Anumber of proteins are recruited to nuclear foci upon exposure to double-strand DNA damage, including 53BP1 and Rad51, but the precise role of these DNA damage-induced foci remain unclear. Here we show in a variety of human cell lines that histone deacetylase (HDAC) 4 is recruited to foci with kinetics similar to, and colocalizes with, 53BP1 after exposure to agents causing double-stranded DNA...

Under fasting conditions, metazoans maintain energy balance by shifting from glucose to fat burning. In the fasted state, SIRT1 promotes catabolic gene expression by deacetylating the forkhead factor FOXO in response to stress and nutrient deprivation. The mechanisms by which hormonal signals regulate FOXO deacetylation remain unclear, however. We identified a hormone-dependent module, consisti...

Transcriptional alterations are characteristic of persistent pain states, but the key regulators remain elusive. HDAC4 is a transcriptional corepressor that has been linked to synaptic plasticity and neuronal excitability, mechanisms that may be involved in peripheral and central sensitization. Using a conditional knockout (cKO) strategy in mice, we sought to determine whether the loss of HDAC4...

The maturation of immature chondrocytes to hypertrophic chondrocytes is regulated by parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP). We demonstrate that PTHrP or forskolin administration can block induction of collagen X-luciferase by exogenous Runx2, MEF2, and Smad1 in transfected chondrocytes. We have found that PTHrP/forskolin administration represses the transcriptional activity of MEF2 and th...

Histone acetylation is a major mechanism of chromatin remodeling, contributing to epigenetic regulation of gene transcription. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are involved in both physiological and pathological conditions by regulating the status of histone acetylation. Although histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), a member of the HDAC family, may lack HDAC activity, it is actively involved in regulatin...

The endless battle between mammalian host cells and microbes has evolved mechanisms to shut down the expression of exogenous transcriptional units integrated into the genome with the goal of limiting their spreading. Recently, we observed that deprivation of essential amino acids leads to a selective, reversible upregulation of expression of exogenous transgenes, either carried by integrated pl...

Salt-inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) is an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) related kinase abundantly expressed in adipose tissue. Our aim was to identify molecular targets and functions of SIK2 in adipocytes, and to address the role of PKA-mediated phosphorylation of SIK2 on Ser358. Modulation of SIK2 in adipocytes resulted in altered phosphorylation of CREB-regulated transcription co-activator 2...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Histone deacetylases (HDACs) 4 and 5 are abundantly expressed in the brain and have been implicated in the regulation of neurodegeneration. Under physiological conditions, HDACs 4 and 5 are expressed in the cytoplasm of brain cells where they cannot directly access chromatin. In response to external stimuli, they can shuttle to the nucleus and regulate gene expression. Ho...

Sedentary lifestyle and excessive energy intake are prominent contributors to obesity; a major risk factors for the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these chronic conditions is of relevant importance as it might lead to the identification of novel anti-obesity targets. The purpose of the current study...

Nitric oxide (NO) modulates important endothelial cell (EC) functions and gene expression by a molecular mechanism which is still poorly characterized. Here we show that in human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) NO inhibited serum-induced histone acetylation and enhanced histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. By immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses it was found that NO induced class II HDAC4 a...