Tag Archives: ERN1
Scientific achievements of the Department of Molecular Biology in understanding stress-dependent mechanisms of glioma growth
O. H. Minchenko*, Y. M. Viletska, M. Y. Sliusar, O. O. Khita
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
Department of Molecular Biology, Kyiv;
*e-mail: ominchenko@yahoo.com
Received: 09 July 2025; Revised: 25 July 2025;
Accepted: 30 October 2025; Available on-line: 02 December 2025
Since 2005, the Department of Molecular Biology has initiated research aimed at solving key problems in biochemistry and molecular biology, with an emphasis on elucidating the molecular basis of malignant tumor growth and the mechanisms of hypoxic regulation, the role of alternative splicing in the mechanisms of gene expression regulation, as well as the fundamental importance of endoplasmic reticulum stress in maintaining homeostasis and the development of pathological conditions, in particular, the growth of glioblastomas, the most malignant brain tumors that are difficult to treat. It has been shown that the expression of different 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFKFB), key glycolysis regulators, is exacerbated in various malignant tumors and that PFKFB4 is a marker of tumor growth. It has been established that the expression level of PFKFB4 is controlled under hypoxia by a HIF-dependent mechanism, and a HIF-specific sequence has been identified in the promoter, the mutation of which completely removes hypoxic regulation of the PFKFB4 gene. Numerous splice variants of different PFKFB and VEGFA genes have also been identified. It has been established that inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress, its ERN1 signaling pathway, reduces the proliferation of glioblastoma cells by changing the expression levels of oncogenes, tumor suppressors, mitochondrial enzymes, as well as insulin and glucocorticoid receptors and their dependent proteins. An important role of ERN1 protein kinase activity in regulating the expression of various genes has been revealed, and its inhibition has been shown to lead to increased invasiveness of glioblastoma cells upon ERN1 knockdown. Attention is focused on studying non-canonical mechanisms of hypoxic gene expression regulation and its dependence on endoplasmic reticulum stress.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress, its sensor and signalling systems and the role in regulation of gene expression at malignant tumor growth and hypoxia
O. H. Minchenko, A. P. Kharkova, T. V. Bakalets, I. V. Kryvdiuk
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
e-mail: ominchenko@yahoo.com
Hypoxia is one of the inductors of the expression of a large group of genes, which control glycolysis and proliferation processes in low oxygen conditions or as a result of low oxygen consumption. Moreover, hypoxia is one of the factors which induce the endoplasmic reticulum stress which, like hypoxia, is an obligatory component of malignant tumor growth and is connected with cytoplasm and nuclei through three sensor and signalling systems: PERK, ATF6 та ERN1. The suppression of ERN1, the main sensing and signalling enzyme of endoplasmic reticulum stress, leads to a decrease of tumor growth and changes the character of hypoxic regulation of many genes responsible for the control of proliferation and glycolysis. ERN1 sensing and signalling system controls the expression of a large set of genes, which are dependent on endoplasmic reticulum stress as well as hypoxia. Moreover, this signalling pathway is an important factor of malignant tumor growth.
Expression of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase genes in U87 glioma cells with ERN1 knockdown: effect of hypoxia and endoplasmic reticulum stress
O. H. Minchenko, I. A. Garmash, O. V. Kovalevska,
D. O. Tsymbal, D. O. Minchenko
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
e-mail: ominchenko@yahoo.com
Activation of pentose phosphate pathway is an important factor of enhanced cell proliferation and tumor growth. Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase (PRPS) is a key enzyme of this pathway and plays a central role in the synthesis of purines and pyrimidines. Hypoxia as well as ERN1 (from endoplasmic reticulum to nuclei-1) mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress response-signalling pathway is linked to the proliferation because the blockade of ERN1 suppresses tumor growth, including glioma. We studied the expression of different PRPS genes in glioma cells with ERN1 knockdown under hypoxic condition. It was shown that hypoxia decreases the expression of PRPS1 and PRPS2 genes in both types of glioma cells, being more pronounced in cells without ERN1 function, but PRPSAP1 and PRPSAP2 gene expressions are suppressed by hypoxia only in glioma cells with blockade of ERN1. Moreover, the blockade of endoribonuclease activity of ERN1 does not affect the expression of PRPS1 and PRPS2 as well as PPRS-associated protein genes in U87 glioma cells. At the same time, the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress by tunicamycin in glioma cells with suppressed activity of ERN1 endoribonuclease decreases the expression level of PRPS1 and PRPS2 genes only. Results of this investigation clearly demonstrated that the expression of different genes encoding subunits of PRPS enzyme is affected by hypoxia in U87 glioma cells, but the effect of hypoxia is modified by suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling enzyme ERN1.