Project description:Integrated-systems model of oxidative stress connecting NRF2 and p53 signaling pathways. Additional crosstalk linking oxidative stress to p53 inhibition, p53 to NRF2 through p21, and NRF2 to MDM2 was incorporated in this model. The NRF2 pathway was encoded as first- and second-order rate equations for KEAP1 oxidation and NRF2 stabilization; NRF2-mediated transcription of antioxidant enzymes was modeled as a Hill function. The p53 pathway was reconstructed from a delay differential equation model of p53 signaling in response to DNA damage. To adapt the p53 DNA-damage model to respond to oxidative stress, we used a first-order oxidation reaction of ATM/CHEK2 by intracellular H2O2.
The integrated base model of NRF2–p53 oxidative-stress signaling contains 42 reactions and 22 ordinary differential equations (ODEs).
Project description:A deficiency of pejvakin, a protein of unknown function, causes a strikingly heterogeneous form of deafness. Pejvakin-deficient (Pjvk-/-) mice also exhibited variable auditory phenotypes. Correlation between their hearing thresholds and the number of pups per cage suggested a possible harmful effect of pup vocalizations. Direct sound or electrical stimulation showed that the cochlear sensory hair cells and auditory pathway neurons of Pjvk-/- mice and patients were exceptionally vulnerable to sound. Pjvk-/- cochleas displayed features of marked oxidative stress and impaired anti-oxidant defenses. We showed that pejvakin is associated with peroxisomes, and is required for the oxidative stress-induced proliferation of these organelles. In Pjvk-/- hair cells, peroxisomes displayed structural abnormalities after the onset of hearing. Noise-exposure of wild-type mice rapidly upregulated Pjvk cochlear transcription, and triggered peroxisome proliferation in hair cells and primary auditory neurons. Our results reveal that the anti-oxidant activity of peroxisomes protects the auditory system against noise-induced damage. Three RNA samples was extracted from dissected organ of Corti (OC) for each genotype (Pjvk-/- and Pjvk+/+ mice) and analyzed (triplicate OCmm-1, OCmm-2, and OCmm-3 for Pjvk-/-, and triplicate OCpp-1, OCpp-2, and OCpp-3 for Pjvk+/+).
Project description:Obesity, a worldwide epidemic, predisposes to many ageing-associated diseases, yet its exact impact on organ dysfunction is largely unknown. Hair follicles, mini-epithelial organs that grow hair, miniaturize by ageing to cause hair loss through the depletion of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). Here, we report that obesity-induced stress such as by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding primarily targets HFSCs to accelerate hair thinning. Chronological gene expression analysis revealed that HFD feeding for four consecutive days directs activated HFSCs toward epidermal keratinization by generating excessive reactive oxygen species yet retains HFSC pools in young mice. Integrative analysis with stem cell fate tracing, epigenetic analysis and reverse genetics revealed that further feeding of HFD subsequently induces lipid droplets and NF-B activation within HFSCs via autocrine/paracrine IL1R signaling. Those integrated factors converge on the profound inhibition of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signal transduction in HFSCs, thereby further depleting lipid-laden HFSCs through their aberrant differentiation and inducing hair follicle miniaturization and eventual hair loss. Conversely, Shh activation by transgenes or compounds rescues HFD-induced hair loss. These data collectively demonstrate that stem cell inflammageing induced by obesity robustly represses organ regeneration signals to accelerate the mini-organ miniaturization, and suggests the importance of daily prevention of organ dysfunction.
Project description:Obesity, a worldwide epidemic, predisposes to many ageing-associated diseases, yet its exact impact on organ dysfunction is largely unknown. Hair follicles, mini-epithelial organs that grow hair, miniaturize by ageing to cause hair loss through the depletion of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). Here, we report that obesity-induced stress such as by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding primarily targets HFSCs to accelerate hair thinning. Chronological gene expression analysis revealed that HFD feeding for four consecutive days directs activated HFSCs toward epidermal keratinization by generating excessive reactive oxygen species yet retains HFSC pools in young mice. Integrative analysis with stem cell fate tracing, epigenetic analysis and reverse genetics revealed that further feeding of HFD subsequently induces lipid droplets and NF-κB activation within HFSCs via autocrine/paracrine IL1R signaling. Those integrated factors converge on the profound inhibition of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signal transduction in HFSCs, thereby further depleting lipid-laden HFSCs from the skin surface and inducing hair follicle miniaturization and eventual hair loss. Conversely, Shh activation by transgenes or compounds rescues HFD-induced hair loss. These data collectively demonstrate that stem cell inflammageing induced by obesity robustly represses organ regeneration signals to accelerate the mini-organ miniaturization, and indicates suggests the importance of daily prevention of organ dysfunction.
Project description:The in situ control of redox insult in human organs is of major clinical relevance, yet remains incompletely understood. Activation of Nrf2, the “master regulator” of genes controlling cellular redox homeostasis, is advocated as a therapeutic strategy for diseases with severely impaired redox balance. Yet it remains to be shown whether this strategy is effective in human organs, rather than isolated human cell types. We have therefore explored the role of Nrf2 in a uniquely accessible human (mini-) organ, human scalp hair follicles (HFs), by Microarray analysis of human HFs treated with 20uM sulforaphane for 24hr.
Project description:Malignant carcinomas that recur following therapy are typically de-differentiated and multi-drug resistant (MDR). De-differentiated cancer cells acquire MDR by upregulating reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzymes and drug efflux pumps, but how these genes are upregulated in response to de-differentiation is not known. Here, we examine this question by using global transcriptional profiling to identify ROS-induced genes that are already upregulated in de-differentiated cells, even in the absence of oxidative damage. Using this approach, we found that the Nrf2 transcription factor, which is the master regulator of cellular response to oxidative stress, is pre-activated in de-differentiated cells. In de-differentiated cells, Nrf2 is not activated by oxidation but rather through a non-canonical mechanism involving its phosphorylation by the ER membrane kinase PERK. In contrast, differentiated cells require oxidative damage to activate Nrf2. Constitutive PERK-Nrf2 signaling protects de-differentiated cells from chemotherapy by reducing ROS levels and increasing drug efflux. These findings are validated in therapy-resistant basal breast cancer cell lines and animal models, where inhibition of the PERK-Nrf2 signaling axis reversed the MDR of de-differentiated cancer cells. Additionally, analysis of patient tumor datasets showed that a PERK pathway signature correlates strongly with chemotherapy resistance, tumor grade, and overall survival. Collectively, these results indicate that de-differentiated cells upregulate MDR genes via PERK-Nrf2 signaling, and suggest that targeting this pathway could sensitize drug-resistant cells to chemotherapy. Differentiated human breast epithelial cells (HMLE-shGFP) or de-differentiated cells (HMLE-Twist) were treated in culture with 40uM menadione for 2 hours or 1uM PERK inhibitor for 48 hours and compared to control DMSO-treated cells.
Project description:The epidermal barrier protects the body against mechanical injury, infection and dehydration. The respective contribution of type I and type II keratins which form the major cytoskeleton in epidermal keratinocytes in barrier formation and stress protection is incompletely understood. Here, we reveal a novel mechanism by which keratins control anti-oxidant responses through barrier-dependent and cell-autonomous mechanisms. Mice lacking the entire type I (KtyI) or type II (KtyII) keratin gene clusters suffer from distinct prenatal barrier defects. Comparative transcriptome profiling identifies essential cornified envelope components and reveals strong upregulation of the bZIP transcription factor Nrf2 in situ. Isolated keratinocytes from both strains of mice show elevated mitochondrial oxygen consumption and Nrf2 activity, decreased upon keratin re-expression. We propose a model in which keratins control mitochondria-derived oxidative stress via Nrf2 activation. Our findings reveal major contributions of keratins to chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders. Total RNA obtained from E18.5 embryo back skin from typeI and II keratin knockout compared with respective wild type.
Project description:Liver-specific depletion of both of the cytosolic NADPH-dependent disulfide reductases, TrxR1 and Gsr, was shown to result in increased activation of Nrf2 as compared to elimination of either of these enzymes alone. Activation of transcription factor Nrf2 and its downstream cytoprotective target genes by oxidative and electrophilic insults can protect cells from potentially carcinogenic damage. However, many cancers have an activated Nrf2 response, which can protect cancer cells from oxidative stress radiation. Gene expression profiles in TrxR1/Gsr-null livers provide a basis for understanding the complex responses to chronically elevated oxidative stress and damage.
Project description:Malignant carcinomas that recur following therapy are typically de-differentiated and multi-drug resistant (MDR). De-differentiated cancer cells acquire MDR by upregulating reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzymes and drug efflux pumps, but how these genes are upregulated in response to de-differentiation is not known. Here, we examine this question by using global transcriptional profiling to identify ROS-induced genes that are already upregulated in de-differentiated cells, even in the absence of oxidative damage. Using this approach, we found that the Nrf2 transcription factor, which is the master regulator of cellular response to oxidative stress, is pre-activated in de-differentiated cells. In de-differentiated cells, Nrf2 is not activated by oxidation but rather through a non-canonical mechanism involving its phosphorylation by the ER membrane kinase PERK. In contrast, differentiated cells require oxidative damage to activate Nrf2. Constitutive PERK-Nrf2 signaling protects de-differentiated cells from chemotherapy by reducing ROS levels and increasing drug efflux. These findings are validated in therapy-resistant basal breast cancer cell lines and animal models, where inhibition of the PERK-Nrf2 signaling axis reversed the MDR of de-differentiated cancer cells. Additionally, analysis of patient tumor datasets showed that a PERK pathway signature correlates strongly with chemotherapy resistance, tumor grade, and overall survival. Collectively, these results indicate that de-differentiated cells upregulate MDR genes via PERK-Nrf2 signaling, and suggest that targeting this pathway could sensitize drug-resistant cells to chemotherapy.