技术资料

Germ line mutations in the Adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene cause a hereditary form of intestinal tumorigenesis in both mice and man. Here we show that in Apc(Min/+) mice,which carry a heterozygous germ line mutation at codon 850 of Apc,there is progressive loss of immature and mature thymocytes from approximately 80 days of age with complete regression of the thymus by 120 days. In addition,Apc(Min/+) mice show parallel depletion of splenic natural killer (NK) cells,immature B cells,and B progenitor cells in bone marrow due to complete loss of interleukin 7 (IL-7)-dependent B-cell progenitors. Using bone marrow transplantation experiments into wild-type recipients,we have shown that the capacity of transplanted Apc(Min/+) bone marrow cells for T- and B-cell development appears normal. In contrast,although the Apc(Min/+) bone marrow microenvironment supported short-term reconstitution with wild-type bone marrow,Apc(Min/+) animals that received transplants subsequently underwent lymphodepletion. Fibroblast colony-forming unit (CFU-F) colony assays revealed a significant reduction in colony-forming mesenchymal progenitor cells in the bone marrow of Apc(Min/+) mice compared with wild-type animals prior to the onset of lymphodepletion. This suggests that an altered bone marrow microenvironment may account for the selective lymphocyte depletion observed in this model of familial adenomatous polyposis. View Publication

Hyperactivation of the transcription factor Stat5 leads to various leukemias. Stat5 activity is regulated by the protein phosphatase SHP-1 in a phospholipase C (PLC)-β3-dependent manner. Thus,PLC-β3-deficient mice develop myeloproliferative neoplasm,like Lyn (Src family kinase)- deficient mice. Here we show that Lyn/PLC-β3 doubly deficient lyn(-/-);PLC-β3(-/-) mice develop a Stat5-dependent,fatal myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm,similar to human chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). In hematopoietic stem cells of lyn(-/-);PLC-β3(-/-) mice that cause the CMML-like disease,phosphorylation of SHP-1 at Tyr(536) and Tyr(564) is abrogated,resulting in reduced phosphatase activity and constitutive activation of Stat5. Furthermore,SHP-1 phosphorylation at Tyr(564) by Lyn is indispensable for maximal phosphatase activity and for suppression of the CMML-like disease in these mice. On the other hand,Tyr(536) in SHP-1 can be phosphorylated by Lyn and another kinase(s) and is necessary for efficient interaction with Stat5. Therefore,we identify a novel Lyn/PLC-β3-mediated regulatory mechanism of SHP-1 and Stat5 activities. View Publication

Regulatory mechanisms governing adhesion of hematopoietic progenitor cells to the stromal nische are poorly understood. Growth factors such as stem cell factor (SCF),granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor,and thrombopoietin were reported to upregulate the adhesion of hematopoietic progenitors to immobilized fibronectin through activation of integrin alpha4beta1 and alpha5beta1. Macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha is a C-C chemokine that suppresses colony formation by stem/progenitor cells in vitro. We asked if MIP-1alpha would modulate the adhesive phenotype of colony-forming cells (CFCs) obtained from healthy donor bone marrow (BM),cord blood (CB),and mobilized peripheral blood (mPB) CD34+ cells,in comparison with SCF,using immobilized fibronectin. SCF significantly increased the level of adhesion of CFCs from BM,CB,and mPB. On the other hand,MIP-1alpha significantly increased the level of adhesion of CFCs from BM and CB,but less so from mPB. The effects of MIP-1alpha were inhibited by blocking antibodies to integrin alpha4,alpha5,or beta1,and polymerization plus rearrangement of F-actin were observed in affected cells by labeling with rhodamine-conjugated phalloidine. These data indicate that the effect of MIP-1alpha on the adhesive phenotype of CFCs is mediated by modulation of the organization of integrin. The amount of MIP-1alpha receptor on mPB was less than for BM or CB,which may explain the distinct characteristics in the adhesive response induced by MIP-1alpha. We suggest that hematopoietic progenitor cells from different sources may be heterogeneous with respect to maturation,integrin affinity,MIP-1alpha receptor expression,and regulation of MIP-1alpha signaling. Our data indicate that MIP-1alpha may affect migration,homing,and mobilization of hematopoietic progenitors by modulating the adhesive phenotype of these cells. View Publication

Gaucher disease is caused by an inherited deficiency of glucocerebrosidase that manifests with storage of glycolipids in lysosomes,particularly in macrophages. Available cell lines modeling Gaucher disease do not demonstrate lysosomal storage of glycolipids; therefore,we set out to develop two macrophage models of Gaucher disease that exhibit appropriate substrate accumulation. We used these cellular models both to investigate altered macrophage biology in Gaucher disease and to evaluate candidate drugs for its treatment. We generated and characterized monocyte-derived macrophages from 20 patients carrying different Gaucher disease mutations. In addition,we created induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived macrophages from five fibroblast lines taken from patients with type 1 or type 2 Gaucher disease. Macrophages derived from patient monocytes or iPSCs showed reduced glucocerebrosidase activity and increased storage of glucocerebroside and glucosylsphingosine in lysosomes. These macrophages showed efficient phagocytosis of bacteria but reduced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and impaired chemotaxis. The disease phenotype was reversed with a noninhibitory small-molecule chaperone drug that enhanced glucocerebrosidase activity in the macrophages,reduced glycolipid storage,and normalized chemotaxis and production of reactive oxygen species. Macrophages differentiated from patient monocytes or patient-derived iPSCs provide cellular models that can be used to investigate disease pathogenesis and facilitate drug development. View Publication

MafB is a member of the large Maf family of transcription factors that share similar basic region/leucine zipper DNA binding motifs and N-terminal activation domains. Although it is well known that MafB is specifically expressed in glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) and macrophages,characterization of the null mutant phenotype in these tissues has not been previously reported. To investigate suspected MafB functions in the kidney and in macrophages,we generated mafB/green fluorescent protein (GFP) knock-in null mutant mice. MafB homozygous mutants displayed renal dysgenesis with abnormal podocyte differentiation as well as tubular apoptosis. Interestingly,these kidney phenotypes were associated with diminished expression of several kidney disease-related genes. In hematopoietic cells,GFP fluorescence was observed in both Mac-1- and F4/80-expressing macrophages in the fetal liver. Interestingly,F4/80 expression in macrophages was suppressed in the homozygous mutant,although development of the Mac-1-positive macrophage population was unaffected. In primary cultures of fetal liver hematopoietic cells,MafB deficiency was found to dramatically suppress F4/80 expression in nonadherent macrophages,whereas the Mac-1-positive macrophage population developed normally. These results demonstrate that MafB is essential for podocyte differentiation,renal tubule survival,and F4/80 maturation in a distinct subpopulation of nonadherent mature macrophages. View Publication

Bacterial magnetic particles (BacMPs) are efficient platforms of proteins for surface display systems. In this study,mononuclear cells from peripheral blood were separated using BacMPs expressing protein A on the BacMP membrane surface (protein A-BacMPs),which were complexed with the Fc fragment of anti-mouse IgG antibody. The procedure of positive selection involves incubation of mononuclear cells and mouse monoclonal antibodies against different cell surface antigens (CD8,CD14,CD19,CD20) prior to treatment with protein A-BacMP binding with rabbit anti-mouse IgG secondary antibodies. Flow cytometric analysis showed that approximately 97.5 +/- 1.7% of CD19(+) and CD20(+) cells were involved in the positive fraction after magnetic separation. The ratio of the negative cells in the negative fraction was approximately 97.6 +/-1.4%. This indicates that CD19(+) and CD20(+) cells can be efficiently separated from mononuclear cells. Stem cell marker (CD34) positive cells were also separated using protein A-BacMP binding with antibody. May-Grunwald Giemsa stain showed a high nuclear/cytoplasm ratio,which indicates a typical staining pattern of stem cells. The separated cells had the capability of colony formation as hematopoietic stem cells. Furthermore,the inhibitory effect of magnetic cell separation on CD14(+) cells was evaluated by measurement of cytokine in the culture supernatant by ELISA when the cells were cultured with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The induction of IL1-beta,TNFalpha,and IL6 was observed in the presence of 1 ng/mL LPS in all fractions. On the other hand,in the absence of LPS,BacMPs had little immunopotentiation to CD14(+) cells as well as that of artificial magnetic particles,although TNFalpha and IL6 were slightly induced in the absence of LPS in the positive fraction. View Publication

UNLABELLED: AC133 cells,a subpopulation of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells,can transform into endothelial cells that may integrate into the neovasculature of tumors or ischemic tissue. Most current imaging modalities do not allow monitoring of early migration and incorporation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) into tumor neovasculature. The goals of this study were to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track the migration and incorporation of intravenously injected,magnetically labeled EPCs into the blood vessels in a rapidly growing flank tumor model and to determine whether the pattern of EPC incorporation is related to the time of injection or tumor size. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPCs labeled with ferumoxide-protamine sulfate (FePro) complexes were injected into mice bearing xenografted glioma,and MRI was obtained at different stages of tumor development and size. RESULTS: Migration and incorporation of labeled EPCs into tumor neovasculature were detected as low signal intensity on MRI at the tumor periphery as early as 3 days after EPC administration in preformed tumors. However,low signal intensities were not observed in tumors implanted at the time of EPC administration until tumor size reached 1 cm at 12 to 14 days. Prussian blue staining showed iron-positive cells at the sites corresponding to low signal intensity on MRI. Confocal microscopy showed incorporation into the neovasculature,and immunohistochemistry clearly demonstrated the transformation of the administered EPCs into endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: MRI demonstrated the incorporation of FePro-labeled human CD34+/AC133+ EPCs into the neovasculature of implanted flank tumors. View Publication

Beta glucans are cell wall constituents of yeast,fungi and bacteria,as well as mushrooms and barley. Glucans are not expressed on mammalian cells and are recognized as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) by pattern recognition receptors (PRR). Beta glucans have potential activity as biological response modifiers for hematopoiesis and enhancement of bone marrow recovery after injury. We have reported that Maitake beta glucan (MBG) enhanced mouse bone marrow (BMC) and human umbilical cord blood (CB) cell granulocyte-monocyte colony forming unit (GM-CFU) activity in vitro and protected GM-CFU forming stem cells from doxorubicin (DOX) toxicity. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of MBG on expansion of phenotypically distinct subpopulations of progenitor and stem cells in CB from full-term infants cultured ex vivo and on homing and engraftment in vivo in the nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mouse. MBG promoted a greater expansion of CD34+CD33+CD38- human committed hematopoietic progenitor (HPC) cells compared to the conventional stem cell culture medium (P = 0.002 by ANOVA). CD34+CXCR4+CD38- early,uncommitted human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) numbers showed a trend towards increase in response to MBG. The fate of CD34+ enriched CB cells after injection into the sublethally irradiated NOS/SCID mouse was evaluated after retrieval of xenografted human CB from marrow and spleen by flow cytometric analysis. Oral administration of MBG to recipient NOS/SCID mice led to enhanced homing at 3 days and engraftment at 6 days in mouse bone marrow (P = 0.002 and P = 0.0005,respectively) compared to control mice. More CD34+ human CB cells were also retrieved from mouse spleen in MBG treated mice at 6 days after transplantation. The studies suggest that MBG promotes hematopoiesis through effects on CD34+ progenitor cell expansion ex vivo and when given to the transplant recipient could enhance CD34+ precursor cell homing and support engraftment. View Publication

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is a potent regulator of megakaryopoiesis and stimulates megakaryocyte (MK) progenitor expansion and MK differentiation. In this study,we show that TPO induces activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway,which plays a central role in translational regulation and is required for proliferation of MO7e cells and primary human MK progenitors. Treatment of MO7e cells,human CD34+,and primary MK cells with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin inhibits TPO-induced cell cycling by reducing cells in S phase and blocking cells in G0/G1. Rapamycin markedly inhibits the clonogenic growth of MK progenitors with high proliferative capacity but does not reduce the formation of small MK colonies. Addition of rapamycin to MK suspension cultures reduces the number of MK cells,but inhibition of mTOR does not significantly affect expression of glycoproteins IIb/IIIa (CD41) and glycoprotein Ib (CD42),nuclear polyploidization levels,cell size,or cell survival. The downstream effectors of mTOR,p70 S6 kinase (S6K) and 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1),are phosphorylated by TPO in a rapamycin- and LY294002-sensitive manner. Part of the effect of the phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase pathway in regulating megakaryopoiesis may be mediated by the mTOR/S6K/4E-BP1 pathway. In conclusion,these data demonstrate that the mTOR pathway is activated by TPO and plays a critical role in regulating proliferation of MK progenitors,without affecting differentiation or cell survival. View Publication

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has been implicated in the development of cancers,including those of the breast. Nevertheless,the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which FAK promotes mammary tumorigenesis in vivo are not well understood. Here,we show that targeted deletion of FAK in mouse mammary epithelium significantly suppresses mammary tumorigenesis in a well-characterized breast cancer model. Ablation of FAK leads to the depletion of a subset of bipotent cells in the tumor that express both luminal marker keratin 8/18 and basal marker keratin 5. Using mammary stem/progenitor markers,including aldehyde dehydrogenase,CD24,CD29,and CD61,we further revealed that ablation of FAK reduced the pool of cancer stem/progenitor cells in primary tumors of FAK-targeted mice and impaired their self-renewal and migration in vitro. Finally,through transplantation in NOD-SCID mice,we found that cancer stem/progenitor cells isolated from FAK-targeted mice have compromised tumorigenicity and impaired maintenance in vivo. Together,these results show a novel function of FAK in maintaining the mammary cancer stem/progenitor cell population and provide a novel mechanism by which FAK may promote breast cancer development and progression. View Publication

Targeted genome editing enables the creation of bona fide cellular models for biological research and may be applied to human cell-based therapies. Therefore,broadly applicable and versatile methods for increasing its efficacy in cell populations are highly desirable. We designed a simple and robust coselection strategy for enrichment of cells with either nuclease-driven nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) events by harnessing the multiplexing capabilities of CRISPR-Cas9 and Cpf1 systems. Selection for dominant alleles of the ubiquitous sodium/potassium pump (Na+/K+ ATPase) that rendered cells resistant to ouabain was used to enrich for custom genetic modifications at another unlinked locus of interest,thereby effectively increasing the recovery of engineered cells. The process is readily adaptable to transformed and primary cells,including hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The use of universal CRISPR reagents and a commercially available small-molecule inhibitor streamlines the incorporation of marker-free genetic changes in human cells. View Publication

Mast cells (MCs) play an important role in the regulation of protective adaptive immune responses against pathogens. However,it is still unclear whether MCs promote such host defense responses via direct effects on T cells or rather by modifying the functions of antigen-presenting cells. To identify the underlying mechanisms of the immunoregulatory capacity of MCs,we investigated the impact of MCs on dendritic cell (DC) maturation and function. We found that murine peritoneal MCs underwent direct crosstalk with immature DCs that induced DC maturation as evidenced by enhanced expression of costimulatory molecules. Furthermore,the MC/DC interaction resulted in the release of the T-cell modulating cytokines IFN-γ,IL-2,IL-6 and TGF-β into coculture supernatants and increased the IL-12p70,IFN-γ,IL-6 and TGF-β secretion of LPS-matured DCs. Such MC-primed" DCs subsequently induced efficient CD4+ T-cell proliferation. Surprisingly� View Publication