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Mammalian Hedgehog (Hh) signaling relies on three Gli transcription factors to mediate Hh responses. This process is controlled in part by a major negative regulator, Sufu, through its effects on Gli protein level, distribution and activity. In this report, we showed that Sufu regulates Gli1 protein levels by antagonizing Numb/Itch. Otherwise, Numb/Itch would induce Gli1 protein degradation. This is in contrast to inhibition of Spop-mediated degradation of Gli2/3 by Sufu. Thus, controlling protein levels of all three Gli genes by Sufu is a conserved mechanism to modulate Hh responses albeit via distinct pathways. These findings in cell-based assays were further validated in vivo. In analyzing how Sufu controls Gli proteins in different tissues, we discovered that loss of Sufu in the lung exerts different effects on Hh target genes. Hh targets Ptch1/Hhip are upregulated in Sufu-deficient lungs, consistent with Hh pathway activation. Surprisingly, protein levels of Hh target Gli1 are reduced. We also found that myofibroblasts are absent from many prospective alveoli of Sufu-deficient lungs. Myofibroblast development is dependent on PDGF signaling. Interestingly, analysis of the Pdgfra promoter revealed a canonical Gli-binding site where Gli1 resides. These studies support a model in which loss of Sufu contributes to compromised Pdgfra activation and disrupts myofibroblast development in the lung. Our work illustrates the unappreciated complexity of Hh responses where distinct Hh targets could respond differently depending on the availability of Gli proteins that control their expression.

Nutrient excess, a major driver of obesity, diminishes hypothalamic responses to exogenously administered leptin, a critical hormone of energy balance. Here, we aimed to identify a physiological signal that arises from excess caloric intake and negatively controls hypothalamic leptin action. We found that deficiency of the gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (Gipr) for the gut-derived incretin hormone GIP protected against diet-induced neural leptin resistance. Furthermore, a centrally administered antibody that neutralizes GIPR had remarkable antiobesity effects in diet-induced obese mice, including reduced body weight and adiposity, and a decreased hypothalamic level of SOCS3, an inhibitor of leptin actions. In contrast, centrally administered GIP diminished hypothalamic sensitivity to leptin and increased hypothalamic levels of Socs3. Finally, we show that GIP increased the active form of the small GTPase Rap1 in the brain and that its activation was required for the central actions of GIP. Altogether, our results identify GIPR/Rap1 signaling in the brain as a molecular pathway linking overnutrition to the control of neural leptin actions., Introduction The hypothalamus is a critical site that controls energy balance. Excess calorie intake provokes hypothalamic activation of multiple inflammatory and stress response pathways, such as IKB kinase-[beta]/ NF-[kappa]B (IKKP/NF-[kappa]B) [...]

Activation of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling requires the transmembrane protein Smoothened (Smo), a member of the G-protein coupled receptor superfamily. In mammals, Smo translocates to the primary cilium upon binding of Hh ligands to their receptor, Patched (Ptch1), but it is unclear if ciliary trafficking of Smo is sufficient for pathway activation. Here, we demonstrate that cyclopamine and jervine, two structurally related inhibitors of Smo, force ciliary translocation of Smo. Treatment with SANT-1, an unrelated Smo antagonist, abrogates cyclopamine- and jervine-mediated Smo translocation. Further, activation of protein kinase A, either directly or through activation of Galphas, causes Smo to translocate to a proximal region of the primary cilium. We propose that Smo adopts multiple inactive and active conformations, which influence its localization and trafficking on the primary cilium.

Cancer has long been viewed as a genetic disease; however, epigenetic silencing as the result of aberrant promoter DNA methylation is frequently associated with cancer development, suggesting an epigenetic component to the disease. Nonetheless, it has remained unclear whether an epimutation (an aberrant change in epigenetic regulation) can induce tumorigenesis. Here, we exploited a functionally validated c/s-acting regulatory element and devised a strategy to induce developmentally regulated genomic targeting of DNA methylation. We used this system to target DNA methylation within the [p16.sup.Ink4a] promoter in mice in vivo. Engineered [p16.sup.Ink4a] promoter hypermethylation led to transcriptional suppression in somatic tissues during aging and increased the incidence of spontaneous cancers in these mice. Further, mice carrying a germline [p16.sup.Ink4a] mutation in one allele and a somatic epimutation in the other had accelerated tumor onset and substantially shortened tumor-free survival. Taken together, these results provide direct functional evidence that [p16.sup.Ink4a] epimutation drives tumor formation and malignant progression and validate a targeted methylation approach to epigenetic engineering., Introduction More than 25 years ago, it was proposed that epimutation--mitotically stable gene silencing associated with epigenetic alteration in DNA methylation--can act as 1 of Knudson's 2 hits required for [...]

Hedgehog (Hh) signalling is essential for several aspects of embryogenesis (1,2). In Drosophila, Hh transduction is mediated by a cytoplasmic signalling complex (3-5) that includes the putative serine-threonine kinase Fused [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.07.017 Byline: Miao-Hsueh Chen, Christopher W. Wilson, Pao-Tien Chuang

A study on the role of Hedgehog(Hh) signaling in multiple aspects of embryonic development is conducted. The results reveal that Hh palmitoylation is essential for generation of a soluble multimeric protein complex, which constitutes the major active component for Hh signaling.

The molecular clock is intimately linked to metabolic regulation, and brown adipose tissue plays a key role in energy homeostasis. However, whether the cell-intrinsic clock machinery participates in brown adipocyte development is unknown. Here, we show that Bmal1 (also known as ARNTL), the essential clock transcription activator, inhibits brown adipogenesis to adversely affect brown fat formation and thermogenic capacity. Global ablation of Bmall in mice increases brown fat mass and cold tolerance, and adipocyte-selective inactivation of Bmall recapitulates these effects and demonstrates its cell-autonomous role in brown adipocyte formation. Further loss-and gain-of-function studies in mesenchymal precursors and committed brown progenitors reveal that Bmall inhibits brown adipocyte lineage commitment and terminal differentiation. Mechanistically, Bmall inhibits brown adipogenesis through direct transcriptional control of key components of the TGF-b pathway together with reciprocally altered BMP signaling; activation of TGF-b or blockade of BMP pathways suppresses enhanced differentiation in Bmall-deficient brown adipocytes. Collectively, our study demonstrates a novel temporal regulatory mechanism in fine-tuning brown adipocyte lineage progression to affect brown fat formation and thermogenic regulation, which could be targeted therapeutically to combat obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular clock is intimately linked to metabolic regulation, and brown adipose tissue plays a key role in energy homeostasis. However, whether the cell-intrinsic clock machinery participates in brown adipocyte development is unknown. Here, we show that Bmal1 (also known as ARNTL), the essential clock transcription activator, inhibits brown adipogenesis to adversely affect brown fat formation and thermogenic capacity. Global ablation of Bmal1 in mice increases brown fat mass and cold tolerance, and adipocyte-selective inactivation of Bmal1 recapitulates these effects and demonstrates its cell-autonomous role in brown adipocyte formation. Further loss- and gain-of-function studies in mesenchymal precursors and committed brown progenitors reveal that Bmal1 inhibits brown adipocyte lineage commitment and terminal differentiation. Mechanistically, Bmal1 inhibits brown adipogenesis through direct transcriptional control of key components of the TGF-β pathway together with reciprocally altered BMP signaling; activation of TGF-β or blockade of BMP pathways suppresses enhanced differentiation in Bmal1-deficient brown adipocytes. Collectively, our study demonstrates a novel temporal regulatory mechanism in fine-tuning brown adipocyte lineage progression to affect brown fat formation and thermogenic regulation, which could be targeted therapeutically to combat obesity., (© 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Primary cilia are microtubule-based organelles involved in signal transduction and project from the surface of most vertebrate cells. Proteins that can localize to the cilium, for example, Inversin and Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) proteins, are implicated in both beta-catenin-dependent and -independent Wnt signalling. Given that Inversin and BBS proteins are found both at the cilium and elsewhere in the cell, the role of the cilium itself in Wnt signalling is not clear. Using three separate mutations that disrupt ciliogenesis (affecting Kif3a, Ift88 and Ofd1), we show in this study that the primary cilium restricts the activity of the canonical Wnt pathway in mouse embryos, primary fibroblasts, and embryonic stem cells. Interestingly, unciliated cells activate transcription only in response to Wnt stimulation, but do so much more robustly than ciliated cells. Loss of Kif3a, but not other ciliogenic genes, causes constitutive phosphorylation of Dishevelled (Dvl). Blocking the activity of casein kinase I (CKI) reverses this constitutive Dvl phosphorylation and abrogates pathway hyper-responsiveness. These results suggest that Kif3a restrains canonical Wnt signalling both by restricting the CKI-dependent phosphorylation of Dvl and through a separate ciliary mechanism. More generally, these findings reveal that, in contrast to its role in promoting Hedgehog (Hh) signalling, the cilium restrains canonical Wnt signalling.

Defects very similar to those seen in infants born with congenital diaphragmatic hernias can be induced in rodents by the administration of the teratogen nitrofen. There is an interest in understanding the biochemical mechanisms of nitrofen's actions in hopes of gaining insights into the etiology of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. In this study, we test the hypothesis that nitrofen is acting to perturb the retinoid signaling pathway by utilizing genetically engineered mice that have the lacZ reporter gene linked to a retinoic acid response element (RARE). We demonstrate a pronounced suppression of RARE-lacZ expression by nitrofen in vitro (by approximately 64%) and in vivo (by approximately 43%)., (Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel)