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Insulin receptor (IR) signaling is central to normal metabolic control and dysregulated in prevalent chronic diseases. IR binds insulin at the cell surface and transduces rapid signaling via cytoplasmic kinases. However, mechanisms mediating long-term effects of insulin remain unclear. Here, we show that IR associates with RNA polymerase II in the nucleus, with striking enrichment at promoters genome-wide. The target genes were highly enriched for insulin-related functions including lipid metabolism and protein synthesis and diseases including diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer. IR chromatin binding was increased by insulin and impaired in an insulin-resistant disease model. Promoter binding by IR was mediated by coregulator host cell factor-1 (HCF-1) and transcription factors, revealing an HCF-1-dependent pathway for gene regulation by insulin. These results show that IR interacts with transcriptional machinery at promoters and identify a pathway regulating genes linked to insulin's effects in physiology and disease.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have linked genes to various pathological traits. However, the potential contribution of regulatory noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), to a genetic predisposition to pathological conditions has remained unclear. We leveraged GWAS meta-analysis data from [greater than] 188,000 individuals to identify 69 miRNAs in physical proximity to single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with abnormal levels of circulating lipids. Several of these miRNAs (miR-128-1, miR-148a, miR-130b, and miR-301b) control the expression of key proteins involved in cholesterol-lipoprotein trafficking, such as the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR) and the ATP-binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) cholesterol transporter. Consistent with human liver expression data and genetic links to abnormal blood lipid levels, overexpression and antisense targeting of miR-128-1 or miR-148a in high-fat diet-fed C57BL/6J and Apoe-null mice resulted in altered hepatic expression of proteins involved in lipid trafficking and metabolism, and in modulated levels of circulating lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides. Taken together, these findings support the notion that altered expression of miRNAs may contribute to abnormal blood lipid levels, predisposing individuals to human cardiometabolic disorders., Author(s): Alexandre Wagschal [1, 2]; S Hani Najafi-Shoushtari [1, 2]; Lifeng Wang [1, 2]; Leigh Goedeke [3]; Sumita Sinha [4]; Andrew S deLemos [5]; Josh C Black [1, 6]; Cristina [...]

The hepatic low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) pathway is essential for clearing circulating LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Whereas the transcriptional regulation of LDLR is well characterized, the post-transcriptional mechanisms that govern LDLR expression are just beginning to emerge. Here we develop a high-throughput genome-wide screening assay to systematically identify microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate LDLR activity in human hepatic cells. From this screen we identified and characterized miR-148a as a negative regulator of LDLR expression and activity and defined a sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1)-mediated pathway through which miR-148a regulates LDL-C uptake. In mice, inhibition of miR-148a increased hepatic LDLR expression and decreased plasma LDL-C. Moreover, we found that miR-148a regulates hepatic expression of ATP-binding cassette, subfamily A, member 1 (ABCA1) and circulating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in vivo. These studies uncover a role for miR-148a as a key regulator of hepatic LDL-C clearance through direct modulation of LDLR expression and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of inhibiting miR-148a to ameliorate an elevated LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, a prominent risk factor for cardiovascular disease., Author(s): Leigh Goedeke [1, 2, 3, 4]; Noemi Rotllan [1, 2]; Alberto Canfrán-Duque [1, 2]; Juan F Aranda [1, 2, 3]; Cristina M Ramírez [1, 2]; Elisa Araldi [1, 2, [...]

Human chromosomes 11p15 comprises two imprinted domains, which are important in the control fetal and postnatal growth which was studied by imprinting epigenetically deregulated in Silver-Russell Syndrome (SRS), a congenital disease of growth retardation and asymmetry. It showed that fetal and postnatal growth is epigenetically controlled by different imprinting control regions (ICRs) at 11p15 and other chromosomal regions.

The article proposes that bivalent domains silence developmental genes in embryonic stem (ES) cells while keeping them poised for activation and a striking correspondence is observed between genome sequence and histone methylation in ES cells, which become notably weaker in differentiated cells. These results highlight the importance of DNA sequence in defining the initial epigenetic landscape and suggest a novel chromatin-based mechanism for maintaining pluripotency.

Abstract The rate of HIV-1 gene expression is a key step that determines the kinetics of virus spread and AIDS progression. Viral entry and gene expression were described to be the key determinants for cell permissiveness to HIV. Recent reports highlighted the involvement of miRNA in regulating HIV-1 replication post-transcriptionally. In this study we explored the role of cellular factors required for miRNA-mediated mRNA translational inhibition in regulating HIV-1 gene expression. Here we show that HIV-1 mRNAs associate and co-localize with components of the RNA Induced Silencing Complex (RISC), and we characterize some of the proteins required for miRNA-mediated silencing (miRNA effectors). RCK/p54, GW182, LSm-1 and XRN1 negatively regulate HIV-1 gene expression by preventing viral mRNA association with polysomes. Interestingly, knockdown of RCK/p54 or DGCR8 resulted in virus reactivation in PBMCs isolated from HIV infected patients treated with suppressive HAART.

INTRODUCTIONIn cells and tissues, the histone proteins that constitute the nucleosomes can present multiple post-translational modifications, such as lysine acetylation, lysine and arginine methylation, serine phosphorylation, and lysine ubiquitination. On their own, or in combination, these covalent modifications on the core histones are thought to play essential roles in chromatin organization and gene expression in eukaryotes. Importantly, patterns of histone modifications may be somatically conserved and can, thereby, maintain locus-specific repression/activity in defined lineages, or throughout development. Indirect immunofluorescence studies on cultured cells have been pivotal in unraveling the roles of histone modifications. However, to address in detail what happens at specific sites in vivo, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is the method of choice. Here, we describe how ChIP can be performed on non-fixed chromatin from animal cells or tissues (fresh or frozen) to analyze histone modifications at specific chromosomal sites. These protocols are suitable only for analyzing histones and their modifications. For other applications, chromatin immunoprecipitation should be performed on cross-linked chromatin.

INTRODUCTIONAfter chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), different PCR-based approaches can be used to determine how much DNA is precipitated at a locus of interest. Real-time PCR amplification is often the preferred technique. One can also use duplex PCR amplification, which is the coamplification of a fragment from the region of interest and a control fragment (e.g., the actin gene, or the tubulin gene). This approach allows for estimating relative levels of specific histone modifications along chromosomal domains. For allele-specific studies (for instance, on dosage-compensation mechanisms or on genomic imprinting), electrophoretic detection of single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP) or similar strategies such as hot-stop PCR can differentiate PCR products that represent the silent allele from those amplified from the active allele. If a polymorphic restriction site is present in one allele and absent in the other, the method of choice is hot-stop PCR. If no polymorphic restriction sites are available, but there are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that distinguish the alleles of interest, the best approach is to separate the PCR products derived from the two different alleles using SSCP. In SSCP, it is possible to discriminate denatured PCR products derived from one allele or the other because the secondary structure of each single strand will be directly dependent on the sequence itself. Hence, in nondenaturing gel conditions, each single strand will migrate differently. These four PCR-based methodologies to analyze immunoprecipitated chromatin (real-time PCR, duplex PCR, hot-stop PCR, and SSCP) are presented here.