Resveratrol (RES), a chemopreventive molecule, inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells of different etiologies. We previously showed that RES alters the cell cycle and induces apoptosis in MCF‐7 breast tumor cells by interfering with the estrogen receptor (ERaα)–dependent phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. Here, we analyzed signaling downstream of PI3K, to understand the mechanisms of RES‐induced apoptosis. Apoptotic death by RES in MCF‐7 was mediated by Bcl‐2 downregulation since overexpression of this protein abolished apoptosis. Decreased Bcl‐2 levels were not related to cytochrome c release, activation of caspases 3/8 or poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase proteolysis. However, RES decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and increased reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide production. NF‐κB, a regulator of Bcl‐2 expression, and calpain protease activity, a regulator of NF‐κB, were both inhibited by RES. The patterns for NF‐κB and calpain activities followed that of PI3K and were inhibited by LY294002. NF‐κB inhibition coincided with diminished MMP‐9 activity and cell migration. These data suggest that RES‐induced apoptosis in MCF‐7 could involve an oxidative, caspase‐independent mechanism, whereby inhibition of PI3K signaling converges to Bcl‐2 through NF‐κB and calpain protease activity. Therefore, Bcl‐2 and NF‐κB could be considered potential targets for the chemopreventive activity of RES in estrogen‐responsive tumor cells.

Vanilloid receptor subunit 1 (VR1) is a nonselective cation channel that integrates multiple pain-producing stimuli. VR1 channels are blocked with high efficacy by the well established noncompetitive antagonist ruthenium red and exhibit high permeability to divalent cations. The molecular determinants that define these functional properties remain elusive. We have addressed this question and evaluated by site-specific neutralization the contribution on pore properties of acidic residues located in the putative VR1 pore region. Mutant receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes exhibited capsaicin-operated ionic currents akin to those of wild type channels. Incorporation of glutamine residues at Glu(648) and Glu(651) rendered minor effects on VR1 pore attributes, while Glu(636) slightly modulated pore blockade. In contrast, replacement of Asp(646) by asparagine decreased 10-fold ruthenium red blockade efficacy and reduced 4-fold the relative permeability of the divalent cation Mg(2+) with respect to Na(+) without changing the selectivity of monovalent cations. At variance with wild type channels and E636Q, E648Q, and E651Q mutant receptors, ruthenium red blockade of D646N mutants was weakly sensitive to extracellular pH acidification. Collectively, our results suggest that Asp(646) is a molecular determinant of VR1 pore properties and imply that this residue may form a ring of negative charges that structures a high affinity binding site for cationic molecules at the extracellular entryway.

The dioxin receptor (AhR) modulates cell plasticity and migration, although the signaling involved remains unknown. Here, we report a mechanism that integrates AhR into these cytoskeleton-related functions. Immortalized and mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking AhR (AhR−/−) had increased cell area due to spread cytoplasms that reverted to wild-type morphology upon AhR re-expression. The AhR-null phenotype included increased F-actin stress fibers, depolarized focal adhesions, and enhanced spreading and adhesion. The cytoskeleton alterations of AhR−/− cells were due to down-regulation of constitutive Vav3 expression, a guanosine diphosphate/guanosine triphosphate exchange factor for Rho/Rac GTPases and a novel transcriptional target of AhR. AhR was recruited to the vav3 promoter and maintained constitutive mRNA expression in a ligand-independent manner. Consistently, AhR−/− fibroblasts had reduced Rac1 activity and increased activation of the RhoA/Rho kinase (Rock) pathway. Pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 shifted AhR+/+ fibroblasts to the null phenotype, whereas Rock inhibition changed AhR-null cells to the AhR+/+ morphology. Knockdown of vav3 transcripts by small interfering RNA induced cytoskeleton defects and changes in adhesion and spreading mimicking those of AhR-null cells. Moreover, vav3−/− MEFs, as AhR−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts, had increased cell area and enhanced stress fibers. By modulating Vav3-dependent signaling, AhR could regulate cell shape, adhesion, and migration under physiological conditions and, perhaps, in certain pathological states.

Cell differentiation is a central process in development and in cancer growth and dissemination. OCT4 (POU5F1) and NANOG are essential for cell stemness and pluripotency; yet, the mechanisms that regulate their expression remain largely unknown. Repetitive elements account for almost half of the Human Genome; still, their role in gene regulation is poorly understood. Here, we show that the dioxin receptor (AHR) leads to differentiation of human carcinoma cells through the transcriptional upregulation of Alu retrotransposons, whose RNA transcripts can repress pluripotency genes. Despite the genome-wide presence of Alu elements, we provide evidences that those located at the NANOG and OCT4 promoters bind AHR, are transcribed by RNA polymerase-III and repress NANOG and OCT4 in differentiated cells. OCT4 and NANOG repression likely involves processing of Alu-derived transcripts through the miRNA machinery involving the Microprocessor and RISC. Consistently, stable AHR knockdown led to basal undifferentiation, impaired Alus transcription and blockade of OCT4 and NANOG repression. We suggest that transcripts produced from AHR-regulated Alu retrotransposons may control the expression of stemness genes OCT4 and NANOG during differentiation of carcinoma cells. The control of discrete Alu elements by specific transcription factors may have a dynamic role in genome regulation under physiological and diseased conditions.

J. Neurochem. (2011) 10.1111/j.1471‐4159.2011.07291.x 2,3,7,8‐Tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin (TCDD) is a prototypical environmental contaminant with neurotoxic properties that alters neurodevelopment and behavior. TCDD is a ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which is a key signaling molecule to fully understand the toxic and carcinogenic properties of dioxin. Much effort is underway to unravel the molecular mechanisms and the signaling pathways involved in TCDD‐induced neurotoxicity, and to define its molecular targets in neurons. We have used cerebellar granule cells (CGC) from wild‐type (AhR+/+) and AhR‐null (AhR−/−) mice to characterize the cell death that takes place in neurons after TCDD toxicity. TCDD induced cell death in CGC cultures from wild‐type mice with an EC₅₀ of 127 ± 21 nM. On the contrary, when CGC neurons from AhR‐null mice were treated with TCDD no significant cell death was observed. The role of AhR in TCDD‐induced death was further assessed by using the antagonists resveratrol and α‐naphtoflavone, which readily protected against TCDD toxicity in AhR+/+ CGC cultures. AhR+/+ CGC cultures treated with TCDD showed nuclear fragmentation, DNA laddering, and increased caspase 3 activity, similarly to what was found by the use of staurosporine, a well‐established inducer of apoptosis. Finally, the AhR pathway was active in CGC because TCDD could induce the expression of the target gene cytochrome P450 1A2 in AhR+/+ CGC cultures. All together these results support the hypothesis that TCDD toxicity in CGC neurons involves the AhR and that it takes place mainly through an apoptotic process. AhR could be then considered a novel target in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration whose down‐modulation could block certain xenobiotic‐related adverse effects in CNS.