Transcription is regulated by acetylation/deacetylation reactions of histone and nonhistone proteins mediated by enzymes called KATs and HDACs, respectively. As a major mechanism of transcriptional regulation, protein acetylation is a key controller of physiological processes such as cell cycle, DNA damage response, metabolism, apoptosis, and autophagy. The deacetylase activity of class III histone deacetylases or sirtuins depends on the presence of NAD⁺ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), and therefore, their function is closely linked to cellular energy consumption. This activity of sirtuins connects the modulation of chromatin dynamics and transcriptional regulation under oxidative stress to cellular lifespan, glucose homeostasis, inflammation, and multiple aging‐related diseases including cancer. Here we provide an overview of the recent developments in relation to the diverse biological activities associated with sirtuin enzymes and stress responsive transcription factors, DNA damage, and oxidative stress and relate the involvement of sirtuins in the regulation of these processes to oncogenesis. Since the majority of the molecular mechanisms implicated in these pathways have been described for Sirt1, this sirtuin family member is more extensively presented in this paper.

Chronic stress and impaired glucocorticoid receptor (GR) feedback are important factors for the compromised hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity. We investigated the effects of chronic 21 day isolation of Wistar rats on the extrinsic negative feedback part of HPA axis: hippocampus (HIPPO) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). In addition to serum corticosterone (CORT), we followed GR subcellular localization, GR phosphorylation at serine 232 and serine 246, expression of GR regulated genes: GR, CRF and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), and activity of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Cdk5 kinases that phosphorylate GR. These parameters were also determined in animals subjected to acute 30 min immobilization, which was taken as ‘normal’ adaptive response to stress. In isolated animals, we found decreased CORT, whereas in animals exposed to acute immobilization, CORT was markedly increased. Even though the GR was predominantly localized in the nucleus of HIPPO and PFC in acute, but not in chronic stress, the expression of GR, CRF, and BDNF genes was similarly regulated under both acute and chronic stresses. Thus, the transcriptional activity of GR under chronic isolation did not seem to be exclusively dependent on high serum CORT levels nor on the subcellular location of the GR protein. Rather, it resulted from the increased Cdk5 activation and phosphorylation of the nuclear GR at serine 232 and the decreased JNK activity reflected in decreased phosphorylation of the nuclear GR at serine 246. Our study suggests that this nuclear isoform of hippocampal and cortical GR may be related to hypocorticism i.e. HPA axis hypoactivity under chronic isolation stress.

Several posttranslational modifications including phosphorylation have been detected on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). However, the interdependence and combinatorial regulation of these modifications and their role in GR functions are poorly understood. We studied the effects of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-dependent phosphorylation of GR on its sumoylation status and the impact that these modifications have on GR transcriptional activity. GR is targeted for phosphorylation at serine 246 (S246) by the JNK protein family in a rapid and transient manner. The levels of S246 phosphorylation of endogenous GR increased significantly in cells treated with UV radiation that activates JNK. S246 GR phosphorylation by JNK facilitated subsequent GR sumoylation at lysines 297 and 313. GR sumoylation increased with JNK activation and was inhibited in cells treated with JNK inhibitor. GR sumoylation in cells with activated JNK was mediated preferentially by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)2 rather than SUMO1. An increase in GR transcriptional activity was observed after inhibition of JNK or SUMO pathways and suppression of GR transcriptional activity after activation of both pathways in cells transfected with GR-responsive reporter genes. Endogenous GR transcriptional activity was inhibited on endogenous target genes IGF binding protein (IGFBP) and glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) when JNK and SUMO pathways were induced individually or simultaneously. Activation of both of these signals inhibited GR-mediated regulation of human inhibitor of apoptosis gene (hIAP), whereas simultaneous activation had no effect. We conclude that phosphorylation aids GR sumoylation and that cross talk of JNK and SUMO pathways fine tune GR transcriptional activity in a target gene-specific manner, thereby modulating the hormonal response of cells exposed to stress.

Background: The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) mediated phosphorylation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) exerts opposite effects on GR transcriptional activity and affects other posttranslational modifications within this protein. The major phosphorylation site of human GR targeted by MAPK family is the serine 226 and multiple kinase complexes phosphorylate receptor at the serine 211 residue. We hypothesize that GR posttranslational modifications are involved in the determination of the cellular fate in human lymphoblastic leukemia cells. We investigated whether UV signalling through alternative GR phosphorylation determined the cell type specificity of glucocorticoids (GCs) mediated apoptosis. Results: We have identified putative Glucocorticoid Response Elements (GREs) within the promoter regulatory regions of the Bcl-2 family members NOXA and Mcl-1 indicating that they are direct GR transcriptional targets. These genes were differentially regulated in CEM-C7-14, CEM-C1-15 and A549 cells by glucocorticoids and JNK pathway. In addition, our results revealed that the S211 phosphorylation was dominant in CEM-C7-14, whereas the opposite was the case in CEM-C1-15 where prevalence of S226 GR phosphorylation was observed. Furthermore, multiple GR isoforms with cell line specific patterns were identified in CEM-C7-14 cells compared to CEM-C1-15 and A549 cell lines with the same antibodies. Conclusions: GR phosphorylation status kinetics, and site specificity as well as isoform variability differ in CEM-C7-14, CEM-C1-15, and A549 cells. The positive or negative response to GCs induced apoptosis in these cell lines is a consequence of the variable equilibrium of NOXA and Mcl-1 gene expression potentially mediated by alternatively phosphorylated GR, as well as the balance of MAPK/CDK pathways controlling GR phosphorylation pattern. Our results provide molecular base and valuable knowledge for improving the GC based therapies of leukaemia.

The activity of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is modulated by posttranslational modifications, protein stability, and cofactor recruitment. In this report, we investigated the role of the stress-responsive activator of p300/tetratricopeptide repeat domain 5 (TTC5), in the regulation of the GR. TTC5 is a member of the TTC family of proteins and has previously been shown to participate in the cellular response to DNA damage and heat shock. Here, we demonstrate that TTC5 is an important cofactor for the nuclear hormone receptors GR and estrogen receptor. GR and TTC5 interact through multiple tetratricopeptide repeat and LXXLL motifs. TTC5 stabilizes GR and increases its half-life, through a proteasome-dependent process and by inhibiting the actions of the ubiquitin ligase murine double minute 2. Cellular stress, including DNA damage, proteasome inhibition, and heat shock, modulates the interaction pattern of GR/TTC5, thereby altering GR stability and transcriptional activity. Furthermore, GR transcriptional activity is regulated by TTC5 in both a positive and negative fashion under DNA damage conditions in a target gene-specific way. In this report we provide evidence supporting the notion that TTC5 is a novel cofactor regulating GR function in a stress-dependent manner.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is one of the most common forms of malignancy that occurs in lymphoid progenitor cells, particularly in children. Synthetic steroid hormones glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used as part of the ALL treatment regimens due to their apoptotic function, but their use also brings about various side effects and drug resistance. The identification of the molecular differences between the GCs responsive and resistant cells therefore are essential to decipher such complexity and can be used to improve therapy. However, the emerging picture is complicated as the activities of genes and proteins involved are controlled by multiple factors. By adapting the systems biology framework to address this issue, we here integrated the available knowledge together with experimental data via the building of a series of mathematical models. This rationale enabled us to unravel molecular interactions involving c-Jun in GC induced apoptosis and identify Erg as determinant for GC resistance. The results revealed an alternative potential mechanism where c-Jun may be an indirect GR target that is controlled via an upstream repressor protein. The models also highlight the importance of Erg for GR function, particularly in GC sensitive C7 cells where Erg directly regulates GR in agreement with our previous experimental results. Our models describe potential GR-controlled molecular mechanisms of c-Jun/Bim and Erg regulation. We also demonstrate the importance of using a systematic approach to translate human disease processes into computational models in order to derive information-driven new hypotheses.