Scientific Resources

Dendritic cells (DCs) are a heterogeneous population of professional antigen-presenting cells and are key cells of the immune system,acquiring different phenotypes in accordance with their localization during the immune response. A subset of inflammatory DCs is derived from circulating monocytes (Mo) and has a key role in inflammation and infection. The pathways controlling Mo-DC differentiation are not fully understood. Our objective was to investigate the possible role of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced form oxidases (NOXs) in Mo-DC differentiation. In this study,we revealed that Mo-DC differentiation was inhibited by NOX inhibitors and reactive oxygen species scavengers. We show that the Mo-DC differentiation was dependent on p22phox,and not on gp91phox/NOX2,as shown by the reduced Mo-DC differentiation observed in chronic granulomatous disease patients lacking p22phox. Moreover,we revealed that NOX5 expression was strongly increased during Mo-DC differentiation,but not during Mo-macrophage differentiation. NOX5 was expressed in circulating myeloid DC,and at a lower level in plasmacytoid DC. Interestingly,NOX5 was localized at the outer membrane of the mitochondria and interacted with p22phox in Mo-DC. Selective inhibitors and small interfering RNAs for NOX5 indicated that NOX5 controlled Mo-DC differentiation by regulating the JAK/STAT/MAPK and NFκB pathways. These data demonstrate that the NOX5-p22phox complex drives Mo-DC differentiation,and thus could be critical for immunity and inflammation. View Publication

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in Ca2+ signaling and protein folding. ER Ca2+ depletion and accumulation of unfolded proteins activate the molecular chaperone GRP78 (glucose-regulated protein 78) which in turn triggers the ER stress response (ERSR) pathway aimed to restore ER homeostasis. Failure to adapt to stress,however,results in apoptosis. We and others have shown that malignant cells are more susceptible to ERSR-induced apoptosis than their normal counterparts,implicating the ERSR as a potential target for cancer therapeutics. Predicated on these findings,we developed an assay that uses a GRP78 biosensor to identify small molecule activators of ERSR in glioma cells. We performed a quantitative high-throughput screen (qHTS) against a collection of ˜425,000 compounds and a comprehensive panel of orthogonal secondary assays was formulated for stringent compound validation. We identified novel activators of ERSR,including a compound with a 2,9-diazaspiro[5.5]undecane core,which depletes intracellular Ca2+ stores and induces apoptosis-mediated cell death in several cancer cell lines,including patient-derived and 3D cultures of glioma cells. This study demonstrates that our screening platform enables the identification and profiling of ERSR inducers with cytotoxic activity and advocates for characterization of these compound in in vivo models. View Publication

Recent large-scale genomics efforts to characterize the cis-regulatory sequences that orchestrate genome-wide expression patterns have produced impressive catalogues of putative regulatory elements. Most of these sequences have not been functionally tested,and our limited understanding of the non-coding genome prevents us from predicting which sequences are bona fide cis-regulatory elements. Recently,massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) have been deployed to measure the activity of putative cis-regulatory sequences in several biological contexts,each with specific advantages and distinct limitations. We developed LV-MPRA,a novel lentiviral-based,massively parallel reporter gene assay,to study the function of genome-integrated regulatory elements in any mammalian cell type; thus,making it possible to apply MPRAs in more biologically relevant contexts. We measured the activity of 2,600 sequences in U87 glioblastoma cells and human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and explored how regulatory activity is encoded in DNA sequence. We demonstrate that LV-MPRA can be applied to estimate the effects of local DNA sequence and regional chromatin on regulatory activity. Our data reveal that primary DNA sequence features,such as GC content and dinucleotide composition,accurately distinguish sequences with high activity from sequences with low activity in a full chromosomal context,and may also function in combination with different transcription factor binding sites to determine cell type specificity. We conclude that LV-MPRA will be an important tool for identifying cis-regulatory elements and stimulating new understanding about how the non-coding genome encodes information. View Publication

Therapeutic modulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/PTEN signaling is currently being explored for multiple neurological indications including brain tumors and seizure disorders associated with cortical malformations. The effects of PI3K/PTEN signaling are highly cell context dependent but the function of this pathway in specific subsets of neural stem/progenitor cells generating oligodendroglial lineage cells has not been fully studied. To address this,we created Olig2-cre:Pten(fl/fl) mice that showed a unique pattern of Pten loss and PI3K activation in Olig2-lineage cells. Olig2-cre:Pten(fl/fl) animals progressively developed central nervous system white matter hypermyelination by 3 weeks of age leading to later onset leukodystrophy,chronic neurodegeneration,and death by 9 months. In contrast,during immediate postnatal development,oligodendroglia were unaffected but abnormal and accelerated differentiation of lateral subventricular zone stem cells produced calretinin-positive interneuron dysplasia. Neural stem cells isolated from Olig2-cre:Pten(fl/fl) mice also exhibited accelerated differentiation and proliferation into calretinin-positive interneurons and oligodendrocytes indicating such effects are cell autonomous. Opposition of the pathway by treatment of human primary neural progenitor cells (NPCs) with the PI3K inhibitor,NVP-BKM120,blocked in vitro differentiation of neurons and oligodendroglia indicating PI3K/PTEN effects on NPCs can be bidirectional. In summary,our results suggest Pten is a developmental rheostat regulating interneuron and oligodendroglial differentiation and support testing of PI3K modulating drugs as treatment for developmental and myelination disorders. However,such agents may need to be administered at ages that minimize potential effects on early stem/progenitor cell development. View Publication

Sampling various compartments within the lower airways to examine human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) is essential for understanding numerous lung diseases. Conventional methods to identify HBEC in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and wash (BW) have throughput limitations in terms of efficiency and ensuring adequate cell numbers for quantification. Flow cytometry can provide high-throughput quantification of cell number and function in BAL and BW samples,while requiring low cell numbers. To date,a flow cytometric method to identify HBEC recovered from lower human airway samples is unavailable. In this study we present a flow cytometric method identifying HBEC as CD45 negative,EpCAM/pan-cytokeratin (pan-CK) double-positive population after excluding debris,doublets and dead cells from the analysis. For validation,the HBEC panel was applied to primary HBEC resulting in 98.6% of live cells. In healthy volunteers,HBEC recovered from BAL (2.3% of live cells),BW (32.5%) and bronchial brushing samples (88.9%) correlated significantly (p = 0.0001) with the manual microscopy counts with an overall Pearson correlation of 0.96 across the three sample types. We therefore have developed,validated,and applied a flow cytometric method that will be useful to interrogate the role of the respiratory epithelium in multiple lung diseases. View Publication

Recent reports on the characteristics of naive human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) obtained using independent methods differ. Naive hPSCs have been mainly derived by conversion from primed hPSCs or by direct derivation from human embryos rather than by somatic cell reprogramming. To provide an unbiased molecular and functional reference,we derived genetically matched naive hPSCs by direct reprogramming of fibroblasts and by primed-to-naive conversion using different naive conditions (NHSM,RSeT,5iLAF and t2iLGöY). Our results show that hPSCs obtained in these different conditions display a spectrum of naive characteristics. Furthermore,our characterization identifies KLF4 as sufficient for conversion of primed hPSCs into naive t2iLGöY hPSCs,underscoring the role that reprogramming factors can play for the derivation of bona fide naive hPSCs. View Publication

BACKGROUND Glioma is the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor in adults,with approximately 4 cases per 100 000 people each year. Gliomas,like many tumors,are thought to primarily metabolize glucose for energy production; however,the reliance upon glycolysis has recently been called into question. In this study,we aimed to identify the metabolic fuel requirements of human glioma cells. METHODS We used database searches and tissue culture resources to evaluate genotype and protein expression,tracked oxygen consumption rates to study metabolic responses to various substrates,performed histochemical techniques and fluorescence-activated cell sorting-based mitotic profiling to study cellular proliferation rates,and employed an animal model of malignant glioma to evaluate a new therapeutic intervention. RESULTS We observed the presence of enzymes required for fatty acid oxidation within human glioma tissues. In addition,we demonstrated that this metabolic pathway is a major contributor to aerobic respiration in primary-cultured cells isolated from human glioma and grown under serum-free conditions. Moreover,inhibiting fatty acid oxidation reduces proliferative activity in these primary-cultured cells and prolongs survival in a syngeneic mouse model of malignant glioma. CONCLUSIONS Fatty acid oxidation enzymes are present and active within glioma tissues. Targeting this metabolic pathway reduces energy production and cellular proliferation in glioma cells. The drug etomoxir may provide therapeutic benefit to patients with malignant glioma. In addition,the expression of fatty acid oxidation enzymes may provide prognostic indicators for clinical practice. View Publication

In this study,we investigated the impact of Nardosinone,a bioactive component in Nardostachys root,on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. The neural stem cells were isolated from cerebrums of embryonic day 14 CD1 mice. The proliferation of cells was monitored using the cell counting kit-8 assay,bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and cell cycle analysis. Cell migration and differentiation were investigated with the neurosphere assay and cell specific markers,respectively. The results showed that Nardosinone promotes cells proliferation and increases cells migration distance in a dose-dependent manner. Nardosinone also induces the selective differentiation of neural stem cells to neurons and oligodendrocytes,as indicated by the expression of microtubule-associated protein-2 and myelin basic protein,respectively. Nardosinone also increases the expression of phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phospho-cAMP response element binding protein during proliferation and differentiation. In conclusion,this study reveals the regulatory effects of Nardosinone on neural stem cells,which may have significant implications for the treatment of brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. View Publication

UNLABELLED Certain murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) are capable of inducing fatal progressive spongiform motor neuron disease in mice that is largely mediated by viral Env glycoprotein expression within central nervous system (CNS) glia. While the etiologic mechanisms and the glial subtypes involved remain unresolved,infection of NG2 glia was recently observed to correlate spatially and temporally with altered neuronal physiology and spongiogenesis. Since one role of NG2 cells is to serve as oligodendrocyte (OL) progenitor cells (OPCs),we examined here whether their infection by neurovirulent (FrCasE) or nonneurovirulent (Fr57E) ecotropic MLVs influenced their viability and/or differentiation. Here,we demonstrate that OPCs,but not OLs,are major CNS targets of both FrCasE and Fr57E. We also show that MLV infection of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in culture did not affect survival,proliferation,or OPC progenitor marker expression but suppressed certain glial differentiation markers. Assessment of glial differentiation in vivo using transplanted transgenic NPCs showed that,while MLVs did not affect cellular engraftment or survival,they did inhibit OL differentiation,irrespective of MLV neurovirulence. In addition,in chimeric brains,where FrCasE-infected NPC transplants caused neurodegeneration,the transplanted NPCs proliferated. These results suggest that MLV infection is not directly cytotoxic to OPCs but rather acts to interfere with OL differentiation. Since both FrCasE and Fr57E viruses restrict OL differentiation but only FrCasE induces overt neurodegeneration,restriction of OL maturation alone cannot account for neuropathogenesis. Instead neurodegeneration may involve a two-hit scenario where interference with OPC differentiation combined with glial Env-induced neuronal hyperexcitability precipitates disease. IMPORTANCE A variety of human and animal retroviruses are capable of causing central nervous system (CNS) neurodegeneration manifested as motor and cognitive deficits. These retroviruses infect a variety of CNS cell types; however,the specific role each cell type plays in neuropathogenesis remains to be established. The NG2 glia,whose CNS functions are only now emerging,are a newly appreciated viral target in murine leukemia virus (MLV)-induced neurodegeneration. Since one role of NG2 glia is that of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs),we investigated here whether their infection by the neurovirulent MLV FrCasE contributed to neurodegeneration by affecting OPC viability and/or development. Our results show that both neurovirulent and nonneurovirulent MLVs interfere with oligodendrocyte differentiation. Thus,NG2 glial infection could contribute to neurodegeneration by preventing myelin formation and/or repair and by suspending OPCs in a state of persistent susceptibility to excitotoxic insult mediated by neurovirulent virus effects on other glial subtypes. View Publication

It is generally believed that cerebellar granule neurons originate exclusively from granule neuron precursors (GNPs) in the external germinal layer (EGL). Here we identified a rare population of neuronal progenitors in mouse developing cerebellum that expresses Nestin. Although Nestin is widely considered a marker for multipotent stem cells,these Nestin-expressing progenitors (NEPs) are committed to the granule neuron lineage. Unlike conventional GNPs,which reside in the outer EGL and proliferate extensively,NEPs reside in the deep part of the EGL and are quiescent. Expression profiling revealed that NEPs are distinct from GNPs and,in particular,express markedly reduced levels of genes associated with DNA repair. Consistent with this,upon aberrant activation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling,NEPs exhibited more severe genomic instability and gave rise to tumors more efficiently than GNPs. These studies revealed a previously unidentified progenitor for cerebellar granule neurons and a cell of origin for medulloblastoma. View Publication

Self-renewal and differentiation of neural stem cells is essential for embryonic neurogenesis,which is associated with cell autophagy. However,the mechanism by which autophagy regulates neurogenesis remains undefined. Here,we show that Eva1a/Tmem166,an autophagy-related gene,regulates neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Eva1a depletion impaired the generation of newborn neurons,both in vivo and in vitro. Conversely,overexpression of EVA1A enhanced newborn neuron generation and maturation. Moreover,Eva1a depletion activated the PIK3CA-AKT axis,leading to the activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin and the subsequent inhibition of autophagy. Furthermore,addition of methylpyruvate to the culture during neural stem cell differentiation rescued the defective embryonic neurogenesis induced by Eva1a depletion,suggesting that energy availability is a significant factor in embryonic neurogenesis. Collectively,these data demonstrated that EVA1A regulates embryonic neurogenesis by modulating autophagy. Our results have potential implications for understanding the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders caused by autophagy dysregulation. View Publication

OBJECTIVE To develop in vitro adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line as a surrogate for functional studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cells obtained from a primary ACC of the base of tongue were cultivated in vitro and immortalized with h-TERT. Morphologic,cytogenetic and functional studies were performed. RESULTS Tumor cells were verified by positive reactions to keratin and smooth muscle actin and phenotypic cellular and nuclear features. In-vitro cell growth and colony formation assay supported their tumor nature. CONCLUSION We authenticated an ACC cell line with hybrid epithelial-myoepithelial feature as a resource for functional experimentation. View Publication