技术资料

Mutations at the steel locus (Sl) of the mouse affect the same cellular targets as mutations at the white spotting locus (W),which is allelic with the c-kit proto-oncogene. We show that KL,a hematopoietic growth factor obtained from conditioned medium of BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts that stimulates the proliferation of mast cells and early erythroid progenitors,specifically binds to the c-kit receptor. The predicted amino acid sequence of isolated KL-specific cDNA clones suggests that KL is synthesized as an integral transmembrane protein. Linkage analysis maps the KL gene to the Sl locus on mouse chromosome 10,and KL sequences are deleted in the genome of the Sl mouse. These results indicate that the Sl locus encodes the ligand of the c-kit receptor,KL. View Publication

Prior experimental strategies to induce transplantation tolerance have focused largely on modifying adaptive immunity. However,less is known concerning the role of innate immune signaling in the induction of transplantation tolerance. Using a highly immunogenic murine skin transplant model that resists transplantation tolerance induction when innate immunity is preserved,we show that absence of MyD88,a key innate Toll like receptor signal adaptor,abrogates this resistance and facilitates inducible allograft acceptance. In our model,absence of MyD88 impairs inflammatory dendritic cell responses that reduce T cell activation. This effect increases T cell susceptibility to suppression mediated by CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells. Therefore,this study provides evidence that absence of MyD88 promotes inducible allograft acceptance and implies that inhibiting innate immunity may be a potential,clinically relevant strategy to facilitate transplantation tolerance. View Publication

The human pre-T-cell receptor alpha (TCRalpha; pTalpha) gene encodes a polypeptide which associates with the TCRbeta chain and CD3 molecules to form the pre-TCR complex. The surface expression of the pre-TCR is pTalpha dependent,and signaling through this complex triggers an early alphabeta T-cell developmental checkpoint inside the thymus,known as beta-selection. E2A transcription factors,which are involved at multiple stages of T-cell development,regulate the transcription of the pTalpha gene. Here we show that the regulatory protein Tax of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) efficiently suppresses the E47-mediated activation of the pTalpha promoter. Furthermore,we report that in Tax lentivirally transduced human MOLT-4 T cells,which constitutively express the pTalpha gene,the amount of pTalpha transcripts decreases. Such a decrease is not observed in MOLT-4 cells transduced by a vector encoding the Tax mutant K88A,which is unable to interact with p300. These data underline that Tax inhibits pTalpha transcription by recruiting this coactivator. Finally,we show that the expression of Tax in human immature thymocytes results in a decrease of pTalpha gene transcription but does not modify the level of E47 transcripts. These observations indicate that Tax,by silencing E proteins,down-regulates pTalpha gene transcription during early thymocyte development. They further provide evidence that Tax can interfere with an important checkpoint during T-cell differentiation in the thymus. View Publication

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are multipotent postnatal stem cells that have been used for the treatment of bone defects and graft-versus-host diseases in clinics. In this study,we found that subcutaneously transplanted human BMMSCs are capable of organizing hematopoietic progenitors of recipient origin. These hematopoietic cells expressed multiple lineages of hematopoietic cell associated markers and were able to rescue lethally irradiated mice,with successful engraftment in the recipient,suggesting a potential bone marrow (BM) resource for stem cell therapies. Furthermore,we found that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) promotes the formation of BMMSC-generated BM niches through upregulation of beta-catenin,implying that the PDGF pathway contributes to the formation of ectopic BM. These results indicate that the BMMSC-organized BM niche system represents a unique hematopoietic progenitor resource possessing potential clinical value. View Publication

A remarkable interdisciplinary effort has unraveled the WNT (Wingless and INT-1) signal transduction cascade over the last two decades. Wnt genes encode small secreted proteins that are found in all animal genomes. Wnt signaling is involved in virtually every aspect of embryonic development and also controls homeostatic self-renewal in a number of adult tissues. Germline mutations in the Wnt pathway cause several hereditary diseases,and somatic mutations are associated with cancer of the intestine and a variety of other tissues. View Publication

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) syndrome is caused by germline mutations in the NF1 tumor suppressor,which encodes neurofibromin,a GTPase activating protein for Ras. Children with NF1 are predisposed to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) and lethally irradiated mice given transplants with homozygous Nf1 mutant (Nf1-/-) hematopoietic stem cells develop a fatal myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) that models JMML. We investigated the requirement for signaling through the GM-CSF receptor to initiate and sustain this MPD by generating Nf1 mutant hematopoietic cells lacking the common beta chain (Beta c) of the GM-CSF receptor. Mice reconstituted with Nf1-/-,beta c-/- stem cells did not develop evidence of MPD despite the presence of increased number of immature hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow. Interestingly,when the Mx1-Cre transgene was used to inactivate a conditional Nf1 mutant allele in hematopoietic cells,concomitant loss of beta c-/- reduced the severity of the MPD,but did not abrogate it. Whereas inhibiting GM-CSF signaling may be of therapeutic benefit in JMML,our data also demonstrate aberrant proliferation of Nf1-/-myeloid progenitors that is independent of signaling through the GM-CSF receptor. View Publication

Transformed,oncogenic precursors,possessing both defining neural-stem-cell properties and the ability to initiate intracerebral tumours,have been identified in human brain cancers. Here we report that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs),amongst which BMP4 elicits the strongest effect,trigger a significant reduction in the stem-like,tumour-initiating precursors of human glioblastomas (GBMs). Transient in vitro exposure to BMP4 abolishes the capacity of transplanted GBM cells to establish intracerebral GBMs. Most importantly,in vivo delivery of BMP4 effectively blocks the tumour growth and associated mortality that occur in 100% of mice after intracerebral grafting of human GBM cells. We demonstrate that BMPs activate their cognate receptors (BMPRs) and trigger the Smad signalling cascade in cells isolated from human glioblastomas (GBMs). This is followed by a reduction in proliferation,and increased expression of markers of neural differentiation,with no effect on cell viability. The concomitant reduction in clonogenic ability,in the size of the CD133+ population and in the growth kinetics of GBM cells indicates that BMP4 reduces the tumour-initiating cell pool of GBMs. These findings show that the BMP-BMPR signalling system--which controls the activity of normal brain stem cells--may also act as a key inhibitory regulator of tumour-initiating,stem-like cells from GBMs and the results also identify BMP4 as a novel,non-cytotoxic therapeutic effector,which may be used to prevent growth and recurrence of GBMs in humans. View Publication

Cancer cells exhibit increased glycolysis for ATP production due,in part,to respiration injury (the Warburg effect). Because ATP generation through glycolysis is less efficient than through mitochondrial respiration,how cancer cells with this metabolic disadvantage can survive the competition with other cells and eventually develop drug resistance is a long-standing paradox. We report that mitochondrial respiration defects lead to activation of the Akt survival pathway through a novel mechanism mediated by NADH. Respiration-deficient cells (rho(-)) harboring mitochondrial DNA deletion exhibit dependency on glycolysis,increased NADH,and activation of Akt,leading to drug resistance and survival advantage in hypoxia. Similarly,chemical inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and hypoxia also activates Akt. The increase in NADH caused by respiratory deficiency inactivates PTEN through a redox modification mechanism,leading to Akt activation. These findings provide a novel mechanistic insight into the Warburg effect and explain how metabolic alteration in cancer cells may gain a survival advantage and withstand therapeutic agents. View Publication

The essentially infinite expansion potential and pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) makes them attractive for cell-based therapeutics. In contrast to mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs),hESCs normally undergo high rates of spontaneous apoptosis and differentiation,making them difficult to maintain in culture. Here we demonstrate that p53 protein accumulates in apoptotic hESCs induced by agents that damage DNA. However,despite the accumulation of p53,it nevertheless fails to activate the transcription of its target genes. This inability of p53 to activate its target genes has not been observed in other cell types,including mESCs. We further demonstrate that p53 induces apoptosis of hESCs through a mitochondrial pathway. Reducing p53 expression in hESCs in turn reduces both DNA damage-induced apoptosis as well as spontaneous apoptosis. Reducing p53 expression also reduces spontaneous differentiation and slows the differentiation rate of hESCs. Our studies reveal the important roles of p53 as a critical mediator of human embryonic stem cells survival and differentiation. View Publication

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether murine mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are able to home to the viable myocardium when injected intravenously and attenuate cardiac dysfunction and ventricular remodeling associated with myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Murine bone marrow cells were negatively selected for lineage markers and adherent MSC differentiated into adipocytes and osteocytes following treatment in culture. Two weeks after coronary occlusion that resulted in a permanent transmural infarct we observed a significant drop in LV systolic pressure,dP/dt(max),dP/dt(min),ESPVR and E(max) and a significant increase in end-diastolic volume in vivo. Femoral vein injection of MSC 1 h after occlusion attenuated the cardiac dysfunction without altering infarct size,or end-diastolic volume. Injected MSC pre-labeled with fluorescent paramagnetic microspheres were observed scattered in noninfarcted regions of the myocardium. Flow cytometry of whole heart digests after intravenous injection of MSC labeled with either fluorescent microspheres or fluorescent PKH26 dye demonstrated that infarcted hearts from mice that received MSC injections contained significantly more cells that integrated into the heart (20x) than those from uninfarcted controls. CONCLUSION: We conclude that intravenously injected MSC were able to home to viable myocardium and preserve systolic function by 2 weeks following ligation. The preserved contractility is likely an MSC-mediated paracrine response since infarct morphology was unchanged and labeled cells observed at two weeks exhibited the same characteristics as the injected MSC. These data underscore the importance of using MSC as a potential therapeutic intervention in preserving cardiac function following infarction. View Publication

OBJECTIVE: To determine the response of bone marrow progenitor cells from patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to culture in physiologic oxygen tension. METHODS: Methylcellulose progenitor assays using both unfractionated bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs) and purified CD34(+) progenitors were performed in atmospheric oxygen (18.6% O(2)) or one of two levels of hypoxia (1% and 3% O(2)). Assays were performed using normal donor marrow,MDS patient marrow,acute myelogenous leukemia marrow or peripheral blood blasts,chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) marrow MNCs,and blast crisis CML peripheral blood. RESULTS: The majority of MDS samples showed decreased colony-forming units (CFU) in 18.6% O(2) compared to normal controls,as expected. However,in either 1% or 3% O(2),9 of 13 MDS samples demonstrated augmentation of CFUs beyond that observed in normal controls,with 6 of 13 demonstrating a greater than ninefold augmentation. This effect is cell autonomous,as it persisted after purification of CD34(+) progenitor cells. Additionally,the augmented response to physiologic oxygen tension is specific to MDS,as it was not observed in either acute or chronic myelogenous leukemia samples. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the reported decrease in MDS CFUs reflects greater sensitivity of MDS progenitors or their progeny to the nonphysiologic oxygen tensions routinely used in vitro,rather than a true decrease in progenitor frequency. Importantly,these experiments for the first time describe an experimental system that can be used to study the growth of primary cells from patients with MDS. View Publication

The role of Src-family kinases (SFKs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been fully defined. Here we addressed this question by examining SFK phosphorylation in NSCLC biopsy samples and using genetic and pharmacological approaches to inhibit SFK expression and activity in cultured NSCLC cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of NSCLC biopsy samples using a Tyr416 phosphorylation-specific,pan-SFK antibody revealed staining in 123 (33%) of 370 tumors. Because c-Src is known to be both an upstream activator and downstream mediator of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),we next investigated SFK phosphorylation in a panel of NSCLC cell lines,including ones that depend on EGFR for survival. The EGFR-dependent NSCLC cell lines HCC827 and H3255 had increased phosphorylation of SFKs,and treatment of these cells with an SFK inhibitor (PP1 or SKI-606) induced apoptosis. PP1 decreased phosphorylation of EGFR,ErbB2,and ErbB3 and strikingly enhanced apoptosis by gefitinib,an EGFR inhibitor. HCC827 cells transfected with c-Src short hairpin RNA exhibited diminished phosphorylation of EGFR and ErbB2 and decreased sensitivity to apoptosis by PP1 or gefitinib. We conclude that SFKs are activated in NSCLC biopsy samples,promote the survival of EGFR-dependent NSCLC cells,and should be investigated as therapeutic targets in NSCLC patients. View Publication