Mouse anti-Human Hif2 Alpha Monoclonal antibody, clone Ijg3bmqib348

We have cloned a cardiovascular-restricted basic helix-loop-helix factor that interacts with arylhydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) in a yeast two-hybrid screen. Cardiovascular helix-loop-helix factor 1 (CHF1) is distantly related to the hairy family of transcriptional repressors, We analyzed its expression pattern during mouse embryo development. At day 8.5, the expression of CHF1 is first detected in the primitive ventricle of the primordial heart tube and persists throughout gestation. In rat hearts, this expression is down-regulated after birth, concurrent with terminal differentiation of cardiomyocytes, In the developing vasculature, CHF1 first appears in the dorsal aorta at day 9.0, which precedes the reported expression of smooth muscle cell markers, and persists into adulthood. In an in vitro system of smooth muscle cell differentiation, CHF1 mRNA was barely detectable in undifferentiated cells but was induced highly in differentiated smooth muscle cells, To determine whether CHF1 might affect the function of ARNT, we performed transfection studies, Co-transfection of CHF1 inhibited ARNT/EPAS1-dependent transcription by 85% and this inhibition is dose-dependent. In electrophoretic mobility studies, CHF1 inhibited the binding of the ARNT/EPAS1 heterodimer to its target site. Our data suggest that CHF1 functions as a transcriptional repressor and may play an important role in cardiovascular development.

BackgroundSuccinate dehydrogenase (SDH) loss and mastermind-like 3 (MAML3) translocation are two clinically important genetic alterations that correlate with increased rates of metastasis in subtypes of human paraganglioma and pheochromocytoma (PPGL) neuroendocrine tumors. Although hypotheses propose that succinate accumulation after SDH loss poisons dioxygenases and activates pseudohypoxia and epigenomic hypermethylation, it remains unclear whether these mechanisms account for oncogenic transcriptional patterns. Additionally, MAML3 translocation has recently been identified as a genetic alteration in PPGL, but is poorly understood. We hypothesize that a key to understanding tumorigenesis driven by these genetic alterations is identification of the transcription factors responsible for the observed oncogenic transcriptional changes.MethodsWe leverage publicly-available human tumor gene expression profiling experiments (N=179) to reconstruct a PPGL tumor-specific transcriptional network. We subsequently use the inferred transcriptional network to perform master regulator analyses nominating transcription factors predicted to control oncogenic transcription in specific PPGL molecular subtypes. Results are validated by analysis of an independent collection of PPGL tumor specimens (N=188). We then perform a similar master regulator analysis in SDH-loss mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to infer aspects of SDH loss master regulator response conserved across species and tissue types.ResultsA small number of master regulator transcription factors are predicted to drive the observed subtype-specific gene expression patterns in SDH loss and MAML3 translocation-positive PPGL. Interestingly, although EPAS1 perturbation is detectible in SDH-loss and VHL-loss tumors, it is by no means the most potent factor driving observed patterns of transcriptional dysregulation. Analysis of conserved SDH-loss master regulators in human tumors and MEFs implicated ZNF423, a known modulator of retinoic acid response in neuroblastoma. Subsequent functional analysis revealed a blunted cell death response to retinoic acid in SDH-loss MEFs and blunted differentiation response in SDH-inhibited SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.ConclusionsThe unbiased analyses presented here nominate specific transcription factors that are likely drivers of oncogenic transcription in PPGL tumors. This information has the potential to be exploited for targeted therapy. Additionally, the observation that SDH loss or inhibition results in blunted retinoic acid response suggests a potential developmental etiology for this tumor subtype.