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Most of the known regulatory mechanisms that curb inflammatory gene expression target pre-transcription initiation steps and evidence for regulation of inflammatory gene expression post initiation remains scarce. Here we show that transcription repressor hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes1) suppresses production of CXCL1, a chemokine crucial for recruiting neutrophils. Hes1 negatively regulates neutrophil recruitment in vivo in a manner that is dependent on macrophage-produced CXCL1 and attenuates severity of inflammatory arthritis. Mechanistically, inhibition of Cxcl1 expression by Hes1 does not involve modification of transcription initiation. Instead, Hes1 inhibits signal-induced recruitment of positive transcription elongation complex P-TEFb, thereby preventing phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II on serine-2 and productive elongation. Thus, our results identify Hes1 as a homeostatic suppressor of inflammatory responses which exerts its suppressive function by regulating transcription elongation.

Background: Angiogenin (ANG) can translocate to the target cell nucleus and accumulate in the nucleolus to enhance rRNA transcription, thus promoting cell proliferation. However, the regulation of ANG-enhanced rRNA transcription remains unknown. Previously we identified phospholipid scramblase 1 (PLSCR1) as a potential ANG-interacting protein in yeast two-hybrid screening. Methods: The interaction was re-confirmed in yeast cells and further verified by in vitro pull down, in vivo co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) and immunofluorescence analyses. The rRNA transcription level was determined by real-time quantitative PCR and Northern blot. Results: PLSCR1 was identified as a novel ANG-interacting protein. Notably, PLSCR1 interacted with ANG in the cell nucleus and regulated rRNA transcription. Furthermore, depletion of cellular ANG expression abolished PLSCR1-enhanced rRNA transcription, which could be rescued by exogenous ANG. Conclusion: Our data suggest that PLSCR1 positively regulates rRNA transcription through interacting with ANG, thus deepening our understanding on rRNA transcription regulation.

Previous studies demonstrated that dengue virus (DENV) infection developed resistance to type-I interferons (IFNα/β). The underlying mechanism remains unclear. USP18 is a negative regulator of IFNα/β signaling, and its expression level is significantly increased following DENV infection in cell lines and patients’ blood. Our previous study revealed that increased USP18 expression contributed to the IFN-α resistance of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). However, the role of USP18 in DENV replication and resistance to IFN-α is elusive. In this current study, we aimed to explore the role of USP18 in DENV-2 replication and resistance to IFN-α. The level of USP18 was up-regulated by plasmid transfection and down-regulated by siRNA transfection in Hela cells. USP18, IFN-α, IFN-β expression, and DENV-2 replication were monitored by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The activation of the Jak/STAT signaling pathway was assessed at three levels: p-STAT1/p-STAT2 (Western blot), interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) activity (Dual-luciferase assay), and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) expression (qRT-PCR). Our data showed that DENV-2 infection increased USP18 expression in Hela cells. USP18 overexpression promoted DENV-2 replication, while USP18 silence inhibited DENV-2 replication. Silence of USP18 potentiated the anti-DENV-2 activity of IFN-α through activation of the IFN-α-mediated Jak/STAT signaling pathway as shown by increased expression of p-STAT1/p-STAT2, enhanced ISRE activity, and elevated expression of some ISGs. Our data indicated that USP18 induced by DENV-2 infection is a critical host factor utilized by DENV-2 to confer antagonism on IFN-α.