Research Article
Abstract
The transcription factor serum response factor (SRF) plays a crucial role in the development of several organs. However, its role in the skin has not been explored. Here, we show that keratinocytes in normal human and mouse skin expressed high levels of SRF but that SRF expression was strongly downregulated in the hyperproliferative epidermis of wounded and psoriatic skin. Keratinocyte-specific deletion within the mouse SRF locus during embryonic development caused edema and skin blistering, and all animals died in utero. Postnatal loss of mouse SRF in keratinocytes resulted in the development of psoriasis-like skin lesions. These lesions were characterized by inflammation, hyperproliferation, and abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes as well as by disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. Ultrastructural analysis revealed markedly reduced cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts and loss of cell compaction in all epidermal layers. siRNA-mediated knockdown of SRF in primary human keratinocytes revealed that the cytoskeletal abnormalities and adhesion defects were a direct consequence of the loss of SRF. In contrast, the hyperproliferation observed in vivo was an indirect effect that was most likely a consequence of the inflammation. These results reveal that loss of SRF disrupts epidermal homeostasis and strongly suggest its involvement in the pathogenesis of hyperproliferative skin diseases, including psoriasis.
Authors
Heidi Koegel, Lukas von Tobel, Matthias Schäfer, Siegfried Alberti, Elisabeth Kremmer, Cornelia Mauch, Daniel Hohl, Xiao-Jing Wang, Hans-Dietmar Beer, Wilhelm Bloch, Alfred Nordheim, Sabine Werner
Abstract
As a tumor grows, it requires increased amounts of oxygen. However, the tumor blood vessels that form to meet this demand are functionally impaired, leading to regions of hypoxia within the tumor. Such hypoxia is one of the hallmarks of malignancy and is thought to promote a number of tumorigenic properties. Here, we sought to determine how tumors without hypoxia would progress by engineering A549 human lung carcinoma cells to ectopically express myoglobin (Mb), a multifunctional heme protein that specializes in oxygen transport, storage, and buffering. Mb expression prevented the hypoxic response in vitro and delayed tumor engraftment and reduced tumor growth following xenotransplantation into mice. Experimental tumors expressing Mb displayed reduced or no hypoxia, minimal HIF-1α levels, and a homogeneously low vessel density. Mb-mediated tumor oxygenation promoted differentiation of cancer cells and suppressed both local and distal metastatic spreading. These effects were primarily due to reduced tumor hypoxia, because they were not observed using point-mutated forms of myoglobin unable to bind oxygen and they were abrogated by expression of a constitutively active form of HIF-1α. Although limited to xenograft models, these data provide experimental proof of the concept that hypoxia is not just a side effect of deregulated growth but a key factor on which the tumor relies in order to promote its own expansion.
Authors
Maria Galluzzo, Selma Pennacchietti, Stefania Rosano, Paolo M. Comoglio, Paolo Michieli
Abstract
Immune-mediated nephritis contributes to disease in systemic lupus erythematosus, Goodpasture syndrome (caused by antibodies specific for glomerular basement membrane [anti-GBM antibodies]), and spontaneous lupus nephritis. Inbred mouse strains differ in susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody–induced and spontaneous lupus nephritis. This study sought to clarify the genetic and molecular factors that may be responsible for enhanced immune-mediated renal disease in these models. When the kidneys of 3 mouse strains sensitive to anti-GBM antibody–induced nephritis were compared with those of 2 control strains using microarray analysis, one-fifth of the underexpressed genes belonged to the kallikrein gene family, which encodes serine esterases. Mouse strains that upregulated renal and urinary kallikreins exhibited less evidence of disease. Antagonizing the kallikrein pathway augmented disease, while agonists dampened the severity of anti-GBM antibody–induced nephritis. In addition, nephritis-sensitive mouse strains had kallikrein haplotypes that were distinct from those of control strains, including several regulatory polymorphisms, some of which were associated with functional consequences. Indeed, increased susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody–induced nephritis and spontaneous lupus nephritis was achieved by breeding mice with a genetic interval harboring the kallikrein genes onto a disease-resistant background. Finally, both human SLE and spontaneous lupus nephritis were found to be associated with kallikrein genes, particularly KLK1 and the KLK3 promoter, when DNA SNPs from independent cohorts of SLE patients and controls were compared. Collectively, these studies suggest that kallikreins are protective disease-associated genes in anti-GBM antibody–induced nephritis and lupus.
Authors
Kui Liu, Quan-Zhen Li, Angelica M. Delgado-Vega, Anna-Karin Abelson, Elena Sánchez, Jennifer A. Kelly, Li Li, Yang Liu, Jinchun Zhou, Mei Yan, Qiu Ye, Shenxi Liu, Chun Xie, Xin J. Zhou, Sharon A. Chung, Bernardo Pons-Estel, Torsten Witte, Enrique de Ramón, Sang-Cheol Bae, Nadia Barizzone, Gian Domenico Sebastiani, Joan T. Merrill, Peter K. Gregersen, Gary G. Gilkeson, Robert P. Kimberly, Timothy J. Vyse, Il Kim, Sandra D’Alfonso, Javier Martin, John B. Harley, Lindsey A. Criswell, The Profile Study Group, The Italian Collaborative Group, The German Collaborative Group, The Spanish Collaborative Group, The Argentinian Collaborative Group, The SLEGEN Consortium, Edward K. Wakeland, Marta E. Alarcón-Riquelme, Chandra Mohan
Abstract
How Ca2+-dependent signaling effectors are regulated in cardiomyocytes, given the extreme cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration changes that underlie contraction, remains unknown. Cardiomyocyte plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) extrudes Ca2+ but has little effect on excitation-contraction coupling, suggesting its potential role in controlling Ca2+-dependent signaling effectors such as calcineurin. We generated cardiac-specific inducible PMCA4b transgenic mice that displayed normal global Ca2+ transient and cellular contraction levels and reduced cardiac hypertrophy following transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or phenylephrine/Ang II infusion, but showed no reduction in exercise-induced hypertrophy. Transgenic mice were protected from decompensation and fibrosis following long-term TAC. The PMCA4b transgene reduced the hypertrophic augmentation associated with transient receptor potential canonical 3 channel overexpression, but not that associated with activated calcineurin. Furthermore, Pmca4 gene–targeted mice showed increased cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure events after TAC. Physical associations between PMCA4b and calcineurin were enhanced by TAC and by agonist stimulation of cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes. PMCA4b reduced calcineurin nuclear factor of activated T cell–luciferase activity after TAC and in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes after agonist stimulation. PMCA4b overexpression inhibited cultured cardiomyocyte hypertrophy following agonist stimulation, but much less so in a Ca2+ pumping–deficient PMCA4b mutant. Thus, Pmca4b likely reduces the local Ca2+ signals involved in reactive cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via calcineurin regulation.
Authors
Xu Wu, Baojun Chang, N. Scott Blair, Michelle Sargent, Allen J. York, Jeffrey Robbins, Gary E. Shull, Jeffery D. Molkentin
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by distorted lung architecture and loss of respiratory function. Enhanced (myo)fibroblast activation, ECM deposition, and alveolar epithelial type II (ATII) cell dysfunction contribute to IPF pathogenesis. However, the molecular pathways linking ATII cell dysfunction with the development of fibrosis are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate, in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis, increased proliferation and altered expression of components of the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway in ATII cells. Further analysis revealed that expression of WNT1-inducible signaling protein–1 (WISP1), which is encoded by a WNT target gene, was increased in ATII cells in both a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis and patients with IPF. Treatment of mouse primary ATII cells with recombinant WISP1 led to increased proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), while treatment of mouse and human lung fibroblasts with recombinant WISP1 enhanced deposition of ECM components. In the mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis, neutralizing mAbs specific for WISP1 reduced the expression of genes characteristic of fibrosis and reversed the expression of genes associated with EMT. More importantly, these changes in gene expression were associated with marked attenuation of lung fibrosis, including decreased collagen deposition and improved lung function and survival. Our study thus identifies WISP1 as a key regulator of ATII cell hyperplasia and plasticity as well as a potential therapeutic target for attenuation of pulmonary fibrosis.
Authors
Melanie Königshoff, Monika Kramer, Nisha Balsara, Jochen Wilhelm, Oana Veronica Amarie, Andreas Jahn, Frank Rose, Ludger Fink, Werner Seeger, Liliana Schaefer, Andreas Günther, Oliver Eickelberg
Abstract
Studies in humans and animal models indicate a key contribution of angiotensin II to the pathogenesis of glomerular diseases. To examine the role of type 1 angiotensin (AT1) receptors in glomerular inflammation associated with autoimmune disease, we generated MRL-Faslpr/lpr (lpr) mice lacking the major murine type 1 angiotensin receptor (AT1A); lpr mice develop a generalized autoimmune disease with glomerulonephritis that resembles SLE. Surprisingly, AT1A deficiency was not protective against disease but instead substantially accelerated mortality, proteinuria, and kidney pathology. Increased disease severity was not a direct effect of immune cells, since transplantation of AT1A-deficient bone marrow did not affect survival. Moreover, autoimmune injury in extrarenal tissues, including skin, heart, and joints, was unaffected by AT1A deficiency. In murine systems, there is a second type 1 angiotensin receptor isoform, AT1B, and its expression is especially prominent in the renal glomerulus within podocytes. Further, expression of renin was enhanced in kidneys of AT1A-deficient lpr mice, and they showed evidence of exaggerated AT1B receptor activation, including substantially increased podocyte injury and expression of inflammatory mediators. Administration of losartan, which blocks all type 1 angiotensin receptors, reduced markers of kidney disease, including proteinuria, glomerular pathology, and cytokine mRNA expression. Since AT1A-deficient lpr mice had low blood pressure, these findings suggest that activation of type 1 angiotensin receptors in the glomerulus is sufficient to accelerate renal injury and inflammation in the absence of hypertension.
Authors
Steven D. Crowley, Matthew P. Vasievich, Phillip Ruiz, Samantha K. Gould, Kelly K. Parsons, A. Kathy Pazmino, Carie Facemire, Benny J. Chen, Hyung-Suk Kim, Trinh T. Tran, David S. Pisetsky, Laura Barisoni, Minolfa C. Prieto-Carrasquero, Marie Jeansson, Mary H. Foster, Thomas M. Coffman
Abstract
HIV infection results in CD4+ T cell deficiency, but efficient combination antiretroviral therapy (c-ART) restores T cells and decreases morbidity and mortality. However, immune restoration by c-ART remains variable, and prolonged T cell deficiency remains in a substantial proportion of patients. In a prospective open-label phase I/IIa trial, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of administration of the T cell regulator IL-7. The trial included 13 c-ART–treated HIV-infected patients whose CD4+ cell counts were between 100 and 400 cells/μl and plasma HIV RNA levels were less than 50 copies/ml. Patients received a total of 8 subcutaneous injections of 2 different doses of recombinant human IL-7 (rhIL-7; 3 or 10 μg/kg) 3 times per week over a 16-day period. rhIL-7 was well tolerated and induced a sustained increase of naive and central memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. In the highest dose group, 4 patients experienced transient increases in viral replication. However, functional assays showed that the expanded T cells responded to HIV antigen by producing IFN-γ and/or IL-2. In conclusion, in lymphopenic HIV-infected patients, rhIL-7 therapy induced substantial functional and quantitative changes in T cells for 48 weeks. Therefore, patients may benefit from intermittent therapy with IL-7 in combination with c-ART.
Authors
Yves Levy, Christine Lacabaratz, Laurence Weiss, Jean-Paul Viard, Cecile Goujard, Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, François Boué, Jean-Michel Molina, Christine Rouzioux, Véronique Avettand-Fénoêl, Thérèse Croughs, Stéphanie Beq, Rodolphe Thiébaut, Geneviève Chêne, Michel Morre, Jean-François Delfraissy
Abstract
Elevated plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with protection from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Animal models indicate that decreased expression of endothelial lipase (LIPG) is inversely associated with HDL-C levels, and genome-wide association studies have identified LIPG variants as being associated with HDL-C levels in humans. We hypothesized that loss-of-function mutations in LIPG may result in elevated HDL-C and therefore performed deep resequencing of LIPG exons in cases with elevated HDL-C levels and controls with decreased HDL-C levels. We identified a significant excess of nonsynonymous LIPG variants unique to cases with elevated HDL-C. In vitro lipase activity assays demonstrated that these variants significantly decreased endothelial lipase activity. In addition, a meta-analysis across 5 cohorts demonstrated that the low-frequency Asn396Ser variant is significantly associated with increased HDL-C, while the common Thr111Ile variant is not. Functional analysis confirmed that the Asn396Ser variant has significantly decreased lipase activity both in vitro and in vivo, while the Thr111Ile variant has normal lipase activity. Our results establish that loss-of-function mutations in LIPG lead to increased HDL-C levels and support the idea that inhibition of endothelial lipase may be an effective mechanism to raise HDL-C.
Authors
Andrew C. Edmondson, Robert J. Brown, Sekar Kathiresan, L. Adrienne Cupples, Serkalem Demissie, Alisa Knodle Manning, Majken K. Jensen, Eric B. Rimm, Jian Wang, Amrith Rodrigues, Vaneeta Bamba, Sumeet A. Khetarpal, Megan L. Wolfe, Stephanie DerOhannessian, Mingyao Li, Muredach P. Reilly, Jens Aberle, David Evans, Robert A. Hegele, Daniel J. Rader
Abstract
ER stress occurs in macrophage-rich areas of advanced atherosclerotic lesions and contributes to macrophage apoptosis and subsequent plaque necrosis. Therefore, signaling pathways that alter ER stress–induced apoptosis may affect advanced atherosclerosis. Here we placed Apoe–/– mice deficient in macrophage p38α MAPK on a Western diet and found that they had a marked increase in macrophage apoptosis and plaque necrosis. The macrophage p38α–deficient lesions also exhibited a significant reduction in collagen content and a marked thinning of the fibrous cap, which suggests that plaque progression was advanced in these mice. Consistent with our in vivo data, we found that ER stress–induced apoptosis in cultured primary mouse macrophages was markedly accelerated under conditions of p38 inhibition. Pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of p38 suppressed activation of Akt in cultured macrophages and in atherosclerotic lesions. In addition, inhibition of Akt enhanced ER stress–induced macrophage apoptosis, and expression of a constitutively active myristoylated Akt blocked the enhancement of ER stress–induced apoptosis that occurred with p38 inhibition in cultured cells. Our results demonstrate that p38α MAPK may play a critical role in suppressing ER stress–induced macrophage apoptosis in vitro and advanced lesional macrophage apoptosis in vivo.
Authors
Tracie A. Seimon, Yibin Wang, Seongah Han, Takafumi Senokuchi, Dorien M. Schrijvers, George Kuriakose, Alan R. Tall, Ira A. Tabas
The TEL-AML1 leukemia fusion gene dysregulates the TGF-β pathway in early B lineage progenitor cells
Abstract
Chromosome translocation to generate the TEL-AML1 (also known as ETV6-RUNX1) chimeric fusion gene is a frequent and early or initiating event in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our starting hypothesis was that the TEL-AML1 protein generates and maintains preleukemic clones and that conversion to overt disease requires secondary genetic changes, possibly in the context of abnormal immune responses. Here, we show that a murine B cell progenitor cell line expressing inducible TEL-AML1 proliferates at a slower rate than parent cells but is more resistant to further inhibition of proliferation by TGF-β. This facilitates the competitive expansion of TEL-AML1–expressing cells in the presence of TGF-β. Further analysis indicated that TEL-AML1 binds to a principal TGF-β signaling target, Smad3, and compromises its ability to activate target promoters. In mice expressing a TEL-AML1 transgene, early, pre-pro-B cells were increased in number and also showed reduced sensitivity to TGF-β–mediated inhibition of proliferation. Moreover, expression of TEL-AML1 in human cord blood progenitor cells led to the expansion of a candidate preleukemic stem cell population that had an early B lineage phenotype (CD34+CD38–CD19+) and a marked growth advantage in the presence of TGF-β. Collectively, these data suggest a plausible mechanism by which dysregulated immune responses to infection might promote the malignant evolution of TEL-AML1–expressing preleukemic clones.
Authors
Anthony M. Ford, Chiara Palmi, Clara Bueno, Dengli Hong, Penny Cardus, Deborah Knight, Giovanni Cazzaniga, Tariq Enver, Mel Greaves
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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)