Ermore, miR-137 was identified to become below expressed in a subset of patient-derived melanomas (Walker et al., 2004; Bemis et al., 2008; Chan et al., 2011). Within a equivalent manner, the miR-141-200c cluster was recently shown to downregulate the expression of CtBP2 and its transcriptional repressor partner, ZEB, in PANC-1 human pancreatic carcinoma cells (Sass et al., 2011). ZEB is often a crucial inducer of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition which can be thought to market malignant tumor progression, especially in pancreatic, colorectal, and breast cancer (Burk et al., 2008). These studies indicate that specific miRNAs may possibly act as tumor suppressors in component by targeting CtBPs for translational repression. It is actually noteworthy that miR-137 has recently been shown to act as a essential regulator of embryonic neural stem cell fate (Sun et al., 2011). Nevertheless, whether or not miR-137 regulates CtBP expression in the CNS is presently unknown. Inside the future, it will be critical to identify if downregulation of CtBPs is linked with specific neurodegenerative illnesses, particularly those for which caspases are implicated in the underlying pathogenesis. Lastly, elucidating the mechanism by which caspases indirectly influence CtBP expression throughout neuronal apoptosis will need further study. 1 possibility is the fact that caspases degrade a protein that under healthy conditions acts as a suppressor of specific miRNAs. When this suppressor is degraded, miRNAs are induced and target CtBPs for translational repression. This in turn, leads to the de-repression of a subset of CtBP target pro-apoptotic genes that contribute for the execution of neuronal apoptosis. The existence of “RNA silencing suppressor” (RSS) proteins is evidenced by the HIV-1 Tat and Rex proteins which suppress specific siRNAs or miRNAs by competing for their binding with Dicer or other proteins from the RNA-induced silencing complex (Houzet and Jeang, 2011; Rawlings et al., 2011). Thus, it can be reasonable to hypothesize that neurons may perhaps possess intrinsic RSS proteins that are degraded by caspases through neuronal apoptosis. Identification of those putative neuronal RSS proteins may be essential to resolve the mechanism underlying caspasedependent CtBP downregulation for the duration of neuronal apoptosis.NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptAcknowledgmentsThis study was supported by a Merit Overview grant in the Department of Veterans Affairs (to D.A.L.) plus a R01 grant NS062766 from the National Institutes of Well being (to D.Price of 61098-37-1 A.5-Bromo-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-indazole Chemical name L.PMID:23543429 ).Mol Cell Neurosci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 September 01.Stankiewicz et al.PageThe abbreviations utilized are6-OHDA AD Anti Bcl-3 BKLF CCD CGNs Con CtBP DAPI dCtBP DGCR8 EP 6-hydroxydopamine actinomycin D morpholino-antisense oligonucleotides B-cell lymphoma-3 standard kr pel-like element charge-coupled device cerebellar granule neurons manage C-terminal binding protein 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylidole drosophila CtBP DiGeorge vital region 8 endoporter G protein-coupled receptor kinase-interacting protein-z-short inverse knockout lethal toxin murine embryonic fibroblasts mouse embryonic stem cells micro RNA methyl-4-phenylpyridinium 4-methylthio-2-oxobutyric poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase phosphate buffer saline polymerase chain reaction recombinant caspase-3 RNA silencing suppressor sodium nitroprusside staurosporine Toxin B wild typeNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptGITz-short Inv KO LTox MEFs mESCs miRNA MPP+ MTOB P.