Abstract
Paris-Trousseau syndrome (PTS; also known as Jacobsen syndrome) is characterized by several congenital anomalies including a dysmegakaryopoiesis with two morphologically distinct populations of megakaryocytes (MKs). PTS patients harbor deletions on the long arm of chromosome 11, including the FLI1 gene, which encodes a transcription factor essential for megakaryopoiesis. We show here that lentivirus-mediated overexpression of FLI1 in patient CD34+ cells restores the megakaryopoiesis in vitro, indicating that FLI1 hemizygous deletion contributes to the PTS hematopoietic defects. FISH analysis on pre-mRNA and single-cell RT-PCR revealed that FLI1 expression is mainly monoallelic in CD41+CD42– progenitors, while it is predominantly biallelic in the other stages of megakaryopoiesis. In PTS cells, the hemizygous deletion of FLI1 generates a subpopulation of CD41+CD42– cells completely lacking FLI1 transcription. We propose that the absence of FLI1 expression in these CD41+CD42– cells might prevent their differentiation, which could explain the segregation of the PTS MKs into two subpopulations: one normal and one composed of small immature MKs undergoing a massive lysis, presumably originating from either FLI1+ or FLI1– CD41+CD42– cells, respectively. Thus, we point to the role of transient monoallelic expression of a gene essential for differentiation in the genesis of human haploinsufficiency-associated disease and suggest that such a mechanism may be involved in the pathogenesis of other congenital or acquired genetic diseases.
Authors
Hana Raslova, Emiko Komura, Jean Pierre Le Couédic, Frederic Larbret, Najet Debili, Jean Feunteun, Olivier Danos, Olivier Albagli, William Vainchenker, Rémi Favier
Absence of platelet-activating factor receptor protects mice from osteoporosis following ovariectomy
Abstract
While platelet-activating factor (PAF) is produced in various diseases associated with bone resorption, its functions in bone metabolism remain unknown. Using PAF receptor–deficient mice, we evaluated the role of PAF in the development of bone resorption following ovariectomy, a model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Through observations of bone mineral density and histomorphometric parameters, it was found that bone resorption was markedly attenuated in PAF receptor–deficient mice, indicating that PAF links estrogen depletion and osteoporosis in vivo. Osteoclasts expressed higher amounts of the enzymes required for PAF biosynthesis than osteoblasts. TNF-α and IL-1β increased the acetyl-coenzyme A:lyso-PAF acetyltransferase activity in osteoclasts. Osteoclasts, but not osteoblasts, expressed the functional PAF receptor. PAF receptor stimulation prolonged the survival of osteoclasts in vitro. Furthermore, osteoclasts treated with a PAF receptor antagonist, and also those from PAF receptor–deficient mice, showed reductions in survival rate and Ca resorption activity. Consistently, in organ cultures, bone resorption was significantly suppressed by a PAF receptor antagonist treatment or genetic PAF receptor deficiency. Thus, these results suggest that, through the inflammatory cytokines, estrogen depletion enhances PAF production as a unique autocrine factor for osteoclast functions. Inhibition of PAF function might pave the way for a new strategy to prevent postmenopausal bone loss without disturbing osteoblast functions.
Authors
Hisako Hikiji, Satoshi Ishii, Hideo Shindou, Tsuyoshi Takato, Takao Shimizu
Abstract
Glycerol, a product of adipose tissue lipolysis, is an important substrate for hepatic glucose synthesis. However, little is known about the regulation of hepatic glycerol metabolism. Here we show that several genes involved in the hepatic metabolism of glycerol, i.e., cytosolic and mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), glycerol kinase, and glycerol transporters aquaporin 3 and 9, are upregulated by fasting in wild-type mice but not in mice lacking PPARα. Furthermore, expression of these genes was induced by the PPARα agonist Wy14643 in wild-type but not PPARα−null mice. In adipocytes, which express high levels of PPARγ, expression of cytosolic GPDH was enhanced by PPARγ and β/δ agonists, while expression was decreased in PPARγ+/– and PPARβ/δ–/– mice. Transactivation, gel shift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that cytosolic GPDH is a direct PPAR target gene. In line with a stimulating role of PPARα in hepatic glycerol utilization, administration of synthetic PPARα agonists in mice and humans decreased plasma glycerol. Finally, hepatic glucose production was decreased in PPARα-null mice simultaneously fasted and exposed to Wy14643, suggesting that the stimulatory effect of PPARα on gluconeogenic gene expression was translated at the functional level. Overall, these data indicate that PPARα directly governs glycerol metabolism in liver, whereas PPARγ regulates glycerol metabolism in adipose tissue.
Authors
David Patsouris, Stéphane Mandard, Peter J. Voshol, Pascal Escher, Nguan Soon Tan, Louis M. Havekes, Wolfgang Koenig, Winfried März, Sherrie Tafuri, Walter Wahli, Michael Müller, Sander Kersten
Abstract
Noninvasive imaging strategies will be critical for defining the temporal characteristics of angiogenesis and assessing efficacy of angiogenic therapies. The αvβ3 integrin is expressed in angiogenic vessels and represents a potential novel target for imaging myocardial angiogenesis. We demonstrated the localization of an indium-111–labeled (111In-labeled) αvβ3-targeted agent in the region of injury-induced angiogenesis in a chronic rat model of infarction. The specificity of the targeted αvβ3-imaging agent for angiogenesis was established using a nonspecific control agent. The potential of this radiolabeled αvβ3-targeted agent for in vivo imaging was then confirmed in a canine model of postinfarction angiogenesis. Serial in vivo dual-isotope single-photon emission–computed tomographic (SPECT) imaging with the 111In-labeled αvβ3-targeted agent demonstrated focal radiotracer uptake in hypoperfused regions where angiogenesis was stimulated. There was a fourfold increase in myocardial radiotracer uptake in the infarct region associated with histological evidence of angiogenesis and increased expression of the αvβ3 integrin. Thus, angiogenesis in the heart can be imaged noninvasively with an 111In-labeled αvβ3-targeted agent. The noninvasive evaluation of angiogenesis may have important implications for risk stratification of patients following myocardial infarction. This approach may also have significant clinical utility for noninvasively tracking therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis.
Authors
David F. Meoli, Mehran M. Sadeghi, Svetlana Krassilnikova, Brian N. Bourke, Frank J. Giordano, Donald P. Dione, Haili Su, D. Scott Edwards, Shuang Liu, Thomas D. Harris, Joseph A. Madri, Barry L. Zaret, Albert J. Sinusas
Abstract
Classical research has suggested that early palate formation develops via epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, and in this study we reveal which signals control this process. Using Fgf10–/–, FGF receptor 2b–/– (Fgfr2b–/–), and Sonic hedgehog (Shh) mutant mice, which all exhibit cleft palate, we show that Shh is a downstream target of Fgf10/Fgfr2b signaling. Our results demonstrate that mesenchymal Fgf10 regulates the epithelial expression of Shh, which in turn signals back to the mesenchyme. This was confirmed by demonstrating that cell proliferation is decreased not only in the palatal epithelium but also in the mesenchyme of Fgfr2b–/– mice. These results reveal a new role for Fgf signaling in mammalian palate development. We show that coordinated epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are essential during the initial stages of palate development and require an Fgf-Shh signaling network.
Authors
Ritva Rice, Bradley Spencer-Dene, Elaine C. Connor, Amel Gritli-Linde, Andrew P. McMahon, Clive Dickson, Irma Thesleff, David P.C. Rice
Abstract
Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) have the capability under specific conditions of differentiating into various cell types such as osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. Here we demonstrate a highly efficient and specific induction of cells with neuronal characteristics, without glial differentiation, from both rat and human MSCs using gene transfection with Notch intracellular domain (NICD) and subsequent treatment with bFGF, forskolin, and ciliary neurotrophic factor. MSCs expressed markers related to neural stem cells after transfection with NICD, and subsequent trophic factor administration induced neuronal cells. Some of them showed voltage-gated fast sodium and delayed rectifier potassium currents and action potentials compatible with characteristics of functional neurons. Further treatment of the induced neuronal cells with glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) increased the proportion of tyrosine hydroxylase–positive and dopamine-producing cells. Transplantation of these GDNF-treated cells showed improvement in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior and adjusting step and paw-reaching tests following intrastriatal implantation in a 6-hydroxy dopamine rat model of Parkinson disease. This study shows that a population of neuronal cells can be specifically generated from MSCs and that induced cells may allow for a neuroreconstructive approach.
Authors
Mari Dezawa, Hiroshi Kanno, Mikio Hoshino, Hirotomi Cho, Naoya Matsumoto, Yutaka Itokazu, Nobuyoshi Tajima, Hitoshi Yamada, Hajime Sawada, Hiroto Ishikawa, Toshirou Mimura, Masaaki Kitada, Yoshihisa Suzuki, Chizuka Ide
Abstract
Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG) is involved in base excision repair of aberrant uracil residues in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Ung knockout mice generated by gene targeting are viable, fertile, and phenotypically normal and have regular mutation rates. However, when exposed to a nitric oxide donor, Ung–/– fibroblasts show an increase in the uracil/cytosine ratio in the genome and augmented cell death. After combined oxygen-glucose deprivation, Ung–/– primary cortical neurons have increased vulnerability to cell death, which is associated with early mitochondrial dysfunction. In vivo, UNG expression and activity are low in brains of naive WT mice but increase significantly after reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. Moreover, major increases in infarct size are observed in Ung–/– mice compared with littermate control mice. In conclusion, our results provide compelling evidence that UNG is of major importance for tissue repair after brain ischemia.
Authors
Matthias Endres, Detlev Biniszkiewicz, Robert W. Sobol, Christoph Harms, Michael Ahmadi, Andreas Lipski, Juri Katchanov, Philipp Mergenthaler, Ulrich Dirnagl, Samuel H. Wilson, Andreas Meisel, Rudolf Jaenisch
Abstract
The molecular pathogenesis of focal/diffuse proliferative lupus glomerulonephritis was studied by cDNA microarray analysis of gene expression in glomeruli from clinical biopsies. Transcriptional phenotyping of glomeruli isolated by laser-capture microscopy revealed considerable kidney-to-kidney heterogeneity in increased transcript expression, resulting in four main gene clusters that identified the presence of B cells, several myelomonocytic lineages, fibroblast and epithelial cell proliferation, matrix alterations, and expression of type I IFN–inducible genes. Glomerulus-to-glomerulus variation within a kidney was less marked. The myeloid lineage transcripts, characteristic of those found in isolated activated macrophages and myeloid dendritic cells, were widely distributed in all biopsy samples. One major subgroup of the samples expressed fibrosis-related genes that correlated with pathological evidence of glomerulosclerosis; however, decreased expression of TGF-β1 argued against its role in lupus renal fibrosis. Expression of type I IFN–inducible transcripts by a second subset of samples was associated with reduced expression of fibrosis-related genes and milder pathological features. This pattern of gene expression resembled that exhibited by activated NK cells. A large gene cluster with decreased expression found in all samples included ion channels and transcription factors, indicating a loss-of-function response to the glomerular injury.
Authors
Karin S. Peterson, Jing-Feng Huang, Jessica Zhu, Vivette D’Agati, Xuejun Liu, Nancy Miller, Mark G. Erlander, Michael R. Jackson, Robert J. Winchester
Abstract
The progeny of T lymphocytes responding to immunization mostly die rapidly, leaving a few long-lived survivors functioning as immune memory. Thus, control of this choice of death versus survival is critical for immune memory. There are indications that reactive radicals may be involved in this death pathway. We now show that, in mice lacking inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), higher frequencies of both CD4 and CD8 memory T cells persist in response to immunization, even when iNOS+/+ APCs are used for immunization. Postactivation T cell death by neglect is reduced in iNOS–/– T cells, and levels of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL are increased. Inhibitors of the iNOS-peroxynitrite pathway also enhance memory responses and block postactivation death by neglect in both mouse and human T cells. However, early primary immune responses are not enhanced, which suggests that altered survival, rather than enhanced activation, is responsible for the persistent immunity observed. Thus, in primary immune responses, iNOS in activated T cells autocrinely controls their susceptibility to death by neglect to determine the level of persisting CD4 and CD8 T cell memory, and modulation of this pathway can enhance the persistence of immune memory in response to vaccination.
Authors
Monika Vig, Smita Srivastava, Usha Kandpal, Hadassah Sade, Virginia Lewis, Apurva Sarin, Anna George, Vineeta Bal, Jeannine M. Durdik, Satyajit Rath
Abstract
Poliovirus replication is limited to a few organs, including the brain and spinal cord. This restricted tropism may be a consequence of organ-specific differences in translation initiation by the poliovirus internal ribosome entry site (IRES). A C-to-U mutation at base 472 in the IRES of the Sabin type 3 poliovirus vaccine strain, known to attenuate neurovirulence, may further restrict tropism by eliminating viral replication in the CNS. To determine the relationship between IRES-mediated translation and poliovirus tropism, recombinant human adenoviruses were used to express bicistronic mRNAs in murine organs. The IRESs of poliovirus, the cardiotropic coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), and the hepatotropic hepatitis C virus (HCV) mediate translation in many organs, including those that do not support viral replication. A translation defect associated with the Sabin type 3 IRES was observed in all organs examined. Poliovirus type 1 and recombinant polioviruses dependent on the IRES of CVB3 or HCV replicate in the CNS of mice and cause paralysis. Although the type 3 Sabin strain is an effective vaccine, polioviruses with a U at base 472 of the IRES cause paralysis in newborn mice. Tropism of wild-type and vaccine strains of poliovirus is therefore determined after internal ribosome entry.
Authors
Steven E. Kauder, Vincent R. Racaniello
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