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Forkhead box C2 (Foxc2) protein is a transcription factor in regulation of development, metabolism, and immunology. However, the regulatory mechanisms of Foxc2 on proliferation and apoptosis of preadipocytes are unclear. In this study, we found that high-fat-diet-induced obesity elevated the expression of Foxc2 and cyclin E after 6 weeks. Additionally, Foxc2 suppressed preadipocyte differentiation, increased cell counts and augmented G1-S transition of preadipocytes, along with the elevation of cyclin E expression and the reduction levels of p27 and p53. Furthermore, Foxc2 knockdown reduced early apoptotic cells with accompanying reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased fragmentation of genomic DNA. We show that Foxc2 reduces the expression of Bax, caspase-9, and caspase-3 in both serum-starved and palmitic acid-induced cell apoptotic models, which confirms the anti-apoptotic role of Foxc2. Moreover, the protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)C1 signaling pathway and the ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathway were activated along with preadipocyte proliferation in response to Foxc2 overexpression, whereas apoptosis marker genes were downregulated during this process. Those effects were blocked by the interference of Foxc2 or signal pathways specific inhibitors. These data collectively reveal that Foxc2 enhances proliferation of preadipocytes and inhibits apoptosis of preadipocytes by activating the Akt/mTORC1 and ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathways.
All neurodegenerative diseases are associated with oxidative stress-induced neuronal death. Forkhead box O3a (FOXO3a) is a key transcription factor involved in neuronal apoptosis. However, how FOXO3a forms complexes and functions in oxidative stress processing remains largely unknown. In the present study, we show that histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) forms a physical complex with FOXO3a, which plays an important role in FOXO3a-dependent gene transcription and oxidative stress-induced mouse cerebellar granule neuron (CGN) apoptosis. Interestingly, we also found that HDAC2 became selectively enriched in the promoter region of the p21 gene, but not those of other target genes, and inhibited FOXO3a-mediated p21 transcription. Furthermore, we found that oxidative stress reduced the interaction between FOXO3a and HDAC2, leading to an increased histone H4K16 acetylation level in the p21 promoter region and upregulated p21 expression in a manner independent of p53 or E2F1. Phosphorylation of HDAC2 at Ser 394 is important for the HDAC2-FOXO3a interaction, and we found that cerebral ischemia/reperfusion reduced phosphorylation of HDAC2 at Ser 394 and mitigated the HDAC2-FOXO3a interaction in mouse brain tissue. Our study reveals the novel regulation of FOXO3a-mediated selective gene transcription via epigenetic modification in the process of oxidative stress-induced cell death, which could be exploited therapeutically.
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