Gary S. Stein

Background: The Runt-related transcription factor Runx2 is essential for bone development but is also implicated in progression of several cancers of breast, prostate and bone, where it activates cancer-related genes and promotes invasive properties. The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family member bone morphogenetic protein-3B (BMP-3B/GDF10) is regarded as a tumor growth inhibitor and a gene silenced in lung cancers; however the regulatory mechanisms leading to its silencing have not been identified. Results: Here we show that Runx2 is highly expressed in lung cancer cells and downregulates BMP-3B. This inverse relationship between Runx2 and BMP-3B expression is further supported by increased expression of BMP-3B in mesenchymal cells from Runx2 deficient mice. The ectopic expression of Runx2, but not DNA binding mutant Runx2, in normal lung fibroblast cells and lung cancer cells resulted in suppression of BMP-3B levels. The chromatin immunoprecipitation studies identified that the mechanism of Runx2-mediated suppression of BMP-3B is due to the recruitment of Runx2 and histone H3K9-specific methyltransferase Suv39h1 to BMP-3B proximal promoter and a concomitant increase in histone methylation (H3K9) status. The knockdown of Runx2 in H1299 cells resulted in decreased histone H3K9 methylation on BMP-3B promoter and increased BMP-3B expression levels. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation studies showed a direct interaction of Runx2 and Suv39h1 proteins. Phenotypically, Runx2 overexpression in H1299 cells increased wound healing response to TGFβ treatment. Conclusions: Our studies identified BMP-3B as a new Runx2 target gene and revealed a novel function of Runx2 in silencing of BMP-3B in lung cancers. Our results suggest that Runx2 is a potential therapeutic target to block tumor suppressor gene silencing in lung cancer cells.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells proliferate rapidly and divide symmetrically producing equivalent progeny cells. In contrast, lineage committed cells acquire an extended symmetrical cell cycle. Self‐renewal of tissue‐specific stem cells is sustained by asymmetric cell division where one progeny cell remains a progenitor while the partner progeny cell exits the cell cycle and differentiates. There are three principal contexts for considering the operation and regulation of the pluripotent cell cycle: temporal, regulatory, and structural. The primary temporal context that the pluripotent self‐renewal cell cycle of hESCs is a short G1 period without reducing periods of time allocated to S phase, G2, and mitosis. The rules that govern proliferation in hESCs remain to be comprehensively established. However, several lines of evidence suggest a key role for the naïve transcriptome of hESCs, which is competent to stringently regulate the embryonic stem cell (ESC) cell cycle. This supports the requirements of pluripotent cells to self‐propagate while suppressing expression of genes that confer lineage commitment and/or tissue specificity. However, for the first time, we consider unique dimensions to the architectural organization and assembly of regulatory machinery for gene expression in nuclear microenviornments that define parameters of pluripotency. From both fundamental biological and clinical perspectives, understanding control of the abbreviated ESC cycle can provide options to coordinate control of proliferation versus differentiation. Wound healing, tissue engineering, and cell‐based therapy to mitigate developmental aberrations illustrate applications that benefit from knowledge of the biology of the pluripotent cell cycle. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 9–20, 2013.

Two striking features of human embryonic stem cells that support biological activity are an abbreviated cell cycle and reduced complexity to nuclear organization. The potential implications for rapid proliferation of human embryonic stem cells within the context of sustaining pluripotency, suppressing phenotypic gene expression and linkage to simplicity in the architectural compartmentalization of regulatory machinery in nuclear microenvironments is explored. Characterization of the molecular and architectural commitment steps that license human embryonic stem cells to initiate histone gene expression is providing understanding of the principal regulatory mechanisms that control the G1/S phase transition in primitive pluripotent cells. From both fundamental regulatory and clinical perspectives, further understanding of the pluripotent cell cycle in relation to compartmentalization of regulatory machinery in nuclear microenvironments is relevant to applications of stem cells for regenerative medicine and new dimensions to therapy where traditional drug discovery strategies have been minimally effective.

The osteogenic and oncogenic transcription factor Runx2 downregulates expression of RNA Pol I-mediated rRNA genes and changes histone modifications associated with the rDNA repeat. However, the mechanisms by which Runx2 suppresses rRNA transcription are not well understood. Runx2 co-factors such as histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in chromatin remodeling and regulation of gene transcription. Here we show that Runx2 recruits HDAC1 to the rDNA repeats in osseous cells. This recruitment alters the histone modifications associated with active rRNA genes and causes deacetylation of Upstream Binding Factor (UBF). Downregulation of Runx2 expression reduces localization of HDAC1 at the nucleolar periphery and also decreases HDAC1 association with UBF. Functionally, depletion of HDAC1 relieves Runx2-mediated rRNA gene repression concomitant with increased cell proliferation and global protein synthesis in osseous cells. Our findings collectively identify a Runx2-HDAC1 dependent mechanism for the regulation of rRNA genes and suggest plasticity to Runx2-mediated epigenetic control through selective mitotic exclusion of co-regulatory factors.

Lineage progression in osteoblasts and chondrocytes is stringently controlled by the cell-fate–determining transcription factor Runx2. In this study, we directly addressed whether microRNAs (miRNAs) can control the osteogenic activity of Runx2 and affect osteoblast maturation. A panel of 11 Runx2-targeting miRNAs (miR-23a, miR-30c, miR-34c, miR-133a, miR-135a, miR-137, miR-204, miR-205, miR-217, miR-218, and miR-338) is expressed in a lineage-related pattern in mesenchymal cell types. During both osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation, these miRNAs, in general, are inversely expressed relative to Runx2. Based on 3′UTR luciferase reporter, immunoblot, and mRNA stability assays, each miRNA directly attenuates Runx2 protein accumulation. Runx2-targeting miRNAs differentially inhibit Runx2 protein expression in osteoblasts and chondrocytes and display different efficacies. Thus, cellular context contributes to miRNA-mediated regulation of Runx2. All Runx2-targeting miRNAs (except miR-218) significantly impede osteoblast differentiation, and their effects can be reversed by the corresponding anti-miRNAs. These findings demonstrate that osteoblastogenesis is limited by an elaborate network of functionally tested miRNAs that directly target the osteogenic master regulator Runx2.