scholarly journals Anatomic Origin of Osteochondrogenic Progenitors Impacts Sensitivity to EWS-FLI1-Induced Transformation

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Pfaltzgraff ◽  
April Apfelbaum ◽  
Andrew Kassa ◽  
Jane Song ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
...  

Ewing sarcomas predominantly arise in pelvic and stylopod bones (i.e., femur and humerus), likely as a consequence of EWS-FLI1 oncogene-induced transformation of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs). MSCs located in the embryonic superficial zone cells (eSZ) of limbs express anatomically distinct posterior Hox genes. Significantly, high expression of posterior HOXD genes, especially HOXD13, is a hallmark of Ewing sarcoma. These data drove our hypothesis that Hox genes in posterior skeleton MSCs contribute to Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis. We isolated eSZ cells from stylopod and zeugopod (i.e., tibia/fibula, radius/ulna) bones, from wild-type and Hoxd13 mutant embryos, and tested the impact of EWS-FLI1 transduction on cell proliferation, gene expression, and tumorigenicity. Our data demonstrate that both stylopod and zeugopod eSZ cells tolerate EWS-FLI1 but that stylopod eSZ cells are relatively more susceptible, demonstrating changes in proliferation and gene expression consistent with initiation of malignant transformation. Significantly, loss of Hoxd13 had no impact, showing that it is dispensable for the initiation of EWS-FLI1-induced transformation in mouse MSCs. These findings show that MSCs from anatomically distinct sites are differentially susceptible to EWS-FLI1-induced transformation, supporting the premise that the dominant presentation of Ewing sarcoma in pelvic and stylopod bones is attributable to anatomically-defined differences in MSCs.

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (8) ◽  
pp. F1176-F1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyu Li ◽  
Wanding Yang ◽  
Filipa Mendes ◽  
Margarida D. Amaral ◽  
David N. Sheppard

In autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), the protein product of the gene defective in cystic fibrosis (CF), plays a crucial role in fluid accumulation, which promotes cyst swelling. Several studies have identified individuals afflicted by both ADPKD and CF. Two studies suggested that CF mutations might attenuate the severity of ADPKD, whereas a third found no evidence of a protective effect. In this study, we investigated the impact of the commonest CF mutation F508del-CFTR on the formation and growth of renal cysts. As a model system, we used Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells engineered to express wild-type and F508del human CFTR. We grew MDCK cysts in collagen gels in the presence of the cAMP agonist forskolin and measured transepithelial resistance and Cl− secretion with the Ussing chamber technique and assayed cell proliferation using nonpolarized MDCK cells. When compared with untransfected MDCK cells, cells expressing wild-type CFTR generated substantial numbers of large cysts, which grew markedly over time. By contrast, MDCK cells expressing F508del-CFTR formed very few tiny cysts that failed to enlarge. Interestingly, treatment of F508del-CFTR cysts with the CFTR corrector VRT-325 and the CFTR corrector-potentiator VRT-532 increased the number, but not size, of F508del-CFTR cysts, possibly because VRT-325 inhibited strongly cell proliferation. Based on its effects on transepithelial resistance, Cl− secretion, and cell proliferation, we conclude that the F508del-CFTR mutation disrupts cyst formation and growth by perturbing strongly fluid accumulation within the cyst lumen without compromising epithelial integrity.


Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 1449-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.E. Nelson ◽  
B.A. Morgan ◽  
A.C. Burke ◽  
E. Laufer ◽  
E. DiMambro ◽  
...  

The vertebrate Hox genes have been shown to be important for patterning the primary and secondary axes of the developing vertebrate embryo. The function of these genes along the primary axis of the embryo has been generally interpreted in the context of positional specification and homeotic transformation of axial structures. The way in which these genes are expressed and function during the development of the secondary axes, particularly the limb, is less clear. In order to provide a reference for understanding the role of the Hox genes in limb patterning, we isolated clones of 23 Hox genes expressed during limb development, characterized their expression patterns and analyzed their regulation by the signalling centers which pattern the limb. The expression patterns of the Abd-B-related Hoxa and Hoxd genes have previously been partially characterized; however, our study reveals that these genes are expressed in patterns more dynamic and complex than generally appreciated, only transiently approximating simple, concentric, nested domains. Detailed analysis of these patterns suggests that the expression of each of the Hoxa and Hoxd genes is regulated in up to three independent phases. Each of these phases appears to be associated with the specification and patterning of one of the proximodistal segments of the limb (upper arm, lower arm and hand). Interestingly, in the last of these phases, the expression of the Hoxd genes violates the general rule of spatial and temporal colinearity of Hox gene expression with gene order along the chromosome. In contrast to the Abd-B-related Hoxa and Hoxd genes, which are expressed in both the fore and hind limbs, different sets of Hoxc genes are expressed in the two limbs. There is a correlation between the relative position of these genes along the chromosome and the axial level of the limb bud in which they are expressed. The more 3′ genes are expressed in the fore limb bud while the 5′ genes are expressed in the hind limb bud; intermediate genes are transcribed in both limbs. However, there is no clear correlation between the relative position of the genes along the chromosome and their expression domains within the limb. With the exception of Hoxc-11, which is transcribed in a posterior portion of the hind limb, Hoxc gene expression is restricted to the anterior/proximal portion of the limb bud. Importantly, comparison of the distributions of Hoxc-6 RNA and protein products reveals posttranscriptional regulation of this gene, suggesting that caution must be exercised in interpreting the functional significance of the RNA distribution of any of the vertebrate Hox genes. To understand the genesis of the complex patterns of Hox gene expression in the limb bud, we examined the propagation of Hox gene expression relative to cell proliferation. We find that shifts in Hox gene expression cannot be attributed to passive expansion due to cell proliferation. Rather, phase-specific Hox gene expression patterns appear to result from a context-dependent response of the limb mesoderm to Sonic hedgehog. Sonic hedgehog (the patterning signal from the Zone of Polarizing Activity) is known to be able to activate Hoxd gene expression in the limb. Although we find that Sonic hedgehog is capable of initiating and polarizing Hoxd gene expression during both of the latter two phases of Hox gene expression, the specific patterns induced are not determined by the signal, but depend upon the temporal context of the mesoderm receiving the signal. Misexpression of Sonic hedgehog also reveals that Hoxb-9, which is normally excluded from the posterior mesenchyme of the leg, is negatively regulated by Sonic hedgehog and that Hoxc-11, which is expressed in the posterior portion of the leg, is not affected by Sonic hedgehog and hence is not required to pattern the skeletal elements of the lower leg.


2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (8) ◽  
pp. 1281-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raelene J. Grumont ◽  
Steve Gerondakis

In lymphocytes, the Rel transcription factor is essential in establishing a pattern of gene expression that promotes cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Here we show that mitogen-induced expression of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4), a lymphoid-specific member of the IFN family of transcription factors, is Rel dependent. Consistent with IRF-4 functioning as a repressor of IFN-induced gene expression, the absence of IRF-4 expression in c-rel−/− B cells coincided with a greater sensitivity of these cells to the antiproliferative activity of IFNs. In turn, enforced expression of an IRF-4 transgene restored IFN modulated c-rel−/− B cell proliferation to that of wild-type cells. This cross-regulation between two different signaling pathways represents a novel mechanism that Rel/nuclear factor κB can repress the transcription of IFN-regulated genes in a cell type–specific manner.


2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (16) ◽  
pp. 16484-16498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Martinez-Ceballos ◽  
Pierre Chambon ◽  
Lorraine J. Gudas

Homeobox (Hox) genes encode a family of transcription factors that regulate embryonic patterning and organogenesis. In embryos, alterations of the normal pattern of Hox gene expression result in homeotic transformations and malformations. Disruption of theHoxa1gene, the most 3′ member of the Hoxa cluster and a retinoic acid (RA) direct target gene, results in abnormal ossification of the skull, hindbrain, and inner ear deficiencies, and neonatal death. We have generated Hoxa1-/-embryonic stem (ES) cells (named Hoxa1-15) from Hoxa1-/-mutant blastocysts to study the Hoxa1 signaling pathway. We have characterized in detail these Hoxa1-/-ES cells by performing microarray analyses, and by this technique we have identified a number of putative Hoxa-1 target genes, including genes involved in bone development (e.g. Col1a1,Postn/Osf2, and the bone sialoprotein gene orBSP), genes that are expressed in the developing brain (e.g. Nnat,Wnt3a,BDNF,RhoB, andGbx2), and genes involved in various cellular processes (e.g. M-RAS,Sox17,Cdkn2b,LamA1,Col4a1,Foxa2,Foxq1,Klf5, andIgf2). Cell proliferation assays and Northern blot analyses of a number of ES cell markers (e.g. Rex1,Oct3/4,Fgf4, andBmp4) suggest that the Hoxa1 protein plays a role in the inhibition of cell proliferation by RA in ES cells. Additionally, Hoxa1-/-ES cells express high levels of various endodermal markers, includingGata4andDab2, and express much lessFgf5after leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) withdrawal. Finally, we propose a model in which the Hoxa1 protein mediates repression of endodermal differentiation while promoting expression of ectodermal and mesodermal characteristics.


2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Lo ◽  
Robert AR Hurta

Transforming growth factor β1 is an important growth regulator in many cell types, usually exerting a negative effect on cellular growth. Inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell proliferation is frequently lost during malignant transformation, and in some cases, tumor cell proliferation is actually stimulated by TGF-β1. The present study demonstrates a novel link between alterations in TGF-β1 regulation during malignant conversion, and the expression of ferritin, an important activity involved in a number of biological functions including iron homeostasis and cell-growth control. A series of H-ras-transformed mouse 10 T 1/2 cell lines, exhibiting increasing malignant potential, was investigated for possible TGF-β1-mediated changes in ferritin gene expression. Selective induction of gene expression was observed, since only H-ras-transformed cells with malignant potential exhibited marked elevations in ferritin gene expression, in particular, alterations in H-ferritin gene expression. The regulation of H-ferritin gene expression in response to TGF-β 1 did not involve alterations in transcription, but occurred through mechanisms of post-transcriptional stabilization of the H-ferritin mRNA. Additionally, evidence was obtained for a cycloheximide-sensitive regulator of H-ferritin gene expression, since the presence of this protein synthesis inhibitor increased H-ferritin message levels, and in combination with TGF-β1, cooperated in an additive manner to augment H-ferritin gene expression. These results show for the first time that TGF-β1 can regulate ferritin gene expression in malignant H-ras transformed cells, and suggest a mechanism for growth factor stimulation of malignant cells, in which early alterations in the control of H-ferritin gene expression are important.Key words: TGF-β1, ferritin gene expression, malignant transformation.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5182-5182
Author(s):  
Xutao Guo ◽  
Bowen Yan ◽  
Yi Qiu

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) exhibits large intrinsic variation in drug responsiveness due to its inherent heterogeneity. Therefore, it is important to understand the resistant mechanism in order to improve the treatment. In our previously study, the OCI-AML2-resistant cell lines were established to resist cytarabine (Ara-C) in the concentration of 50 µM (OCI-AML2 R50). The RNA-seq results showed that many genes changed in the resistant cells compared to wild type OCI-AML2 cells. One of the most remarkably decreased gene in resistant cells was HOXA11 (Homeobox A11). It is the part of the A cluster on chromosome 7 and encodes a DNA-binding transcription factor which regulates gene expression, morphogenesis, and differentiation. In this study, we have evaluated the importance of HOXA11 in AML chemoresistance. We found that knockdown of HOXA11 repressed the WT OCI-AML2 cell proliferation and increased the population of cells expressing CD123 and CD47 LSC (Leukemia stem cell) markers and enhanced the resistance to Ara-C in vitro, while overexpression of HOXA11 showed the reverse effect. These results support the idea that HOXA11 promotes drug sensitivity and apoptosis in AML. However, the result also showed that overexpression of HOXA11 repressed the OCI-AML2 R50 cell proliferation and enhanced the resistance. Therefore, HOXA11 plays opposite role in sensitive cells and resistant cells. We further investigated the mechanism for these effects. We found that knockdown of HOXA11 decreased the p53 gene expression and overexpression of HOXA11 increased the expression of p53 in OCI-AML2 and R50 cells. Further, in OCI-AML2 R50 cells p53 has a hotspot mutation in DNA binding site and studies have shown that p53 mutation enhance cancer cell survival and chemoresistance. Therefore, our study shows dual roles for HOXA11 in cell survival. In p53 wild type parental AML2 cells, HOXA11 induces wild type p53 expression to enhance drug sensitivity while in resistant cell, HOXA11 promotes mutant p53 expression and enhances the resistance of chemotherapy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiong Gao ◽  
◽  
Elena López-Knowles ◽  
Maggie Chon U. Cheang ◽  
James Morden ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Endocrine therapy reduces breast cancer mortality by 40%, but resistance remains a major clinical problem. In this study, we sought to investigate the impact of aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy on gene expression and identify gene modules representing key biological pathways that relate to early AI therapy resistance. Methods Global gene expression was measured on pairs of core-cut biopsies taken at baseline and at surgery from 254 patients with ER-positive primary breast cancer randomised to receive 2-week presurgical AI (n = 198) or no presurgical treatment (control n = 56) from the POETIC trial. Data from the AI group was adjusted to eliminate artefactual process-related changes identified in the control group. The response was assessed by changes in the proliferation marker, Ki67. Results High baseline ESR1 expression associated with better AI response in HER2+ tumours but not HER2− tumours. In HER2− tumours, baseline expression of 48 genes associated with poor antiproliferative response (p < 0.005) including PERP and YWHAQ, the two most significant, and the transcription co-regulators (SAP130, HDAC4, and NCOA7) which were among the top 16 most significant. Baseline gene signature scores measuring cell proliferation, growth factor signalling (ERBB2-GS, RET/GDNF-GS, and IGF-1-GS), and immune activity (STAT1-GS) were significantly higher in poor AI responders. Two weeks of AI caused downregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and ER signalling, as expected. Signature scores of E2F activation and TP53 dysfunction after 2-week AI were associated with poor AI response in both HER2− and HER2+ patients. Conclusions There is a high degree of heterogeneity in adaptive mechanisms after as little as 2-week AI therapy; however, all appear to converge on cell cycle regulation. Our data support the evaluation of whether an E2F signatures after short-term exposure to AI may identify those patients most likely to benefit from the early addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN63882543, registered on 18 December 2007.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 733-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish R. Kumar ◽  
Wendy A. Hudson ◽  
Weili Chen ◽  
Rodney A. Staggs ◽  
Anne-Francoise Lamblin ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to understand the pathophysiology of leukemia, we need to study the effects of leukemic oncogenes on the rare hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. We investigated the self-renewal capabilities of the various hematopoietic cell types derived from Mll-AF9 knock-in mice. We used the murine knock-in model since it offers the advantage of a single copy of the Mll-fusion gene under the control of the endogenous promoter present in every hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell. In methylcellulose cultures, we compared myeloid colony formation of Mll-AF9 cells to wild type progenitor populations over three generations of plating. In the first generation of plating, the Mll-AF9 common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs) formed more colonies than the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs). However, at the third generation of plating, colony numbers formed by Mll-AF9 HSCs and CLPs were significantly greater than those formed by CMPs and GMPs. By the third generation only occasional colonies were found in the wild type groups. These results demonstrate that while Mll-AF9 led to an increase in self-renewal of all 4 cell types studied, these effects were more pronounced in HSCs and CLPs. To identify the downstream genes that mediate the growth deregulatory effects of Mll-AF9, we compared gene expression profiles of Mll-AF9 derived cells to their wild type counterparts. To assess gene expression levels, we extracted RNA from wild type and Mll-AF9 HSCs, CLPs, CMPs and GMPs. We then amplified and labeled the RNA for analysis by Affymetrix murine 430 2.0 genome arrays. In an unsupervised analysis, the various Mll-AF9 cells clustered with their corresponding wild type counterparts, indicating that the expression of most genes was not significantly altered by Mll-AF9. To identify the genes that are differentially expressed in the Mll-AF9 derived cells, we performed a two-way ANOVA (with the genotype and cell type as the two variables) allowing for a false discovery rate of 10%. In this analysis, we found that 76 genes were up-regulated in all Mll-AF9 progenitor cells compared to their wild-type counterparts. This list included known targets of Mll-fusion proteins Hoxa5, Hoxa7, Hoxa9 and Hoxa10. Also included were Evi1 and Mef2c, two genes that have been implicated in promoting enhanced self-renewal of murine hematopoietic cells. Importantly, in wild type mice, these 6 genes were expressed at higher levels in HSCs and CLPs compared to CMPs and GMPs (average 3–25 fold). While we observed an average 2–10 fold increase in expression of these genes in all Mll-AF9 cell types compared to their respective wild type controls, the expression level was 3–8 fold higher in Mll-AF9 HSCs and CLPs compared to CMPs and GMPs. Thus, the expression of genes known to be intrinsically related to self-renewal is further enhanced as a result of the Mll-AF9 fusion gene. In conclusion, while activation of the Mll-AF9 genetic program and the resulting enhanced self-renewal occurs in all 4 cell types studied, these effects are greatest in HSCs and CLPs. Thus, HSCs and CLPs are likely to be more efficient than CMPs and GMPs in producing cellular expansion and targets for cooperating mutations resulting in leukemia.


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