全反式维甲酸协同DAPT抑制胶质瘤干细胞的自我更新

前期研究脑表明,脑胶质瘤干细胞（glioma stem cells,GSCs）是胶质瘤发生和发展的重要因素,探索靶向干预GSCs生长有可能成为脑胶质瘤治疗的有效途径之一。该研究旨在阐明两种药物ATRA和Y-分泌酶抑制剂DAPT协同抑制GSCs自我更新的生物学效应。通过用台盼蓝排染法、克隆球形成试验和免疫印迹分析了两种药物的单独使用或联用对GSC样细胞PGCl和PGC2生长、成球能力和自我更新以及干细胞标志物表达的影响。结果发现,单独使用ATRA对PGCl生长有一定的抑制作用,而对PGC2生长几乎没有影响;DAPT对PGCs的生长抑制作用明显强于ATRA。高浓度ATRA（80μmol/L）能诱导PGCs的分化,降低PGCs成球大小,且成球效率降至5％～8％,而正常对照组为32％～35％;同样,DAPT（40μmol／L）也能降低PGCs成球大小,且成球效率降至2％～3％;低浓度ATRA（20μmol／L）和DAPT（5gmol／L）对PGCs自我更新能力和干性没有明显影响,而联合使用后其明显降低PGCs的成球大小,且成球效率降至3％～5％,促进细胞凋亡,并且明显抑制了干细胞标志物Nestin、CDl33、Sox2、Oct4的表达,提高了分化标志物GFAP的表达。该研究证明了低浓度的ATRA和DAPT能协同抑制脑胶质瘤干细胞PGCs的自我更新。研究结果将为脑胶质瘤的临床研究提供实验依据。     

Notch-signalling is required for head regeneration and tentacle patterning in Hydra

Local self-activation and long ranging inhibition provide a mechanism for setting up organising regions as signalling centres for the development of structures in the surrounding tissue. The adult hydra hypostome functions as head organiser. After hydra head removal it is newly formed and complete heads can be regenerated. The molecular components of this organising region involve Wnt-signalling and β-catenin. However, it is not known how correct patterning of hypostome and tentacles are achieved in the hydra head and whether other signals in addition to HyWnt3 are needed for re-establishing the new organiser after head removal. Here we show that Notch-signalling is required for re-establishing the organiser during regeneration and that this is due to its role in restricting tentacle activation. Blocking Notch-signalling leads to the formation of irregular head structures characterised by excess tentacle tissue and aberrant expression of genes that mark the tentacle boundaries. This indicates a role for Notch-signalling in defining the tentacle pattern in the hydra head. Moreover, lateral inhibition by HvNotch and its target HyHes are required for head regeneration and without this the formation of the β-catenin/Wnt dependent head organiser is impaired. Work on prebilaterian model organisms has shown that the Wnt-pathway is important for setting up signalling centres for axial patterning in early multicellular animals. Our data suggest that the integration of Wnt-signalling with Notch-Delta activity was also involved in the evolution of defined body plans in animals.     

Opposing actions of Notch1 and VEGF in post-natal cardiac valve endothelial cells

The endothelium of the cardiac valves is unique compared the rest of the vasculature in its ability to undergo an endothelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in vitro in response to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). EMT is a critical event during embryonic valve development, and both VEGF-A and Notch1 have been shown to function in this process. Here we investigate the effects of VEGF-A and Notch1 on EMT in clonal endothelial cell (EC) populations isolated from adult aortic valve leaflets. VEGF-A inhibited TGF-β-induced EMT. Endothelial growth, however, was not affected by VEGF-A or TGF-β. A positive role for Notch1 was revealed in three experiments: (1) TGF-β induced Notch1 mRNA in valve ECs, (2) a γ-secretase inhibitor of Notch1 signaling blocked EMT, and (3) overexpression of a ligand-independent form of Notch1 induced EMT. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that VEGF-A and Notch1 play opposing roles in regulating EMT in post-natal valve endothelium.     

Effects of a gamma-secretase inhibitor of notch signalling on transforming growth factor β1-induced urethral fibrosis

Urethral stricture (US) is a common disorder of the lower urinary tract in men caused by fibrosis. The recurrence rate of US is high; however, there are no effective therapies to prevent or treat urethral fibrosis. The pathogenesis of urethral fibrosis involves myofibroblast activation and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. The molecular mechanisms underlying this pathological activation are not completely understood. It has been demonstrated that Notch signalling contributes to the development of fibrosis and inflammation. However, whether this contributes to urethral fibrosis remains unclear. In this study, activation of Notch signalling was observed in patients with US. Additionally, it was noted that activation of Notch signalling promoted ECM production and myofibroblast activation in human urethral scar fibroblasts (HUSFs) treated with transforming growth factor (TGF) β1. However, the Notch inhibitor N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) suppressed activation of Notch signalling as well as proliferation and migration of the TGFβ1-treated HUSFs. Additionally, DAPT ameliorated TGFβ1-induced urethral fibrosis in Sprague Dawley rats by suppressing ECM production, myofibroblast activation and the TGFβ signalling pathway. These findings demonstrate that Notch signalling may be a promising and potential target in the prevention or treatment of urethral fibrosis.     

γ分泌酶抑制剂对肝血窦内皮细胞的影响

目的:在建立高纯度小鼠肝血窦内皮细胞的体外培养的基础上研究γ分泌酶抑制剂(DAPT)对肝血窦内皮细胞活性的影响.方法:首先通过胶原酶灌注消化、percoll梯度离心和选择性贴壁分离得到高纯度、可在体外条件下培养的肝血窦内皮细胞,其次用不同浓度的DAPT(15 μmol/L、45 μmol/L、75 μmol/L)处理细胞,然后通过MTT检测细胞增殖情况、Real time PCR检测相关分子改变.结果:在体外条件下DAPT对肝血窦内皮细胞的增殖起到促进作用,这种促进作用随着DAPT浓度的增加相应的增加;DAPT能够导致肝血窦内皮细胞Notch信号下游分子Hes1表达下调,VEGF信号中VEGFR1表达下调,VEGFR2表达上调.结论:γ分泌酶抑制剂(DAPT)通过抑制肝血窦内皮细胞Notch信号,引起肝血窦内皮细胞表面VEGFR1表达下调,VEGFR2 表达上调显著增加肝血窦内皮细胞的活性.     

A rapid assay for drug sensitivity of glioblastoma stem cells

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrating, aggressive brain cancer with no available curative treatment. We developed a rapid assay for assessing the effect of various drugs on GBM stem cells. The assay uses a small number of separated CD133+ cells (20,000 in 0.2 ml) in 96-well plate that form neurospheres within 1-2 days. Various drugs disperse the neurospheres within 24-36 h, which can be quantified microscopically. We used the GBM cell line A-172 to develop the conditions for the assay, utilizing Gleevec, the gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT, and the anti-bacterial peptide amph1D. The results show dispersion of the neurospheres leading to cell death, at relatively low drugs concentrations (<25 microM). Drug combination showed a synergistic effect and disruption of neurospheres under lower concentrations. We applied this assay to the CD133+ cells of surgical specimens from three patients that showed similar results. This assay facilitates a rapid test of drugs on small amounts of fractionated patient's GBM stem cells.     

The Notch signaling pathway in the cnidarian Hydra

Many of the major pathways that govern early development in higher animals have been identified in cnidarians, including the Wnt, TGFbeta and tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. We show here that Notch signaling is also conserved in these early metazoans. We describe the Hydra Notch receptor (HvNotch) and provide evidence for the conservation of the Notch signaling mode via regulated intramembrane proteolysis. We observed that nuclear translocation of the Notch intracellular domain (NID) was inhibited by the synthetic gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT. Moreover, DAPT treatment of hydra polyps caused distinct differentiation defects in their interstitial stem cell lineage. Nerve cell differentiation proceeded normally but post-mitotic nematocyte differentiation was dramatically reduced. Early female germ cell differentiation was inhibited before exit from mitosis. From these results we conclude that gamma-secretase activity and presumably Notch signaling are required to control differentiation events in the interstitial cell lineage of Hydra.     

人卵巢癌A2780 细胞侵袭转移与HES1 相关性

目的:探讨人卵巢癌细胞A2780中的HES1表达与人卵巢癌侵袭及转移的关系。方法:分别运用实时RT-PCR、WesternBlotting及细胞免疫荧光法检测γ分泌酶抑制剂作用前后A2780细胞中HES1的表达水平,Transwell小室试验及MTT法分别用于检测细胞的侵袭、迁移及黏附能力。结果:下调A2780细胞中HES1的表达水平后,A2780细胞的黏附、侵袭及转移能力下降,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01)。结论:HES1的表达与人卵巢癌细胞的侵袭及转移密切相关,下调其表达可抑制卵巢癌细胞的黏附、侵袭及转移能力。