技术资料

We have shown that a COOH-terminal peptide of p53 (amino acids 361-382,p53p),linked to the truncated homeobox domain of Antennapedia (Ant) as a carrier for transduction,induced rapid apoptosis in human premalignant and malignant cell lines. Here,we report that human and rat glioma lines containing endogenous mutant p53 or wild-type (WT) p53 were induced into apoptosis by exposure to this peptide called p53p-Ant. The peptide was comparatively nontoxic to proliferating nonmalignant human and rat glial cell lines containing WT p53 and proliferating normal human peripheral marrow blood stem cells. Degree of sensitivity to the peptide correlated directly with the level of endogenous p53 expression and mutant p53 conformation. Apoptosis induction by p53p-Ant was quantitated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay and Annexin V staining in human glioma cells in vitro and in a syngeneic orthotopic 9L glioma rat model using convection-enhanced delivery in vivo. The mechanism of cell death by this peptide was solely through the Fas extrinsic apoptotic pathway. p53p-Ant induced a 3-fold increase in extracellular membrane Fas expression in glioma cells but no significant increase in nonmalignant glial cells. These data suggest that p53 function for inducing Fas-mediated apoptosis in gliomas,which express sufficient quantities of endogenous mutant or WT p53,may be restored or activated,respectively,by a cell-permeable peptide derived from the p53 COOH-terminal regulatory domain (p53p-Ant). p53p-Ant may serve as a prototypic model for the development of new anticancer agents with unique selectivity for glioma cancer cells and it can be successfully delivered in vivo into a brain tumor by a convection-enhanced delivery system,which circumvents the blood-brain barrier. View Publication

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare inherited genomic instability syndrome representing one of the best examples of hematopoietic stem cell deficiency. Although FA might be an excellent candidate for bone marrow (BM) genetic correction ex vivo,knockout animal models are not sufficient to guide preclinical steps,and gene therapy attempts have proven disappointing so far. Contributing to these poor results is a characteristic and dramatic early BM-cells die-off when placed in culture. We show here that human primary FA BM cell survival can be ameliorated by using specific culture conditions that limit oxidative stress. When coupled with retrovirus-mediated transfer of the main complementation group FANCA-cDNA,we could achieve long-term reconstitution of the stem cell compartment both in vitro and in vivo. Gene-corrected BM cultures grew for textgreater120 days,and after cultured cell transplantation into NOD/SCID mice,clonogenic human cells carrying the FANCA transgene could be detected 6 months after transduction. By comparison,untransduced cells died in culture by 15 days. Of necessity for ethical reasons,experiments were conducted on a very limited number of primary BM cells. By using low cytokine regimen and conditions matching regulatory requirements,a contingent of gene-corrected cells slowly emerges with an unmet potential for in vivo engraftment. Future therapeutic applications of stem cells might be expanding from these data. In addition,we provide a model of gene-corrected human primary cell growth that carries the potential to better delineate the combined role of both DNA damage and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of FA. View Publication

Current therapies for delayed- or nonunion bone fractures are still largely ineffective. Previous studies indicated that the VEGF homolog placental growth factor (PlGF) has a more significant role in disease than in health. Therefore we investigated the role of PlGF in a model of semi-stabilized bone fracture healing. Fracture repair in mice lacking PlGF was impaired and characterized by a massive accumulation of cartilage in the callus,reminiscent of delayed- or nonunion fractures. PlGF was required for the early recruitment of inflammatory cells and the vascularization of the fracture wound. Interestingly,however,PlGF also played a role in the subsequent stages of the repair process. Indeed in vivo and in vitro findings indicated that PlGF induced the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitors and stimulated cartilage turnover by particular MMPs. Later in the process,PlGF was required for the remodeling of the newly formed bone by stimulating osteoclast differentiation. As PlGF expression was increased throughout the process of bone repair and all the important cell types involved expressed its receptor VEGFR-1,the present data suggest that PlGF is required for mediating and coordinating the key aspects of fracture repair. Therefore PlGF may potentially offer therapeutic advantages for fracture repair. View Publication

Overwhelming evidence from leukemia research has shown that the clonal population of neoplastic cells exhibits marked heterogeneity with respect to proliferation and differentiation. There are rare stem cells within the leukemic population that possess extensive proliferation and self-renewal capacity not found in the majority of the leukemic cells. These leukemic stem cells are necessary and sufficient to maintain the leukemia. Interestingly,the BCR/ABL fusion gene,which is present in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML),was also detected in the endothelial cells of patients with CML,suggesting that CML might originate from hemangioblastic progenitor cells that can give rise to both blood cells and endothelial cells. Here we isolated fetal liver kinase-1-positive (Flk1+) cells carrying the BCR/ABL fusion gene from the bone marrow of 17 Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) patients with CML and found that these cells could differentiate into malignant blood cells and phenotypically defined endothelial cells at the single-cell level. These findings provide direct evidence for the first time that rearrangement of the BCR/ABL gene might happen at or even before the level of hemangioblastic progenitor cells,thus resulting in detection of the BCR/ABL fusion gene in both blood and endothelial cells. View Publication

Recent studies indicate that dysregulation of the Akt/PKB family of serine/threonine kinases is a prominent feature of many human cancers. The Akt/PKB family is composed of three members termed Akt1/PKBalpha,Akt2/PKBbeta,and Akt3/PKBgamma. It is currently not known to what extent there is functional overlap between these family members. We have recently identified small molecule inhibitors of Akt. These compounds have pleckstrin homology domain-dependent,isozyme-specific activity. In this report,we present data showing the relative contribution that inhibition of the different isozymes has on the apoptotic response of tumor cells to a variety of chemotherapies. In multiple cell backgrounds,maximal induction of caspase-3 activity is achieved when both Akt1 and Akt2 are inhibited. This induction is not reversed by overexpression of functionally active Akt3. The level of caspase-3 activation achieved under these conditions is equivalent to that observed with the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. We also show that in different tumor cell backgrounds inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin,a downstream substrate of Akt,is less effective in inducing caspase-3 activity than inhibition of Akt1 and Akt2. This shows that the survival phenotype conferred by Akt can be mediated by signaling pathways independent of mammalian target of rapamycin in some tumor cell backgrounds. Finally,we show that inhibition of both Akt1 and Akt2 selectively sensitizes tumor cells,but not normal cells,to apoptotic stimuli. View Publication

PTPN11 encodes the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2,which relays signals from growth factor receptors to Ras and other effectors. Germline PTPN11 mutations underlie about 50% of Noonan syndrome (NS),a developmental disorder that is associated with an elevated risk of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). Somatic PTPN11 mutations were recently identified in about 35% of patients with JMML; these mutations introduce amino acid substitutions that are largely distinct from those found in NS. We assessed the functional consequences of leukemia-associated PTPN11 mutations in murine hematopoietic cells. Expressing an E76K SHP-2 protein induced a hypersensitive pattern of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit (CFU-GM) colony growth in response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin 3 (IL-3) that was dependent on SHP-2 catalytic activity. E76K SHP-2 expression also enhanced the growth of immature progenitor cells with high replating potential,perturbed erythroid growth,and impaired normal differentiation in liquid cultures. In addition,leukemia-associated SHP-2 mutations conferred a stronger phenotype than a germline mutation found in patients with NS. Mutant SHP-2 proteins induce aberrant growth in multiple hematopoietic compartments,which supports a primary role of hyperactive Ras in the pathogenesis of JMML. View Publication

PURPOSE: The PRL-3 mRNA is consistently elevated in metastatic samples derived from colorectal cancers. We sought to generate a specific PRL-3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that might serve as a potential diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer metastasis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: PRL-3 is one of three members (PRL-1,PRL-2,and PRL-3) in a unique protein-tyrosine phosphatase family. Because the three PRLs are 76% to 87% identical in their amino acid sequences,it poses a great challenge to obtain mAbs that are specific for respective phosphatase of regenerating liver (PRL) but not for the other two in the family. We screened over 1,400 hybridoma clones to generate mAbs specific to each PRL member. RESULTS: We obtained two hybridoma clones specifically against PRL-3 and another two clones specifically against PRL-1. These antibodies had been evaluated by several critical tests to show their own specificities and applications. Most importantly,the PRL-3 mAbs were assessed on 282 human colorectal tissue samples (121 normal,17 adenomas,and 144 adenocarcinomas). PRL-3 protein was detected in 11% of adenocarcinoma samples. The PRL-3- and PRL-1-specific mAbs were further examined on 204 human multiple cancer tissues. The differential expressions of PRL-3 and PRL-1 confirmed the mAbs' specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Using several approaches,we show that PRL-3- or PRL-1-specific mAbs react only to their respective antigen. The expression of PRL-3 in textgreater10% of primary colorectal cancer samples indicates that PRL-3 may prime the metastatic process. These mAbs will be useful as markers in clinical diagnosis for assessing tumor aggressiveness. View Publication

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia,an aggressive CD4(+) malignancy. Although HTLV-2 is highly homologous to HTLV-1,infection with HTLV-2 has not been associated with lymphoproliferative disorders. Lentivirus-mediated transduction of CD34(+) cells with HTLV-1 Tax (Tax1) induced G(0)/G(1) cell cycle arrest and resulted in the concomitant suppression of multilineage hematopoiesis in vitro. Tax1 induced transcriptional upregulation of the cdk inhibitors p21(cip1/waf1) (p21) and p27(kip1) (p27),and marked suppression of hematopoiesis in immature (CD34(+)/CD38(-)) hematopoietic progenitor cells in comparison to CD34(+)/CD38(+) cells. HTLV-1 infection of CD34(+) cells also induced p21 and p27 expression. Tax1 also protected CD34(+) cells from serum withdrawal-mediated apoptosis. In contrast,HTLV-2 Tax (Tax2) did not detectably alter p21 or p27 gene expression,failed to induce cell cycle arrest,failed to suppress hematopoiesis in CD34(+) cells,and did not protect cells from programmed cell death. A Tax2/Tax1 chimera encoding the C-terminal 53 amino acids of Tax1 fused to Tax2 (Tax(221)) displayed a phenotype in CD34(+) cells similar to that of Tax1,suggesting that unique domains encoded within the C terminus of Tax1 may account for the phenotypes displayed in human hematopoietic progenitor cells. These remarkable differences in the activities of Tax1 and Tax2 in CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells may underlie the sharp differences observed in the pathogenesis resulting from infection with HTLV-1 and HTLV-2. View Publication

The t(16:16) and inv(16) are associated with FAB M4Eo myeloid leukemias and result in fusion of the CBFB gene to the MYH11 gene (encoding smooth muscle myosin heavy chain [SMMHC]). Knockout of CBFbeta causes embryonic lethality due to lack of definitive hematopoiesis. Although knock-in of CBFB-MYH11 is not sufficient to cause disease,expression increases the incidence of leukemia when combined with cooperating events. Although mouse models are valuable tools in the study of leukemogenesis,little is known about the contribution of CBFbeta-SMMHC to human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell self-renewal. We introduced the CBFbeta-MYH11 cDNA into human CD34+ cells via retroviral transduction. Transduced cells displayed an initial repression of progenitor activity but eventually dominated the culture,resulting in the proliferation of clonal populations for up to 7 months. Long-term cultures displayed a myelomonocytic morphology while retaining multilineage progenitor activity and engraftment in NOD/SCID-B2M-/- mice. Progenitor cells from long-term cultures showed altered expression of genes defining inv(16) identified in microarray studies of human patient samples. This system will be useful in examining the effects of CBFbeta-SMMHC on gene expression in the human preleukemic cell,in characterizing the effect of this oncogene on human stem cell biology,and in defining its contribution to the development of leukemia. View Publication

SALL4,a human homolog to Drosophila spalt,is a novel zinc finger transcriptional factor essential for development. We cloned SALL4 and its isoforms (SALL4A and SALL4B). Through immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),we demonstrated that SALL4 was constitutively expressed in human primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML,n = 81),and directly tested the leukemogenic potential of constitutive expression of SALL4 in a murine model. SALL4B transgenic mice developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)-like features and subsequently AML that was transplantable. Increased apoptosis associated with dysmyelopoiesis was evident in transgenic mouse marrow and colony-formation (CFU) assays. Both isoforms could bind to beta-catenin and synergistically enhanced the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Our data suggest that the constitutive expression of SALL4 causes MDS/AML,most likely through the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Our murine model provides a useful platform to study human MDS/AML transformation,as well as the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway's role in the pathogenesis of leukemia stem cells. View Publication

The B-cell receptor (BCR) transmits life and death signals throughout B-cell development,and altered BCR signaling may be required for survival of B-lymphoma cells. We used single-cell signaling profiles to compare follicular lymphoma (FL) B cells and nonmalignant host B cells within individual patient biopsies and identified BCR-mediated signaling events specific to lymphoma B cells. Expression of CD20,Bcl-2,and BCR light chain isotype (kappa or lambda) distinguished FL tumor B-cell and nontumor host B-cell subsets within FL patient biopsies. BCR-mediated signaling via phosphorylation of Btk,Syk,Erk1/2,and p38 occurred more rapidly in tumor B cells from FL samples than in infiltrating nontumor B cells,achieved greater levels of per-cell signaling,and sustained this level of signaling for hours longer than nontumor B cells. The timing and magnitude of BCR-mediated signaling in nontumor B cells within an FL sample instead resembled that observed in mature B cells from the peripheral blood of healthy subjects. BCR signaling pathways that are potentiated specifically in lymphoma cells should provide new targets for therapeutic attention. View Publication

We previously identified a rearrangement of mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene (also known as ALL-1,HRX,and HTRX1),consisting of an in-frame partial tandem duplication (PTD) of exons 5 through 11 in the absence of a partner gene,occurring in approximately 4%-7% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and normal cytogenetics,and associated with a poor prognosis. The mechanism by which the MLL PTD contributes to aberrant hematopoiesis and/or leukemia is unknown. To examine this,we generated a mouse knockin model in which exons 5 through 11 of the murine Mll gene were targeted to intron 4 of the endogenous Mll locus. Mll(PTD/WT) mice exhibit an alteration in the boundaries of normal homeobox (Hox) gene expression during embryogenesis,resulting in axial skeletal defects and increased numbers of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Mll(PTD/WT) mice overexpress Hoxa7,Hoxa9,and Hoxa10 in spleen,BM,and blood. An increase in histone H3/H4 acetylation and histone H3 lysine 4 (Lys4) methylation within the Hoxa7 and Hoxa9 promoters provides an epigenetic mechanism by which this overexpression occurs in vivo and an etiologic role for MLL PTD gain of function in the genesis of AML. View Publication