Reduced WIF-1 expression stimulates skin hyperpigmentation in patients with melasma.

The expression of Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1) gene, which was detected by a microarray analysis of hyperpigmented and normally pigmented skin sets of melasma patients, was significantly reduced in the hyperpigmented skin from melasma patients, but not in healthy controls, regardless of UV irradiation. Wnt signals regulate skin pigmentation; however, WIF-1 is expressed in cultured skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts, but not in melanocytes. Therefore, we examined whether WIF-1 knockdown in neighboring keratinocytes and fibroblasts plays a role in melasma. Additionally, the effect of WIF-1 overexpression on the amelioration of hyperpigmentation was examined. WIF-1 knockdown, either in fibroblasts or in keratinocytes, significantly stimulated tyrosinase expression and melanosome transfer, whereas melanocytes with WIF-1 overexpression significantly reduced those parameters. The WIF-1 knockdown decreased glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß), ß-catenin, and NFATc2 (nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic, calcineurin-dependent 2) phosphorylation and increased microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) expression as in melanocytes with Wnt-1 overexpression, whereas the WIF-1 overexpression reversed the results. Expression of Wnts, both canonical and noncanonical, was increased in the hyperpigmented skin of melasma patients. Collectively, WIF-1 downregulation, which may occur in epidermal keratinocytes and in dermal fibroblasts, is involved in melasma development because of the stimulation of melanogenesis and melanosome transfer through upregulation of the canonical and the noncanonical Wnt signaling pathway.

Predose blood gene expression profiles might identify the individuals susceptible to carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity.

Although the extent of chemical-induced liver injury differs substantially from individual to individual, it is very hard to identify susceptible population priori to chemical exposure. We report here that the gene expression of the blood samples collected predose might identify the susceptible population without actual exposure to hepatotoxicant. The innate gene expressions in the blood samples collected at predose were compared using whole-genome microarray analysis and semiquantitative PCR with the extent of hepatotoxicity following the treatment of a model hepatotoxicant, carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) posteriori. The expression of 18 genes was found to innately differ in the blood of the susceptible animals from the resistant to CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity. Of these 18 genes, three genes, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 (ND6), transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 6 (Trpc6), and tetraspanin 12 (Tspan12), were found to be different reproducibly in real-time PCR analysis with independent sets of animals. Of particular note, animals with the low expression level of ND6 and Tspan12 showed significantly higher susceptibility to CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity indeed. This study demonstrated that blood gene expression profiling might identify the susceptible individuals to chemical-induced hepatotoxicity without actual chemical exposure, providing a novel and important methodology for the prevention of drug-induced hepatotoxicity.

The effects of BADGE and caffeine on the time-course response of adiponectin and lipid oxidative enzymes in high fat diet-fed C57BL/6J mice: correlation with reduced adiposity and steatosis.

Adiponectin, which is expressed exclusively in adipose tissue, has been shown to increase fatty acid oxidation via activation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC). ACC phosphorylation and carnitine palmitoyl-transferase-1 (CPT1) activity have been shown to be rate controlling factors in fatty acid oxidation. In high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, we analyzed the time-course of changes in the expression of adiponectin and lipid oxidative enzymes induced by treatment with bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) or caffeine for 8 weeks, and investigated whether the changes of adiponectin and lipid oxidative enzymes expression correlated with reduced adiposity or steatosis after 8 weeks of treatment. After 8 weeks of treatment, BADGE and caffeine had reduced body weight and epididymal adipose tissue weight in mice fed HFD, and markedly reduced the number of fatty droplets in the liver. Interestingly, the expression of adiponectin and lipid oxidative enzymes significantly increased after 2 weeks of treatment. These results indicate that the expression of adiponectin and lipid oxidative enzymes in the early stages of BADGE or caffeine treatment correlated well with the long-term anti-obesity effects.

Chip-based analysis of SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) conjugation to a target protein.

A chip-based analysis of protein interactions and modifications in cell signaling pathways has been of great potential in drug discovery, diagnostics, and cell biology, because it enables rapid and high-throughput biological assays with a small amount of samples. We report a chip-based analysis of sumoylation, the post-translational modification (PTM) process that involves covalent attachment of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein to a target protein through multiple enzyme reactions in eukaryotic cells. Substrate proteins were spotted onto a glass surface followed by the addition of the reaction mixture for sumoylation, and the SUMO conjugation was readily detected by using fluorescent dye-labeled antibody. Under the optimized condition, on-chip sumoylation of Ran GTPase-activating protein 1 (RanGAP1) domain resulted in highly specific fluorescence intensity compared to that of its mutant (K524A) irrelevant to SUMO conjugation. The on-chip sumoylation was also verified and quantified by using the surface plasmon resonance(SPR) spectroscopy. As the exemplary study for a parallel analysis of sumoylation, fluorescent detection of sumoylation was conducted in a microarray format on a glass slide. The chip-based analysis developed here is expected to be applicable to assay for screening of target proteins from existing protein pools and proteome arrays in a high throughput manner.