Project description:Genome-wide analysis of gene expression changes in murine embryonic stem cells (R1E cells) treated with Ultraviolet and adriamycin Both p53 and the Wnt signaling pathways play important roles in tumorigenesis and development. However, few studies, particularly on a genome-wide scale, have linked these two pathways. Here we show that p53 directly regulates the Wnt signaling pathway in murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) using an integrated genome-wide approach. A chromatin-immunoprecipitation-based microarray assay (ChIP-chip) reveals that the Wnt signaling pathway is significantly over-represented in p53 bound genes. Using gene expression microarray and real-time PCR, we demonstrate that the expressions of many Wnts are robustly induced by various stresses, including DNA damage and hypoxia that activate p53. Importantly, the activation of p53 is a prerequisite for the induction of Wnts. Moreover, conditional medium (CM) collected from ultraviolet (UV)-treated mESCs contains an anti-differentiation activity, which can be lowered by either the addition of Wnt signaling inhibitors into the CM or the reduction of p53 levels in UV-treated mESCs. These results suggest that stressed mESCs utilize the p53-Wnt signaling axis to signal neighboring mESCs to delay the differentiation. Together, our results uncover a novel connection between p53 and the Wnt signaling pathways in mediating cell-to-cell communication in mESCs, and provide insights into the functions of these two pathways in tumorigenesis and development.
Project description:Both p53 and the Wnt signaling pathways play important roles in tumorigenesis and development. However, few studies, particularly on a genome-wide scale, have linked these two pathways. Here we show that p53 directly regulates the Wnt signaling pathway in murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) using an integrated genome-wide approach. A chromatin-immunoprecipitation-based microarray assay (ChIP-chip) reveals that the Wnt signaling pathway is significantly over-represented in p53 bound genes. Using gene expression microarray and real-time PCR, we demonstrate that the expressions of many Wnts are robustly induced by various stresses, including DNA damage and hypoxia that activate p53. Importantly, the activation of p53 is a prerequisite for the induction of Wnts. Moreover, conditional medium (CM) collected from ultraviolet (UV)-treated mESCs contains an anti-differentiation activity, which can be lowered by either the addition of Wnt signaling inhibitors into the CM or the reduction of p53 levels in UV-treated mESCs. These results suggest that stressed mESCs utilize the p53-Wnt signaling axis to signal neighboring mESCs to delay the differentiation. Together, our results uncover a novel connection between p53 and the Wnt signaling pathways in mediating cell-to-cell communication in mESCs, and provide insights into the functions of these two pathways in tumorigenesis and development
Project description:In colorectal cancer, p53 is commonly inactivated, associated with chemo-resistance, and marks the transition from non-invasive to invasive disease. Cancers, including colorectal cancer, are thought to be diseases of aberrant stem cell populations, as stem cells are able to self-renew, making them long-lived enough to acquire mutations necessary to manifest the disease. We have shown that extracts from sweet sorghum stalk components eliminate colon cancer stem cells (CCSC) in a partial p53-dependent fashion. However, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. In the present study, CCSC were transfected with short hairpin-RNA against p53 (CCSC p53 shRNA) and treated with sweet sorghum phenolics extracted from different plant components (dermal layer, leaf, seed head and whole plant). While all components demonstrated anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in CCSC, phenolics extracted from the dermal layer and seed head were more potent in eliminating CCSC by elevating caspases 3/7 activity, PARP cleavage, and DNA fragmentation in a p53-dependent and p53-independent fashion, respectively. Further investigations revealed that the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects were associated with decreases in beta-catenin protein levels, and beta-catenin targets cyclin D1, cMyc, and survivin. These results suggest that the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of sweet sorghum extracts against human colon cancer stem cells are via suppression of Wnt/beta-catenin pro-survival signaling in a p53-dependent (dermal layer) and partial p53-independent (seed head) fashion. LCMS used to identify phenolic compounds associated with extract activity
Project description:Wnt/-catenin signaling controls self-renewal and pluripotency maintenance in both embryonic and adult stem cells (SCs) in mouse. We show that the activation of Wnt pathway drastically reduces proliferation of mESCs by direct binding of the the Wnt-effector Tcf1 to directly binds and regulates the Ink4/Arf locus , thereby Wnt pathway activation drastically reduces proliferation of mESCs and its regulation. We have conducted ChipSeq experiments for Tcf1 and Tcf3 with background to identify the genome wide binding locations Tcf1 and Tcf3 in mouse ESC.
Project description:The acetylation levels of histones and other proteins change during aging and have been linked to neurodegeneration. Here we show that deletion of the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) co-factor Trrap specifically impairs the function of the transcription factor Sp1, reduces its stability and causes a decrease in histone acetylation at Sp1 target genes. Modulation of Sp1 function by Trrap acts as a hub regulating multiple processes involved in neuron and neural stem cells function and maintenance including microtubule dynamics and the Wnt signaling pathway. Consistently, Trrap conditional mutants exhibit all hallmarks of neurodegeneration including dendrite retraction and axonal swellings, neuron death, astrogliosis, microglia activation, demyelination and decreased adult neurogenesis. Our results uncovered a novel functional network, essential to prevent neurodegeneration, and involving the specific regulation of Sp1 transcription factor and its downstream targets by Trrap-HAT.