Integrative transcriptional analysis between human and mouse cancer cells provides a common set of transformation associated genes
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
Authors: Balestrieri, C.; Vanoni, M.; Hautaniemi, S.; Alberghina, L.; Chiaradonna, F.
Abstract
Mouse functional genomics is largely used to investigate relevant aspects of mammalian physiology and pathology. To which degree mouse models may offer accurate representations of molecular events underlining human diseases such as cancer is not yet fully established. Herein we compare gene expression signatures between a set of human cancer cell lines (NCI-60 cell collection) and a mouse cellular model of oncogenic K-ras dependent transformation in order to identify their closeness at the transcriptional level. The results of our integrative and comparative analysis show that in both species as compared to normal cells or tissues the transformation process involves the activation of a transcriptional response. Furthermore, the cellular mouse model of K-ras dependent transformation has a good degree of similarity with several human cancer cell lines and in particular with cell lines containing oncogenic Ras mutations. Moreover both species have similar genetic signatures that are associated to the same altered cellular pathways (e.g. Spliceosome and Proteasome) or to deregulation of the same genes (e.g. cyclin D1, AHSA1 and HNRNPD) detected in the comparison between cancer cells versus normal cells or tissues. In summary, we report one of the first in-depth analysis of global gene expression profiles of a K-ras dependent mouse cell model of transformation and a large collection of human cancer cells as compared to their normal counterparts. Taken together our findings show a strong correlation in the transcriptional and pathway alteration responses between the two species. therefore validating the use of the mouse model as an appropriate tool to investigate human cancer, and indicating that the comparative analysis, as described here, offers a useful approach to identify cancer-specific gene signatures. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
METTL3 and ALKBH5 oppositely regulate m(6)A modification of TFEB mRNA, which dictates the fate of hypoxia/reoxygenation-treated cardiomyocytes
AUTOPHAGY
Authors: Song, Huiwen; Feng, Xing; Zhang, Heng; Luo, Yunmei; Huang, Juan; Lin, Meihua; Jin, Junfei; Ding, Xue; Wu, Shujing; Huang, He; Yu, Tian; Zhang, Mukun; Hong, Haiou; Yao, Shihua; Zhao, Yongxiang; Zhang, Zhiyong
Abstract
N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) mRNA modifications play critical roles in various biological processes. However, no study addresses the role of m(6)A in macroautophagy/autophagy. Here, we show that m(6)A modifications are increased in H/R-treated cardiomyocytes and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-treated mice heart. We found that METTL3 (methyltransferase like 3) is the primary factor involved in aberrant m(6)A modification. Silencing METTL3 enhances autophagic flux and inhibits apoptosis in H/R-treated cardiomyocytes. However, overexpression of METTL3 or inhibition of the RNA demethylase ALKBH5 has an opposite effect, suggesting that METTL3 is a negative regulator of autophagy. Mechanistically, METTL3 methylates TFEB, a master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy genes, at two m(6)A residues in the 3'-UTR, which promotes the association of the RNA-binding protein HNRNPD with TFEB pre-mRNA and subsequently decreases the expression levels of TFEB. Further experiments show that autophagic flux enhanced by METTL3 deficiency is TFEB dependent. In turn, TFEB regulates the expression levels of METTL3 and ALKBH5 in opposite directions: it induces ALKBH5 and inhibits METTL3. TFEB binds to the ALKBH5 promoter and activates its transcription. In contrast, inhibition of METTL3 by TFEB does not involve transcriptional repression but rather downregulation of mRNA stability, thereby establishing a negative feedback loop. Together, our work uncovers a critical link between METTL3-ALKBH5 and autophagy, providing insight into the functional importance of the reversible mRNA m(6)A methylation and its modulators in ischemic heart disease.