Project description:In mammals, circadian rhythms are entrained to the light cycle and drive daily oscillations in levels of NAD+ a co-substrate of the class III histone deacetylase SIRT1 that associates with clock transcription factors. While NAD+ also participates in redox reactions, the extent to which NAD(H) couples nutrient state with circadian transcriptional cycles remains unknown. Here we show that nocturnal animals subjected to time-restricted feeding of a calorie-restricted diet (TRF-CR) only during nighttime display reduced body temperature and elevated hepatic NADH during daytime. Genetic uncoupling of nutrient state from NADH redox state through transduction of the water-forming NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus brevis (LbNOX) increases daytime body temperature and blood and liver acyl-carnitines. LbNOX expression in TRF-CR mice induces oxidative gene networks controlled by BMAL1 and PPARa and suppresses amino acid catabolic pathways. Enzymatic analyses reveal that NADH inhibits SIRT1 in vitro, corresponding with reduced deacetylation of SIRT1 substrates during TRF-CR in vivo. Remarkably, Sirt1 liver nullizygous animals subjected to TRF-CR display persistent hypothermia even when NADH is oxidized by LbNOX. Our findings reveal that the hepatic NADH cycle links nutrient state to whole-body energetics through the rhythmic regulation of SIRT1.
Project description:Point mutations in cancer have been extensively studied but chromosomal gains and losses have been more challenging to interpret due to their unspecific nature. Here we examine high-resolution allelic imbalance (AI) landscape in 1699 colorectal cancers, 256 of which have been whole genome sequenced (WGSed). The imbalances pinpoint 38 genes as plausible AI targets based on previous knowledge, and unbiased CRISPR-Cas9 knockout and activation screens identified altogether 79 genes within AI peaks regulating cell growth. Genetic and functional data implicates loss of TP53 as a sufficient driver of AI. The WGS highlights an influence of copy number aberrations on the rate of detected somatic point mutations. Importantly, the data reveal several associations between AI target genes, suggesting a role for a network of lineage-determining transcription factors in colorectal tumorigenesis. Overall, the results unravel the contribution of AI in colorectal cancer and provide a plausible explanation why so few genes are commonly affected by point mutations in cancers.
Project description:<p>Metabolic regulation is central to the tumor suppressor function of p53. Here we report that propionyl-CoA metabolic remodeling and epigenetic changes underpin p53-mediated restraint of autoimmunity through regulatory T (Treg) cells. By analyzing the human patients with autoimmune diseases, we found p53 expression was significantly reduced in Treg cells negatively correlating with abnormally elevated BCL-6 levels. p53 loss causes dysregulated immune homeostasis and dampens Tregs function in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, p53 transcriptionally activates ALDH6A1 expression and propionyl-CoA anabolism to upregulate functional Treg gene expression via histone propionylation. Treg-specific knockout of ALDH6A1 phenocopies the autoimmune responses of p53 deficiency, and propionyl-CoA restoration recovers Treg cell function in mice lacking p53 or ALDH6A1. Clinically, impaired p53-ALDH6A1-histone propionylation signaling is observed in AS and SLE patients and correlates with poor efficacy of first-line therapies in autoimmune patients. Together, these findings reveal a directly connection between propionyl-CoA metabolism and epigenetic changes, which is governed by p53 and is crucial for Treg cell function and immune tolerance suppression.</p>
Project description:tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) play critical roles in cellular process, and we have previously reported that tRFs are involved in ischemia reperfusion injury induced acute kidney injury (IRI-AKI). However, the precise involvement of tRFs in IRI-AKI remains obscure. This study aims to elucidate the impact of tRF-Val-TAC-004 (tRF-Val) on IRI-AKI and uncover the underlying mechanisms. Our observations reveal a significant downregulation of tRF-Val in IRI-AKI mice and its overexpression mitigated renal dysfunction, morphological damage, and apoptosis in IRI-AKI mice, while its inhibition exacerbated these effects. Similar outcomes were replicated in CoCl2-treated BUMPT cells upon transfection with tRF-Val mimic or inhibitor. Mechanistically, dual-luciferase reporter assay and AGO-RIP qPCR analyses demonstrated that tRF-Val suppresses Apaf1 expression by targeting the 3’-UTR of Apaf1 mRNA. Furthermore, the protective efficacy of tRF-Val was notably weakened by Apaf1-overexpressing plasmids. In summary, these novel findings unveil the protective role of tRF-Val against IRI-AKI through inhibition of Apaf1-mediated apoptosis.
Project description:In this study, we discovered cytosolic and mitochondrial fragments resulting from tRNA and mt-tRNA cleavage, which may act as new regulators of cellular and metabolic functions. We selected the mt-tRF-LeuTAA fragment derived from a tRNA encoded by the mitochondrial genome for further investigation, as its level is reduced in the islets of diabetes-susceptible animal models, while being abundant in ß-cells. mt-tRF-LeuTAA fragment is derived from the cleavage of tRNA-LeuTAA encoded by the mitochondrial genome. We demonstrated that mt-tRF-LeuTAA acts as a key regulator of mitochondrial OXPHOS functions, mitochondrial membrane potential, the insulin secretory capacity of ß-cells, and the insulin sensitivity of myotube muscle cells. We sought to investigate the downstream mechanisms activated by this fragment. To gain a comprehensive understanding, we conducted proteomic analyses on rat islets with silenced mt-tRF-LeuTAA for 72 hours. Inhibiting mt-tRF-LeuTAA led to significant differential expression of 642 proteins, cut-off adjusted p ≤ 0.05. To further investigate the cellular rearrangement associated with the inhibition of mt-tRF-LeuTAA, we conducted enrichment analysis using Gene Ontology Molecular Function terms on mass spectrometry data. At the protein level, there was a significant enrichment of mitochondrial pathways, such as oxidoreductase activity, ATPase activity, hydrogen transport, NADH dehydrogenase activity, cytochrome-c oxidase activity, and oxygen transport. To elucidate the mechanisms by which mt-tRF-LeuTAA operates, we also conducted pull-down experiments in insulin-secreting INS832/13 cells, followed by mass spectrometry using 3'-biotinylated mimic sequence oligonucleotides of mt-tRF-LeuTAA. Our analysis unveiled interactions between mt-tRF-LeuTAA and 24 proteins, meeting the criteria of a fold change ≥ 6 and an adjusted p-value ≤ 0.05. Notably, among these proteins, 13 are localized within the mitochondria and play significant roles in mitochondrial oxidative functions. Some of these key proteins include Suclg2, Nme3, Sdha, Lrpprc, and Ndufa12. Pathway enrichment analysis of the binding partners associated with the mitochondrial fragment mt-tRF-LeuTAA indicates an over-representation of signaling pathways crucial to maintaining mitochondrial metabolism. These pathways include oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), ROS-induced stress responses, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, calcium homeostasis regulation, lipid metabolism, RNA splicing, and mitochondrial import, which all contribute fundamentally to the maintenance of mitochondrial metabolism. These findings collectively provide insights into the essential mechanisms underlining the functionality of mitochondrially-encoded tRNA-derived fragments with the view to sustaining mitochondrial metabolism.
Project description:Small RNAs derived from mature tRNAs, referred to as tRNA fragments or “tRFs”, are an emerging class of regulatory RNAs with poorly understood functions in cellular regulation. We recently identified a role for one specific tRF – 5’ tRF-Gly-GCC, or tRF-GG – in repression of genes associated with the endogenous retroelement MERVL, but the mechanistic basis for this regulation was unknown. Here, we show that tRF-GG plays a role in production of a wide variety of noncoding RNAs normally synthesized in Cajal bodies. Among these noncoding RNAs, tRF-GG regulation of the U7 snRNA modulates heterochromatin-mediated transcriptional repression of MERVL elements by supporting an adequate supply of histone proteins. Importantly, the effects of inhibiting tRF-GG on histone mRNA levels, activity of a histone 3’ UTR reporter, and ultimately on MERVL regulation could all be suppressed by the U7 RNA. We show that the related RNA-binding proteins hnRNPF and H bind directly to tRF-GG, and are required for Cajal body biogenesis. Together, our data reveal a conserved mechanism for 5’ tRNA fragment control of noncoding RNA biogenesis and, consequently, in global chromatin organization.
Project description:tRNA fragments (tRFs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that are generated through the cleavage of tRNAs and have been implicated in various biological processes. Among the different types of tRFs, the 3′-tRFs have attracted considerable scientific interest due to their regulatory role in gene expression. In this study, we investigated the role of 3′-tRF-CysGCA, a tRF derived from cleavage in the T-loop of tRNACysGCA, in the regulation of gene expression in HEK-293 cells. Previous studies have shown that 3′-tRF-CysGCA is incorporated into the RISC complex and interacts with Argonaute proteins, suggesting its involvement in the regulation of gene expression. However, the general role and effect of the deregulation of 3′-tRF-CysGCA levels in human cells have not been investigated so far. To address this gap, we stably overexpressed 3′-tRF-CysGCA in HEK-293 cells and performed transcriptomics and proteomics experiments. Moreover, we validated the interaction of this tRF with putative targets whose levels were affected after 3′-tRF-CysGCA overexpression. Last, we investigated the implication of 3′-tRF-CysGCA in various pathways using extensive bioinformatics analysis. Our results indicate that 3′-tRF-CysGCA overexpression led to changes in the cell expression profile, and we identified multiple pathways that were affected by the deregulation of this tRF. Additionally, our reporter assays demonstrated that 3′-tRF-CysGCA directly interacted with TMPO and ERGIC1, leading to changes in their expression levels. Taken together, these findings suggest that 3′-tRF-CysGCA plays a significant role in the regulation of gene expression and highlight the potential importance of this tRF in cellular processes.