技术资料

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

The low frequency of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in human BM has precluded analysis of the direct biochemical effects elicited by cytokines in these populations,and their functional consequences. Here,single-cell phospho-specific flow cytometry was used to define the signaling networks active in 5 previously defined human HSPC subsets. This analysis revealed that the currently defined HSC compartment is composed of biochemically distinct subsets with the ability to respond rapidly and directly in vitro to a broader array of cytokines than previously appreciated,including G-CSF. The G-CSF response was physiologically relevant-driving cell-cycle entry and increased proliferation in a subset of single cells within the HSC compartment. The heterogeneity in the single-cell signaling and proliferation responses prompted subfractionation of the adult BM HSC compartment by expression of CD114 (G-CSF receptor). Xenotransplantation assays revealed that HSC activity is significantly enriched in the CD114(neg/lo) compartment,and almost completely absent in the CD114(pos) subfraction. The single-cell analyses used here can be adapted for further refinement of HSPC surface immunophenotypes,and for examining the direct regulatory effects of other factors on the homeostasis of stem and progenitor populations in normal or diseased states. View Publication

Both extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms tightly govern hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) decisions of self-renewal and differentiation. However,transcription factors that can selectively regulate HSC self-renewal division after stress remain to be identified. Slug is an evolutionarily conserved zinc-finger transcription factor that is highly expressed in primitive hematopoietic cells and is critical for the radioprotection of these key cells. We studied the effect of Slug in the regulation of HSCs in Slug-deficient mice under normal and stress conditions using serial functional assays. Here,we show that Slug deficiency does not disturb hematopoiesis or alter HSC homeostasis and differentiation in bone marrow but increases the numbers of primitive hematopoietic cells in the extramedullary spleen site. Deletion of Slug enhances HSC repopulating potential but not its homing and differentiation ability. Furthermore,Slug deficiency increases HSC proliferation and repopulating potential in vivo after myelosuppression and accelerates HSC expansion during in vitro culture. Therefore,we propose that Slug is essential for controlling the transition of HSCs from relative quiescence under steady-state condition to rapid proliferation under stress conditions. Our data suggest that inhibition of Slug in HSCs may present a novel strategy for accelerating hematopoietic recovery,thus providing therapeutic benefits for patients after clinical myelosuppressive treatment. View Publication

We studied leukemic stem cells (LSCs) in a Smad4(-/-) mouse model of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) induced either by the HOXA9 gene or by the fusion oncogene NUP98-HOXA9. Although Hoxa9-Smad4 complexes accumulate in the cytoplasm of normal hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells (HSPCs) transduced with these oncogenes,there is no cytoplasmic stabilization of HOXA9 in Smad4(-/-) HSPCs,and as a consequence increased levels of Hoxa9 is observed in the nucleus leading to increased immortalization in vitro. Loss of Smad4 accelerates the development of leukemia in vivo because of an increase in transformation of HSPCs. Therefore,the cytoplasmic binding of Hoxa9 by Smad4 is a mechanism to protect Hoxa9-induced transformation of normal HSPCs. Because Smad4 is a potent tumor suppressor involved in growth control,we developed a strategy to modify the subcellular distribution of Smad4. We successfully disrupted the interaction between Hoxa9 and Smad4 to activate the TGF-β pathway and apoptosis,leading to a loss of LSCs. Together,these findings reveal a major role for Smad4 in the negative regulation of leukemia initiation and maintenance induced by HOXA9/NUP98-HOXA9 and provide strong evidence that antagonizing Smad4 stabilization by these oncoproteins might be a promising novel therapeutic approach in leukemia. View Publication

Defects in apoptosis contribute to poor outcome in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL),calling for novel strategies that counter apoptosis resistance. Here,we demonstrate for the first time that small molecule inhibitors of the antiapoptotic protein XIAP cooperate with TRAIL to induce apoptosis in childhood acute leukemia cells. XIAP inhibitors at subtoxic concentrations,but not a structurally related control compound,synergize with TRAIL to trigger apoptosis and to inhibit clonogenic survival of acute leukemia cells,whereas they do not affect viability of normal peripheral blood lymphocytes,suggesting some tumor selectivity. Analysis of signaling pathways reveals that XIAP inhibitors enhance TRAIL-induced activation of caspases,loss of mitochondrial membrane potential,and cytochrome c release in a caspase-dependent manner,indicating that they promote a caspase-dependent feedback mitochondrial amplification loop. Of note,XIAP inhibitors even overcome Bcl-2-mediated resistance to TRAIL by enhancing Bcl-2 cleavage and Bak conformational change. Importantly,XIAP inhibitors kill leukemic blasts from children with ALL ex vivo and cooperate with TRAIL to induce apoptosis. In vivo,they significantly reduce leukemic burden in a mouse model of pediatric ALL engrafted in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice. Thus,XIAP inhibitors present a promising novel approach for apoptosis-based therapy of childhood ALL. View Publication

The homeostatic adult bone marrow (BM) is a complex tissue wherein physical and biochemical interactions serve to maintain a balance between the hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic compartments. To focus on soluble factor interactions occurring between mesenchymal and hematopoietic cells,a serum-free adhesion-independent culture system was developed that allows manipulation of the growth of both mesenchymal and hematopoietic human BM-derived progenitors and the balance between these compartments. Factorial experiments demonstrated a role for stem cell factor (SCF) and interleukin 3 (IL-3) in the concomitant growth of hematopoietic (CD45+) and nonhematopoietic (CD45-) cells,as well as their derivatives. Kinetic tracking of IL-3alpha receptor (CD123) and SCF receptor (CD117) expression on a sorted CD45- cell population revealed the emergence of CD45-CD123+ cells capable of osteogenesis. Of the total fibroblast colony-forming units (CFU-Fs) and osteoblast colony-forming units (CFU-O),approximately 24% of CFU-Fs and about 22% of CFU-Os were recovered from this population. Cell-sorting experiments demonstrated that the CD45+ cell population secreted soluble factors that positively affect the survival and proliferation of CFU-Fs and CFU-Os generated from the CD45- cells. Together,our results provide insight into the intercellular cytokine network between hematopoietic and mesenchymal cells and provide a strategy to mutually culture both mesenchymal and hematopoietic cells in a defined scalable bioprocess. View Publication

Somatic activation of a conditional targeted Kras(G12D) allele induces a fatal myeloproliferative disease in mice that closely models juvenile and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. These mice consistently develop severe and progressive anemia despite adequate numbers of clonogenic erythroid progenitors in the bone marrow and expanded splenic hematopoiesis. Ineffective erythropoiesis is characterized by impaired differentiation. These results demonstrate that endogenous levels of oncogenic Ras have cell lineage-specific effects and support efforts to modulate Ras signaling for therapy of anemia in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders. View Publication

Erythropoiesis,the essential process of hematopoietic stem cell development into erythrocytes,is controlled by lineage-specific transcription factors that determine cell fate and differentiation and by the hormone erythropoietin that stimulates cell survival and proliferation. Here we identify the Sry-related high-mobility-group (HMG) box transcription factor Sox6 as an important enhancer of definitive erythropoiesis. Sox6 is highly expressed in proerythroblasts and erythroblasts in the fetal liver,neonatal spleen,and bone marrow. Mouse fetuses and pups lacking Sox6 develop erythroid cells slowly and feature misshapen,short-lived erythrocytes. They compensate for anemia by elevating the serum level of erythropoietin and progressively enlarging their erythropoietic tissues. Erythroid-specific inactivation of Sox6 causes the same phenotype,demonstrating cell-autonomous roles for Sox6 in erythroid cells. Sox6 potentiates the ability of erythropoietin signaling to promote proerythroblast survival and has an effect additive to that of erythropoietin in stimulating proerythroblast and erythroblast proliferation. Sox6 also critically facilitates erythroblast and reticulocyte maturation,including hemoglobinization,cell condensation,and enucleation,and ensures erythrocyte cytoskeleton long-term stability. It does not control adult globin and erythrocyte cytoskeleton genes but acts by stabilizing filamentous actin (F-actin) levels. Sox6 thus enhances erythroid cell development at multiple levels and thereby ensures adequate production and quality of red blood cells. View Publication

Sox6 belongs to the Sry (sex-determining region Y)-related high-mobility-group-box family of transcription factors,which control cell-fate specification of many cell types. Here,we explored the role of Sox6 in human erythropoiesis by its overexpression both in the erythroleukemic K562 cell line and in primary erythroid cultures from human cord blood CD34+ cells. Sox6 induced significant erythroid differentiation in both models. K562 cells underwent hemoglobinization and,despite their leukemic origin,died within 9 days after transduction; primary erythroid cultures accelerated their kinetics of erythroid maturation and increased the number of cells that reached the final enucleation step. Searching for direct Sox6 targets,we found SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling-3),a known mediator of cytokine response. Sox6 was bound in vitro and in vivo to an evolutionarily conserved regulatory SOCS3 element,which induced transcriptional activation. SOCS3 overexpression in K562 cells and in primary erythroid cells recapitulated the growth inhibition induced by Sox6,which demonstrates that SOCS3 is a relevant Sox6 effector. View Publication

The Mediator complex forms the bridge between transcriptional activators and the RNA polymerase II. Med1 (also known as PBP or TRAP220) is a key component of Mediator that interacts with nuclear hormone receptors and GATA transcription factors. Here,we show dynamic recruitment of GATA-1,TFIIB,Mediator,and RNA polymerase II to the β-globin locus in induced mouse erythroid leukemia cells and in an erythropoietin-inducible hematopoietic progenitor cell line. Using Med1 conditional knockout mice,we demonstrate a specific block in erythroid development but not in myeloid or lymphoid development,highlighted by the complete absence of β-globin gene expression. Thus,Mediator subunit Med1 plays a pivotal role in erythroid development and in β-globin gene activation. View Publication

Selective and regulatable expansion of transduced cells could augment gene therapy for many disorders. The activation of modified growth factor receptors via synthetic chemical inducers of dimerization allows for the coordinated growth of transduced cells. This system can also provide information on specific receptor-mediated signaling without interference from other family members. Although several receptor subunits have been investigated in this context,little is known about the precise molecular events associated with dimerizer-initiated signaling. We have constructed and expressed an AP20187-regulated KDR chimeric receptor in human TF1 cells and analyzed activation of this gene switch using functional,biochemical,and microarray analyses. When deprived of natural ligands,GM-CSF,interleukin-3,or erythropoietin,AP20187 prevented apoptosis of transduced TF1 cells,induced dose-dependent proliferation,and supported long-term growth. In addition,AP20187 stimulation activated the signaling molecules associated with mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidyl-inositol 3-kinase/Akt pathways. Microarray analysis determined that a number of transcripts involved in a variety of cellular processes were differentially expressed. Notably,mRNAs affiliated with heat stress,including Hsp70 and Hsp105,were up-regulated. Functional assays showed that Hsp70 and Hsp105 protected transduced TF1 cells from apoptosis and premature senescence,in part through regulation of Akt. These observations delineate specific roles for kinase insert domain-containing receptor,or KDR,signaling and suggest strategies to endow genetically modified cells with a survival advantage enabling the generation of adequate cell numbers for therapeutic outcomes. View Publication