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ABCG2, a metabolite and xenobiotic transporter located at the plasma membrane (predominantly in barrier tissues and progenitor cells), undergoes a direct progressive endocytosis process from plasma membrane to intracellular compartments upon binding of 5D3 monoclonal antibody. This antibody is specific to an external epitope on the protein molecule and locks it in a discrete conformation within its activity cycle, presumably providing a structural trigger for the observed internalization phenomenon. Using routine and novel assays, we show that ABCG2 is endocytosed by a mixed mechanism: partially via a rapid, clathrin-dependent pathway and partially in a cholesterol-dependent, caveolin-independent manner. While the internalization process is entirely dynamin-dependent and converges initially at the early endosome, subsequent intracellular fate of ABCG2 is again twofold: endocytosis leads to only partial lysosomal degradation, while a significant fraction of the protein is retained in a post-endosomal compartment with the possibility of at least partial recycling back to the cell surface. This externally triggered, conformation-related trafficking pathway may serve as a general regulatory paradigm for membrane transporters, and its discovery was made possible thanks to consistent application of quantitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for large amounts of reproducibly produced and isolated protein arises not only in structural studies, but even more so in biochemical ones, and with regard to ABC transporters it is especially pressing when faced with the prospect of enzymatic/transport activity studies, substrate screening etc. Thus, reliable heterologous expression systems/model organisms for large and complex proteins are at a premium. We have verified the applicability of the recently established novel eukaryotic expression system, using Leishmania tarentolae as a host, for human ABC protein overexpression. We succeeded in overexpressing human ABCB6, a protein with controversial subcellular localization and multiple proposed cellular functions. We were able to demonstrate its efficient expression in the expected subcellular locations as well as biochemical activity of the overexpressed protein (ATPase activity and porphyrin-like substrate transport). This activity was absent in cells overexpressing the catalytically inactive variant of ABCB6 (K629M). We demonstrate the possibility of applying a cost-effective expression system to study the activity of membrane transporters from the ABC superfamily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in anti-melanoma therapy is to develop treatments that are effective for advanced melanoma patients. Unfortunately, the currently used regimens are not efficient and have unsatisfactory effects on disease progression, thus increasing the pressure to develop new, profitable drugs and to identify new molecular targets. Here, we show for the first time that AC-93253, a SIRT2 inhibitor, exerts a negative effect on the expression of a set of genes involved in the progression and chemoresistance (e.g., oncogenes, apoptosis-related genes, ABC transporter genes, and cell cycle control genes) of melanoma cells. Furthermore, melanoma cells exposed to AC-93253 and doxorubicin displayed altered biological responses, including apoptosis and proliferation, compared to cells exposed to single treatments. Taken together, we conclude that the usage of AC-93253 in combined therapy could be a promising strategy for melanoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a rare recessive genetic disease causing skin, eye, and cardiovascular lesions, is characterized by the calcification of elastic fibers. The disorder is due to loss-of-function mutations of the ABCC6 gene, but the pathophysiology of the disease is still not understood. Here we investigated the transcriptional regulation of the gene, using DNase I hypersensitivity assay followed by luciferase reporter gene assay. We identified three DNase I hypersensitive sites (HSs) specific to cell lines expressing ABCC6. These HSs are located in the proximal promoter and in the first intron of the gene. We further characterized the role of the HSs by luciferase assay and demonstrated the transcriptional activity of the intronic HS. We identified the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) as a factor binding the second intronic HS by chromatin immunoprecipitation and corroborated this finding by luciferase assays. We also showed that C/EBPβ interacts with the proximal promoter of the gene. We propose that C/EBPβ forms a complex with other regulatory proteins including the previously identified regulatory factor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α). This complex would account for the tissue-specific expression of the gene and might serve as a metabolic sensor. Our results point toward a better understanding of the physiological role of ABCC6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABCC6 mutations are responsible for the development of pseudoxanthoma elasticum, a rare recessive disease characterized by calcification of elastic fibers. Although ABCC6 is mainly expressed in the liver the disease has dermatologic, ocular, and cardiovascular symptoms. We investigated the transcriptional regulation of the gene and observed that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) inhibits its expression in HepG2 cells via the activation of ERK1/2. Similarly, other factors activating the cascade also inhibited ABCC6 expression. We identified the ERK1/2 response element in the proximal promoter by luciferase reporter gene assays. This site overlapped with a region conferring the tissue-specific expression pattern to the gene and with a putative hepatocyte nuclear factor 4a (HNF4α) binding site. We demonstrated that HNF4α regulates the expression of ABCC6, acts through the putative binding site, and determines its cell type-specific expression. We also showed that HNF4α is inhibited by the activation of the ERK1/2 cascade. In conclusion we describe here the first regulatory pathway of ABCC6 expression showing that the ERK1/2-HNF4α axis has an important role in regulation of the gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABCC6 encodes MRP6, a member of the ABC protein family with an unknown physiological role. The human ABCC6 and its two pseudogenes share 99% identical DNA sequence. Loss-of-function mutations of ABCC6 are associated with the development of pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a recessive hereditary disorder affecting the elastic tissues. Various disease-causing mutations were found in the coding region; however, the mutation detection rate in the ABCC6 coding region of bona fide PXE patients is only ∼80%. This suggests that polymorphisms or mutations in the regulatory regions may contribute to the development of the disease. Here, we report the first characterization of the ABCC6 gene promoter. Phylogenetic in silico analysis of the 5′ regulatory regions revealed the presence of two evolutionarily conserved sequence elements embedded in CpG islands. The study of DNA methylation of ABCC6 and the pseudogenes identified a correlation between the methylation of the CpG island in the proximal promoter and the ABCC6 expression level in cell lines. Both activator and repressor sequences were uncovered in the proximal promoter by reporter gene assays. The most potent activator sequence was one of the conserved elements protected by DNA methylation on the endogenous gene in non-expressing cells. Finally, in vitro methylation of this sequence inhibits the transcriptional activity of the luciferase promoter constructs. Altogether these results identify a DNA methylation-dependent activator sequence in the ABCC6 promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]