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Blocks in genetic programs required for terminal myeloid differentiation and aberrant proliferation characterize acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. 1,25-Dihydroxy-vitamin D3 (VitD3) arrests proliferation of AML cells and induces their differentiation into mature monocytes. In a previous study, we showed that miR-26a was induced upon VitD3-mediated monocytic differentiation. Here, we identify E2F7 as a novel target of miR-26a. We show that E2F7 significantly promotes cell cycle progression and inhibits monocytic differentiation of AML cells. We also demonstrate that E2F7 binds the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(CIP1/WAF1) (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A) promoter repressing its expression. Moreover, interfering with E2F7 expression results in inhibition of c-Myc (v-myc myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog) transcriptional activity. This leads to the downregulation of c-Myc transcriptional target miR-17-92 cluster, whose expression has a well-defined role in contributing to block monocytic differentiation and sustain AML cell proliferation. Finally, we show that the expression of E2F7 is upregulated in primary blasts from AML patients. Thus, these findings indicate that the newly identified miR-26a target E2F7 might have an important role in monocytic differentiation and leukemogenesis.

Oncogene-induced senescence is an anti-proliferative stress response program that acts as a fail-safe mechanism to limit oncogenic transformation and is regulated by the retinoblastoma protein (RB) and p53 tumor suppressor pathways. We identify the atypical E2F family member E2F7 as the only E2F transcription factor potently up-regulated during oncogene-induced senescence, a setting where it acts in response to p53 as a direct transcriptional target. Once induced, E2F7 binds and represses a series of E2F target genes and cooperates with RB to efficiently promote cell cycle arrest and limit oncogenic transformation. Disruption of RB triggers a further increase in E2F7, which induces a second cell cycle checkpoint that prevents unconstrained cell division despite aberrant DNA replication. Mechanistically, E2F7 compensates for the loss of RB in repressing mitotic E2F target genes. Together, our results identify a causal role for E2F7 in cellular senescence and uncover a novel link between the RB and p53 pathways.

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is a transcription factor that exerts its effects on the cell cycle via regulation of gene expression. Although the mechanism of p53-dependent transcriptional activation has been well-studied, the molecular basis for p53-mediated repression has been elusive. The E2F family of transcription factors has been implicated in regulation of cell cycle-related genes, with E2F6, E2F7, and E2F8 playing key roles in repression. In response to cellular DNA damage, E2F7, but not E2F6 or E2F8, is up-regulated in a p53-dependent manner, with p53 being sufficient to increase expression of E2F7. Indeed, p53 occupies the promoter of the E2F7 gene after genotoxic stress, consistent with E2F7 being a novel p53 target. Ablation of E2F7 expression abrogates p53-dependent repression of a subset of its targets, including E2F1 and DHFR, in response to DNA damage. Furthermore, E2F7 occupancy of the E2F1 and DHFR promoters is detected, and expression of E2F7 is sufficient to inhibit cell proliferation. Taken together, these results show that p53-dependent transcriptional up-regulation of its target, E2F7, leads to repression of relevant gene expression. In turn, this E2F7-dependent mechanism contributes to p53-dependent cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage.

E2F transcription factors are known to be important for timely activation of G(1)/S and G(2)/M genes required for cell cycle progression, but transcriptional mechanisms for deactivation of cell cycle-regulated genes are unknown. Here, we show that E2F7 is highly expressed during mid to late S-phase, occupies promoters of G(1)/S-regulated genes and represses their transcription. ChIP-seq analysis revealed that E2F7 binds preferentially to genomic sites containing the TTCCCGCC motif, which closely resembles the E2F consensus site. We identified 89 target genes that carry E2F7 binding sites close to the transcriptional start site and that are directly repressed by short-term induction of E2F7. Most of these target genes are known to be activated by E2Fs and are involved in DNA replication, metabolism and DNA repair. Importantly, induction of E2F7 during G(0)-G(1)/S resulted in S-phase arrest and DNA damage, whereas expression of E2F7 during G(2)/M failed to disturb cell cycle progression. These findings provide strong evidence that E2F7 directly controls the downswing of oscillating G(1)/S genes during S-phase progression.

Elevated levels of PAX3 and cell proliferation genes are characteristic features of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). We hypothesize that the increased levels of these genes are stabilized due to downregulation of specific miRNAs. In this study, we show that downregulation of miR-1, -206 and -29 stabilizes the expression of PAX3 and CCND2 in both embryonal (ERMS) and alveolar (ARMS) RMS types. Ectopic expression of miR-1 and 206 in JR1, an ERMS cell line, show significant downregulation of PAX3 protein expression, whereas overexpression of these miRNAs in Rh30, an ARMS cell line, did not show any effect in PAX3 protein levels. In ARMS, PAX3 forms a fusion transcript with FOXO1 and the resultant loss of PAX3 3'UTR in the fusion transcript indicate an oncogenic mechanism to evade miRNA-mediated regulation of PAX3. Further, we show that miR-1, -206 and -29 can regulate the expression of CCND2, a cell cycle gene. In addition to CCND2, miR-29 also targets E2F7, another cell cycle regulator. Cell function analysis shows that overexpression of miR-29 downregulates the expression of these cell cycle genes, induces partial G1 arrest leading to decreased cell proliferation. Taken together our data suggest that the RMS state is stabilized by the deregulation of multiple miRNAs and their target genes, supporting a tumor suppressor role for these miRNA.

Background & Aims: Telomerase activity has not been detected in healthy human liver biopsy samples, but it is up-regulated in most human liver tumors. It is not clear whether telomerase is activated in response to acute or chronic liver injury. Telomerase activity is closely associated with expression of its catalytic subunit, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). We analyzed the activity of the human TERT (hTERT) promoter during liver regeneration in vivo and hepatocyte proliferation in vitro., Methods: We used hTERTp-lacZ transgenic mice, which contain an 8.0-kilobase pair fragment of the hTERT gene promoter, to study the role of TERT in liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy. As an in vitro model, we used the HepaRG cell line as a new model system for human hepatocyte proliferation and differentiation., Results: Activity of the hTERT promoter increased significantly after partial hepatectomy; it was also induced in hepatocytes, based on immunohistologic analysis. Similar to the in vivo results, telomerase activity and hTERT expression were up-regulated in proliferating HepaRG cells and repressed in response to growth arrest and differentiation. Promoter mapping revealed that a proximal 0.3-kilobase pair fragment contains all elements necessary for regulation of hTERT in HepaRG cells. We identified E2F2 and E2F7 as transcription factors that control the differential expression of hTERT in proliferating hepatocytes, in vitro and in vivo., Conclusions: hTERT is induced in hepatocytes during liver regeneration, indicating a functional role for telomerase in human liver., (Copyright © 2011 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Squamous differentiation is controlled by key transcription factors such as Sp1 and E2F. We have previously shown that E2F1 can suppress transcription of the differentiation-specific gene, transglutaminase type 1 (TG1), by an indirect mechanism mediated by Sp1. Transient transfection of E2F1-E2F6 indicated that E2F-mediated reduction of Sp1 transcription was not responsible for E2F-mediated suppression of squamous differentiation. However, we found that E2F4 and E2F7, but not E2Fs 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6, could suppress the activation of the Sp1 promoter in differentiated keratinocytes (KCs). E2F4-mediated suppression could not be antagonized by E2Fs 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6 and was localized to a region of the human Sp1 promoter spanning -139 to + 35 bp. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, as well as transient overexpression and short hairpin RNA knockdown experiments indicate that E2F7 binds to a unique binding site located between -139 and -119 bp of the Sp1 promoter, and knockdown of E2F7 in proliferating KCs leads to a derepression of Sp1 expression and the induction of TG1. In contrast, E2F4 knockdown in proliferating KCs did not alter Sp1 expression. These data indicate that loss of E2F7 during the initiation of differentiation leads to the derepression of Sp1 and subsequent transcription of differentiation-specific genes such as TG1.

Here, we report that the two recently identified E2F subunits, E2F7 and E2F8, are induced in cells treated with DNA-damaging agents where they have an important role in dictating the outcome of the DNA-damage response. The DNA-damage-dependent induction coincides with the binding of E2F7 and E2F8 to the promoters of certain E2F-responsive genes, most notably that of the E2F1 gene, in which E2F7 and E2F8 coexist in a DNA-binding complex. As a consequence, E2F7 and E2F8 repress E2F target genes, such as E2F1, and reducing the level of each subunit results in an increase in E2F1 expression and activity. Importantly, depletion of either E2F7 or E2F8 prevents the cell-cycle effects that occur in response to DNA damage. Thus, E2F7 and E2F8 act upstream of E2F1, and influence the ability of cells to undergo a DNA-damage response. E2F7 and E2F8, therefore, underpin the DNA-damage response.