Oxidative stress has been linked to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy, the complication of diabetes in the kidney. NADPH oxidases of the Nox family, and in particular the homologue Nox4, are a major source of reactive oxygen species in the diabetic kidney and are critical mediators of redox signaling in glomerular and tubulointerstitial cells exposed to the diabetic milieu. Here, we present an overview of the current knowledge related to the understanding of the role of Nox enzymes in the processes that control mesangial cell, podocyte and tubulointerstitial cell injury induced by hyperglycemia and other predominant factors enhanced in the diabetic milieu, including the renin-angiotensin system and transforming growth factor-${\beta}$. The nature of the upstream modulators of Nox enzymes as well as the downstream targets of the Nox NADPH oxidases implicated in the propagation of the redox processes that alter renal biology in diabetes will be highlighted.

Skeletal muscle insulin resistance, which increases the risk for developing various metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, is a common metabolic disorder in obesity and aging. If potential treatments are to be developed to treat insulin resistance, then it is important to fully understand insulin signaling and glucose metabolism. While recent large-scale "omics" studies have revealed the acetylome to be comparable in size to the phosphorylome, the acetylation of insulin signaling proteins and its functional relevance to insulin-stimulated glucose transport and glucose metabolism is not fully understood. In this Mini Review we discuss the acetylation status of proteins involved in the insulin signaling pathway and review their potential effect on, and relevance to, insulin action in skeletal muscle.

Most follicles in the mammalian ovary undergo atresia. Granulosa cell apoptosis is a hallmark of follicle atresia. Our previous study using a microRNA (miRNA) microarray showed that the let-7 microRNA family was differentially expressed during follicular atresia. However, whether the let-7 miRNA family members are related to porcine (Sus scrofa) ovary follicular apoptosis is unclear. In the current study, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that the expression levels of let-7 family members in follicles and granulosa cells were similar to our microarray data, in which miRNAs let-7a, let-7b, let-7c, and let-7i were significantly decreased in early atretic and progressively atretic porcine ovary follicles compared with healthy follicles, while let-7g was highly expressed during follicle atresia. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis and Hoechst33342 staining demonstrated that let-7g increased the apoptotic rate of cultured granulosa cells. In addition, let-7 target genes were predicted and annotated by TargetScan, PicTar, gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways. Our data provide new insight into the association between the let-7 miRNA family in granulosa cell programmed death.

Depletion of intracellular zinc by N,N,N,N-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine (TPEN) induces p53-mediated protein synthesis-dependent apoptosis of mouse cortical neurons. Here, we examined the requirement for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1 as an upstream regulator of p53 in zinc depletion-induced neuronal apoptosis. First, we found that chemical inhibition or genetic deletion of PARP-1 markedly attenuated TPEN-induced apoptosis of cultured mouse cortical neurons. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of p53 occurred starting 1 h after TPEN treatment. Suggesting the critical role of PARP-1, the TPEN-induced increase of stability and activity of p53 as well as poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of p53 was almost completely blocked by PARP inhibition. Consistent with this, the induction of downstream pro-apoptotic proteins PUMA and NOXA was noticeably reduced by chemical inhibitors or genetic deletion of PARP-1. TPEN-induced cytochrome C release into the cytosol and caspase-3 activation were also blocked by inhibition of PARP-1. Taken together, these findings indicate that PARP-1 is essential for TPEN-induced neuronal apoptosis.

We previously reported that the SbROMT3syn recombinant protein catalyzes the production of the methylated resveratrol derivatives pinostilbene and pterostilbene by methylating substrate resveratrol in recombinant E. coli. To further study the production of stilbene compounds in E. coli by the expression of enzymes involved in stilbene biosynthesis, we isolated three stilbene synthase (STS) genes from rhubarb, peanut, and grape as well as two resveratrol O-methyltransferase (ROMT) genes from grape and sorghum. The ability of RpSTS to produce resveratrol in recombinant E. coli was compared with other AhSTS and VrSTS genes. Out of three STS, only AhSTS was able to produce resveratrol from p-coumaric acid. Thus, to improve the solubility of RpSTS, VrROMT, and SbROMT3 in E. coli, we synthesized the RpSTS, VrROMT and SbROMT3 genes following codon-optimization and expressed one or both genes together with the cinnamate/4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (CCL) gene from Streptomyces coelicolor. Our HPLC and LC-MS analyses showed that recombinant E. coli expressing both ScCCL and RpSTSsyn led to the production of resveratrol when p-coumaric acid was used as the precursor. In addition, incorporation of SbROMT3syn in recombinant E. coli cells produced resveratrol and its mono-methylated derivative, pinostilbene, as the major products from p-coumaric acid. However, very small amounts of pterostilbene were only detectable in the recombinant E. coli cells expressing the ScCCL, RpSTSsyn and SbROMT3syn genes. These results suggest that RpSTSsyn exhibits an enhanced enzyme activity to produce resveratrol and SbROMT3syn catalyzes the methylation of resveratrol to produce pinostilbene in E. coli cells.

Piperlongumine, a natural alkaloid isolated from the long pepper, selectively increases reactive oxygen species production and apoptotic cell death in cancer cells but not in normal cells. However, the molecular mechanism underlying piperlongumine-induced selective killing of cancer cells remains unclear. In the present study, we observed that human breast cancer MCF-7 cells are sensitive to piperlongumine-induced apoptosis relative to human MCF-10A breast epithelial cells. Interestingly, this opposing effect of piperlongumine appears to be mediated by heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Piperlongumine upregulated HO-1 expression through the activation of nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) signaling in both MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells. However, knockdown of HO-1 expression and pharmacological inhibition of its activity abolished the ability of piperlongumine to induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, whereas those promoted apoptosis in MCF-10A cells, indicating that HO-1 has anti-tumor functions in cancer cells but cytoprotective functions in normal cells. Moreover, it was found that piperlongumine-induced Nrf2 activation, HO-1 expression and cancer cell apoptosis are not dependent on the generation of reactive oxygen species. Instead, piperlongumine, which bears electrophilic ${\alpha},{\beta}$-unsaturated carbonyl groups, appears to inactivate Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap1) through thiol modification, thereby activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and subsequently upregulating HO-1 expression, which accounts for piperlongumine-induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that direct interaction of piperlongumine with Keap1 leads to the upregulation of Nrf2-mediated HO-1 expression, and HO-1 determines the differential response of breast normal cells and cancer cells to piperlongumine.

Propyl gallate (PG) used as an additive in various foods has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Although the functional roles of PG in various cell types are well characterized, it is unknown whether PG has effect on stem cell differentiation. In this study, we demonstrated that PG could inhibit adipogenic differentiation in human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) by decreasing the accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets. In addition, PG significantly reduced the expression of adipocyte-specific markers including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}$ (PPAR-${\gamma}$), CCAAT enhancer binding protein-${\alpha}$ (C/EBP-${\alpha}$), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein 2 (aP2). PG inhibited adipogenesis in hAMSCs through extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Decreased adipogenesis following PG treatment was recovered in response to ERK blocking. Taken together, these results suggest a novel effect of PG on adipocyte differentiation in hAMSCs, supporting a negative role of ERK1/2 pathway in adipogenic differentiation.

Fiber type-specific programs controlled by the transcription factor MEF2 dictate muscle functionality. Here, we show that HDAC4, a potent MEF2 inhibitor, is predominantly localized to the nuclei in fast/glycolytic fibers in contrast to the sarcoplasm in slow/oxidative fibers. The cytoplasmic localization is associated with HDAC4 hyper-phosphorylation in slow/oxidative-fibers. Genetic reprogramming of fast/glycolytic fibers to oxidative fibers by active CaMKII or calcineurin leads to increased HDAC4 phosphorylation, HDAC4 nuclear export, and an increase in markers associated with oxidative fibers. Indeed, HDAC4 represses the MEF2-dependent, PGC-$1{\alpha}$-mediated oxidative metabolic gene program. Thus differential phosphorylation and localization of HDAC4 contributes to establishing fiber type-specific transcriptional programs.

EphA7 has been implicated in the regulation of apoptotic cell death in neural epithelial cells. In this report, we provide evidence that EphA7 interacts with caspase-8 to induce apoptotic cell signaling. First, a pull-down assay using biotinylated ephrinA5-Fc showed that EphA7 co-precipitated with wild type caspase-8 or catalytically inactive caspase-8 mutant. Second, co-transfection of EphA7 with caspase-8 significantly increased the number of cleaved caspase-3 positive apoptotic cells under an experimental condition where transfection of EphA7 or caspase-8 alone did not affect cell viability or apoptosis. EphA4 also had a causative role in inducing apoptotic cell death with caspase-8, whereas EphA8 did not. Third, caspase-8 catalytic activity was essential for the apoptotic signaling cascade, whereas tyrosine kinase activity of the EphA4 receptor was not. Interestingly, we found that kinase-inactive EphA4 was well co-localized at the plasma membrane with catalytically inactive caspase-8, suggesting that an interaction between these mutant proteins was more stable. Finally, we observed that the extracellular region of the EphA7 receptor was critical for interacting with caspase-8, whereas the cytoplasmic region of EphA7 was not. Therefore, we propose that Eph receptors physically associate with a transmembrane protein to form an apoptotic signaling complex and that this unidentified receptor-like protein acts as a biochemical linker between the Eph receptor and caspase-8.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. We previously showed that retinoid X receptor ${\alpha}$ ($RXR{\alpha}$) played an important role in transcriptional regulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes in cells with mitochondrial dysfunction caused by mitochondrial DNA mutation. In this study, we investigated whether mitochondrial dysfunction induced by incubation with OXPHOS inhibitors affects insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) mRNA and protein levels and whether $RXR{\alpha}$ activation or overexpression can restore IRS1 expression. Both IRS1 and $RXR{\alpha}$ protein levels were significantly reduced when C2C12 myotubes were treated with the OXPHOS complex inhibitors, rotenone and antimycin A. The addition of $RXR{\alpha}$ agonists, 9-cis retinoic acid (9cRA) and LG1506, increased IRS1 transcription and protein levels and restored mitochondrial function, which ultimately improved insulin signaling. $RXR{\alpha}$ overexpression also increased IRS1 transcription and mitochondrial function. Because $RXR{\alpha}$ overexpression, knock-down, or activation by LG1506 regulated IRS1 transcription mostly independently of mitochondrial function, it is likely that $RXR{\alpha}$ directly regulates IRS1 transcription. Consistent with the hypothesis, we showed that $RXR{\alpha}$ bound to the IRS1 promoter as a heterodimer with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\delta}$ ($PPAR{\delta}$). These results suggest that $RXR{\alpha}$ overexpression or activation alleviates insulin resistance by increasing IRS1 expression.

Setdb1, an H3-K9 specific histone methyltransferase, is associated with transcriptional silencing of euchromatic genes through chromatin modification. Functions of Setdb1 during development have been extensively studied in embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells as well as neurogenic progenitor cells. But the role of Sedtdb1 in myogenic differentiation remains unknown. In this study, we report that Setdb1 is required for myogenic potential of C2C12 myoblast cells through maintaining the expressions of MyoD and muscle-specific genes. We find that reduced Setdb1 expression in C2C12 myoblast cells severely delayed differentiation of C2C12 myoblast cells, whereas exogenous Setdb1 expression had little effect on. Gene expression profiling analysis using oligonucleotide microarray and RNA-Seq technologies demonstrated that depletion of Setdb1 results in downregulation of MyoD as well as the components of muscle fiber in proliferating C2C12 cells. In addition, exogenous expression of MyoD reversed transcriptional repression of MyoD promoter-driven luciferase reporter by Setdb1 shRNA and rescued myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblast cells depleted of endogenous Setdb1. Taken together, these results provide new insights into how levels of key myogenic regulators are maintained prior to induction of differentiation.

Pyruvate kinase M2 isoform (PKM2), a rate-limiting enzyme in the final step of glycolysis, is known to be associated with the metabolic rewiring of cancer cells, and considered an important cancer therapeutic target. Herein, we report a novel PKM2 activator, PA-12, which was identified via the molecular docking-based virtual screening. We demonstrate that PA-12 stimulates the pyruvate kinase activity of recombinant PKM2 in vitro, with a half-maximal activity concentration of $4.92{\mu}M$, and effectively suppresses both anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of lung cancer cells in non-essential amino acid-depleted medium. In addition, PA-12 blocked the nuclear translocalization of PKM2 in lung cancer cells, resulting in the inhibition of hypoxia response element (HRE)-mediated reporter activity as well as hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) target gene expression, eventually leading to the suppression of cell viability under hypoxia. We also verified that the effects of PA-12 were dependent on PKM2 expression in cancer cells, demonstrating the specificity of PA-12 for PKM2 protein. Taken together, our data suggest that PA-12 is a novel and potent PKM2 activator that has therapeutic implications for lung cancer.