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TGFbeta-mediated FGF signaling is crucial for regulating cranial neural crest cell proliferation during frontal bone development.

The murine frontal bone derives entirely from the cranial neural crest (CNC) and consists of the calvarial (lateral) aspect that covers the frontal lobe of brain and the orbital aspect that forms the roof of bony orbit. TGFbeta and FGF signaling have important regulatory roles in postnatal calvarial development. Our previous study has demonstrated that conditional inactivation of Tgfbr2 in the neural crest results in severe defects in calvarial development, although the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which TGFbeta signaling regulates the fate of CNC cells during frontal bone development remain unknown. Here, we show that TGFbeta IIR is required for proliferation of osteoprogenitor cells in the CNC-derived frontal bone anlagen. FGF acts downstream of TGFbeta signaling in regulating CNC cell proliferation, and exogenous FGF2 rescues the cell proliferation defect in the frontal primordium of Tgfbr2 mutant. Furthermore, the CNC-derived frontal primordium requires TGFbeta IIR to undergo terminal differentiation. However, this requirement is restricted to the developing calvarial aspect of the frontal bone, whereas the orbital aspect forms despite the ablation of Tgfbr2 gene, implying a differential requirement for TGFbeta signaling during the development of various regions of the frontal bone. This study demonstrates the biological significance of TGFbeta-mediated FGF signaling cascade in regulating frontal bone development, suggests that TGFbeta functions as a morphogen in regulating the fate of the CNC-derived osteoblast and provides a model for investigating abnormal craniofacial development.

Animals↗

Clonal analysis of chronic myeloproliferative disorders using X-linked DNA polymorphisms.

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the X-chromosome genes phosphoglycerate kinase and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase were used to study clonality in peripheral blood leukocytes from 48 women with chronic myeloproliferative disorders (c-MPD). A total of 50% of patients were heterozygous for one or both of the polymorphic loci. These included 17 cases with polycythemia vera, four patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET), and three cases with idiopathic myelofibrosis (IMF). A clear-cut monoclonal X-inactivation pattern was observed in 17 of 24 cases including all IMF patients. Only one patient with PV exhibited a nonclonal composition of her leukocytes, while six cases demonstrated a predominantly clonal pattern in peripheral blood cells. Among the latter category reckoned three of four ET patients. Cell separation analyses were performed in one ET and three PV patients. In all four cases a monoclonal pattern of the granulocyte fraction could be established, while T lymphocytes of these patients were of nonclonal origin. These data suggest that the vast majority of c-MPDs arise from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells. Moreover, this type of clonal analysis might be of help in discriminating between primary MPD and reactive processes.

Adult↗

Cytokine-augmented culture of haematopoietic progenitor cells in a novel three-dimensional cell growth matrix.

Studies aimed at the in vitro expansion of haematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) have suffered from the conflict of increasing cell numbers while maintaining long-term repopulating ability. We have developed a long-term bone marrow bioreactor culture system resembling the marrow-microenvironment that cultures HPCs in an inert, three-dimensional, porous biomatrix termed Cellfoam. Previous studies have shown that the short-term culture of CD34(+)cells in Cellfoam improved the maintenance and multipotency of haematopoietic stem cells compared to cells cultured on plastic dishes. In this study, we examined the effects of low concentrations of cytokines including stem cell factor (SCF), IL-3, and Flk-2/Flt-3 ligand, on the maintenance, preservation and multipotency of CD34(+) cells cultured for 3 or 6 weeks in Cellfoam. Analysis of cell yields using flow cytometry showed that in SCF and Flk-2/Flt-3 ligand-supplemented cultures as well as cytokine-free cultures, a higher number of CD45(+)34(+) and CD45(+)34(+)38(-) cells is observed in Cellfoam cultures as compared to plastic cultures. The function of cultured cells was evaluated in colony-forming assays. The data demonstrate that Cellfoam cultures supplemented with SCF and Flk-2/Flt-3 ligand resulted in a higher output of colony activity compared to plastic cultures. Analysis of CAFC (29 days) activity also demonstrated that primitive progenitors were maintained to a greater extent in Cellfoam cultures containing either no cytokines or low concentrations of early-acting cytokines. These data suggest that culture of HPCs in three-dimensional bioreactors such as Cellfoam for extended periods may benefit from the addition of low levels of early-acting cytokines, including SCF and Flk-2/Flt-3 ligand, resulting in high yields of cells that are enriched for multipotent haematopoietic progenitors. These findings demonstrate that a three-dimensional matrix promotes the survival of primitive HPCs in culture and may modulate the in vitro effects of cytokines.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗

G protein-coupled receptor signaling through Gq and JNK negatively regulates neural progenitor cell migration.

In the early development of the central nervous system, neural progenitor cells divide in an asymmetric manner and migrate along the radial glia cells. The radial migration is an important process for the proper lamination of the cerebral cortex. Recently, a new mode of the radial migration was found at the intermediate zone where the neural progenitor cells become multipolar and reduce the migration rate. However, the regulatory signals for the radial migration are unknown. Using the migration assay in vitro, we examined how neural progenitor cell migration is regulated. Neural progenitor cells derived from embryonic mouse telencephalon migrated on laminin-coated dishes. Endothelin (ET)-1 inhibited the neural progenitor cell migration. This ET-1 effect was blocked by BQ788, a specific inhibitor of the ETB receptor, and by the expression of a carboxyl-terminal peptide of Galpha q but not Galpha i. The expression of constitutively active mutant of Galpha q, Galpha qR183C, inhibited the migration of neural progenitor cells. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of ET-1 was suppressed by the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125 and the expression of the JNK-binding domain of JNK-interacting protein-1, a specific inhibitor of the JNK pathway. Using the slice culture system of embryonic brain, we demonstrated that ET-1 and the constitutively active mutant of Galpha q caused the retention of the neural progenitor cells in the intermediate zone and JNK-binding domain of JNK-interacting protein-1 abrogated the effect of ET-1. These results indicated that G protein-coupled receptor signaling negatively regulates neural progenitor cell migration through Gq and JNK.

Animals↗

Differentiation of human adult skin-derived neuronal precursors into mature neurons.

The isolation of autologous neuronal precursors from skin-derived precursor cells extracted from adult human skin would be a very efficient source of neurons for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that these neuronal precursors were able to differentiate into mature neurons. We isolated neuronal precursors from breast skin and expanded them in vitro for over ten passages. We showed that 48% of these cells were proliferating after the first passage, while this growth rate decreased after the second passage. We demonstrated that 70% of these cells were nestin-positive after the third passage, while only 17% were neurofilament M-positive after 7 days of differentiation. These neuronal precursors expressed betaIII tubulin, the dendritic marker MAP2 and the presynaptic marker synaptophysin after 7 days of in vitro maturation. They also expressed the postsynaptic marker PSD95 and the late neuronal markers NeuN and neurofilament H after 21 days of differentiation, demonstrating they became terminally differentiated neurons. These markers were still expressed after 50 days of culture. The generation of autologous neurons from an accessible adult human source opens many potential therapeutic applications and has a great potential for the development of experimental studies on normal human neurons.

Adult↗

Hedgehog signaling plays a conserved role in inhibiting fat formation.

Hedgehog (Hh) signals regulate invertebrate and vertebrate development, yet the role of the cascade in adipose development was undefined. To analyze a potential function, we turned to Drosophila and mammalian models. Fat-body-specific transgenic activation of Hh signaling inhibits fly fat formation. Conversely, fat-body-specific Hh blockade stimulated fly fat formation. In mammalian models, sufficiency and necessity tests showed that Hh signaling also inhibits mammalian adipogenesis. Hh signals elicit this function early in adipogenesis, upstream of PPARgamma, potentially diverting preadipocytes as well as multipotent mesenchymal prescursors away from adipogenesis and toward osteogenesis. Hh may elicit these effects by inducing the expression of antiadipogenic transcription factors such as Gata2. These data support the notion that Hh signaling plays a conserved role, from invertebrates to vertebrates, in inhibiting fat formation and highlighting the potential of the Hh pathway as a therapeutic target for osteoporosis, lipodystrophy, diabetes, and obesity.

3T3-L1 Cells↗

Effects of ciliary neurotrophic factor on differentiation of late retinal progenitor cells.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) has been shown to be a potent regulator of retinal cell differentiation. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of CNTF on in vitro differentiation of expanded late retinal progenitor cells. Retinal progenitor cells used in these studies were isolated from the neural retina of postnatal day-1 green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice. The resulting GFP-positive neurospheres were dissociated into a single-cell suspension and grown on poly-D-lysine/laminin-coated tissue culture flasks or slides to generate adherent retinal progenitor cells. These adherent cells were treated with 20 ng/ml of CNTF for up to 14 days, and expression of specific retinal cell markers was determined by immunocytochemistry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and immunoblot analysis. In vitro studies showed that CNTF treatment of late retinal progenitor cells resulted in changes in cellular morphology. Immunocytochemical studies showed an increase in the proportion of cells expressing markers of bipolar cells but not rod differentiation. In addition, an increase in the proportion of cells expressing glial cell markers was observed. RT-PCR analysis showed downregulation in Hes1, Nestin, Notch1, and Pax6 transcripts along with a concomitant increase in protein kinase C (PKC) alpha and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) transcripts. These findings were confirmed by immunoblot analysis, where downregulation in Nestin expression and simultaneous upregulation in PKC alpha and GFAP were observed. The data indicate that CNTF treatment of multipotential late retinal progenitors increases the proportion of cells that express markers of bipolar neurons and glia.

Animals↗

The early progenitors of mouse dendritic cells and plasmacytoid predendritic cells are within the bone marrow hemopoietic precursors expressing Flt3.

Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) is a growth factor for hemopoietic progenitors and can promote the expansion of both conventional dendritic cells (DCs) and plasmacytoid predendritic cells (p-preDCs). The cells responding to Flt3L treatment and the precursors for the DCs and p-preDCs had not been fully characterized. We examined different mouse bone marrow (BM) hemopoietic precursor populations for the surface expression of Flt3 and tested them for early DC and p-preDC precursor activity. Most DC precursor activity, other than that given by multipotent hemopoietic stem cells, was within the downstream precursors expressing Flt3. The majority of mouse BM common lymphoid precursors expressed high levels of Flt3 and these were the most efficient precursors of both DCs and p-preDCs. In contrast, only a small proportion of the common myeloid precursors (CMPs) expressed Flt3, but the precursor activity for both DCs and p-preDCs was within this minor Flt3+ CMP fraction. The granulocyte and macrophage precursors and pro-B cells did not express Flt3 and had no DC or p-preDC precursor activity. These findings demonstrate that the early precursors for all DC subtypes are within the BM Flt3+ precursor populations, regardless of their lymphoid or myeloid lineage orientation.

Animals↗

Cardiac stem cell and myocyte aging, heart failure, and insulin-like growth factor-1 overexpression.

To determine whether cellular aging leads to a cardiomyopathy and heart failure, markers of cellular senescence, cell death, telomerase activity, telomere integrity, and cell regeneration were measured in myocytes of aging wild-type mice (WT). These parameters were similarly studied in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) transgenic mice (TG) because IGF-1 promotes cell growth and survival and may delay cellular aging. Importantly, the consequences of aging on cardiac stem cell (CSC) growth and senescence were evaluated. Gene products implicated in growth arrest and senescence, such as p27Kip1, p53, p16INK4a, and p19ARF, were detected in myocytes of young WT mice, and their expression increased with age. IGF-1 attenuated the levels of these proteins at all ages. Telomerase activity decreased in aging WT myocytes but increased in TG, paralleling the changes in Akt phosphorylation. Reduction in nuclear phospho-Akt and telomerase resulted in telomere shortening and uncapping in WT myocytes. Senescence and death of CSCs increased with age in WT impairing the growth and turnover of cells in the heart. DNA damage and myocyte death exceeded cell formation in old WT, leading to a decreased number of myocytes and heart failure. This did not occur in TG in which CSC-mediated myocyte regeneration compensated for the extent of cell death preventing ventricular dysfunction. IGF-1 enhanced nuclear phospho-Akt and telomerase delaying cellular aging and death. The differential response of TG mice to chronological age may result from preservation of functional CSCs undergoing myocyte commitment. In conclusion, senescence of CSCs and myocytes conditions the development of an aging myopathy.

Aging↗

Effect of thrombopoietin on acute myelogenous leukemia blasts.

It has been shown that the expression of c-mp1, which is a specific receptor for thrombopoietin (TPO), is restricted to the surface of megakaryocytes, platelets, human CD34+ progenitor cells and human erythroid/megakaryocytic leukemic cell lines. Recently, however, it has been reported that some acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) blasts expressed c-mp1 on their cell surface and proliferated in response to TPO. We therefore investigated the effect of thrombopoietin on the growth of leukemic blasts from patients with CD7-positive acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), which is a distinct biological and clinical subtype of AML. Significant growth responses of leukemic blasts to TPO were seen in 10/10 CD7+ and 7/20 CD7- AML cases using 3H-thymidine incorporation, while synergistic stimulatory effects of TPO with stem cell factor (SCF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor were observed in both groups. In a leukemic blast colony assay, significant growth response to TPO was observed in 5/6 CD7+ and 4/17 CD7- AML cases examined. Furthermore, the expression of c-mp1 seemed to be higher in CD7+ AML cases than in CD7- cases, suggesting a relationship between the expression of c-mp1 and the proliferative response to TPO. These findings imply that CD7+ leukemic blasts express functional TPO receptors and proliferate in response to TPO. Thus CD7 expression on AML blasts may indicate the involvement of leukemic progenitors at an early stage of multipotent hemopoietic stem cells. In this review, we discuss the effect of TPO on AML blasts, especially in CD7+ AML cases.

Animals↗

Embryonic stem cell research: the relevance of ethics in the progress of science.

Experimentation with embryonic stem (ES) cells has become an important breakthrough in medical research. However, it is also a source of controversy, because it requires the destruction of the human embryos used to derive ES cells. This paper deals with some of the ethical issues concerning ES cell research. To begin with, the terms used in the debate on the ethical status of the human embryo need to be defined. Apart from the presumed benefits of ES cell research, we should also consider such issues as the strong opposition to this research by a large part of society, who argue in favour of protecting and respecting human embryos; the fragility and defenseless of human embryos; and the contradiction in terms inherent in the statement that human embryos must be treated with respect. Secondly, we should focus on possible conflicts between the financial, scientific, and ethical aspects of this debate. Thirdly, the significance of social and political debate requires clear and complete information that takes all consequences into account. Finally, the paper suggests how multipotent adult stem cell research may be an optimal and realistic alternative to ES cell research.

Bioethics↗

Interferon consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP; IRF-8) antagonizes BCR/ABL and down-regulates bcl-2.

BCR/ABL is the causative genetic aberration in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Mice lacking expression of the interferon (IFN) consensus sequence binding protein (ICSBP), an IFN gamma-inducible transcription factor of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family, develop a disease similar to human CML. Mounting evidence suggests a role for ICSBP in the pathogenesis of CML. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. By stable and conditional expression of ICSBP in wild-type and BCR/ABL-transformed 32D cells (32D/wt and 32D/BA), we found that ICSBP inhibited BCR/ABL-mediated leukemogenesis in vivo. Moreover, ICSBP also overrode BCR/ABL-mediated morphology changes, chemotherapy, and imatinib resistance, as well as BCR/ABL-induced repression of differentiation. Some of these ICSBP effects may be explained in part by an ICSBP-mediated repression of bcl-2, a major antiapoptotic target of BCR/ABL, on transcriptional and protein level. Using reporter gene assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays we identified that the bcl-2 promoter activity was inhibited by ICSBP by way of a fragment containing 2 characteristic ICSBP-responsive elements. An inverse correlation between ICSBP and bcl-2 expression was confirmed in vivo. Collectively, our findings suggest that ICSBP antagonizes BCR/ABL by down-regulation of bcl-2 and implicates a central role for ICSBP in the pathogenesis of CML, as well as a therapeutic target to overcome drug resistance in bcl-2-dependent tumors.

Animals↗

Postirradiation treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and preirradiation WR-2721 administration synergize to enhance hemopoietic reconstitution and increase survival.

These studies tested whether WR-2721 could be used to protect hemopoietic stem cells, which after irradiation could be stimulated by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to proliferate and reconstitute the hemopoietic system. Female C3H/HeN mice were administered WR-2721 (4 mg/mouse, i.p.) 30 min before 60Co irradiation and G-CSF (2.5 micrograms/mouse/day, s.c.) from days 1-16 after irradiation. In survival studies, saline, G-CSF, WR-2721, and WR-2721 + G-CSF treatments resulted in LD50/30 values of 7.85 Gy, 8.30 Gy, 11.30 Gy, and 12.85 Gy, respectively. At these LD50/30 values, the dose reduction factor (DRF) of 1.64 obtained in combination-treated mice was more than additive between the DRF's of G-CSF-treated mice (1.06) and WR-2721-treated mice (1.44). Bone marrow and splenic multipotent hemopoietic stem cell (CFU-s) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cell (GM-CFC) recoveries were also accelerated most in mice treated with WR-2721 + G-CSF. In addition, mice treated with WR-2721 + G-CSF exhibited the most accelerated peripheral blood white cell, platelet, and red cell recoveries. These studies (a) demonstrate that therapeutically administered G-CSF accelerates hemopoietic reconstitution from WR-2721-protected stem and progenitor cells, increasing the survival-enhancing effects of WR-2721 and (b) suggest that classic radioprotectants and recombinant hemopoietic growth factors can be used in combination to reduce risks associated with myelosuppression induced by radiation or radiomimetic drugs.

Amifostine↗

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and amifostine (Ethyol) synergize to enhance hemopoietic reconstitution and increase survival in irradiated animals.

The reported studies tested whether amifostine could be used to protect hemopoietic stem cells, which, after irradiation, could be stimulated by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to proliferate and reconstitute the hemopoietic system. Female C3H/HeN mice were administered amifostine (Ethyol, US Bioscience, Inc, West Conshohocken, PA) (200 mg/kg intraperitoneally 30 minutes before cobalt-60 irradiation and G-CSF (125 micrograms/kg/d subcutaneously from days 1 to 16 after irradiation. Saline, G-CSF, amifostine, and amifostine plus G-CSF treatments resulted in LD50/30 values of 7.85 Gy, 8.30 Gy, 11.30 Gy, and 12.85 Gy, respectively. At these LD50/30 values, the dose reduction factor of 1.64 obtained in combination-treated mice was more than additive between the dose reduction factors of G-CSF-treated mice (1.06) and amifostine-treated mice (1.44). Bone marrow and splenic multipotent hemopoietic stem cell and granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cell recoveries, as well as peripheral white blood cell, platelet, and red blood cell recoveries were also accelerated most in mice treated with amifostine plus G-CSF. These studies demonstrate that therapeutically administered G-CSF accelerates hemopoietic reconstitution from amifostine-protected stem and progenitor cells, increasing the survival-enhancing effects of amifostine, and suggest that classic radioprotectants and recombinant hemopoietic growth factors can be used in combination to reduce the risks associated with myelosuppression induced by radiation or radiomimetic drugs.

Amifostine↗

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 regulates neuronal differentiation by inhibiting growth hormone signaling.

The intracellular mechanisms that determine the response of neural progenitor cells to growth factors and regulate their differentiation into either neurons or astrocytes remain unclear. We found that expression of SOCS2, an intracellular regulator of cytokine signaling, was restricted to mouse progenitor cells and neurons in response to leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-like cytokines. Progenitors lacking SOCS2 produced fewer neurons and more astrocytes in vitro, and Socs2(-/-) mice had fewer neurons and neurogenin-1 (Ngn1)-expressing cells in the developing cortex, whereas overexpression of SOCS2 increased neuronal differentiation. We also report that growth hormone inhibited Ngn1 expression and neuronal production, and this action was blocked by SOCS2 overexpression. These findings indicate that SOCS2 promotes neuronal differentiation by blocking growth hormone-mediated downregulation of Ngn1.

Animals↗

Immunohistochemical identification of multipotent adult progenitor cells from human bone marrow after transplantation into the rat brain.

In the immunohistochemical analysis of the brain, tissue preparation and fixation are critical steps. During our studies of transplanting human bone marrow multipotent adult progenitor cells (hMAPCs) into the rat brain, we noticed that various methods of brain tissue preparation and fixation differentially influenced antigenic preservation in the transplants and in the host brain. Here, we report a simple, effective and reproducible method of tissue preparation and fixation that results in the immunohistochemical labeling of transplanted and host cells.

Animals↗

Human mesenchymal stem cells signals regulate neural stem cell fate.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes depending on their location within the central nervous system (CNS). The cellular and molecular cues mediating end-stage cell fate choices are not completely understood. The retention of multipotent NSCs in the adult CNS raises the possibility that selective recruitment of their progeny to specific lineages may facilitate repair in a spectrum of neuropathological conditions. Previous studies suggest that adult human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) improve functional outcome after a wide range of CNS insults, probably through their trophic influence. In the context of such trophic activity, here we demonstrate that hMSCs in culture provide humoral signals that selectively promote the genesis of neurons and oligodendrocytes from NSCs. Cell-cell contacts were less effective and the proportion of hMSCs that could be induced to express neural characteristics was very small. We propose that the selective promotion of neuronal and oligodendroglial fates in neural stem cell progeny is responsible for the ability of MSCs to enhance recovery after a wide range of CNS injuries.

Animals↗

Induction of glial glutamate transporters in adult mesenchymal stem cells.

Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of mesodermal tissues. Recent studies have reported on their ability to also evolve into non-mesodermal cells, especially neural cells. While most of these studies revealed that manipulating these cells triggers the expression of typical neurone markers, less is known about the induction of neuronal- or glial-related physiological properties. The present study focused on the characterisation of glutamate transporters expression and activity in rat mesenchymal stem cells grown in culture conditions favouring their differentiation into astroglial cells. Ten days exposure of the cells to the culture supplement G5 was found to increase the expression of nestin (neuro-epithelial stem cell intermediate filament), an intermediate filament protein expressed by neural stem cells. Simultaneously, a robust induction of the high-affinity glutamate transporter GLT-1 (and GLAST) expression was detected by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. This expression was correlated with a highly significant increase in the Na+-dependent [3H]D-aspartate uptake. Finally, while glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity could not be detected, the induced expression of the astrocytic enzyme glutamine synthetase was demonstrated. These results indicate that in vitro differentiation of adult mesenchymal stem cells in neural precursors coincides with the induction of functional glutamate transport systems. Although the astrocytic nature of these cells remains to be confirmed, this observation gives support to the study of mesenchymal stem cells as a promising tool for the treatment of neurological diseases involving glutamate excitoxicity.

Amino Acid Transport System X-AG↗