Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Y Kanakura

Publications and source records attributed to Y Kanakura.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Markedly reduced expression of platelet c-mpl receptor in essential thrombocythemia.

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is implicated as a primary regulator of megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis through binding to the cytokine receptor c-Mpl (the product of the c-mpl proto-oncogene). In an effort to determine the pathophysiological role of TPO-c-Mpl system in essential thrombocythemia (ET), we have examined the levels of serum TPO and the expression and function of platelet c-Mpl in 17 patients with ET. In spite of extreme thrombocytosis, serum TPO levels were slightly elevated or within normal range in most, if not all, patients with ET (mean +/- SD, 1.31 +/- 1.64 fmol/mL), as compared with normal subjects (0.76 +/- 0.21 fmol/mL). Flow cytometric and Western blot analyses revealed that the expression of platelet c-Mpl was strikingly reduced in all patients with ET. Furthermore, the expression of platelet c-mpl mRNA was found to be significantly decreased in the ET patients tested. In contrast, almost identical levels of GPIIb/IIIa protein and mRNA were expressed in platelets from ET patients and normal controls. In addition to expression level, activation state of platelet c-Mpl was investigated in ET patients. Immunoblotting with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody showed that no aberrant protein-tyrosine phosphorylation was observed in platelets of ET patients before treatment with TPO, and the levels of TPO-induced protein-tyrosine phosphorylation, including c-Mpl-tyrosyl phosphorylation, roughly paralleled those of c-Mpl expression, suggesting that c-Mpl-mediated signaling pathway was not constitutively activated in platelets of ET patients. These results suggested that the TPO-c-Mpl system may not be directly linked to pathogenesis of ET, and that gene(s) mutated in ET may be important in regulating the levels of c-mpl gene expression in addition to the growth and differentiation of multipotential hematopoietic stem cells.

Adolescent↗

Matrix glycoprotein SC1/ECM2 augments B lymphopoiesis.

The extracellular matrix produced by stromal cells plays a critical role in lympho-hematopoiesis. It was recently discovered that matrix glycoprotein SC1/ECM2 is a component of that matrix and preliminary evidence suggested that it could contribute to the nurturing environment for B-lymphocyte precursors. A fusion protein prepared from the amino terminal portion of SC1/ECM2 and the constant region of human Ig preferentially bound to pre-B cells. Furthermore, the cloning efficiency of interleukin-7-dependent B-cell precursors was increased in a dose-dependent manner by addition of this fusion protein. We now report the complete cDNA sequence for murine SC1/ECM2 and its localization to the central region of chromosome 5. A fusion protein prepared from the full length of SC1/ECM2 and Ig was found to recognize pre-B cells in a divalent cation-dependent manner, and to augment mitogen-dependent proliferation of mature B cells, as well as the cloning of pre-B cells, but to have no influence on myeloid progenitor cells. Although SC1/ECM2 is normally a secreted protein, we show that it is also capable of augmenting lymphopoiesis when expressed as a transmembrane protein on fibroblasts. Although the C-terminal portion of SC1/ECM2 has sequence homology to osteonectin/SPARC, the unique N-terminal one fifth of the protein was sufficient to augment lymphocyte growth.

Activated-Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule↗

A new protein containing an SH2 domain that inhibits JAK kinases.

The proliferation and differentiation of cells of many lineages are regulated by secreted proteins known as cytokines. Cytokines exert their biological effect through binding to cell-surface receptors that are associated with one or more members of the JAK family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases. Cytokine-induced receptor dimerization leads to the activation of JAKs, rapid tyrosine-phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic domains, and subsequent recruitment of various signalling proteins, including members of the STAT family of transcription factors, to the receptor complex. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we have now isolated a new SH2-domain-containing protein, JAB, which is a JAK-binding protein that interacts with the Jak2 tyrosine-kinase JH1 domain. JAB is structurally related to CIS, a cytokine-inducible SH2 protein. Interaction of JAB with Jak1, Jak2 or Jak3 markedly reduces their tyrosine-kinase activity and suppresses the tyrosine-phosphorylation and activation of STATs. JAB and CIS appear to function as negative regulators in the JAK signalling pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Platelet-associated IgM elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis C contains no anti-platelet autoantibodies.

We investigated whether thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic hepatitis C is due to anti-platelet autoantibodies. Platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) and platelet-associated IgM (PAIgM) were measured by direct immunofluorescent flow cytometric analysis. Elevation of PAIgM level was detected in 70% of chronic hepatitis C patients, while only a mild elevation of PAIgG level was detected in 32% of the cases. The elevation of PAIgM values in these patients was comparable to that in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). However, elevated PAIgM was also found in both patients with and without thrombocytopenia, and no correlation was found between PAIgM and platelet count. Eluted PAIgM did not react with normal platelets in all cases with a positive PAIgM value, indicating that eluted PAIgM contained no detectable anti-platelet antibodies. During alpha-interferon therapy, the level of PAIgM increased in association with the decrease in platelet counts in 75% of the cases; however, eluted PAIgM at any day point never reacted with platelets from normal donors. PAIgM was elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis C, but contained no detectable anti-platelet autoantibodies. Thrombocytopenia in these patients is not due to anti-platelet autoantibodies.

Autoantibodies↗

Thrombopoietin-induced differentiation of a human megakaryoblastic leukemia cell line, CMK, involves transcriptional activation of p21(WAF1/Cip1) by STAT5.

Although thrombopoietin (TPO) is known to play a fundamental role in both megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis, the molecular mechanism of TPO-induced megakaryocytic differentiation is not known. In a human megakaryoblastic leukemia cell line, CMK, that showed some degree of megakaryocytic differentiation after culture with TPO, the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21(WAF1/Cip1), but not p27(Kip1), p16(INK4A), p15(INK4B), or p18(INK4C), was found to be upregulated in an immediately early response to TPO. The expression of p21 was found to be sustained over a period of 5 days by treatment with TPO in large polyploid cells that developed in response to TPO, but not in small undifferentiated cells, indicating a close correlation between the ligand-induced differentiation and p21 induction in CMK cells. To examine potential roles of Cdk inhibitors in megakaryocytic differentiation, CMK cells were transfected with the p21, p27, or p16 gene, together with a marker gene, beta-galactosidase, and were cultured with medium alone for 5 days. The ectopic expression of p21 or p27 but not of p16 led to induction of megakaryocytic differentiation of CMK cells. Overexpression of the N-terminal domain (amino acids [aa] 1 to 75) of p21 was sufficient to induce megakaryocytic differentiation, whereas that of the C-terminal domain (aa 76 to 164) had little or no effect on morphological features. Furthermore, we found that although TPO induced tyrosine phosphorylation of both STAT3 and STAT5 in CMK cells, only STAT5 showed binding activities to potential STAT-binding sites that locate in the promoter region of p21 gene (p21-SIE sites), thereby leading to transactivation of p21. These results suggested that p21 induction, possibly mediated through activated STAT5, could play an important role in TPO-induced megakaryocytic differentiation.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

Mechanisms of constitutive activation of c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase.

We investigated the mechanism of constitutive activation of c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) found in the FMA3 murine mastocytoma cell line, and compared it with the mechanisms observed in other tumor mast cell lines (the HMC-1 human mast cell leukemia cell line, the RBL-2H3 rat mast cell leukemia cell line, and the P-815 murine mastocytoma cell line). The c-kit gene obtained from FMA3 cells was found to have 21-base deletion at the juxtamembrane domain of KIT, thereby leading to the constitutive activation of KIT. The deletion at the juxtamembrane domain resulted in constitutive dimerization of c-kit proteins, whereas the point mutation that were detected at the kinase domain of KIT in HMC-1, RBL-2H3, and P-815 cells caused constitutive activation of KIT without dimerization. These constitutively activating mutations of c-kit may play a role in development of mast cell tumors.

Animals↗

Cellular localization of thrombopoietin mRNA in the liver by in situ hybridization.

The expression of thrombopoietin (TPO) mRNA is observed in several tissues, including liver, kidney, brain, skeletal muscle, intestine, spleen, and bone marrow. Among these organs, the highest expression of TPO mRNA is detected in the liver. We identified cells producing TPO by means of in situ hybridization of adult rat liver using digoxigenin-11-UTP-labeled cRNA probes. We found that the cells expressing TPO mRNA also expressed serum albumin mRNA. TPO mRNA was detected in parenchymal cells (hepatocytes) but not in non-parenchymal cells (including endothelial cells, epithelial cells, and so forth). To determine the location of TPO expression in embryogenesis, sections of fetal mice were further analyzed by in situ hybridization. TPO mRNA was detected only in hepatocytes of fetal liver, which was also the major site of hematopoiesis. The expression of TPO mRNA in fetal liver was observed from 12.5 days postcoitus. Northern blot analysis showed that mouse liver transcribed the same size of TPO mRNA in the fetus and in the adult. These results clearly demonstrate that hepatocytes are the primary site of TPO production in the liver from fetus to adult.

Animals↗

Involvement of transcription factor encoded by the mouse mi locus (MITF) in apoptosis of cultured mast cells induced by removal of interleukin-3.

Mast cells develop when spleen cells of mice are cultured in the medium containing interleukin (IL)-3. Cultured mast cells (CMCs) show apoptosis when they are incubated in the medium without IL-3. We obtained CMCs from tg/tg mice that did not express the transcription factor encoded by the mi gene (MITF) due to the integration of a transgene at its 5' flanking region. MITF is a member of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper (bHLH-Zip) protein family of transcription factors. We investigated the effect of MITF on the apoptosis of CMCs after removal of IL-3. When cDNA encoding normal MITF ((+)-MITF) was introduced into tg/tg CMCs with the retroviral vector, the apoptosis of tg/tg CMCs was significantly accelerated. The mutant mi allele represents a deletion of an arginine at the basic domain of MITF. The apoptosis of tg/tg CMCs was not accelerated by the introduction of cDNA encoding mi-MITF. The overexpression of (+)-MITF was not prerequisite to the acceleration of the apoptosis, as the apoptotic process proceeded faster in +/+ CMCs than in mi/mi CMCs. The Ba/F3 lymphoid cell line is also dependent on IL-3, and Ba/F3 cells show apoptosis after removal of IL-3. The c-myc gene encodes another transcription factor of the bHLH-Zip family, and the overexpression of the c-myc gene accelerated the apoptosis of Ba/F3 cells. However, the overexpression of (+)-MITF did not accelerate the apoptosis of Ba/F3 cells. The (+)-MITF appeared to play some roles for the acceleration of the apoptosis specifically in the mast cell lineage.

Animals↗

Functional role of cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor in cell adhesion and proliferation of a human myeloma cell line OPM-2.

The molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between myeloma cells and stromal cells was investigated by using a human myeloma cell line (OPM-2) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Adhesion of OPM-2 cells to HUVECs was found to be significantly augmented with treatment of OPM-2 cells with an alpha-glycosidase inhibitor, castanospermine (CSP). The treatment of OPM-2 cells with CSP resulted in alteration of oligosaccharide structures of cell surface glycoproteins particularly at molecular weight of 220 kD (GP220). To determine if GP220 was involved in the adhesion of OPM-2 cells to HUVECs, cell surface glycoproteins of HUVECs were labeled by biotin and were incubated with the PVDF membrane to which cell surface glycoproteins of OPM-2 cells were blotted. The biotinylated glycoproteins at the plasma membrane of HUVECs specifically bound to GP220 of OPM-2 cells. Purification and partial amino acid sequencing of GP220 revealed that GP220 had a structure homologous to cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor-II (CIM6P/IGF-II) receptor. Furthermore, an antibody against CIM6P/IGF-II receptor was reactive with GP220, indicating that GP220 was a CIM6P/IGF-II receptor. The adhesion of OPM-2 cells to HUVECs was inhibited by mannose 6-phosphate. Moreover, M6P was found to suppress the adhesion of human myeloma cell lines, OPM-2 and RPMI 8226, to bone marrow stromal cells that was established from the patients with multiple myeloma. In addition, proliferation of OPM-2 was stimulated in response to IGF-II. These results suggest that CIM6P/IGF-II receptor may be functional in terms of supporting cell adhesion and proliferation of myeloma cells.

Cell Adhesion↗

The biologic properties of recombinant human thrombopoietin in the proliferation and megakaryocytic differentiation of acute myeloblastic leukemia cells.

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is implicated as a primary regulator of megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis. However, the biologic effects of TPO on human acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) cells are largely unknown. To determine if recombinant human (rh) TPO has proliferation-supporting and differentiation-inducing activities in AML cells, 15 cases of AML cells that were exclusively composed of undifferentiated leukemia cells and showed growth response to rhTPO in a short-term culture (72 hours) were subjected to long-term suspension culture with or without rhTPO. Of 15 cases, rhTPO supported proliferation of AML cells for 2 to 4 weeks in 4 cases whose French-American-British subtypes were M0, M2, M4, and M7, respectively. In addition to the proliferation-supporting activity, rhTPO was found to induce AML cells to progress to some degree of megakaryocytic differentiation at both morphologic and surface-phenotypic level in 2 AML cases with M0 and M7 subtypes. The treatment of AML cells with rhTPO resulted in rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the TPO-receptor, c-mpl, and STAT3 in all of cases tested. By contrast, the expression of erythroid/megakaryocyte-specific transcription factors (GATA-1, GATA-2, and NF-E2) was markedly induced or enhanced in only 2 AML cases that showed megakaryocytic differentiation in response to rhTPO. These results suggested that, at least in a fraction of AML cases, TPO could not only support the proliferation of AML cells irrespective of AML subtypes, but could also induce megakaryocytic differentiation, possibly through activation of GATA-1, GATA-2, and NF-E2.

Acute Disease↗

Affinity modulation of the platelet integrin alpha IIb beta 3 by alpha-chymotrypsin: a possible role for Na+/Ca2+ exchanger.

In the present study, we have investigated the mechanism of affinity modulation of alpha IIb beta 3 by chymotrypsin. We first confirmed that alpha-chymotrypsin could activate alpha IIb beta 3 (approximately 7,000 molecules per platelet) without major intracellular signaling. However, we unexpectedly found that high concentrations of amiloride dose-dependently inhibited 125I-fibrinogen binding to the chymotrypsin-treated platelets, as well as the platelet aggregation (IC50 [50% inhibitory concentration] for fibrinogen binding, 530 mumol/L). In contrast, amiloride did not inhibit alpha IIb beta 3 activation induced by anti-alpha IIb beta 3 monoclonal antibody PT25-2 or AP5. To identify the pathway involved, the effects of alteration of Na+ gradient in platelets were examined. Lowering Na+ gradient by replacing extracellular Na+ with tetramethylammonium (TMA) increased the number of activated alpha IIb beta 3 by twofold, as assessed by fibrinogen-binding assay. The incubation of platelets with ouabain, a Na+/K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) inhibitor, further augmented alpha IIb beta 3 activation. These data suggested that a likely candidate for the pathway was Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. At 140 mmol/L [Na+]o, 45Ca2+ influx to the chymotrypsin-treated platelets was twofold greater than that to non-treated platelets. Replacement of Na+ with TMA further increased the Ca2+ influx, and the increase was inhibited by amiloride dose-dependently. 3',4'-Dichlorobenzamil (DCB) and bepridil, relatively specific inhibitors of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, also inhibited the chymotrypsin-induced alpha IIb beta 3 activation, and the IC50 values of these inhibitors for fibrinogen binding were 25 mumol/L and 52 mumol/L, respectively. Moreover, platelet aggregation induced by various physiologic agonists was inhibited by DCB or bepridil, while platelet agglutination by ristocetin was not. Our data newly suggest that Na+/Ca2+ exchanger operating in reverse mode may be directly involved in inside-out signaling that activates alpha IIb beta 3.

Amiloride↗

Involvement of transcription factor encoded by the mi locus in the expression of c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase in cultured mast cells of mice.

The mi locus of mice encodes a member of the basic-helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper (bHLH-Zip) protein family of transcription factors (hereafter called MITF). Cultured mast cells of mi/mi genotype (mi/mi CMCs) did not normally respond to stem cell factor (SCF), a ligand for the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase. The poor response of mi/mi CMCs to SCF was attributed to the deficient expression of c-kit both the mRNA and protein levels. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of MITF on the transcription of the c-kit gene. First, we introduced cDNA encoding normal (+) MITF or mutant (mi) MITF into mi/mi CMCs using the retroviral vector. Overexpression of (+)-MITF but not mi-MITF normalized the expression of the c-kit and the poor response of mi/mi CMCs to SCF, indicating the involvement of (+)-MITF in the c-kit gene transactivation. Second, we analyzed the promoter of the c-kit gene. Three CANNTG motifs recognized by bHLH-Zip-type transcription factors were conserved between the mouse and human c-kit promoters. Among these three CANNTG motifs, only the CACCTG motif (nt -356 to -351) was specifically bound by (+)-MITF. When the luciferase gene under the control of the c-kit promoter was contransfected into NIH/3T3 fibroblasts with cDNA encoding (+)-MITF or mi-MITF, the luciferase activity significantly increased only when (+)-MITF cDNA was cotransfected. The deletion of the promoter region containing the CACCTG motif or the mutation of the CACCTG to CTCCAG abolished the transactivation effect of (+)-MITF, indicating that (+)-MITF transactivated the c-kit gene through the CACCTG motif. When the luciferase gene under the control of the c-kit promoter was introduced into the FMA3 mastocytoma and FEC-P1 myeloid cell lines, remarkable luciferase activity was observed only in FMA3 cells. Thus, the involvement of (+)-MITF in the c-kit transactivation appeared to be specific to the mast cell lineage.

Animals↗

Neoplastic transformation of normal hematopoietic cells by constitutively activating mutations of c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase.

The c-kit proto-oncogene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is crucial to hematopoiesis, melanogenesis, and gametogeneis. Although the enzymatic activity of the c-kit product (KIT) is regulated by its ligand, both the Val559-->Gly (G559) mutation in the juxtamembrane domain and the Asp814-->Val (V814) mutation in the phosphotransferase domain lead to constitutive activation of KIT. By retroviral infection of hematopoietic progenitor cells with KIT(G559) or KIT(V814), KIT(G559) induced development of granulocyte/macrophage and mast-cell colonies in vitro without the addition of exogenous growth factors. KIT(V814) induced factor-independent growth of various types of hematopoietic progenitor cells, resulting in the development of mixed erythroid/myeloid colonies in addition to granulocyte/macrophage and mast-cell colonies. Furthermore, transplantation of KIT(G559) and KIT(V814)-infected bone marrow cells led to development of acute leukemia in one of 10 and six of 10 transplanted mice, respectively. No mice developed hematologic malignancies after transplantation of wild-type KIT-infected cells. Furthermore, transgenic mice expressing KIT(V814) developed acute leukemia or malignant lymphoma. These results demonstrate a direct role of the mutant KITs, particularly KIT(V814), in tumorigenesis of hematopoietic cells and suggest that similar mutations may contribute to the development of human hematologic malignancies.

Animals↗

Up-regulation of VLA-5 expression during monocytic differentiation and its role in negative control of the survival of peripheral blood monocytes.

Interaction between fibronectin (FN) and very late activation Ag-5 (VLA-5) integrin was recently reported to be involved in apoptosis of hematopoietic cells. In an effort to clarify the physiologic role of FN in the regulation of biologic behavior of terminally differentiated hematopoietic cells, we have examined the change of VLA-5 expression during myeloid cell differentiation and its effects on monocytes and granulocytes. VLA-5 alpha mRNA was up-regulated during monocytic differentiation, but not during granulocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells. Flow cytometric and immunocytochemical analysis revealed that surface expression of VLA-5 was selectively increased upon monocytic differentiation and that it was strongly positive on peripheral blood monocytes. Susceptibility to FN-induced apoptosis was greatly increased upon monocytic differentiation, and it was almost completely abrogated by anti-VLA-5 Ab or RGD peptide. Similarly, FN could significantly enhance apoptosis of normal monocytes but not of granulocytes. Finally, we have shown that anti-FN Ab could suppress spontaneous apoptosis of normal monocytes in culture and prolong their survival. These results suggest that FN might play an important role in negative regulation of the survival of monocytes through its interaction with VLA-5, which is selectively up-regulated during monocytic differentiation.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Role of aspartic acid 814 in the function and expression of c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase.

The c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) is constitutively activated in three different types of neoplastic mast cell lines by naturally occurring mutations that result in substitutions of Val or Tyr for Asp814 in the phosphotransferase domain. In an effort to characterize the role of the Asp814 residue, we have investigated the properties of mutant KITs in which the Asp814 residue was deleted or mutated to a series of other amino acids. With the exception of rare instances, mutant KITs with substitutions of Asp814 were found to be constitutively phosphorylated on tyrosine and activated in the absence of the ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), whereas a deletion mutant lacking Asp814 (KITDel-Asp-814) did not exhibit tyrosine phosphorylation and activation even after treatment with SCF. In addition to constitutive activation, furthermore, both highly activated substitution mutants (KITVal-814 and KITTyr-814) and modestly activated substitution mutants (KITGly-814 and KITHis-814) were continuously degraded in the absence of SCF, whereas wild-type KIT (KITWild) required SCF stimulation to undergo degradation. These results suggested that the Asp814 residue may play a crucial role in regulating enzymatic activity and expression of KIT and that various types of mutations at the Asp814 residue may generate oncogenic protein with constitutive activation and degradation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bisecting N-acetylglucosamine on K562 cells suppresses natural killer cytotoxicity and promotes spleen colonization.

beta 1-4 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-III) catalyzes the formation of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) in the biosynthesis of N-linked oligosaccharides. To examine the effect of bisecting GlcNAc on the natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity, the GnT-111 gene was introduced into NK-sensitive K562 cells that have no detectable GnT-III activity. We obtained three clones stably expressing high GnT-III (positive transfectants). Introduction of the GnT-III gene resulted in an increase of bisecting GlcNAc and a decrease of external sialic acid as well as tri- and tetraantennary sugars, as judged by flow cytometry. Compared to controls, the NK cytotoxicity was completely blocked against positive transfectants. The binding of effector cells to positive transfectants was also decreased. After s.c. injection into nude mice, positive transfectants produced spleen colonization, although no spleen lesions were formed by control cells. In nude mice depleted of NK cells by anti-asialo GM1 antibody, both positive transfectants and controls produced spleen colonization equally. These results indicate that K562 cells expressing GnT-III are resistant to NK cytotoxicity, resulting in spleen colonization in nude mice.

Acetylglucosamine↗