression of TGFbeta target genes. In the current study, we demonstrate that both Smad2 and Smad3 are acetylated by the coactivators p300 and CBP in a TGFbeta-dependent manner.

Cdk1/cyclin B-mediated phosphorylation stabilizes SREBP1 during mitosis.

Members of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors control the biosynthesis of cholesterol and other lipids, and lipid synthesis is critical for cell growth and proliferation. We recently found that the mature forms of SREBP1a and SREBP1c are hyperphosphorylated in mitotic cells, giving rise to a phosphoepitope recognized by the mitotic protein monoclonal-2 (MPM-2) antibody. In addition, we found that mature SREBP1 was stabilized in a phosphorylation-dependent manner during mitosis.

Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of the transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 in response to DNA binding.

Members of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors control cholesterol and lipid metabolism and play critical roles during adipocyte differentiation. The transcription factor SREBP1 is degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system following phosphorylation of Thr426 and Ser430 in its phosphodegron. We now demonstrate that the glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3beta-dependent phosphorylation of these residues in SREBP1 is enhanced in response to specific DNA binding.

Hyperphosphorylation regulates the activity of SREBP1 during mitosis.

The sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors controls the biosynthesis of cholesterol and other lipids, and lipid synthesis is critical for cell growth and proliferation. We were, therefore, interested in the expression and activity of SREBPs during the cell cycle. We found that the expression of a number of SREBP-responsive promoter-reporter genes were induced in a SREBP-dependent manner in cells arrested in G2/M.