Gene expression profile of mouse prostate tumors reveals dysregulations in major biological processes and identifies potential murine targets for preclinical development of human prostate cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND: Translation of preclinical studies into effective human cancer therapy is hampered by the lack of defined molecular expression patterns in mouse models that correspond to the human counterpart. We sought to generate an open source TRAMP mouse microarray dataset and to use this array to identify differentially expressed genes from human prostate cancer (PCa) that have concordant expression in TRAMP tumors, and thereby represent lead targets for preclinical therapy development. METHODS: We performed microarrays on total RNA extracted and amplified from eight TRAMP tumors and nine normal prostates. A subset of differentially expressed genes was validated by QRT-PCR. Differentially expressed TRAMP genes were analyzed for concordant expression in publicly available human prostate array datasets and a subset of resulting genes was analyzed by QRT-PCR. RESULTS: Cross-referencing differentially expressed TRAMP genes to public human prostate array datasets revealed 66 genes with concordant expression in mouse and human PCa; 56 between metastases and normal and 10 between primary tumor and normal tissues. Of these 10 genes, two, Sox4 and Tubb2a, were validated by QRT-PCR. Our analysis also revealed various dysregulations in major biologic pathways in the TRAMP prostates. CONCLUSIONS: We report a TRAMP microarray dataset of which a gene subset was validated by QRT-PCR with expression patterns consistent with previous gene-specific TRAMP studies. Concordance analysis between TRAMP and human PCa associated genes supports the utility of the model and suggests several novel molecular targets for preclinical therapy.

ESE-1 is a potent repressor of type II collagen gene (COL2A1) transcription in human chondrocytes.

The epithelium-specific ETS (ESE)-1 transcription factor is induced in chondrocytes by interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). We reported previously that early activation of EGR-1 by IL-1beta results in suppression of the proximal COL2A1 promoter activity by displacement of Sp1 from GC boxes. Here we report that ESE-1 is a potent transcriptional suppressor of COL2A1 promoter activity in chondrocytes and accounts for the sustained, NF-kappaB-dependent inhibition by IL-1beta. Of the ETS factors tested, this response was specific to ESE-1, since ESE-3, which was also induced by IL-1beta, suppressed COL2A1 promoter activity only weakly. In contrast, overexpression of ETS-1 increased COL2A1 promoter activity and blocked the inhibition by IL-1beta. These responses to ESE-1 and ETS-1 were confirmed using siRNA-ESE1 and siRNA-ETS1. In transient cotransfections, the inhibitory responses to ESE-1 and IL-1beta colocalized in the -577/-132 bp promoter region, ESE-1 bound specifically to tandem ETS sites at -403/-381 bp, and IL-1-induced binding of ESE-1 to the COL2A1 promoter was confirmed in vivo by ChIP. Our results indicate that ESE-1 serves a potent repressor function by interacting with at least two sites in the COL2A1 promoter. However, the endogenous response may depend upon the balance of other ETS factors such as ETS-1, and other IL-1-induced factors, including EGR-1 at any given time. Intracellular ESE-1 staining in chondrocytes in cartilage from patients with osteoarthritis (OA), but not in normal cartilage, further suggests a fundamental role for ESE-1 in cartilage degeneration and suppression of repair.

Proteomic analysis of the allograft response.

BACKGROUND: As transcriptional profiling techniques appear to provide a useful means to evaluate the allograft response, we have now initiated an attempt to use proteomics to examine the allograft response. METHODS: To this end, we have evaluated the use of Protein Chip technology, coupled with bioinformatics analysis towards discovery of allograft response biomarkers in a mouse skin transplant model. To compare samples obtained from acutely rejecting allograft recipients at days 7, 9, and 21, we treated one group with a potent antirejection regimen. Mean survival time in the fully MHC-mismatched skin graft model using this protocol is more than 100 days. We also studied recipients of nontreated syngenetic grafts. We applied Protein Chip technology toward discovery of allograft response markers in this model. RESULTS: At days 7 and 9, before the clinical appearance of rejection at day 10, several protein biomarker candidates were detected, based on their molecular mass that clearly differentiated between rejection and the nonrejection groups. CONCLUSIONS: Protein profiling of serum as a means to characterize the allografts response of a given host deserves further testing in clinical studies.

The Ets transcription factor ESE-1 mediates induction of the COX-2 gene by LPS in monocytes.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key enzyme in the production of prostaglandins that are major inflammatory agents. COX-2 production is triggered by exposure to various cytokines and to bacterial endotoxins. We present here a novel role for the Ets transcription factor ESE-1 in regulating the COX-2 gene in response to endotoxin and other pro-inflammatory stimuli. We report that the induction of COX-2 expression by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines correlates with ESE-1 induction in monocyte/macrophages. ESE-1, in turn, binds to several E26 transformation specific (Ets) sites on the COX-2 promoter. In vitro analysis demonstrates that ESE-1 binds to and activates the COX-2 promoter to levels comparable to LPS-mediated induction. Moreover, we provide results showing that the induction of COX-2 by LPS may require ESE-1, as the mutation of the Ets sites in the COX-2 promoter or overexpression of a dominant-negative form of ESE-1 inhibits LPS-mediated COX-2 induction. The effect of ESE-1 on the COX-2 promoter is further enhanced by cooperation with other transcription factors such as nuclear factor-kappa B and nuclear factor of activated T cells. Neutralization of COX-2 is the goal of many anti-inflammatory drugs. As an activator of COX-2 induction, ESE-1 may become a target for such therapeutics as well. Together with our previous reports of the role of ESE-1 as an inducer of nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells and as a mediator of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vascular and connective tissue cells, these results establish ESE-1 as an important player in the regulation of inflammation.

Responses to the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in cells derived from rheumatoid synovium and other joint tissues involve nuclear factor kappaB-mediated induction of the Ets transcription factor ESE-1.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of the novel Ets transcription factor ESE-1 in rheumatoid synovium and in cells derived from joint tissues, and to analyze the role of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) as one of the central downstream targets in mediating the induction of ESE-1 by proinflammatory cytokines. METHODS: ESE-1 protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies in synovial tissues from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). ESE-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or Northern blotting in human chondrocytes, synovial fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and macrophages, before and after exposure to interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without prior infection with an adenovirus encoding the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappaB (IkappaB). The wild-type ESE-1 promoter and the ESE-1 promoter mutated in the NF-kappaB site were cloned into a luciferase reporter vector and analyzed in transient transfections. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and supershift assays with antibodies against members of the NF-kappaB family were conducted using the NF-kappaB site from the ESE-1 promoter as a probe. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed specific expression of ESE-1 in cells of the synovial lining layer and in some mononuclear and endothelial cells in RA and OA synovial tissues. ESE-1 mRNA expression could be induced by IL-1beta and TNFalpha in cells such as synovial fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and monocytes. Transient transfection experiments and EMSAs showed that induction of ESE-1 gene expression by IL-1beta requires activation of NF-kappaB and binding of p50 and p65 family members to the NF-kappaB site in the ESE-1 promoter. Overexpression of IkappaB using an adenoviral vector blocked IL-1beta-induced ESE-1 mRNA expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation further confirmed that NF-kappaB binds to the ESE-1 promoter in vivo. CONCLUSION: ESE-1 is expressed in synovial tissues in RA and, to a variable extent, in OA, and is specifically induced in synovial fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and monocyte/macrophages by IL-1beta, TNFalpha, or LPS. This induction relies on the translocation of the NF-kappaB family members p50 and p65 to the nucleus and transactivation of the ESE-1 promoter via a high-affinity NF-kappaB binding site. ESE-1 may play a role in mediating some effects of proinflammatory stimuli in cells at sites of inflammation.

Egr-1 mediates transcriptional repression of COL2A1 promoter activity by interleukin-1beta.

Following induction and activation of the early growth response (Egr)-1 transcription factor in human chondrocytes, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) suppresses the expression of the type II collagen gene (COL2A1), associated with induction of Egr-1 binding activity in nuclear extracts. The COL2A1 proximal promoter contains overlapping binding sites for Egr-1 and Sp1 family members at -119/-112 bp and -81/-74 bp. Mutations that block binding of Sp1 and Sp3 to either site markedly reduce constitutive expression of the core promoter. IL-1beta-induced Egr-1 binds strongly to the -119/-112 bp site, and mutations that block Egr-1 binding prevent inhibition by IL-1beta. Cotransfection with pCMV-Egr1 potentiates the inhibition of COL2A1 promoter activity by IL-1beta, whereas overexpression of dominant-negative Egr-1 mutant, Wilm's tumor-1 (WT1)/Egr1, Sp1, or Sp3 reverses the inhibition by IL-1beta. Cotransfection of pGL2-COL2/Gal4, in which we substituted the critical residue for Egr-1 binding with a Gal4 binding domain and a pCMV-Gal4-Egr1 chimera permits an inhibitory response to IL-1beta that is reversed by overexpression of Gal4-CBP. Our results indicate that IL-1beta-induced activation of Egr-1 binding is required for inhibition of COL2A1 proximal promoter activity and suggest that Egr-1 acts as a repressor of a constitutively expressed collagen gene by preventing interactions between Sp1 and the general transcriptional machinery.

The TATA-containing core promoter of the type II collagen gene (COL2A1) is the target of interferon-gamma-mediated inhibition in human chondrocytes: requirement for Stat1 alpha, Jak1 and Jak2.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) inhibits the synthesis of the cartilage-specific extracellular matrix protein type II collagen, and suppresses the expression of the type II collagen gene ( COL2A1 ) at the transcriptional level. To further examine this mechanism, the responses of COL2A1 regulatory sequences to IFN-gamma and the role of components of the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway were examined in the immortalized human chondrocyte cell line, C-28/I2. IFN-gamma inhibited the mRNA levels of COL2A1 and aggrecan, but not Sox9, L-Sox5 and Sox6, all of which were expressed by these cells as markers of the differentiated phenotype. IFN-gamma suppressed the expression of luciferase reporter constructs containing sequences of the COL2A1 promoter spanning -6368 to +125 bp in the absence and presence of the intronic enhancer and stimulated activity of the gamma-interferon-activated site (GAS) luciferase reporter vector, associated with induction of Stat1 alpha-binding activity in nuclear extracts. These responses to IFN-gamma were blocked by overexpression of the JAK inhibitor, JAK-binding protein (JAB), or reversed by dominant-negative Stat1 alpha Y701F containing a mutation at Tyr-701, the JAK phosphorylation site. IFN-gamma had no effect on COL2A1 promoter expression in Jak1 (U4A)-, Jak2 (gamma 2A)- and Stat1 alpha (U3A)-deficient cell lines. In the U3A cell line, the response to IFN-gamma was rescued by overexpression of Stat1 alpha, but not by either Stat1 alpha Y701F or Stat1 beta. Functional analysis using deletion constructs showed that the IFN-gamma response was retained in the COL2A1 core promoter region spanning -45 to +11 bp, containing the TATA-box and GC-rich sequences but no Stat1-binding elements. Inhibition of COL2A1 promoter activity by IFN-gamma persisted in the presence of multiple deletions within the -45/+11 bp region. Our results indicate that repression of COL2A1 gene transcription by IFN-gamma requires Jak1, Jak2 and Stat1 alpha and suggest that this response involves indirect interaction of activated Stat1 alpha with the general transcriptional machinery that drives constitutive COL2A1 expression.