ABSTRACT: The project focuses on the protein kinase NUAK1, which controls the development of brain cortical connectivity in mice. Recent data suggest that NUAK1 is involved in the regulation of the spliceosome and more broadly of mRNA biology. The aim of this project is to test whether inactivation of NUAK1 (constitutive KO) in primary neuronal cultures affects the expression level of genes relevant for cortical and axon development. We prepared primary cultures of mouse neurons at the embryonic developmental stage E15.5. The samples were either KO or WT (controls). We collected the samples from 4 individual cultures performed blind to genotype, then selected the samples based on PCR to identify sex and genotype. Cultures were thus performed under the same conditions but not performed the same day nor from the same litter for each sample.
Project description:The project focuses on the protein kinase NUAK1, which controls the development of brain cortical connectivity in mice. Recent data suggest that NUAK1 is involved in the regulation of the spliceosome and more broadly of mRNA biology. The aim of this project is to test whether inactivation of NUAK1 (constitutive KO) affects the expression level of genes relevant for cortical development in the embryonic brain. We collected the cortex of embryos (littermates) at the late embryonic developmental stage (E18.5, i.e. just before birth). The samples will be either KO or WT (controls). We collected the samples on the same day, under the same conditions, and as far as possible we made homogeneous groups: same litter, same proportion of males/females.
Project description:The aim of the project is to determine the impact of NUAK1 depletion on the transcriptome of in situ colon tumours. Tumours were initiated in Villin-CRE-ER;APC-floxed;DI-shNUAK1 mice, followed by treatment for 1 week with dextran sodium sulphate. 68 days after tumour initiation, NUAK1 shRNAs were induced by doxycycline administration (via gavage), or left un-induced. 6 tumours were harvested from NUAK1 shRNA expressing mice and 6 from controls. RNA was isolated using Qiagen RNEasy and analyzed by Illumina paired-end RNA-SEQ
Project description:NUAK1 is a member of the AMPK family of kinases involved in regulation of cell adhesion, metabolism and stress responses. Our previous analysis revealed a requirement for NUAK1 to sustain viability when MYC is overexpressed. Human colorectal cancer (CRC) shows near uniform overexpression of MYC, suggesting that this cancer may be particularly amenable to NUAK1 inhibition. This work reveals that elevated NUAK1 expression in human CRC correlates with more aggressive disease, lymph node metastasis and reduced overall survival. Deletion of Nuak1 in murine intestines prevented outgrowth of colonic tumors driven by loss of Apc and KRas mutation, while depletion of Nuak1 in pre-existing tumors drove rapid tumor regression. Mechanistically, we show that NUAK1 promotes anti-oxidant gene expression by facilitating nuclear import of NRF2. Deletion or inhibition of NUAK1 renders cells vulnerable to oxidative stress and provision of exogenous anti-oxidants protects cells in culture and colonic tumors in situ from Nuak1 depletion.
Project description:The induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD) impedes tumor progression via both tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic mechanisms, representing a robust therapeutic strategy. However, there remains a dearth of ICD-inducing targets. Employing kinome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening, we have identified NUAK1 as a potential target. The ICD-provoking effect of NUAK1 inhibition depends on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), consequent to the downregulation of NRF2-mediated antioxidant gene expression. Moreover, the mevalonate pathway/cholesterol biosynthesis, activated by XBP1s downstream of NUAK1 inhibition-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, functions as negative feedback on ICD. Targeting the mevalonate pathway using HMGCR inhibitor statins amplifies NUAK1 inhibition-mediated ICD and antitumor activity, while cholesterol mitigates ICD by diminishing ROS. The combination of NUAK1 inhibitors and statins enhances the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy. Collectively, our study unveils the promise of blocking the mevalonate pathway in conjunction with ICD-targeted immunotherapies such as NUAK1 inhibition.
Project description:Deregulated expression of MYC induces a dependence on the NUAK1 kinase, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this dependence have not been fully clarified. Here we show that NUAK1 is a predominantly nuclear protein that associates with a network of nuclear protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) interactors and that PNUTS, a nuclear regulatory subunit of PP1, is phosphorylated by NUAK1. Both NUAK1 and PNUTS associate with the splicing machinery. Inhibition of NUAK1 abolishes chromatin association of PNUTS, reduces spliceosome activity and suppresses nascent RNA synthesis. Activation of MYC does not bypass the requirement for NUAK1 for spliceosome activity, but significantly attenuates transcription inhibition. Consequently, NUAK1 inhibition in MYC-transformed cells induces global accumulation of RNAPII both at the pause-site and at the first exon/intron boundary, but does not increase mRNA synthesis. We suggest that NUAK1 inhibition in the presence of deregulated MYC traps non-productive RNAPII due to the absence of correctly assembled spliceosomes.
Project description:The induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD) impedes tumor progression via both tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic mechanisms, representing a robust therapeutic strategy. However, ICD-targeted therapy remains to be explored and optimized. Through kinome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen, NUAK1 is identified as a potential target. The ICD-provoking effect of NUAK1 inhibition depends on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), consequent to the downregulation of NRF2-mediated antioxidant gene expression. Moreover, the mevalonate pathway/cholesterol biosynthesis, activated by XBP1s downstream of ICD-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, functions as a negative feedback mechanism. Targeting the mevalonate pathway with CRISPR knockout or HMGCR inhibitor simvastatin amplifies NUAK1 inhibition-mediated ICD and antitumor activity, while cholesterol dampers ROS, ICD and therefore tumor suppression. The combination of NUAK1 inhibitor and statin enhances the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy. Collectively, our study unveils the promise of blocking the mevalonate-cholesterol pathway in conjunction with ICD-targeted immunotherapy.
Project description:The intent of the experiment is to determine how much of NRF2 (NFE2L2)-dependent transcription requires NUAK1 upstream. SW480 cells were transfected with siRNA targeting either NRF2, NUAK1 or non-targeting control, and harvested for analysis by RNA-SEQ 48hrs after transfection. mRNA was analysed by Illumina paired-end RNA-SEQ
Project description:Purpose: Determine the differential m6A methylation pattern of Mettl3 between wildtype, Pkd1F/RC-KO and Pkd1F/RC-Mettl3-DKO mouse kidneys. Methods: m6A RNA IP using the Magna MeRIP™ m6A Kit (EMD Millipore, catalog #17-10499) was performed on P18 wildtype, Pkd1F/RC-KO and Pkd1F/RC-Mettl3-DKO mouse kidney samples. Two biological replicate samples from each genotype were sequenced. Each sample was a pool of 6 kidneys of the same genotype. The input samples were also sequenced to obtain mRNA profiles. Results: 133 mRNAs were found to be differentially hypermethylated in the Pkd1-KO kidneys compared to the control kidneys and differentially hypomethylated in the Pkd1-Mettl3-DKO kidneys compared to the Pkd1-KO kidneys. Two key pathogenic mRNAs namely, c-Myc and Avpr2 were identified and validated as Mettl3 targets. The mRNA transcript levels were unchanged between Pkd1-KO and Pkd1-Mettl3-DKO kidneys. Conclusion: Mettl3/m6A promotes translation of pathogenic mRNAs to mediate cystogenesis in mouse models of ADPKD.