Look for methods, not conclusions
Qualunque sia l'esito effettivo di un'indagine su un caso di presunta manipolazione dei dati, ci sono alcuni principi fermi che sono sempre veri e alcuni errori che devono essere evitati.
A TR-FRET based functional assay for screening activators of CARM1
Epigenome is an emerging field that demands selective cell-permeable chemical probes to perturb, especially in vivo, the activity of specific enzymes involved in modulating the epigenetic codes. Coactivator Associated Arginine (R) Methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) is a coactivator of estrogen receptor α (ERα), the main target in human breast cancer. We previously showed that overexpression of CARM1 by two-fold in MCF7 breast cancer cells increased the expression of ERα-target genes involved in differentiation and reduced cell proliferation, leading to the hypothesis that activating CARM1 by chemical activators may be therapeutically effective in breast cancer. Selective, potent, cell-permeable CA…
The emerging role of lysine methyltransferase SETD8 in human diseases
SETD8/SET8/Pr-SET7/KMT5A is the only known lysine methyltransferase (KMT) that monomethylates lysine 20 of histone H4 (H4K20) in vivo. Lysine residues of non-histone proteins including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p53 are also monomethylated. As a consequence, the methyltransferase activity of the enzyme is implicated in many essential cellular processes including DNA replication, DNA damage response, transcription modulation, and cell cycle regulation. This review aims to provide an overview of the roles of SETD8 in physiological and pathological pathways and to discuss the progress made to date in inhibiting the activity of SETD8 by small molecules, with an emphasis on th…
Combined HAT/EZH2 modulation leads to cancer-selective cell death
Contains fulltext : 197351.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Epigenetic alterations have been associated with both pathogenesis and progression of cancer. By screening of library compounds, we identified a novel hybrid epi-drug MC2884, a HAT/EZH2 inhibitor, able to induce bona fide cancer-selective cell death in both solid and hematological cancers in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo xenograft models. Anticancer action was due to an epigenome modulation by H3K27me3, H3K27ac, H3K9/14ac decrease, and to caspase-dependent apoptosis induction. MC2884 triggered mitochondrial pathway apoptosis by up-regulation of cleaved-BID, and strong down-regulation of BCL2. Even aggressive models of cancer, …
Enhancement of lysine acetylation accelerates wound repair
In physiopathological conditions, such as diabetes, wound healing is significantly compromised and chronic complications, including ulcers, may occur. In a mouse model of skin repair, we recently reported that wound treatment with Sirtuin activators and class I HDAC inhibitors induced keratinocyte proliferation and enhanced healing via a nitric oxide (NO) dependent mechanism. We observed an increase in total protein acetylation in the wound area, as determined by acetylation of α-tubulin and histone H3 Lysine 9. We reasoned that this process activated cell function as well as regulated gene expression to foster tissue repair. We report here that the direct activation of P300/CBP-associated …
Transition state mimics are valuable mechanistic probes for structural studies with the arginine methyltransferase CARM1
Coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) is a member of the protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) family and methylates a range of proteins in eukaryotic cells. Overexpression of CARM1 is implicated in a number of cancers, and it is therefore seen as a potential therapeutic target. Peptide sequences derived from the well-defined CARM1 substrate poly(A)-binding protein 1 (PABP1) were covalently linked to an adenosine moiety as in the AdoMet cofactor to generate transition state mimics. These constructs were found to be potent CARM1 inhibitors and also formed stable complexes with the enzyme. High-resolution crystal structures of CARM1 in complex with these compounds co…