Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is caused most often by a lack of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). However, the mechanism remains unclear and effective treatment is lacking. Here we show that a loss of FMRP leads to activation of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) and a subsequent reduction in neuronal production. We identified ubiquitin ligase MDM2 as a target of FMRP. FMRP regulates Mdm2 mRNA stability, and loss of FMRP results in elevated mRNA and MDM2 protein levels. We further found that increased MDM2 levels lead to reduced P53 in NSCs, which alters NSC proliferation and differentiation. Treatment with Nutlin-3, a small molecule undergoing clinical trials for cancer, specifically inhibits MDM2 and P53 interaction, and rescues the neurogenic and cognitive deficits in FMRP-deficient mice. Our data unveil a regulatory role for FMRP and a potential new treatment for fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most prevalent inherited intellectual disability, resulting from a loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Patients with FXS suffer lifelong cognitive disabilities, but the function of FMRP in the adult brain and the mechanism underlying age-related cognitive decline in FXS is not fully understood. Here, we report that a loss of FMRP results in increased protein synthesis of histone acetyltransferase EP300 and ubiquitination-mediated degradation of histone deacetylase HDAC1 in adult hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs). Consequently, FMRP-deficient NSCs exhibit elevated histone acetylation and age-related NSC depletion, leading to cognitive impairment in mature adult mice. Reducing histone acetylation rescues both neurogenesis and cognitive deficits in mature adult FMRP-deficient mice. Our work reveals a role for FMRP and histone acetylation in cognition and presents a potential novel therapeutic strategy for treating adult FXS patients.

The phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5‐trisphosphate 3‐phosphatase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K‐PTEN‐AKT‐mTOR) pathway is a central controller of cell growth and a key driver for human cancer. MAF1 is an mTOR downstream effector and transcriptional repressor of ribosomal and transfer RNA genes. MAF1 expression is markedly reduced in hepatocellular carcinomas, which is correlated with disease progression and poor prognosis. Consistently, MAF1 displays tumor‐suppressor activity toward in vitro and in vivo cancer models. Surprisingly, blocking the synthesis of ribosomal and transfer RNAs is insufficient to account for MAF1's tumor‐suppressor function. Instead, MAF1 down‐regulation paradoxically leads to activation of AKT‐mTOR signaling, which is mediated by decreased PTEN expression. MAF1 binds to the PTEN promoter, enhancing PTEN promoter acetylation and activity. Conclusion: In contrast to its canonical function as a transcriptional repressor, MAF1 can also act as a transcriptional activator for PTEN, which is important for MAF1's tumor‐suppressor function. These results have implications in disease staging, prognostic prediction, and AKT‐mTOR‐targeted therapy in liver cancer. (Hepatology 2016;63:1928‐1942)

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BackgroundEpigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNAs, play pivotal roles in stem cell biology. Methyl-CpG binding protein 1 (MBD1), an important epigenetic regulator of adult neurogenesis, controls the proliferation and differentiation of adult neural stem/progenitor cells (aNSCs). We recently demonstrated that MBD1 deficiency in aNSCs leads to altered expression of several noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs).Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we show that one of these miRNAs, miR-195, and MBD1 form a negative feedback loop. While MBD1 directly represses the expression of miR-195 in aNSCs, high levels of miR-195 in turn repress the expression of MBD1. Both gain-of-function and loss-of-function investigations show that alterations of the MBD1–miR-195 feedback loop tip the balance between aNSC proliferation and differentiation.Conclusions/SignificanceTherefore the regulatory loop formed by MBD1 and miR-195 is an important component of the epigenetic network that controls aNSC fate.