技术资料

Ras activation is crucial for lymphocyte development and effector function. Both T and B lymphocytes contain two types of Ras activators: ubiquitously expressed SOS and specifically expressed Ras guanyl nucleotide-releasing protein (RasGRP). The need for two activators is enigmatic since both are activated following antigen receptor stimulation. In addition,RasGRP1 appears to be dominant over SOS in an unknown manner. The crystal structure of SOS provides a clue: an unusual allosteric Ras-GTP binding pocket. Here,we demonstrate that RasGRP orchestrates Ras signaling in two ways: (i) by activating Ras directly and (ii) by facilitating priming of SOS with RasGTP that binds the allosteric pocket. Priming enhances SOS' in vivo activity and creates a positive RasGTP-SOS feedback loop that functions as a rheostat for Ras activity. Without RasGRP1,initiation of this loop is impaired because SOS' catalyst is its own product (RasGTP)-hence the dominance of RasGRP1. Introduction of an active Ras-like molecule (RasV12C40) in T- and B-cell lines can substitute for RasGRP function and enhance SOS' activity via its allosteric pocket. The unusual RasGRP-SOS interplay results in sensitive and robust Ras activation that cannot be achieved with either activator alone. We hypothesize that this mechanism enables lymphocytes to maximally respond to physiologically low levels of stimulation. View Publication

The erythroid response to acute anemia relies on the rapid expansion in the spleen of a specialized population of erythroid progenitors termed stress BFU-E. This expansion requires BMP4/Madh5-dependent signaling in vivo; however,in vitro,BMP4 alone cannot recapitulate the expansion of stress BFU-E observed in vivo,which suggests that other signals are required. In this report we show that mutation of the Kit receptor results in a severe defect in the expansion of stress BFU-E,indicating a role for the Kit/SCF signaling pathway in stress erythropoiesis. In vitro analysis showed that BMP4 and SCF are necessary for the expansion of stress BFU-E,but only when spleen cells were cultured in BMP4 + SCF at low-oxygen concentrations did we recapitulate the expansion of stress BFU-E observed in vivo. Culturing spleen cells in BMP4,SCF under hypoxic conditions resulted in the preferential expansion of erythroid progenitors characterized by the expression of Kit,CD71,and TER119. This expression pattern is also seen in stress erythroid progenitors isolated from patients with sickle cell anemia and patients with beta-thalassemia. Taken together these data demonstrate that SCF and hypoxia synergize with BMP4 to promote the expansion and differentiation of stress BFU-E during the recovery from acute anemia. View Publication

RATIONALE: Excessive recruitment of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) to the lung promotes acute lung injury (ALI). Chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules initiate leukocyte-endothelial interactions,but mediators of PMN migration through the alveolo-capillary membrane remain to be identified. p21-Activated kinase (PAK) is an effector of small GTPases and has been implicated in cell migration. OBJECTIVES: To test the role of PAK in ALI. METHODS: An inhibitory PAK peptide was used to determine the role of PAK in cytoskeletal actin polymerization,cell adhesion,and oxidative burst. PMN migration was investigated in vitro and in a murine model of lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: PMN migration into lung interstitium and alveolar space was suppressed by an inhibitory PAK peptide. Neutrophils that had taken up the inhibitory PAK peptide were unable to enter the alveolar space. CXCL2/3,an important PMN chemoattractant in murine lung injury,induced PAK phosphorylation in PMNs. Blocking PAK function inhibited chemotaxis,chemokine-induced cytoskeletal actin polymerization,and adhesion-induced oxidative burst. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that neutrophil PAK is a critical mediator of PMN migration and may be an attractive target in ALI. View Publication

The HOXA9 homeoprotein exerts dramatic effects in hematopoiesis. Enforced expression of HOXA9 enhances proliferation of primitive blood cells,expands hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs),and leads to myeloid leukemia. Conversely,loss of HOXA9 inhibits proliferation and impairs HSC function. The pathways by which HOXA9 acts are largely unknown,and although HOXA9 is a transcription factor,few direct target genes have been identified. Our previous study suggested that HOXA9 positively regulates Pim1,an oncogenic kinase. The hematologic phenotypes of Hoxa9- and Pim1-deficient animals are strikingly similar. Here we show that HOXA9 protein binds to the Pim1 promoter and induces Pim1 mRNA and protein in hematopoietic cells. Pim1 protein is diminished in Hoxa9(-/-) cells,and Hoxa9 and Pim1 mRNA levels track together in early hematopoietic compartments. Induction of Pim1 protein by HOXA9 increases the phosphorylation and inactivation of the proapoptotic BAD protein,a target of Pim1. Hoxa9(-/-) cells show increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation,defects that are ameliorated by reintroduction of Pim1. Thus Pim1 appears to be a direct transcriptional target of HOXA9 and a mediator of its antiapoptotic and proproliferative effects in early cells. Since HOXA9 is frequently up-regulated in acute myeloid leukemia,Pim1 may be a therapeutic target in human disease. View Publication

Structural modification of a compound discovered during screening using an HRE-dependent reporter assay has revealed a novel class of HIF-1 inhibitors,which potently inhibit the HIF-1alpha protein accumulation and its target gene expression under hypoxic conditions in human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells. View Publication

On the basis of its inhibition by SB216763,we identified the multifunctional enzyme Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) as a central regulator for differentiation and cell survival of adult neural stem cells. Detected by proteomic approaches,members of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway appear to participate in enhanced neuronal differentiation and activated transcription of beta-catenin target genes during GSK3beta inhibition,associated with decreased apoptosis. View Publication

Abnormal activation of B lymphocytes is a feature commonly seen in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected persons. However,the mechanism(s) responsible for this dysfunction is still poorly understood. Having recently shown that CD40L,the ligand for CD40,is inserted within emerging HIV-1 particles,we hypothesized that the contact between virus-anchored host CD40L and CD40 on the surface of B lymphocytes might result in the activation of this cell type. We report here that CD40L-bearing viruses,but not isogenic virions lacking host-derived CD40L,can induce immunoglobulin G and interleukin-6 production. Furthermore,such viral entities were found to induce B-cell homotypic adhesion. These effects were paralleled at the intracellular level by the nuclear translocation of the ubiquitous transcription factor NF-kappaB. The presence of host-derived CD40L within virions resulted in an increased virus attachment to B cells and a more-efficient B-cell-mediated transfer of HIV-1 to autologous CD4(+) T lymphocytes. All the above processes were independent of the virus-encoded envelope glycoproteins. Altogether,the data gathered from this series of investigations suggest that the incorporation of host-encoded CD40L in HIV-1 is likely to play a role in the B-cell abnormalities that are seen in infected individuals. View Publication

Doublecortin (DCX) has recently been promulgated as a selective marker of cells committed to the neuronal lineage in both the developing and the adult brain. To explore the potential of DCX-positive (DCX+) cells more stringently,these cells were isolated by flow cytometry from the brains of transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of the DCX promoter in embryonic,early postnatal,and adult animals. It was found that virtually all of the cells (99.9%) expressing high levels of DCX (DCX(high)) in the embryonic brain coexpressed the neuronal marker betaIII-tubulin and that this population contained no stem-like cells as demonstrated by lack of neurosphere formation in vitro. However,the DCX+ population from the early postnatal brain and the adult subventricular zone and hippocampus,which expressed low levels of DCX (DCX(low)),was enriched for neurosphere-forming cells,with only a small subpopulation of these cells coexpressing the neuronal markers betaIII-tubulin or microtubule-associated protein 2. Similarly,the DCX(low) population from embryonic day 14 (E14) brain contained neurosphere-forming cells. Only the postnatal cerebellum and adult olfactory bulb contained some DCX(high) cells,which were shown to be similar to the E14 DCX(high) cells in that they had no stem cell activity. Electrophysiological studies confirmed the heterogeneous nature of DCX+ cells,with some cells displaying characteristics of immature or mature neurons,whereas others showed no neuronal characteristics whatsoever. These results indicate that DCX(high) cells,regardless of location,are restricted to the neuronal lineage or are bone fide neurons,whereas some DCX(low) cells retain their multipotentiality. View Publication

Murine megakaryocytes (MKs) are defined by CD41/CD61 expression and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity; however,their stages of differentiation in bone marrow (BM) have not been fully elucidated. In murine lineage-negative (Lin(-))/CD45(+) BM cells,we found CD41(+) MKs without AChE activity (AChE(-)) except for CD41(++) MKs with AChE activity (AChE(+)),in which CD61 expression was similar to their CD41 level. Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs could differentiate into AChE(+),with an accompanying increase in CD41/CD61 during in vitro culture. Both proplatelet formation (PPF) and platelet (PLT) production for Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs were observed later than for Lin(-)/CD41(++)/CD45(+)/AChE(+) MKs,whereas MK progenitors were scarcely detected in both subpopulations. GeneChip and semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that the Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs are assigned at the stage between the progenitor and PPF preparation phases in respect to the many MK/PLT-specific gene expressions,including beta1-tubulin. In normal mice,the number of Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs was 100 times higher than that of AChE(+) MKs in BM. When MK destruction and consequent thrombocytopenia were caused by an antitumor agent,mitomycin-C,Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs led to an increase in AChE(+) MKs and subsequent PLT recovery with interleukin-11 administration. It was concluded that MKs in murine BM at least in part consist of immature Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs and more differentiated Lin(-)/CD41(++)/CD45(+)/AChE(+) MKs. Immature Lin(-)/CD41(+)/CD45(+)/AChE(-) MKs are a major MK population compared with AChE(+) MKs in BM and play an important role in rapid PLT recovery in vivo. View Publication

Infection with a recombinant murine-feline gammaretrovirus,MoFe2,or with the parent virus,Moloney murine leukemia virus,caused significant reduction in B-lymphoid differentiation of bone marrow at 2 to 8 weeks postinfection. The suppression was selective,in that myeloid potential was significantly increased by infection. Analysis of cell surface markers and immunoglobulin H gene rearrangements in an in vitro model demonstrated normal B-lymphoid differentiation after infection but significantly reduced viability of differentiating cells. This reduction in viability may confer a selective advantage on undifferentiated lymphoid progenitors in the bone marrow of gammaretrovirus-infected animals and thereby contribute to the establishment of a premalignant state. View Publication

Polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-mediated histone methylation plays an important role in aberrant cancer gene silencing and is a potential target for cancer therapy. Here we show that S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitor 3-Deazaneplanocin A (DZNep) induces efficient apoptotic cell death in cancer cells but not in normal cells. We found that DZNep effectively depleted cellular levels of PRC2 components EZH2,SUZ12,and EED and inhibited associated histone H3 Lys 27 methylation (but not H3 Lys 9 methylation). By integrating RNA interference (RNAi),genome-wide expression analysis,and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) studies,we have identified a prominent set of genes selectively repressed by PRC2 in breast cancer that can be reactivated by DZNep. We further demonstrate that the preferential reactivation of a set of these genes by DZNep,including a novel apoptosis affector,FBXO32,contributes to DZNep-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Our results demonstrate the unique feature of DZNep as a novel chromatin remodeling compound and suggest that pharmacologic reversal of PRC2-mediated gene repression by DZNep may constitute a novel approach for cancer therapy. View Publication

BACKGROUND: ALDH(br) cells express high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity and have progenitor cell activity in several contexts. We characterized human BM ALDH(br) cells to determine whether cell sorting based on ALDH activity isolates potentially useful populations for cell therapy. METHOD: We measured the expression of ALDH and cell-surface Ag by flow cytometry and compared the ability of sorted ALDH(br),and BM populations remaining after ALDH(br) cells were removed (ALDH(dim) populations),to develop into several cell lineages in culture. RESULTS: The ALDH(br) population comprised 1.2+/-0.8% (mean+/-SD,n=30) nucleated cells and was enriched in cells expressing CD34,CD117,CD105,CD127,CD133 and CD166,and in primitive CD34(+) CD38(-) and CD34(+) CD133(+) progenitors. Most of the CD34(+) and CD133(+) cells were ALDH(dim). ALDH(br) populations had 144-fold more hematopoietic colony-forming activity than ALDH(dim) cells and included all megakaryocyte progenitors. ALDH(br) populations readily established endothelial cell monolayers in cultures. Cells generating endothelial colonies in 7 days were 435-fold more frequent in ALDH(br) than ALDH(dim) populations. CFU-F were 9.5-fold more frequent in ALDH(br) than ALDH(dim) cells,and ALDH(br) cells gave rise to multipotential mesenchymal cell cultures that could be driven to develop into adipocytes,osteoblasts and chondrocytes. DISCUSSION: Hematopoietic,endothelial and mesenchymal progenitor cells can be isolated simultaneously from human BM by cell sorting based on ALDH activity. BM ALDH(br) populations may be useful in several cell therapy applications. View Publication