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Nonpeptide mediators in the hematopoietic microenvironment.

Migration of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPCs) is controlled by chemotactic factors released in the hematopoietic microenvironment. In particular, the chemokine SDF-1, which activates the G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) CXCR4, plays an important role in progenitor cell mobilization and homing. However, we provide evidence that ligands of other GPRs similarly act on CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitors. These ligands comprise non-peptide mediators, including the cysteinyl-leukotriene receptor CysLT1, and stimulate migration and integrin-dependent adhesion of HPCs. Moreover, continuous activation of a GPR by a specific ligand upregulates the responsiveness of other GPRs to their corresponding ligands. These findings suggest that HPC migration may not depend on a single chemokine receptor (e.g., CXCR4). Rather, mobilization and homing of HPCs involve several GPRs, which interact with each other as well as with adhesion molecules. Pharmacological activation and inhibition of the GPR may allow HPC mobilization and homing to be modulated.

Animals↗

Microenvironment effects on the excited state properties of psoralens: a clue to their photobiological activity.

The singlet and triplet excited state parameters (phi f, tau t and phi T) of psoralen (PSO) and derivatives 4,6,4'-trimethylangelicin (TMA) and 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (TMP) show an extreme sensitivity to solvation in dioxane/water mixtures. These effects are attributed to the variation of the S1-->S0 internal conversion rate constant kic, which is the nonradiative deactivation path dominating their photophysical behavior. Depending on the compound, kic is very high, (approximately 1 x 10(10) s-1) in nonpolar solvents and then decreases to a low value (3 x 10(8) s-1), with increasing solvent polarity. This work shows that dioxane/water mixtures display the same solvent-induced changes in the electronic structure of psoralens during solvation as those induced by the biological microenvironment sensed by the drug's localization. This mixture matches the photophysical parameters of psoralens observed in protic and aprotic pure solvents, in micelles, in liposomes and in human serum low-density lipoproteins (LDL). They can be used to probe the solvating ability of the interaction site in macrocyclic hosts. A particular localization site, i.e. the more (TMA and TMP) or less (PSO) lipophilic sites found when in interaction with LDL, determines the amount of the triplet reactive state of psoralens and the molecular mechanism available for photoreaction: oxic (type I and type II) or anoxic (type III) pathways.

Furocoumarins↗

Solvent polarity and pH effects on the spectroscopic properties of neutral red: application to lysosomal microenvironment probing in living cells.

Neutral red is a lysosomal probe and a biological pH indicator. In aqueous solutions, the protonated (NRH) and neutral (NR) forms of monomeric neutral red exhibit distinct absorption maxima (535 and 450 nm, respectively) but have the same fluorescence with a maximum at 637 nm and a quantum yield of 0.02. The similarity of the fluorescence spectra at acidic and basic pH suggests deprotonation of cationic species in the first singlet excited state. The NR fluorescence strongly depends on the solvent polarity as shown by addition of increasing amounts of water to pure dioxane, which gradually shifts the fluorescence maximum from 540 nm in pure dioxane to 637 nm in water. The fluorescence quantum yield increases from 0.17 in dioxane to 0.3 upon addition of 7% water and then decreases, reaching 0.02 in pure water. Immediately after incubation of human skin fibroblasts with neutral red, excitation with 435 nm light produces a fluorescence whose maximum is recorded at 575 nm. This fluorescence is located in the perinuclear region and originates from large fluorescent intracytoplasmic spots, suggesting staining of the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi complex. At longer times, this fluorescence is shifted to 606 nm, suggesting slow diffusion of the lysosomotropic dye toward the more hydrated and acidic interior of lysosomes. Addition of a lysosomotropic detergent to cells previously incubated with neutral red shifts the fluorescence to the blue. Thus, in complex biological systems, this probe cannot be a good pH indicator but is a very sensitive probe of lysosomal microenvironments.

Dioxanes↗

Ion diffusion modified by tortuosity and volume fraction in the extracellular microenvironment of the rat cerebellum.

1. The validity of the macroscopic laws of ion diffusion was critically examined within the microenvironment of the extracellular space in the rat cerebellum using ion-selective micropipettes and ionophoretic point sources. 2. The concepts of volume averaging, volume fraction (alpha) and tortuosity (lambda) were defined and shown to be theoretically appropriate for quantifying diffusion in a complex medium such as the brain. 3. Diffusion studies were made with the cations tetramethylammonium and tetraethylammonium and the anions alpha-naphthalene sulphonate and hexafluoro-arsenate, all of which remained essentially extracellular during the measurements. Diffusion parameters were measured for a period of 50s and over distances of the order of 0.1 mm. 4. Measurements of the diffusion coefficients of the ions in agar gel gave values that were very close to those derivable from the literature, thus confirming the validity of the method. 5. Measurements in the cerebellum did not reveal any systematic influences of ionophoretic current strength, electrode separation, anisotropy, inhomogeneity, charge discrimination or uptake, within the limits tested. 6. The pooled data from measurements with all the ions gave alpha = 0.21 +/- 0.02 (mean +/- S.E. of mean) and lambda = 1.55 +/- 0.05 (mean +/- S.E. of mean). 7. These results show that the extracellular space occupies about 20% of the rat cerebellum and that the diffusion coefficient for small monovalent extracellular ions is reduced by a factor of 2.4 (i.e. lambda 2) without regard to charge sign. The over-all effect of this is to increase the apparent strength of any ionic source in the cerebellum by a factor of lambda 2/alpha, about 12-fold in the present case, and to modify the time course of diffusion. 8. These conclusions confirm that the laws of macroscopic diffusion are closely obeyed in the cerebellum for small ions in the extracellular space, provided that volume fraction and tortuosity are explicitly taken into account. It is likely that these conclusions are generally applicable to other brain regions and other diffusing substances.

Animals↗

Hematopoiesis on suspended nylon screen-stromal cell microenvironments.

A three-dimensional culture system for the growth of primate and rodent bone marrow was developed in our laboratory. This method involves the seeding of stromal cells onto a nylon screen and the inoculation of fresh or cryopreserved bone marrow hematopoietic cells after stromal cell processes had extended across 3 to 4 out of every 5 mesh openings. Stromal cells attach, grow, and secrete matrix proteins which contribute to an intricate microenvironment for the support of multilineage hematopoiesis, which was observed for greater than 270 days in the rat model and for greater than 12 weeks in the human system, as evidenced by flow cytometry analysis and in vitro clonogenic assays. The adherent zones of these suspended nylon screen cultures consisted primarily of immature cells. These cultures could also be used as substrates for cytotoxicity measurements; treatment of rat bone marrow cultures of various ages with cytosine beta-D arabinofuranoside, cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, or methotrexate resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in CFU-C numbers and altered the phenotypic distribution of hematologic cells in the adherent zone. The use of a modification of this method to generate large numbers of active cytolytic cells after greater than 75 days culture of rat bone marrow-derived natural killer cells is described also. Suspended nylon screen bone marrow culture also has potential uses in genetic insertion and graft vs. host disease studies, blood component therapy, the evaluation of ex vivo purging programs, and in marrow expansion for transplantation.

Animals↗

Age changes in the neuronal microenvironment.

The extracellular space of the rat brain was visualized by electron roscopy in sections of cerebral cortex fixed by freeze-substitution. The volume tissue occupied by the extracellular space was estimated stereomnetrically, and found to decrease from 20.8 percent in 3-month-old rats to 9.6 percent in escent animals, 26 months of age. This decrease in extracellular space indicates age-associated change in the microenvironment of nerve cells.

Aging↗

Transfer of multiple drug resistance plasmids between bacteria of diverse origins in natural microenvironments.

Plasmids harboring multiple antimicrobial-resistance determinants (R plasmids) were transferred in simulated natural microenvironments from various bacterial pathogens of human, animal, or fish origin to susceptible strains isolated from a different ecological niche. R plasmids in a strain of the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae O1 E1 Tor and a bovine Escherichia coli strain were conjugated to a susceptible strain of the fish pathogenic bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida in marine water. Conjugations of R plasmids between a resistant bovine pathogenic E. coli strain and a susceptible E. coli strain of human origin were performed on a hand towel contaminated with milk from a cow with mastitis. A similar conjugation event between a resistant porcine pathogenic E. coli strain of human origin was studied in minced meat on a cutting board. Conjugation of R plasmids between a resistant strain of the fish pathogenic bacterium A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida and a susceptible E. coli strain of human origin was performed in raw salmon on a cutting board. R plasmids in a strain of A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida and a human pathogenic E. coli strain were conjugated to a susceptible porcine E. coli strain in porcine feces. Transfer of the different R plasmids was confirmed by plasmid profile analyses and determination of the resistance pattern of the transconjugants. The different R plasmids were transferred equally well under simulated natural conditions and under controlled laboratory conditions, with median conjugation frequencies ranging from 3 x 10(-6) to 8 x 10(-3). The present study demonstrates that conjugation and transfer of R plasmids is a phenomenon that belongs to the environment and can occur between bacterial strains of human, animal, and fish origins that are unrelated either evolutionarily or ecologically even in the absence of antibiotics. Consequently, the contamination of the environment with bacterial pathogens resistant to antimicrobial agents is a real threat not only as a source of disease but also as a source from which R plasmids can easily spread to other pathogens of diverse origins.

Aeromonas↗

Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth at the cavity surface: a microenvironment with failed immunity.

Protective immunity against pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is characterized by the formation in the lungs of granulomas consisting of macrophages and activated T cells producing tumor necrosis factor alpha and gamma interferon, both required for the activation of the phagocytes. In 90% of immunocompetent humans, this response controls the infection. To understand why immunity fails in the other 10%, we studied the lungs of six patients who underwent surgery for incurable TB. Histologic examination of different lung lesions revealed heterogeneous morphology and distribution of acid-fast bacilli; only at the surface of cavities, i.e., in granulomas with a patent connection to the airways, were there numerous bacilli. The mutation profile of the isolates suggested that a single founder strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis may undergo genetic changes during treatment, leading to acquisition of additional drug resistance independently in discrete physical locales. Additional drug resistance was preferentially observed at the cavity surface. Cytokine gene expression revealed that failure to control the bacilli was not associated with a generalized suppression of cellular immunity, since cytokine mRNA was up regulated in all lesions tested. Rather, a selective absence of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells was noted at the luminal surface of the cavity, preventing direct T-cell-macrophage interactions at this site, probably allowing luminal phagocytes to remain permissive for bacillary growth. In contrast, in the perinecrotic zone of the granulomas, the two cell types colocalized and bacillary numbers were substantially lower, suggesting that in this microenvironment an efficient bacteriostatic or bactericidal phagocyte population was generated.

Adolescent↗

Role for RpoS but not RelA of Legionella pneumophila in modulation of phagosome biogenesis and adaptation to the phagosomal microenvironment.

The induction of virulence traits by Legionella pneumophila at the post-exponential phase has been proposed to be triggered by the stringent response mediated by RelA, which triggers RpoS. We show that L. pneumophila rpoS but not relA is required for early intracellular survival and replication within human monocyte-derived macrophages and Acanthamoeba polyphaga. In addition, L. pneumophila rpoS but not relA is required for expression of the pore-forming activity. We provide evidence that RpoS plays a role in the modulation of phagosome biogenesis and in adaptation to the phagosomal microenvironment. Thus, there is no functional link between the stringent response and RpoS in the pathogenesis of L. pneumophila.

Acanthamoeba↗

Neisseria gonorrhoeae membrane microenvironment studied by spin-label electron spin resonance: comparison of colony types.

Spin-label electron spin resonance was used to characterize the microenvironment around spin probes which localize (i) in membranes, (ii) at the membrane surface, or (iii) in the cytoplasm of living Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Four colony types (T1, T2, T3, and T4) of gonococci were compared on the basis of the electron spin resonance parameters 2T parallel to, S (order parameter), and tau c (microviscosity). The concentration of spin label used had little or no effect on viability. T1 and T2 gonococci were found to have a more restricted environment for molecular motion of a membrane surface spin label than did T3 and T4. The membrane fluidity, as measured by a membrane lipid spin label, of T4 (S = 0.571) was significantly greater than that of T1 or T3 (S = 0.580). This difference was detected at 37 degrees C, at 25 degrees C, in agar-grown bacteria, and in exponential-phase cells. Studies using spin labels which probe different levels of the membrane indicated the presence of a membrane flexibility gradient. Cytoplasmic spin-label studies indicated that the cytoplasm of all gonococcal colony types was three to five times more viscous than water.

Cell Membrane↗

Targeting c-Mpl for revival of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-induced hematopoietic inhibition when CD34+ progenitor cells are re-engrafted into a fresh stromal microenvironment in vivo.

The inhibition of multilineage hematopoiesis which occurs in the severe combined immunodeficiency mouse with transplanted human fetal thymus and liver tissues (SCID-hu Thy/Liv) due to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is also accompanied by a severe loss of c-Mpl expression on these progenitor cells. Inhibition of colony-forming activity (CFA) of the CD34(+) progenitor cells is partially revived to about 40% of mock-infected Thy/Liv implants, following reconstitution of the CD34(+) cells that were exposed to HIV-1 infection, in a new Thy/Liv stromal microenvironment of irradiated secondary SCID-hu recipients at 3 weeks post-re-engraftment. In addition, in these reconstituted animals, the proportion of c-Mpl(+) CD34(+) cells relative to c-Mpl(-) CD34(+) cells increased by about 25%, to 35% of mock-infected implants, suggesting a reacquirement of c-Mpl phenotype by the c-Mpl(-) CD34(+) cells. These results suggest a correlation between c-Mpl expression and multilineage CFA of the human CD34(+) progenitor cells that have experienced the effects of HIV-1 infection. Treatment of the secondary-recipient animals with the c-Mpl ligand, thrombopoietin (Tpo), further increased c-Mpl expression and CFA of re-engrafted CD34(+) cells previously exposed to virus in the primary implants to about 50 to 70% over that of those re-engrafted CD34(+) cells derived from implants of untreated animals. Blocking of c-Mpl with anti-c-Mpl monoclonal antibody in vivo by injecting the SCID-hu animals resulted in the reduction or loss of CFA. Thus, inhibition, absence, or loss of c-Mpl expression as in the c-Mpl(-) CD34(+) subset of cells is the likely cause of CFA inhibition. Further, CFA of the CD34(+) cells segregates with their c-Mpl expression. Therefore, c-Mpl may play a role in hematopoietic inhibition during HIV-1 infection, and control of its expression levels may aid in hematopoietic recovery and thereby reduce the incidence of cytopenias occurring in infected individuals.

Animals↗

The KAP1 corepressor functions to coordinate the assembly of de novo HP1-demarcated microenvironments of heterochromatin required for KRAB zinc finger protein-mediated transcriptional repression.

KAP1/TIF1beta is proposed to be a universal corepressor protein for the KRAB zinc finger protein (KRAB-zfp) superfamily of transcriptional repressors. To characterize the role of KAP1 and KAP1-interacting proteins in transcriptional repression, we investigated the regulation of stably integrated reporter transgenes by hormone-responsive KRAB and KAP1 repressor proteins. Here, we demonstrate that depletion of endogenous KAP1 levels by small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly inhibited KRAB-mediated transcriptional repression of a chromatin template. Similarly, reduction in cellular levels of HP1alpha/beta/gamma and SETDB1 by siRNA attenuated KRAB-KAP1 repression. We also found that direct tethering of KAP1 to DNA was sufficient to repress transcription of an integrated transgene. This activity is absolutely dependent upon the interaction of KAP1 with HP1 and on an intact PHD finger and bromodomain of KAP1, suggesting that these domains function cooperatively in transcriptional corepression. The achievement of the repressed state by wild-type KAP1 involves decreased recruitment of RNA polymerase II, reduced levels of histone H3 K9 acetylation and H3K4 methylation, an increase in histone occupancy, enrichment of trimethyl histone H3K9, H3K36, and histone H4K20, and HP1 deposition at proximal regulatory sequences of the transgene. A KAP1 protein containing a mutation of the HP1 binding domain failed to induce any change in the histone modifications associated with DNA sequences of the transgene, implying that HP1-directed nuclear compartmentalization is required for transcriptional repression by the KRAB/KAP1 repression complex. The combination of these data suggests that KAP1 functions to coordinate activities that dynamically regulate changes in histone modifications and deposition of HP1 to establish a de novo microenvironment of heterochromatin, which is required for repression of gene transcription by KRAB-zfps.

Cell Line↗

Effect of microenvironment and cell-line type on carbohydrate-binding proteins of macrophage-like cells.

The pattern of sugar inhibition of rosette formation, a model for intercellular interaction between cultured cells and glutaraldehyde-fixed, trypsinated rabbit erythrocytes, served to infer the presence of carbohydrate-binding proteins. This profile from cell extracts for the two murine macrophage-like cell lines, P388D1 and J774A.1, was comparatively analyzed by affinity chromatography on supports with immobilized carbohydrates (lactose, L-fucose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and maltose) or with the immobilized mannose-rich yeast glycoprotein mannan or fetuin-derived glycopeptides containing sialic acid residues. After elution with specific sugar in the absence of Ca2+ ions, the proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. The composition of carbohydrate-binding proteins of the two lines clearly exhibited quantitative and qualitative differences. Moreover, the pattern of P388D1 cells was also demonstrated to change significantly in response to alterations in the conditions of the physiological environment. These alterations were imposed by in vitro growth, by subsequent in vivo growth in nude mice, and by re-adaptation of cells to culture after in vivo passage. Collectively, our observations and other physiological and biochemical reports on macrophage lectins indicate that the presence of sugar receptors with different specificities may be an indicator of macrophage differentiation, being reversibly modulated to a considerable extent by external factors, e.g., microenvironment. Extensive but selective alterations in this respect could play an important role in the control of recognition and effector mechanisms within diverse functions of macrophage subpopulations.

Animals↗

Osteoblast expression of vascular endothelial growth factor is modulated by the extracellular microenvironment.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is crucial to the process of fracture healing. Vascular disruption after osseous injury results in an acidic, hypoxic wound environment. We have previously shown that osteoblasts can produce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in response to a variety of stimuli. In this study we examined pH and lactate concentration, two components of the putative fracture extracellular microenvironment, and determined their relative contribution to regulation of rat calvarial osteoblast VEGF production under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Our results demonstrate that pH and lactate concentration do independently affect osteoblast VEGF mRNA and protein production. Acidic pH (7.0) significantly decreased VEGF production, under normoxic and hypoxic conditions (P < 0.05), compared with neutral pH (7.4). This decrease was primarily transcriptionally regulated, because the rate of VEGF mRNA degradation was unchanged at pH 7.0 vs. 7.4. Similarly, an elevated lactate concentration (22 mM) also depressed osteoblast elaboration of VEGF at both neutral and acidic pH (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the effects of increasing acidity and elevated lactate appeared to be additive.

Acidosis, Lactic↗

TIMP-1, -2, -3, and -4 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A prevailing nondegradative lung microenvironment?

Fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix accumulation characterize idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We evaluated the presence of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, -2, -3, and -4; collagenase-1, -2, and -3; gelatinases A and B; and membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) in 12 IPF and 6 control lungs. TIMP-1 was found in interstitial macrophages and TIMP-2 in fibroblast foci. TIMP-3 revealed an intense staining mainly decorating the elastic lamina in vessels. TIMP-4 was expressed in IPF lungs by epithelial and plasma cells. TIMP-2 colocalized with Ki67 in fibroblasts, whereas TIMP-3 colocalized with p27 in inflammatory and epithelial cells. Collagenase-1 was localized in macrophages and alveolar epithelial cells, collagenase-2 was localized in a few neutrophils, and collagenase-3 was not detected. MMP-9 was found in neutrophils and subepithelial myofibroblasts. Myofibroblast expression of MMP-9 was corroborated in vitro by RT-PCR. MMP-2 was noticed in myofibroblasts, some of them close to areas of basement membrane disruption, and membrane type 1 MMP was noticed in interstitial macrophages. These findings suggest that in IPF there is higher expression of TIMPs compared with collagenases, supporting the hypothesis that a nondegrading fibrillar collagen microenvironment is prevailing.

Aged↗

Phenotypic analysis of the chicken thymic microenvironment during ontogenic development.

The development of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) reactive with the thymic microenvironment has identified distinct subpopulations within the stromal component, but the function of these subregions in intrathymic T-cell differentiation remains essentially an enigma. In this study, we have used such a panel of mAb to examine the chicken thymus during ontogenic development to gain insight into the contributions of these thymic regions to the distinct phases of T-cell development and to further characterize the development of this organ. Our reagents have demonstrated the complex differentiation of the primitive endodermal epithelium into more specialized structures and the development of other thymic stromal components from mesectodermal cells. We also describe molecules localized to the subcapsular and perivascular regions, which have an ontogenic expression corresponding to the early localization and stimulation of thymic precursors and another molecule on the medullary vasculature expressed corresponding to the exit of mature cells from the thymus. In addition, two markers of distinct medullary epithelial clusters are initially expressed corresponding to the appearance of T-cell receptor-1 (TcR-1) and TcR-2 positive cells in the medulla, respectively. These mAb potentially represent excellent reagents for further definition of the thymic modulation of T-cell differentiation.

Age Factors↗

Thymic microenvironment and lymphoid responses to sublethal irradiation.

Sublethal irradiation of the murine thymus has been a useful tool for depleting the thymus of dividing immature thymocyte subsets, to sequence thymocyte differentiation events occurring from radiation-resistant precursors. This massive reduction in thymocytes also represents a model in which the bidirectional interplay between the thymic stromal cells and lymphocytes can be investigated. The purpose of this study was thus twofold: to precisely map the initiation of thymopoiesis as a prelude to assessing the effects of injected mAb to novel thymic antigens; and to use a panel of mAbs to determine the alterations in the thymic stroma during the T-cell depletion and reconstitution phases. The striking finding from this study was that following T-cell depletion, there was a marked upregulation of specific stromal antigens, which retracted with the reappearance of T cells. Thus, following sublethal irradiation, there are modifications in the thymic microenvironment that may by necessary to support renewed thymopoiesis and the complete restoration of the thymus involved the synchronous development of both the stromal and lymphocytic components.

Animals↗

The tumor microenvironment controls primary effusion lymphoma growth in vivo.

Certain lymphomas in AIDS patients, such as primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), are closely associated with the lymphotropic gamma herpes virus Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV), also called human herpesvirus 8. The virus is thought to be essential for tumorigenesis, yet systems to investigate PEL in vivo are rare. Here we describe PEL tumorigenesis in a new xenograft model. Embedded in Matrigel, PEL cells formed rapid, well-organized, and angiogenic tumors after s.c. implantation of C.B.17 SCID mice. Without Matrigel we did not observe comparable tumors, which implies that extracellular support and/or signaling aids PEL. All of the tumors maintained the KSHV genome, and the KSHV latent protein LANA/orf73 was uniformly expressed. However, the expression profile for key lytic mRNAs, as well as LANA-2/vIRF3, differed between tissue culture and sites of implantation. We did not observe a net effect of ganciclovir on PEL growth in culture or as xenograft. These findings underscore the importance of the microenvironment for PEL tumorigenesis and simplify the preclinical evaluation of potential anticancer agents.

Abdominal Wall↗