The nucleoplasmic interactions among Lamin A/C-pRB-LAP2α-E2F1 are modulated by dexamethasone

Sci Rep. 2021 May 12;11(1):10099. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-89608-3.

Abstract

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease. To date, there is no available cure for the illness, but the use of glucocorticoids has been shown to alleviate the neurological symptoms associated with AT. While studying the effects of dexamethasone (dex) in AT fibroblasts, by chance we observed that the nucleoplasmic Lamin A/C was affected by the drug. In addition to the structural roles of A-type lamins, Lamin A/C has been shown to play a role in the regulation of gene expression and cell cycle progression, and alterations in the LMNA gene is cause of human diseases called laminopathies. Dex was found to improve the nucleoplasmic accumulation of soluble Lamin A/C and was capable of managing the large chromatin Lamin A/C scaffolds contained complex, thus regulating epigenetics in treated cells. In addition, dex modified the interactions of Lamin A/C with its direct partners lamin associated polypeptide (LAP) 2a, Retinoblastoma 1 (pRB) and E2F Transcription Factor 1 (E2F1), regulating local gene expression dependent on E2F1. These effects were differentially observed in both AT and wild type (WT) cells. To our knowledge, this is the first reported evidence of the role of dex in Lamin A/C dynamics in AT cells, and may represent a new area of research regarding the effects of glucocorticoids on AT. Moreover, future investigations could also be extended to healthy subjects or to other pathologies such as laminopathies since glucocorticoids may have other important effects in these contexts as well.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ataxia Telangiectasia / drug therapy
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia / genetics
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia / metabolism*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Dexamethasone / pharmacology*
  • E2F1 Transcription Factor / genetics
  • E2F1 Transcription Factor / metabolism*
  • Fibroblasts / drug effects
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lamin Type A / genetics
  • Lamin Type A / metabolism*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Nuclear Envelope / drug effects
  • Nuclear Envelope / genetics
  • Nuclear Envelope / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Salivary Proline-Rich Proteins / genetics
  • Salivary Proline-Rich Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • E2F1 Transcription Factor
  • Lamin Type A
  • Membrane Proteins
  • PRB1 protein, human
  • Salivary Proline-Rich Proteins
  • lamina-associated polypeptide 2
  • Dexamethasone