Hippo信号通路在肺发育、再生和疾病中的功能

哺乳动物肺对于血液与外部环境之间的气体交换至关重要。而肺相关的疾病是现代人死亡的主要原因之一。肺的发育、再生和相关疾病的研究对临床治疗具有重要的指导作用。研究发现,Hippo信号通路参与细胞增殖与分化的调控、器官大小的控制,以及机械力的感应和传递。Hippo信号通路中的核心转录调控分子YAP/TAZ在肺部的多种细胞中均有表达,其表达及定位的变化在肺发育与再生中发挥着重要的调控作用。本文主要介绍了Hippo信号通路在肺生长发育中的功能及其与肺纤维化、肺癌的关系,并从肺泡力学和肺泡相关免疫两个角度对Hippo信号通路潜在的功能进行了展望。     

经典Wnt信号通路对胰腺发育及其疾病发生的调控

经典Wnt信号通路是一条极其保守的信号通路,在多种组织器官发育及疾病发生过程中起重要作用,这条信号通路在胰腺中的作用近年来才逐渐被揭示.研究表明,经典Wnt信号通路在胰腺命运特化、胰腺祖细胞增殖等发育过程中起重要调控作用.另外.这条信号通路与Ⅱ型糖尿病和胰腺肿瘤的发生密切相关.本文对经典Wnt信号通路在胰腺发育及搪尿病和胰腺癌中的作用进行综述.     

Hippo信号通路调控免疫细胞的功能

Hippo信号通路最初是在果蝇(Drosophila)中被发现的,是在进化上高度保守并能调控器官大小的信号转导通路。在哺乳动物多种组织器官中,Hippo信号通路的关键激酶MST1和MST2(果蝇Hippo激酶的同源分子)通过抑制下游的转录共激活分子YAP(果蝇中为Yorki)的活性来实现对细胞增殖和凋亡的调控。在这些组织器官中条件性敲除Mst1和Mst2或过表达Yap大都会造成细胞过度增殖或肿瘤的发生。近年来,随着研究的不断深入,Hippo信号通路不依赖于YAP的非经典功能也逐渐被发现。其中,Hippo信号通路多个成员在免疫系统中的调控功能逐渐成为该领域的研究热点,特别是在免疫细胞发育分化、机体自身免疫性疾病及应对病毒和细菌入侵等过程中所发挥的调控作用。本文重点阐述了Hippo信号通路在T淋巴细胞中发育、分化、活化和迁移等方面及在部分天然免疫细胞抗感染过程中的功能和调控。     

Hippo信号通路与肝脏稳态调控及疾病发生

肝脏是人体最重要的器官之一,乙肝等病毒性与酒精等非病毒性因素诱发的肝损伤引起肝脏功能衰竭、再生重塑障碍、肝癌等疾病是我国重大社会健康问题,因此,研究肝脏稳态的调控机制对肝病的预防和临床治疗至关重要。Hippo信号通路参与了哺乳动物多种细胞和器官的稳态调控。最近研究表明,Hippo信号通路在肝脏发育、肝细胞命运决定、肝脏再生和癌症发生发展等过程中都发挥了非常重要的作用。因此,Hippo信号通路可成为肝脏相关疾病的治疗提供了新的靶点。本文综述了Hippo信号通路与肝脏稳态调控的相关研究及最新进展,以期为研究肝脏发育和肝脏相关疾病的治疗提供新的思路和策略。     

非经典Wnt信号通路在心脏发育和干细胞向心肌分化中的作用机制

Wnt信号通路是一种哺乳动物进化保守的信号通路,在心脏发育和干细胞向心肌细胞分化中发挥重要的调控作用。经典Wnt信号通路主要调控早期心肌谱系提交,而非经典Wnt信号通路参与调控后续的心脏发育和分化。本文对非经典Wnt信号通路在心脏发育和干细胞向心肌细胞分化中的作用及其机制作一综述,以期为干细胞移植治疗缺血性心肌病提供参考策略。     

Hippo信号通路在雌性生殖系统中的研究进展

Hippo信号通路是一条存在于果蝇属和哺乳动物体内的保守且新兴的信号通路,具有复杂多变的特点。该通路由多种抑癌基因和一种原癌基因组成,与其他信号通路存在诸多交联对话。Hippo信号通路具有调控器官大小、参与调节细胞周期和凋亡及维持内环境稳定等生物学效应。近年来已有研究表明,Hippo信号通路参与雌性生殖系统发育的调控,因此,其在生殖系统发育及疾病治疗中的作用逐渐引起人们的广泛关注。该文综合论述了Hippo信号通路的生理特性及功能,着重阐述其在雌性生殖系统主要生殖器官(如卵巢、乳腺及卵泡等)中的调控机制。     

Hedgehog信号通路在胚胎发育过程中的调控作用

Hedgehog信号通路首次在果蝇体内被发现,进化上呈高度保守状态。该通路在胚胎发育、机体组织器官的形成过程中发挥了重要作用,它的异常调节会导致一系列严重的疾病。本文主要就Hedgehog信号通路对神经系统、骨骼系统、消化系统、肺、颅面部发育的调控作用作一综述。     

Wnt信号通路:调控机理和生物学意义

Wnt信号通路作为一种在进化中高度保守的信号通路,在生长、发育、代谢和干细胞维持等多种生物学过程中发挥重要作用。而Wnt通路的失控与癌症、肥胖和糖尿病等疾病的发生有密切联系。经典Wnt通路的调控过程,主要围绕beta-Catenin和TCF这两个关键调节因子进行,从而在转录水平上影响着大量与生长和代谢相关的靶基因的表达。本文将综合介绍近年来针对经典Wnt通路调控机理的研究进展,以及Wnt通路与疾病发生的关系。     

Hippo-YAP/TAZ信号通路在干细胞增殖、分化及器官再生中的研究进展

Hippo-YAP/TAZ信号通路最初在果蝇中被发现,是器官发育和肿瘤生长过程中重要的调节者。通过调控细胞增殖、凋亡和分化等过程影响器官再生。近年来,对于Hippo-YAP/ TAZ信号通路在调节干细胞 (SC)增殖、自我更新及分化过程中的相关机制有了较大进展。本综述拟通过介绍Hippo-YAP/TAZ信号通路在SC增殖及多向分化过程中的作用、调控机制及器官再生方面的研究进展,为应用SC治疗疾病提供相关理论基础。     

Wnt信号转导通路与神经发育研究进展

Wnt蛋白是一类分泌型糖蛋白家族,Wnt信号蛋白与细胞表面的多种受体相互作用,参与诸多生命过程。对神经系统发育的研究表明,Wnt信号通路在神经发生,神经祖细胞增值、分化,神经干细胞的自我更新,轴突导向等过程中起重要调控作用。多项研究已经证实,Wnt通路失调与诸多神经系统疾病有密切关系。Wnt信号通路的突变或异常,将会引起神经系统发育缺陷。然而,对Wnt非经典信号通路的研究,尤其是新受体Ryk的调控作用的认识迄今仍不全面。根据国内外相关研究,阐述了经典Wnt信号通路Wnt/β-catenin途径的同时也对Wnt/Ryk非经典信号途径这一研究新领域做了讨论。在非经典信号通路中,Ryk-ICD的剪接对于前体细胞的神经分化起重要作用。本文分析了Wnt/β-catenin和Wnt/Ryk信号通路在神经发育中的作用,有助于深入理解神经发育过程中Wnt信号通路的作用机制。然而,Ryk-ICD引导因子、分子机制等问题仍待进一步研究,而这将有利于理解神经干细胞分化机理。     

Expression and downregulation of WNT signaling pathway genes in rhesus monkey oocytes and embryos

Mammalian WNT genes encode secreted glycoproteins that are conserved homologues of the Drosophila Wingless gene, which plays a crucial role in Drosophila development. Recently, WNT pathway signaling has been implicated in ovarian development, oogenesis, and early development. We sought to evaluate whether these genes may contribute to the formation of healthy human oocytes or embryos, and whether the expression of these genes could provide informative markers of human oocyte and embryo quality. To do this, we employed the primate embryo gene expression resource (PREGER; www.preger.org) to examine expression of mRNAs encoding 38 components of the WNT signaling pathway in rhesus monkey oocytes and embryos as a nonhuman primate model. We observed considerable conservation between rhesus monkey and mouse of expression of WNT, FZD, and effector gene mRNAs, and a generalized downregulation of genes encoding key components of the WNT signaling pathway during preimplantation development. Our results support a role for WNT signaling during oocyte growth or maturation, but not during preimplantation development. Additionally, we observed differences between in vitro cultured and in vivo developing blastocysts, indicating possible effects of culture on WNT signaling during the peri-implantation period.     

Spatio-temporal Model of Endogenous ROS and Raft-Dependent WNT/Beta-Catenin Signaling Driving Cell Fate Commitment in Human Neural Progenitor Cells

Canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling is a central pathway in embryonic development, but it is also connected to a number of cancers and developmental disorders. Here we apply a combined in-vitro and in-silico approach to investigate the spatio-temporal regulation of WNT/β-catenin signaling during the early neural differentiation process of human neural progenitors cells (hNPCs), which form a new prospect for replacement therapies in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Experimental measurements indicate a second signal mechanism, in addition to canonical WNT signaling, being involved in the regulation of nuclear β-catenin levels during the cell fate commitment phase of neural differentiation. We find that the biphasic activation of β-catenin signaling observed experimentally can only be explained through a model that combines Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and raft dependent WNT/β-catenin signaling. Accordingly after initiation of differentiation endogenous ROS activates DVL in a redox-dependent manner leading to a transient activation of down-stream β-catenin signaling, followed by continuous auto/paracrine WNT signaling, which crucially depends on lipid rafts. Our simulation studies further illustrate the elaborate spatio-temporal regulation of DVL, which, depending on its concentration and localization, may either act as direct inducer of the transient ROS/β-catenin signal or as amplifier during continuous auto-/parcrine WNT/β-catenin signaling. In addition we provide the first stochastic computational model of WNT/β-catenin signaling that combines membrane-related and intracellular processes, including lipid rafts/receptor dynamics as well as WNT- and ROS-dependent β-catenin activation. The model’s predictive ability is demonstrated under a wide range of varying conditions for in-vitro and in-silico reference data sets. Our in-silico approach is realized in a multi-level rule-based language, that facilitates the extension and modification of the model. Thus, our results provide both new insights and means to further our understanding of canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling and the role of ROS as intracellular signaling mediator.     

Impact of WNT signaling on tissue lineage differentiation in the early mouse embryo

WNT signaling activity is involved in the regulation of many cellular functions, including proliferation, migration, cell fate specification, maintenance of pluripotency and induction of tumorigenicity. Here we summarize recent progress towards understanding the regulation of canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling activity through feedback regulatory loops involving the ligands, agonists and antagonists, the availability of intracellular pools of active β-catenin and the cross-regulation of the WNT activity by β-catenin independent pathway. We also review recent findings on the role of WNT/β-catenin signaling in tissue lineage differentiation during embryogenesis and the maintenance and self renewal of embryo-derived stem cells in vitro.     

Role of WNT signaling in normal and malignant hematopoiesis

The WNT pathway is a powerful signaling pathway that plays a crucial role in cell fate determination, survival, proliferation and movement in variety of tissues. Abnormalities in the WNT signaling pathway have been implicated in a number of diseases, most notably cancer. Recent exciting evidence suggests that WNT signaling also plays an important role in hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and progenitor development. In this review we discuss current state of knowledge on WNT signaling in hematopoiesis and extend our focus on aberrant WNT signaling in hematological malignancies.     

Wnts and wing: Wnt signaling in vertebrate limb development and musculoskeletal morphogenesis

In the past twenty years, secreted signaling molecules of the Wnt family have been found to play a central role in controlling embryonic development from hydra to human. In the developing vertebrate limb, Wnt signaling is required for limb bud initiation, early limb patterning (which is governed by several well-characterized signaling centers), and, finally, late limb morphogenesis events. Wnt ligands are unique, in that they can activate several different receptor-mediated signal transduction pathways. The most extensively studied Wnt pathway is the canonical Wnt pathway, which controls gene expression by stabilizing beta-catenin in regulating a diverse array of biological processes. Recently, more attention has been given to the noncanonical Wnt pathway, which is beta-catenin-independent. The noncanonical Wnt pathway signals through activating Ca(2+) flux, JNK activation, and both small and heterotrimeric G proteins, to induce changes in gene expression, cell adhesion, migration, and polarity. Abnormal Wnt signaling leads to developmental defects and human diseases affecting either tissue development or homeostasis. Further understanding of the biological function and signaling mechanism of Wnt signaling is essential for the development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches of human diseases. This review provides a critical perspective on how Wnt signaling regulates different developmental processes. As Wnt signaling in tumor formation has been reviewed extensively elsewhere, this part is not included in the review of the clinical significance of Wnt signaling.