转录因子与造血调控

血细胞生成是一个极其复杂的过程,转录因子在这个过程中起到了重要的调控作用。而转录因子的表达具有阶段和细胞系特异性。在造血干细胞的增殖和分化、髓系和淋巴系细胞等的成熟过程中,众多转录因子既相互作用又表现出各自的特异性。转录因子数目较多,该文仅就一些与造血细胞分化、成熟相关的转录因子近年来的研究进展作一介绍。     

胚胎干细胞向造血系统的分化

胚胎干细胞是指从囊胚期的内细胞团中分离出来的尚未分化的胚胎细胞,可分化形成各种组织类型。在合适的条件下,胚胎干细胞可发育成造血干细胞及各类成熟血细胞,为造血干细胞移植及血细胞输注开辟了新的来源,同时也为造血发生及造血调控研究提供了有效可靠的模型。本文将综述ES细胞向造血系统分化的诱导条件、调控机制及应用前景。     

基于单细胞转录组分析的造血微环境研究进展

成体造血干细胞(hematopoietic stem cell,HSC)是一类主要定居于骨髓,具有自我更新和多向分化潜能的成体干细胞.HSC能够源源不断地产生各谱系成熟血细胞以维持造血系统的动态平衡.HSC功能特性的维持不仅依赖细胞本身的内在调控,还受到其所处的造血微环境或造血龛(hematopoietic micro...     

造血干细胞发育过程中的信号通路调控

血液系统是维持机体生命活动最重要的系统之一,为机体提供所需的氧气和营养物质,通过物质交换维持内环境的稳态,同时为机体提供免疫防御与保护。血细胞是血液的重要组成成分,机体中成熟血细胞类型起源于具有自我更新及分化潜能的多能成体干细胞—造血干细胞(hematopoietic stem cells,HSCs)。造血干细胞及各类血细胞产生、发育及成熟的过程称为造血过程,该过程开始于胚胎发育早期并贯穿整个生命过程,任一阶段出现异常都可能导致血液疾病的发生。因此,深入探究造血发育过程及其调控机制对于认识并治疗血液疾病至关重要。近年来,以小鼠(Mus musculus)和斑马鱼(Danio rerio)作为动物模型来研究造血发育取得了一系列的进展。其中,BMP、Notch和Wnt等信号通路对造血干细胞的命运决定和产生发挥了重要作用。本文对这些信号通路在小鼠和斑马鱼造血过程中的调控作用进行系统总结,以期能够完善造血发育过程的调控网络并为临床应用提供指导。     

IL-3在造血干细胞增殖分化调控中的信号转导

IL-3又称多克隆集落刺激因子（Multi-CSF）,是造血干细胞增殖分化的正性调节因子。它通过与靶细胞表面的受体结合传递生长、分化信号,调控造血干细胞生存、增殖及向各系血细胞分化、成熟。本文就IL-3在造血干细胞增殖分化调控中的有关信号转导作一综述。     

《自然-细胞生物学》：胰岛素和营养可阻碍造血干细胞分化

近日来自加州大学洛杉矶分校的干细胞研究人员在新研究中发现胰岛素和营养可以阻碍果蝇中的造血干细胞分化为成熟血细胞。这一研究发现表明应对饮食的变化来研究人体的炎症反应和血液形成机制。相关研究论文发表在3月儿日的《自然-细胞生物学》（Nature Cell Biology）杂志上。     

RunX3对小鼠骨髓造血干细胞功能的影响

目的研究RunX3基因对造血干细胞自我更新和分化能力的影响。方法流式细胞术测定小鼠骨髓干细胞和外周血单个核细胞的比例;通过竞争性骨髓移植实验检测RunX3转基因小鼠骨髓干细胞的功能。结果移植后来源于RunX3-/-小鼠骨髓干细胞供体的外周血细胞占总外周血细胞的比例与野生对照鼠相比无明显差异,移植后来源于RunX3-/-小鼠骨髓干细胞供体的外周血中髓系细胞占总外周血髓系细胞的比例较野生型对照鼠高。结论RunX3基因缺失对骨髓造血干细胞的自我更新没有影响,但其可能参与了骨髓造血干细胞的分化过程。     

胚胎造血过程中的成血管血液干细胞

在胚胎发育过程中,血细胞和内皮细胞共同产生于特定时间和地点的中胚层间质细胞。利用多种体内外方法证明,导致中胚层决定和分化形成造血细胞和内皮细胞的祖细胞就是成血管血液干细胞。本文就体内内皮祖细胞和造血干细胞标记的追踪,体外胚胎干细胞向造血和内皮细胞的决定与分化,影响成血管血液干细胞的关键转录因子等方面,综述了近年来成血管血液干细胞存在的证据、诱导发生、影响因素和多分化潜能,以及未来研究的前景。     

造血微环境细胞组成及功能的研究进展

造血微环境是造血干细胞(HSCs)居住的场所,对于维持HSCs自我更新、分化与稳态有着重要的调控作用。伴随着胚胎发育,造血主要分为卵黄囊造血、主动脉-性腺-中肾造血、胎肝造血及骨髓造血4个时期,因而研究造血发育时期的微环境对体外HSCs的扩增及诱导分化有着重要的指导意义。现对4个造血时期的造血微环境细胞组成及功能进行综述,阐明不同时期造血微环境调控作用的异同,为实现HSCs在体外的扩增与分化打下基础。     

胚胎干细胞向造血干/祖细胞定向诱导分化的研究进展

胚胎干细胞(embryonic stem cell,ES细胞)是指由胚胎内细胞团(inner cell mass,ICM)细胞经体外抑制培养而筛选得到的细胞,具有无限增殖潜能,在体外可以向造血细胞分化,有可能为造血干细胞移植和血细胞输注开辟新的来源．此外,ES细胞向造血干/祖细胞的定向诱导分化也为阐明哺乳动物造血发育的细胞和分子机制提供了良好的体外模型．对ES细胞向造血干/祖细胞定向分化的研究进展进行了综述．     

Host-derived extracellular nucleic acids enhance innate immune responses, induce coagulation, and prolong survival upon infection in insects

Extracellular nucleic acids play important roles in human immunity and hemostasis by inducing IFN production, entrapping pathogens in neutrophil extracellular traps, and providing procoagulant cofactor templates for induced contact activation during mammalian blood clotting. In this study, we investigated the functions of extracellular RNA and DNA in innate immunity and hemolymph coagulation in insects using the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella a reliable model host for many insect and human pathogens. We determined that coinjection of purified Galleria-derived nucleic acids with heat-killed bacteria synergistically increases systemic expression of antimicrobial peptides and leads to the depletion of immune-competent hemocytes indicating cellular immune stimulation. These activities were abolished when nucleic acids had been degraded by nucleic acid hydrolyzing enzymes prior to injection. Furthermore, we found that nucleic acids induce insect hemolymph coagulation in a similar way as LPS. Proteomic analyses revealed specific RNA-binding proteins in the hemolymph, including apolipoproteins, as potential mediators of the immune response and hemolymph clotting. Microscopic ex vivo analyses of Galleria hemolymph clotting reactions revealed that oenocytoids (5-10% of total hemocytes) represent a source of endogenously derived extracellular nucleic acids. Finally, using the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens as an infective agent and Galleria caterpillars as hosts, we demonstrated that injection of purified nucleic acids along with P. luminescens significantly prolongs survival of infected larvae. Our results lend some credit to our hypothesis that host-derived nucleic acids have independently been co-opted in innate immunity of both mammals and insects, but exert comparable roles in entrapping pathogens and enhancing innate immune responses.     

The relative abundance of hemocyte types in a polyphagous moth larva depends on diet

Hemocytes are crucial cells of the insect immune system because of their involvement in multiple immune responses including coagulation, phagocytosis and encapsulation. There are various types of hemocytes, each having a particular role in immunity, such that variation in their relative abundance affects the outcome of the immune response. This study aims to characterize these various types of hemocytes in larvae of the grapevine pest insect Eupoecilia ambiguella, and to assess variation in their concentration as a function of larval diet and immune challenge. Four types of hemocytes were found in the hemolymph of 5th instar larvae: granulocytes, oenocytoids, plasmatocytes and spherulocytes. We found that the total concentration of hemocytes and the concentration of each hemocyte type varied among diets and in response to the immune challenge. Irrespective of the diet, the concentration of granulocytes increased following a bacterial immune challenge, while the concentration of plasmatocytes and spherulocytes differentially varied between larval diets. The concentration of oenocytoids did not vary among diets before the immune challenge but varied between larval diets in response to the challenge. These results suggest that the resistance of insect larvae to different natural enemies critically depends on the effect of larval diet on the larvae’s investment into the different types of hemocytes.     

Physiological functions of hemocytes newly emerged from the cultured hematopoietic organs in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Abstract  Cellular immunity is a very important part of insect innate immunity. It is not clear if hemocytes entering the hemolymph require a maturation process to become competent. The establishment of a tissue culture system for the insect hematopoietic organs would enable physiological function assays with hemocytes newly emerged from hematopoietic organs. To this end, we established a hematopoietic organ culture system for the purebred silkworm pnd pS and then studied the physiological functions of the newly emerged hemocytes. We found that Grace's medium supplemented with 10% heated silkworm larval plasma was better for culturing the hematopoietic organs of pnd pS . Newly emerged hemocytes phagocytosed propidium iodide-labeled bacteria and encapsulated the Iml-2 coated nickel beads as well as pupal tissue debris. This culture system is therefore capable of generating physiologically functional hemocytes. These hemocytes can be used to study the mechanisms of the hemocyte immune response among others.     

Characterization and identification of the integrin family in silkworm, Bombyx mori

As an important economic insect, Bombyx mori is also a useful model organism for lepidopteran insect. Integrins are evolutionarily conserved from sponges to humans, and play vital roles in many physiological and pathological processes. To explore their diverse functions of integrins in insect, eleven integrins including six α and five β subunits were cloned and characterized from silkworm. Our results showed that integrins from silkworm own more family members compared to other invertebrates. Among those α subunits, integrins α1, α2, and the other four subunits belong to PS1, PS2, and PS3 groups, respectively. The β subunits mainly gather in the insect βν group except the β1 subunit which belongs to the insect β group. Expression profiles demonstrated that the integrins exhibited distinct patterns, but were mainly expressed in hemocytes. α1 and β2 subunits are the predominant ones either in the embryogenesis or larva stages. Interestingly, integrins were significantly up-regulated after stimulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) in vivo. These results indicate that integrins perform diverse functions in hemocytes of silkworm. Overall, our results provide a new insight into the functional and evolutionary features of integrins.     

Rho 1 participates in parasitoid wasp eggs maturation and host cellular immunity inhibition

Endoparasitoid wasps introduce venom into their host insects during the egg-laying stage. Venom proteins play various roles in the host physiology, development, immunity, and behavior manipulation and regulation. In this study, we identified a venom protein, MmRho1, a small guanine nucleotide-binding protein derived from ovary in the endoparasitoid wasp Microplitis mediator and found that knockdown of its expression by RNA interference caused down-regulation of vitellogenin and juvenile hormone, egg production, and cocoons formation in the female wasps. We demonstrated that MmRho1 entered the cotton bollworm's (host) hemocytes and suppressed cellular immune responses after parasitism using immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, wasp MmRho1 interacted with the cotton bollworm's actin cytoskeleton rearrangement regulator diaphanous by yeast 2-hybrid and glutathione s-transferase pull-down. In conclusion, this study indicates that MmRho1 plays dual roles in wasp development and the suppression of the host insect cellular immune responses.     

昆虫hemocytin蛋白研究进展

本课题组前期研究发现,绿僵菌素A与家蚕Bombyx mori 的hemocytin蛋白互作,强烈抑制血淋巴免疫,预示hemocytin可能成为一种杀虫剂的新型作用靶标。因此,进一步了解hemocytin十分必要。Hemocytin是昆虫血淋巴免疫的重要因子,作为一种凝集素,介导血淋巴中的凝血、结节和囊胞化过程,防止表皮破损造成的血淋巴外溢和微生物入侵,并参与对已入侵病原的固定与清除。昆虫的hemocytin一般由3 000~4 000个氨基酸组成,是一个巨大的多结构域蛋白,含有多个重复排列的结构域,包括FA58C (coagulation factor 5 or 8 C-terminal), VWD (von Willebrand factor type D), TIL (trypsin inhibitor like cysteine rich), VWC (von Willebrand factor type C), CT (C-terminal cystine knot like), C8 (8 conserved cysteine residues), ChtBD2 (chitin-binding domain type 2)和MUC (mucin-2 protein WxxW repeating region);不同昆虫间hemocytin的氨基酸序列相似性较小,但其结构域序列具有较高的保守性。Hemocytin由血细胞生物合成,以成熟形式分泌至血淋巴中。Hemocytin是凝血块的主要成分,通过其纤维结构凝聚血细胞和凝血因子形成软凝块封闭伤口,再通过交联作用形成硬凝块和结痂。Hemocytin在结节和囊胞化过程中发挥重要作用,将血细胞、免疫因子和病原体凝聚,最后联合黑化作用隔绝和杀死病原体。总体上,昆虫hemocytin的研究还不够深入。解析hemocytin调控昆虫免疫的分子机理,对于丰富昆虫免疫学基础研究,促进基于hemocytin为靶点的新型杀虫剂研发具有重要意义。     

虾类血细胞的分类与功能研究进展

血细胞在动物的免疫防御体系中扮演了重要的角色,尤其是对缺少适应性免疫的无脊椎动物。在这些动物中,血细胞既参与细胞免疫的吞噬、包囊、结节等作用,还参与体液免疫中许多免疫因子的生成与储存。对不同动物类群的血细胞的不同亚群进行区分,是深入了解其免疫机制与血细胞功能的基础。尽管国内外学者利用不同的方法,针对虾类血细胞的不同亚群的区分和功能做了很多研究,但是目前还未形成统一的标准。基于此,文中将已有研究结果进行了梳理与总结,提出了虾类血细胞的三亚群分类法,并对不同亚群的形态特点、免疫学功能进行了详细叙述,期望能为了解无脊椎动物血细胞组成、进行血细胞相关的功能与分子机理研究以及改进和研发新的动物细胞分离技术提供帮助。     

Molecular cloning and expression pattern analysis of two novel disulfide isomerases in shrimp

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) catalyzes formation and isomerization of disulfide bridges and has chaperone activity. Currently, increasing evidence suggests the significance of PDI in immune and stress responses. To clarify the role of PDIs in the innate immunity of shrimp, two PDI genes were isolated and identified from Fenneropenaeus chinensis (fleshy prawn). FcPDI1 is 1878bp in length and encodes a protein of 383 amino acids. It has 18-amino acid signal peptide, 3 thioredoxin domains with 3 active sites of CGHC, and KEDL retention signal at its C-end. FcPDI1 is an atypical PDI. The open reading frame of FcPDI2 encodes a 497-amino acid protein and shows the classical domain organization a-b-b'-a'. Phylogenic analysis and multiple alignments show that FcPDI1 is similar to PDI that contains 3 thioredoxin domains from other species including invertebrates and vertebrates. FcPDI2, LvPDI, and insect PDIs are grouped into one cluster and are similar to PDIs having a-b-b'-a' domain organization. Tissue distribution shows that FcPDI1 and FcPDI2 were expressed in all detected tissues at the mRNA level. Changes in FcPDI1 and FcPDI2 expression at the mRNA level in hemocytes, hepatopancreas, gills, and ovaries upon Vibrio or white spot syndrome virus challenge were also analyzed. The results suggest that FcPDI1 and FcPDI2 might have roles in the innate immunity of shrimp. FcPDI1 was also successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant FcPDI1 showed insulin reductase activity. Results show that FcPDI might play an important role in the innate immunity of shrimp.     

Fat body and hemocyte contribution to the antimicrobial peptide synthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calliphora vicina</Emphasis> R.-D. (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae

Antimicrobial peptides accumulated in the hemolymph in response to infection are a key element of insect innate immunity. The involvement of the fat body and hemocytes in the antimicrobial peptide synthesis is widely acknowledged, although release of the peptides present in the hemolymph from the immune cells was not directly verified so far. Here, we studied the presence of antimicrobial peptides in the culture medium of fat body cells and hemocytes isolated from the blue blowfly Calliphora vicina using complex of liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and antimicrobial activity assays. Both fat body and hemocytes are shown to synthesize and release to culture medium defensin, cecropin, diptericins, and proline-rich peptides. The spectra of peptide antibiotics released by the fat body and hemocytes partially overlap. Thus, the results suggest that insect fat body and blood cells are capable of releasing mature antimicrobial peptides to the hemolymph. It is notable that the data obtained demonstrate dramatic difference in the functioning of insect antimicrobial peptides and their mammalian counterparts localized into blood cells’ phagosomes where they exert their antibacterial activity.