染色质免疫沉淀法筛选转录因子Nanog调控的目的基因

目的：利用染色质免疫沉淀法筛选转录因子Nanog调控的目的基因。方法：用甲醛固定胚胎干细胞,利用超声将其染色质随机断裂成0.5～1.0kb的染色质片段,通过免疫沉淀富集与Nanog结合的DNA片段,回复交联后分离纯化DNA片段,最终用凝胶迁移阻滞实验验证Nanog与DNA片段的结合。结果：我们发现fzr为Nanog调控的目的基因,并通过电泳迁移率变动分析证明了二者的结合。结论：Fzr在细胞周期调控中发挥重要作用,这为阐明Nanog的作用机理奠定基础。     

Methylation patterns in 5＇ terminal regions of pluripotency-related genes in bovine in vitro fertilized and cloned embryos

In order to investigate DNA methylation profiles of five pluripotency-related genes (Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, Rex1 and Fgf4) during bovine maternal to zygotic transition (MZT) in both in vitro fertilized (IVF) and nuclear transfer (NT) embryos, sodium bisulfite sequencing method was used to detect DNA methylation levels, accompanied by the statistical analysis of embryo developmental rates. The results showed that Oct4, Nanog, Rex1 and Fgf4 were respectively demethylated by 25.22% (P < 0.01), 3.84% (P > 0.05), 31.82% (P < 0.01) and 10% (P > 0.05) while Sox2 retained unmethylation during MZT in IVF embryos. By contrast, Oct4 and Rex1 respectively underwent demethylation by 23.04% (P < 0.01) and 6.02% (P > 0.05), and, reversely, Sox2, Nanog and Fgf4 respectively experienced remethylation by 0.84% (P > 0.05), 5.39% (P > 0.05) and 5.46% (P > 0.05) during MZT in NT embryos. Interestingly, the CpG 14 site of Sox2 was specifically methylated in both 8-cell and morula NT embryos. In addition, the development of blastocysts between IVF and NT embryos showed no significant difference. DNA methylation analysis showed that only Oct4 and Sox2 underwent the correct methylation reprogramming process, which may be responsible for the development of blastocysts of NT embryos to a certain extent. In conclusion, the five genes respectively experienced demethylation to different extents and incomplete DNA methylation reprogramming during bovine MZT in both IVF and NT embryos, suggesting that they may be used as indicators for bovine embryo developmental competence.     

过表达Nanog基因的小鼠骨髓间质干细胞对NF-κB表达的影响

核因子κB(nuclear factor kappa B,NF-κB) 的激活被认为与中枢神经系统变性疾病的进展有关。新近报告Nanog能抑制NF-κB的表达,为验证这一发现,通过限制性内切酶酶切和基因重组的方法,构建携带Nanog基因的重组慢病毒表达载体质粒pNL-Nanog-IRES2-EGFP,经PCR检测以及测序鉴定后,在脂质体介导下与包装质粒HELPER、包膜质粒VSVG共转染293T细胞包装生产慢病毒。所获慢病毒感染小鼠骨髓间充质干细胞 (mMSCs) 后,Western blotting法检测在mMSCs中Nanog 基因的表达,PCR、Western blotting和免疫细胞化学法检测NF-κB基因的表达。结果显示所克隆的Nanog基因测序结果与GenBank报道序列完全一致。构建的慢病毒载体质粒PNL-Nanog-IRES2-EGFP经Sal I和BamH I双酶切后电泳鉴定正确。所获慢病毒感染mMSCs后荧光激发mMSCs可见绿色荧光,Western blotting检测显示Nanog-mMSCs 组表达Nanog,其他两组基本不表达。RT-PCR和Western blotting检测显示Nanog-mMSCs组的NF-κB表达较空载体-mMSCs组及mMSCs组低,有显著性差异。构建携带Nanog基因慢病毒载体并在小鼠骨髓间质干细胞中成功表达,Nanog基因的表达可抑制NF-κB表达,这结果为神经变性疾病的治疗提供了新思路。     

Involvement of Ras in extraembryonic endoderm differentiation of embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells, derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst can differentiate into multiple cell lineages. In this study, we examined the possible involvement of Ras in ES cell differentiation. We found that Ras was activated upon formation of embryoid bodies (EBs), an initial step in ES cell differentiation. When expressed during EB differentiation, a dominant-negative mutant of Ras suppressed induction of marker genes for extraembryonic endoderm differentiation, including GATA-4, GATA-6, alpha-fetoprotein, and hepatocyte nuclear factor 3beta, while an activated mutant promoted their induction. Expression of a Ras mutant that selectively activates the Raf/MEK/Erk pathway also enhanced induction of extraembryonic endoderm markers, and treatment with a MEK inhibitor resulted in their decreased expression. In addition, Ras stimulated downregulation of Nanog, a suppressor of endoderm differentiation in ES cells. These data suggest that Ras activation during EB differentiation plays a crucial role in initiation of extraembryonic endoderm differentiation.     

Nodal cis-regulatory elements reveal epiblast and primitive endoderm heterogeneity in the peri-implantation mouse embryo

Nodal, a secreted factor known for its conserved functions in cell-fate specification and the establishment of embryonic axes, is also required in mammals to maintain the pluripotency of the epiblast, the tissue that gives rise to all fetal lineages. Although Nodal is expressed as early as E3.5 in the mouse embryo, its regulation and functions at pre- and peri-implantation stages are currently unknown. Sensitive reporter transgenes for two Nodal cis-regulatory regions, the PEE and the ASE, exhibit specific expression profiles before implantation. Mutant and inhibitor studies find them respectively regulated by Wnt/β-catenin signaling and Activin/Nodal signaling, and provide evidence for localized and heterogeneous activities of these pathways in the inner cell mass, the epiblast and the primitive endoderm. These studies also show that Nodal and its prime effector, FoxH1, are not essential to preimplantation Activin/Nodal signaling. Finally, a strong upregulation of the ASE reporter in implanting blastocysts correlates with a downregulation of the pluripotency factor Nanog in the maturing epiblast. This study uncovers conservation in the mouse blastocyst of Wnt/β-catenin and Activin/Nodal-dependent activities known to govern Nodal expression and the establishment of polarity in the blastula of other deuterostomes. Our results indicate that these pathways act early on to initiate distinct cell-specification processes in the ICM derivatives. Our data also suggest that the activity of the Activin/Nodal pathway is dampened by interactions with the molecular machinery of pluripotency until just before implantation, possibly delaying cell-fate decisions in the mouse embryo.