The MODOMICS database has been, since 2006, a manually curated and centralized resource, storing and distributing comprehensive information about modified ribonucleosides. Originally, it only contained data on the chemical structures of modified ribonucleosides, their biosynthetic pathways, the location of modified residues in RNA sequences, and RNA-modifying enzymes. Over the years, prompted by the accumulation of new knowledge and new types of data, it has been updated with new information and functionalities. In this new release, we have created a catalog of RNA modifications linked to human diseases, e.g., due to mutations in genes encoding modification enzymes. MODOMICS has been linked extensively to RCSB Protein Data Bank, and sequences of experimentally determined RNA structures with modified residues have been added. This expansion was accompanied by including nucleotide 5′-monophosphate residues. We redesigned the web interface and upgraded the database backend. In addition, a search engine for chemically similar modified residues has been included that can be queried by SMILES codes or by drawing chemical molecules. Finally, previously available datasets of modified residues, biosynthetic pathways, and RNA-modifying enzymes have been updated. Overall, we provide users with a new, enhanced, and restyled tool for research on RNA modification. MODOMICS is available at https://iimcb.genesilico.pl/modomics/.

Polycomb group proteins (PcG) function as transcriptional repressors of gene expression. The important role of PcG in mediating repression of the INK4b-ARF-INK4a locus, by directly binding to the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) transcript antisense noncoding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL), was recently shown. INK4b-ARF-INK4a encodes 3 tumor-suppressor proteins, p15^INK4b, p14^ARF, and p16^INK4a, and its transcription is a key requirement for replicative or oncogene-induced senescence and constitutes an important barrier for tumor growth. ANRIL gene is transcribed in the antisense orientation of the INK4b-ARF-INK4a gene cluster, and different single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with increased susceptibility to several diseases. Although lncRNA-mediated regulation of INK4b-ARF-INK4a gene is not restricted to ANRIL, both polycomb repressive complex-1 (PRC1) and -2 (PRC2) interact with ANRIL to form heterochromatin surrounding the INK4b-ARF-INK4a locus, leading to its repression. This mechanism would provide an increased advantage for bypassing senescence, sustaining the requirements for the proliferation of stem and/or progenitor cell populations or inappropriately leading to oncogenesis through the aberrant saturation of the INK4b-ARF-INK4a locus by PcG complexes. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the underlying epigenetic mechanisms that link PcG function with ANRIL, which impose gene silencing to control cellular homeostasis as well as cancer development. Cancer Res; 71(16); 5365–9. ©2011 AACR.

The Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) is a transcriptional co-activator that plays a central role in adapted metabolic responses. PGC-1α is dynamically methylated and unmethylated at the residue K779 by the methyltransferase SET7/9 and the Lysine Specific Demethylase 1A (LSD1), respectively. Interactions of methylated PGC-1α[K779me] with the Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex, the Mediator members MED1 and MED17, and the NOP2/Sun RNA methytransferase 7 (NSUN7) reinforce transcription, and are concomitant with the m(5)C mark on enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). Consistently, loss of Set7/9 and NSun7 in liver cell model systems resulted in depletion of the PGC-1α target genes Pfkl, Sirt5, Idh3b, and Hmox2, which was accompanied by a decrease in the eRNAs levels associated with these loci. Enrichment of m(5)C within eRNA species coincides with metabolic stress of fasting in vivo. Collectively, these findings illustrate the complex epigenetic circuitry imposed by PGC-1α at the eRNA level to fine-tune energy metabolism.

Fetal liver and adult bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) renew or differentiate into committed progenitors to generate all blood cells. PRDM16 is involved in human leukemic translocations and is expressed highly in some karyotypically normal acute myeloblastic leukemias. As many genes involved in leukemogenic fusions play a role in normal hematopoiesis, we analyzed the role of Prdm16 in the biology of HSCs using Prdm16-deficient mice. We show here that, within the hematopoietic system, Prdm16 is expressed very selectively in the earliest stem and progenitor compartments, and, consistent with this expression pattern, is critical for the establishment and maintenance of the HSC pool during development and after transplantation. Prdm16 deletion enhances apoptosis and cycling of HSCs. Expression analysis revealed that Prdm16 regulates a remarkable number of genes that, based on knockout models, both enhance and suppress HSC function, and affect quiescence, cell cycling, renewal, differentiation, and apoptosis to various extents. These data suggest that Prdm16 may be a critical node in a network that contains negative and positive feedback loops and integrates HSC renewal, quiescence, apoptosis, and differentiation.