技术资料

Germinal center (GC) responses to T-dependent Ags require effective collaboration between Th cells,activated B cells,and follicular dendritic cells within a highly organized microenvironment. Studies using gene-targeted mice have highlighted nonredundant molecules that are key for initiating and maintaining the GC niche,including the molecules of the ICOS,CD40,and lymphotoxin (LT) pathways. Signaling through ICOS has multiple consequences,including cytokine production,expression of CD40L on Th cells,and differentiation into CXCR5(+) follicular Th cells,all of which are important in the GC reaction. We have therefore taken advantage of ICOS(-/-) mice to dissect which downstream elements are required to initiate the formation of GC. In the context of a T-dependent immune response,we found that GC B cells from ICOS(-/-) mice express lower levels of LTalphabeta compared with wild-type GC B cells in vivo,and stimulation of ICOS on T cells induces LTalphabeta on B cells in vitro. Administration of agonistic anti-LTbeta receptor Ab was unable to restore the GC response in ICOS(-/-) mice,suggesting that additional input from another pathway is required for optimal GC generation. In contrast,treatment with agonistic anti-CD40 Ab in vivo recovered GC networks and restored LTalphabeta expression on GC B cells in ICOS(-/-) mice,and this effect was dependent on LTbeta receptor signaling. Collectively,these data demonstrate that ICOS activation is a prerequisite for the up-regulation of LTalphabeta on GC B cells in vivo and provide a model for cooperation between ICOS,CD40,and LT pathways in the context of the GC response. View Publication

We have resolved B220+ IgM- B-lineage cells in mouse bone marrow into four fractions based on differential cell surface expression of determinants recognized by S7 (leukosialin,CD43),BP-1,and 30F1 (heat stable antigen). Functional differences among these fractions can be correlated with Ig gene rearrangement status. The largest fraction,lacking S7,consists of pre-B cells whereas the others,expressing S7,include B lineage cells before pre-B. These S7+ fractions,provisionally termed Fr. A,Fr. B,and Fr. C,can differentiate in a stromal layer culture system. Phenotypic alteration during such culture suggests an ordering of these stages from Fr. A to Fr. B to Fr. C and thence to S7- pre-B cells. Using polymerase chain reaction amplification with pairs of oligonucleotide primers for regions 5' of JH1,DFL16.1,and Jk1,we find that the Ig genes of Fr. A are in germline configuration,whereas Fr. B and C are pro-B cell stages with increasing D-J rearrangement,but no V-D-J. Finally,functional analysis demonstrates that the proliferative response to IL-7,an early B lineage growth factor,is restricted to S7+ stages and,furthermore,that an additional,cell contact-mediated signal is essential for survival of Fr. A. View Publication

Lysophospholipids are signaling molecules that play broad and major roles within the nervous system during both early development and neural injury. We used neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) as an in vitro model to examine the specific effects of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) at various stages of neural development,from neural induction to mature neurons and glia. We report that LPA inhibits neurosphere formation and the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSC) toward neurons,without modifying NSC proliferation,apoptosis,or astrocytic differentiation. LPA acts through the activation of the Rho/ROCK and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathways to inhibit neuronal differentiation. This study is the first demonstration of a role for LPA signaling in neuronal differentiation of hESC. As LPA concentrations increase during inflammation,the inhibition of neuronal differentiation by LPA might contribute to the low level of neurogenesis observed following neurotrauma. View Publication

Epigenetic regulation through chromatin is thought to play a critical role in the establishment and maintenance of pluripotency. Traditionally,antibody-based technologies were used to probe for specific posttranslational modifications (PTMs) present on histone tails,but these methods do not generally reveal the presence of multiple modifications on a single-histone tail (combinatorial codes). Here,we describe technology for the discovery and quantification of histone combinatorial codes that is based on chromatography and mass spectrometry. We applied this methodology to decipher 74 discrete combinatorial codes on the tail of histone H4 from human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Finally,we quantified the abundances of these codes as human ES cells undergo differentiation to reveal striking changes in methylation and acetylation patterns. For example,H4R3 methylation was observed only in the presence of H4K20 dimethylation; such context-specific patterning exemplifies the power of this technique. View Publication

Anacardic acid (6-pentadecylsalicylic acid) is derived from traditional medicinal plants,such as cashew nuts,and has been linked to anticancer,anti-inflammatory,and radiosensitization activities through a mechanism that is not yet fully understood. Because of the role of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation in these cellular responses,we postulated that anacardic acid might interfere with this pathway. We found that this salicylic acid potentiated the apoptosis induced by cytokine and chemotherapeutic agents,which correlated with the down-regulation of various gene products that mediate proliferation (cyclin D1 and cyclooxygenase-2),survival (Bcl-2,Bcl-xL,cFLIP,cIAP-1,and survivin),invasion (matrix metalloproteinase-9 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1),and angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor),all known to be regulated by the NF-kappaB. We found that anacardic acid inhibited both inducible and constitutive NF-kappaB activation; suppressed the activation of IkappaBalpha kinase that led to abrogation of phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaBalpha; inhibited acetylation and nuclear translocation of p65; and suppressed NF-kappaB-dependent reporter gene expression. Down-regulation of the p300 histone acetyltransferase gene by RNA interference abrogated the effect of anacardic acid on NF-kappaB suppression,suggesting the critical role of this enzyme. Overall,our results demonstrate a novel role for anacardic acid in potentially preventing or treating cancer through modulation of NF-kappaB signaling pathway. View Publication

Most tumors grow in immunocompetent hosts despite expressing NKG2D ligands (NKG2DLs) such as the MHC class I chain-related genes A and B (MICA/B). However,their participation in tumor cell evasion is still not completely understood. Here we demonstrate that several human melanomas (cell lines and freshly isolated metastases) do not express MICA on the cell surface but have intracellular deposits of this NKG2DL. Susceptibility to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity correlated with the ratio of NKG2DLs to HLA class I molecules but not with the amounts of MICA on the cell surface of tumor cells. Transfection-mediated overexpression of MICA restored cell surface expression and resulted in an increased in vitro cytotoxicity and IFN-gamma secretion by human NK cells. In xenografted nude mice,these melanomas exhibited a delayed growth and extensive in vivo apoptosis. Retardation of tumor growth was due to NK cell-mediated antitumor activity against MICA-transfected tumors,given that this effect was not observed in NK cell-depleted mice. Also,mouse NK cells killed MICA-overexpressing melanomas in vitro. A mechanistic analysis revealed the retention of MICA in the endoplasmic reticulum,an effect that was associated with accumulation of endoH-sensitive (immature) forms of MICA,retrograde transport to the cytoplasm,and degradation by the proteasome. Our study identifies a novel strategy developed by melanoma cells to evade NK cell-mediated immune surveillance based on the intracellular sequestration of immature forms of MICA in the endoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore,this tumor immune escape strategy can be overcome by gene therapy approaches aimed at overexpressing MICA on tumor cells. View Publication

Expansion of the CGG.CCG-repeat tract in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene to textgreater200 repeats leads to heterochromatinization of the promoter and gene silencing. This results in Fragile X syndrome (FXS),the most common heritable form of mental retardation. The mechanism of gene silencing is unknown. We report here that a Class III histone deacetylase,SIRT1,plays an important role in this silencing process and show that the inhibition of this enzyme produces significant gene reactivation. This contrasts with the much smaller effect of inhibitors like trichostatin A (TSA) that inhibit Class I,II and IV histone deacetylases. Reactivation of silenced FMR1 alleles was accompanied by an increase in histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation as well as an increase in the amount of histone H4 that is acetylated at lysine 16 (H4K16) by the histone acetyltransferase,hMOF. DNA methylation,on the other hand,is unaffected. We also demonstrate that deacetylation of H4K16 is a key downstream consequence of DNA methylation. However,since DNA methylation inhibitors require DNA replication in order to be effective,SIRT1 inhibitors may be more useful for FMR1 gene reactivation in post-mitotic cells like neurons where the effect of the gene silencing is most obvious. View Publication

Recent data suggest that the practice of using frozen allogeneic grafts is becoming increasingly common among transplant centres. Therefore,we retrospectively analysed 31 frozen allogeneic PBSC and 8 BM grafts by flow cytometry with regard to their CD34+ content,membrane integrity (7-AAD) and stem cell-specific enzyme activity (aldehyde dehydrogenase,ALDH) in relation to individual transplantation results. Membrane integrity of CD34+ cells was significantly impaired in cryopreserved PBSC but not in BM compared to unfrozen allografts. In 9 out of 31 frozen PBSC (but none of the BM) grafts numbers of SSC(lo)ALDH(br) cells per kg body weight (BW) were significantly reduced while in the same grafts the numbers of CD34+ cells per kg BW were close to normal. Overall,9 out of 33 patients (27%) who received unrelated PBSC allografts cryopreserved after transportation did not achieve engraftment. For comparison,primary graft failure was observed in our centre in only 7 out of 493 recipients (1.4%) of fresh allogeneic PBSC grafts. Moreover,we did not see any graft failure in patients receiving frozen/thawed BM or autologous PBSC transplants. We,therefore,conclude that PBSC grafts become much more sensitive to cryopreservation after transport and/or storage. Importantly,the engraftment potential of frozen HSC grafts may reliably be predicted by measuring ALDH activity. View Publication

Pluripotent cells can be derived from fibroblasts by ectopic expression of defined transcription factors. A fundamental unresolved question is whether terminally differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to pluripotency. We utilized transgenic and inducible expression of four transcription factors (Oct4,Sox2,Klf4,and c-Myc) to reprogram mouse B lymphocytes. These factors were sufficient to convert nonterminally differentiated B cells to a pluripotent state. However,reprogramming of mature B cells required additional interruption with the transcriptional state maintaining B cell identity by either ectopic expression of the myeloid transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding-protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha) or specific knockdown of the B cell transcription factor Pax5. Multiple iPS lines were clonally derived from both nonfully and fully differentiated B lymphocytes,which gave rise to adult chimeras with germline contribution,and to late-term embryos when injected into tetraploid blastocysts. Our study provides definite proof for the direct nuclear reprogramming of terminally differentiated adult cells to pluripotency. View Publication

This unit describes the production of monoclonal antibodies beginning with immunization and cell fusion and selection. Support protocols are provided for screening primary hybridoma supernatants for antibodies of desired specificity,establishment of stable hybridoma lines,cloning of these B cell lines by limiting dilution to obtain monoclonal lines,and preparation of cloning/expansion medium. An alternate protocol describes cell fusion and one-step selection and cloning of hybridomas utilizing a semi-solid methylcellulose-based medium (ClonaCell-HY). View Publication

The hierarchical progression of stem and progenitor cells to their more-committed progeny is mediated through cell-to-cell signaling pathways and intracellular transcription factor activity. However,the mechanisms that govern the genetic networks underlying lineage fate decisions and differentiation programs remain poorly understood. Here we show how integration of Bmp4 signaling and Gata factor activity controls the progression of hematopoiesis,as exemplified by the regulation of Eklf during establishment of the erythroid lineage. Utilizing transgenic reporter assays in differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells as well as in the murine fetal liver,we demonstrate that Eklf expression is initiated prior to erythroid commitment during hematopoiesis. Applying phylogenetic footprinting and in vivo binding studies in combination with newly developed loss-of-function technology in embryoid bodies,we find that Gata2 and Smad5 cooperate to induce Eklf in a progenitor population,followed by a switch to Gata1-controlled regulation of Eklf transcription upon erythroid commitment. This stage- and lineage-dependent control of Eklf expression defines a novel role for Eklf as a regulator of lineage fate decisions during hematopoiesis. View Publication

The majority of BRCA1-associated breast cancers are basal cell-like,which is associated with a poor outcome. Using a spontaneous mouse mammary tumor model,we show that platinum compounds,which generate DNA breaks during the repair process,are more effective than doxorubicin in Brca1/p53-mutated tumors. At 0.5 mg/kg of daily cisplatin treatment,80% primary tumors (n = 8) show complete pathologic response. At greater dosages,100% show complete response (n = 19). However,after 2 to 3 months of complete remission following platinum treatment,tumors relapse and become refractory to successive rounds of treatment. Approximately 3.8% to 8.0% (mean,5.9%) of tumor cells express the normal mammary stem cell markers,CD29(hi)24(med),and these cells are tumorigenic,whereas CD29(med)24(-/lo) and CD29(med)24(hi) cells have diminished tumorigenicity or are nontumorigenic,respectively. In partially platinum-responsive primary transplants,6.6% to 11.0% (mean,8.8%) tumor cells are CD29(hi)24(med); these populations significantly increase to 16.5% to 29.2% (mean,22.8%; P textless 0.05) in platinum-refractory secondary tumor transplants. Further,refractory tumor cells have greater colony-forming ability than the primary transplant-derived cells in the presence of cisplatin. Expression of a normal stem cell marker,Nanog,is decreased in the CD29(hi)24(med) populations in the secondary transplants. Top2A expression is also down-regulated in secondary drug-resistant tumor populations and,in one case,was accompanied by genomic deletion of Top2A. These studies identify distinct cancer cell populations for therapeutic targeting in breast cancer and implicate clonal evolution and expansion of cancer stem-like cells as a potential cause of chemoresistance. View Publication