Endemic Viruses of Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri spp.)

Nonhuman primates are the experimental animals of choice for the study of many human diseases. As such, it is important to understand that endemic viruses of primates can potentially affect the design, methods, and results of biomedical studies designed to model human disease. Here we review the viruses known to be endemic in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp.). The pathogenic potential of these viruses in squirrel monkeys that undergo experimental manipulation remains largely unexplored but may have implications regarding the use of squirrel monkeys in biomedical research.Abbreviations: HTLV1, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1; HVS, herpesvirus saimiri; IPF, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; SaHV, Saimiriine herpesvirus; SFV, simian foamy virus; SM-CMV, squirrel monkey cytomegalovirus; SMPyV, squirrel monkey polyomavirus; SMRV, squirrel monkey retrovirusThe similarity between the nonhuman primate and human immune systems is a key advantage in the use of nonhuman primates compared with other mammalian models of human disease.^{13,71,88,94,103,113,125} In addition, the diversity of environmental and infectious disease agents encountered by primates is similar to that of humans, providing nonhuman primates a comparable level of biologic complexity.¹ Old World primates, such as macaques and baboons, and New World primates, including squirrel monkeys and marmosets, are commonly used in biomedical research. Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp.) are neotropical primates native to the forests of Central and South America. Of the 7 species of squirrel monkey, 3 (S. oerstedii, S. vanzolinii, and S. ustus) are classified as endangered, vulnerable to extinction in the wild, or near threatened, whereas the remaining 4 (S. boliviensis, S. cassiquiarensis, S. macrodon, and S. sciureus) are not endangered, although the S. cassiquiarensis albigena subspecies is near threatened^52,81 (Figure 1). In South America, where squirrel monkeys are indigenous, breeding colonies of S. sciureus have been maintained at the Pasteur Institute in French Guiana and at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil.^7,12 In the United States, the Squirrel Monkey Breeding and Research Resource, an NIH-sponsored national research resource, maintains breeding colonies for S. boliviensis boliviensis, S. sciureus sciureus, and S. boliviensis peruviensis.Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Taxonomy of Saimiri species with associated IUCN designations.^52,81Squirrel monkeys adapt easily to laboratory housing and can be housed in smaller spaces than can Old World primates.¹ Unlike when working with Old World primates, particularly macaques, no additional personnel protective equipment is necessary when working with squirrel monkeys beyond that recommended for working with other New World primates.⁹² Their small size, combined with the reduced need for personnel protective equipment during handling, make squirrel monkeys attractive species for model development and for studies of viral pathogenesis, which cost approximately 30% to 40% less than comparable studies in macaques.¹ The likelihood of zoonotic transmission of infectious pathogens is considerably less than that associated with macaques and the risk of Macacine herpesvirus 1 (B virus) is nonexistent, given that neotropical primates do not harbor this lethal virus.¹ These factors are increasingly important in the current climate of limited grant funding for biomedical research and emphasis on safety for laboratory personnel. The limited availability of immunologic reagents with specificity for neotropical primates has hindered broader use of squirrel monkeys in biomedical research, compared with that of the more commonly used Old World primates. In addition, the small size of neotropical primates limits the volume of blood that can be collected at any one time. To abrogate these limitations, the NIH Nonhuman Primate Reagent Resource (www.nhpreagents.org) provides an increasing repertoire of agents that have been characterized for immunologic studies of neotropical primates.⁸⁹Squirrel monkeys are used in numerous aspects of biomedical research, including studies of viral persistence, neuroendocrinology, infectious diseases, cancer treatments, vaccine development, gene expression, and reproductive physiology.¹¹⁷ The similarity between the squirrel monkey immune system and that of humans means that, as with macaques, there is a high likelihood that research outcomes will recapitulate what occurs in human diseases.^13,71,87,94 This is particularly true for the study of several notable infectious diseases, including malaria, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV1) infection.^19,56,128 For these diseases, squirrel monkeys are the model system of choice for studying pathogenesis, experimental treatments, and strategies for prevention.Squirrel monkeys are recognized as some of the most susceptible nonhuman primate species for the experimental transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies that cause chronic wasting disease.^11,72,98,130 The experimental infection of squirrel monkeys with HTLV1 has led to their use in vaccine development and chemotherapy research directed against HTLV1.^44,57,58,82 In addition, squirrel monkeys are an important model for studying the immunology of malaria and for testing vaccines against several Plasmodium species.^19,20,68,114 Furthermore, squirrel monkeys have been used in pharmacologic research to raise HDL levels to prevent atherosclerosis and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.⁶ As the use of squirrel monkeys increases, especially for infectious disease research, accurate information about the endemic viral infections of squirrel monkeys is needed because of the potential for zoonotic transfer of these viruses to humans (and vice versa) and to understand the potential influence these agents may have on research involving other infectious pathogens diseases and immunosuppressive drugs.     

Pharmacological targeting of guanosine monophosphate synthase suppresses melanoma cell invasion and tumorigenicity

Malignant melanoma possesses one of the highest metastatic potentials among human cancers. Acquisition of invasive phenotypes is a prerequisite for melanoma metastases. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying melanoma invasion will greatly enhance the design of novel agents for melanoma therapeutic intervention. Here, we report that guanosine monophosphate synthase (GMPS), an enzyme required for the de novo biosynthesis of GMP, has a major role in invasion and tumorigenicity of cells derived from either BRAF^V600E or NRAS^Q61R human metastatic melanomas. Moreover, GMPS levels are increased in metastatic human melanoma specimens compared with primary melanomas arguing that GMPS is an attractive candidate for anti-melanoma therapy. Accordingly, for the first time we demonstrate that angustmycin A, a nucleoside-analog inhibitor of GMPS produced by Streptomyces hygroscopius efficiently suppresses melanoma cell invasion in vitro and tumorigenicity in immunocompromised mice. Our data identify GMPS as a powerful driver of melanoma cell invasion and warrant further investigation of angustmycin A as a novel anti-melanoma agent.Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of human cancers. Its ability to metastasize in combination with resistance to conventional anticancer chemotherapy makes melanoma extremely difficult to cure, and the median survival of patients with metastatic melanoma is 8.5 months.^{1, 2, 3} A better understanding of the biology behind melanoma aggressiveness is imperative to facilitate the development of novel anti-melanoma strategies.Melanoma and other cancers cells have been shown to strongly rely on de novo nucleotide biosynthesis^{4, 5} and often overexpress several biosynthetic enzymes involved in these pathways.^{6, 7, 8, 9} Recently, we have identified a fundamental connection between melanoma invasion and biosynthesis of guanylates,⁸ suggesting that distortion of the guanylate metabolism facilitates melanoma progression.Guanosine monophosphate reductase (GMPR) reduces GMP to one of its precursors, inosine monophosphate (IMP), and depletes intracellular GTP pools (Figure 1a). We have recently demonstrated that GMPR suppresses melanoma cell invasion and growth of human melanoma cell xenografts. These findings tightly linked guanylate production to the invasive potential of melanoma cells.⁸Open in a separate windowFigure 1GMPS contributes to the invasive capability of melanoma cells. (a) Simplified schematic of the metabolic pathway for guanylates production. (b) SK-Mel-103 and SK-Mel-28 cells were transduced with a control vector or two independent shRNAs to GMPS and tested for invasion through Matrigel (left panel). Where indicated, cells were incubated with 100 μM guanosine for 24 h before the assay and guanosine supplementation was maintained throughout the experimental procedure. The data represent the average ± S.E.M. of at least two independent experiments. GMPS suppression was verified by immunoblotting (right panel). (c) Cells transduced as in (a) were plated on coverslips coated with FITC-conjugated gelatin. After 16 h cells were fixed with 4% PFA and stained for actin (rhodamine-conjugated phallodin) and nuclei (Hoechst). Where indicated, cells were incubated with 100 μM guanosine for 24 h before the assay and guanosine supplementation was maintained throughout the experimental procedure. At least 25 cells/sample were imaged to assess the number of cells with gelatin degradation. The data represent the average ± S.E.M. of two independent experiments. *P<0.05, **P<0.001 compared with control; ^#P<0.05, ^##P<0.001 compared with untreated cells. Statistics performed with Student''s t-Test. See also Supplementary Figure S1Of the several enzymes involved in guanylate biosynthesis, inositol monophosphate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IMPDH-1, -2), functional antagonists of GMPR (Figure 1a), have been targeted clinically with several drugs including the most specific one, mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its salt, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF).^{10, 11, 12, 13} Nonetheless, prior studies demonstrated that MPA possesses poor anti-tumor activity,^{14, 15} and it is primarily used as an immunosuppressing agent in organ transplantation.^{10, 11, 12}GMP synthase (GMPS) is the other functional antagonist of GMPR. GMPS catalyzes the amination of xanitol monophosphate (XMP) to GMP to promote GTP synthesis (Figure 1a).^{16, 17} Most of the studies on GMPS have been performed in bacteria, yeast, and insects, where GMPS has been shown to have a key role in sporulation, pathogenicity, and axon guidance, respectively.^{18, 19, 20} Mammalian GMPS has been the subject of several studies addressing its unconventional (GMP-unrelated) roles in the regulation of activity of ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7).^{21, 22, 23, 24} However, because of the newly revealed importance of guanylate metabolism in control of melanoma cell invasion and tumorigenicity,⁸ GMPS emerges as an attractive target for anti-cancer therapy.In the late 1950s, a specific inhibitor of bacterial GMPS, angustmycin A (also known as decoyinine), has been isolated from Streptomyces hygroscopius as a potential antibiotic with sporulation-inducing activity in Bacillus subtilis.^{25, 26, 27, 28, 29} Its anti-tumor activity has never been experimentally explored. In the current study, we investigated the role of GMPS in regulation of melanoma invasion and tumorigenicity, and explored the possibility of targeting GMPS by angustmycin A as a novel anti-melanoma strategy.     

A rise in NAD precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) after injury promotes axon degeneration

NAD metabolism regulates diverse biological processes, including ageing, circadian rhythm and axon survival. Axons depend on the activity of the central enzyme in NAD biosynthesis, nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 2 (NMNAT2), for their maintenance and degenerate rapidly when this activity is lost. However, whether axon survival is regulated by the supply of NAD or by another action of this enzyme remains unclear. Here we show that the nucleotide precursor of NAD, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), accumulates after nerve injury and promotes axon degeneration. Inhibitors of NMN-synthesising enzyme NAMPT confer robust morphological and functional protection of injured axons and synapses despite lowering NAD. Exogenous NMN abolishes this protection, suggesting that NMN accumulation within axons after NMNAT2 degradation could promote degeneration. Ectopic expression of NMN deamidase, a bacterial NMN-scavenging enzyme, prolongs survival of injured axons, providing genetic evidence to support such a mechanism. NMN rises prior to degeneration and both the NAMPT inhibitor FK866 and the axon protective protein Wld^S prevent this rise. These data indicate that the mechanism by which NMNAT and the related Wld^S protein promote axon survival is by limiting NMN accumulation. They indicate a novel physiological function for NMN in mammals and reveal an unexpected link between new strategies for cancer chemotherapy and the treatment of axonopathies.Axon degeneration in disease shares features with the progressive breakdown of the distal segment of severed axons as described by Augustus Waller in 1850 and named Wallerian degeneration.¹ The serendipitous discovery of Wallerian degeneration slow (Wld^S) mice, where transected axons survive 10 times longer than in wild types (WTs),² suggested that axon degeneration is a regulated process, akin to apoptosis of the cell bodies but distinct in molecular terms.^3,4 This process appears conserved in rats, flies, zebrafish and humans.^{5, 6, 7, 8} Wld^S blocks axon degeneration in some disease models, indicating a mechanistic similarity.³ Therefore understanding the pathway it influences is an excellent route towards novel therapeutic strategies.Wld^S is a modified nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 1 (NMNAT1) enzyme, whose N-terminal extension partially relocates NMNAT1 from nuclei to axons, conferring gain of function.^9,10 In mammals, three NMNAT isoforms, nuclear NMNAT1, cytoplasmic NMNAT2 and mitochondrial NMNAT3, catalyse nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) synthesis from nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP; Figure 1a).^11,12 Several reports indicate Wld^S protects injured axons by maintaining axonal NMNAT activity.^{13, 14, 15} In WT injured axons, without Wld^S, NMNAT activity falls when the labile, endogenous axonal isoform, NMNAT2, is no longer transported from cell bodies.¹⁶ NMNAT2 is required for axon maintenance¹⁶ and for axon growth in vivo and in vitro,^17,18 and modulation of its stability by palmitoylation¹⁹ or ubiquitin-dependent processes both in mice or when ectopically expressed in Drosophila^{19, 20, 21} has a corresponding effect on axon survival.Open in a separate windowFigure 1FK866 acts within axons to delay degeneration after injury. (a) The salvage pathway of NAD biosynthesis from nicotinamide (Nam) and nicotinic acid (Na). Only NAD biosynthesis from Nam is sensitive to FK866, which potently inhibits NAMPT while having no effect on nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase (NaPRT).²⁹ The reaction catalysed by bacterial NMN deamidase is also shown. (b) SCG explants were treated with 100 nM FK866 for the indicated times, and then the whole explants (top panel) or the cell bodies (bottom left panel) and neurite fractions (bottom right panel) were separately collected. NAD was determined with an HPLC-based method (see Materials and Methods; n=3, mean and S.D. shown). (c) SCG neurites untreated (top panels) or treated with 100 nM FK866 the day before transection (bottom panels) and imaged after transection at the indicated time points. (d) SCG explants were treated with 100 nM FK866 1 day before or at the indicated times after cutting their neurites. Degeneration index was calculated from three fields in 2–4 independent experiments. The effect of treatment is highly significant when the drug is preincubated or added at 0–4 h after cut (mean ±S.E.M., n=6–12, one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni''s post-hoc test, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001, compared with untreated)Wld^S partially colocalizes with mitochondria^14,22 and was shown to increase mitochondria motility and Ca²⁺-buffering capacity.²³ Inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore protects degenerating axons.²⁴ However, Wld^S is protective in axons devoid of mitochondria,⁸ and targeting a cytosolic variant of NMNAT2 to mitochondria abolished its protective effect,¹⁹ suggesting a late mitochondrial involvement in Wallerian degeneration.Despite the importance of NMNAT activity in axon survival and degeneration, the molecular players remain elusive. Although NMNAT activity is required for protection,¹³ the hypothesis that increased NAD levels are responsible^25,26 does not fit some data.^27,28While further investigating the role of NAD, we found that blocking nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT, the enzyme preceding NMNAT, Figure 1a), was surprisingly axon-protective despite lowering NAD. NAMPT catalyses the synthesis of NMNAT-substrate NMN, the rate-limiting step in the NAD salvage pathway from nicotinamide (Nam) (Figure 1a). Here, we show that NMN accumulates after axon injury, and we provide genetic and pharmacological evidence supporting a role for this NMN increase in axon degeneration when NMNAT2 is depleted. We reveal an unexpected new direction for research into the degenerative mechanism, a novel class of protective proteins and new players in an axon-degeneration pathway sensitive to drugs under development for cancer.     

Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015

Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as ‘accidental cell death'' (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. ‘Regulated cell death'' (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to classify it into a few subtypes, which often (but not always) exhibit stereotyped morphologic features. Nonetheless, efficiently inhibiting the processes that are commonly thought to cause RCD, such as the activation of executioner caspases in the course of apoptosis, does not exert true cytoprotective effects in the mammalian system, but simply alters the kinetics of cellular demise as it shifts its morphologic and biochemical correlates. Conversely, bona fide cytoprotection can be achieved by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals in the early phases of the process, when adaptive responses are still operational. Thus, the mechanisms that truly execute RCD may be less understood, less inhibitable and perhaps more homogeneous than previously thought. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death formulates a set of recommendations to help scientists and researchers to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of cell death.Defining life and death is more problematic than one would guess. In 1838, the work of several scientists including Matthias Jakob Schleiden, Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Carl Virchow culminated in the so-called ‘cell theory'', postulating that: (1) all living organisms are composed of one or more cells; (2) the cell is the basic unit of life; and (3) all cells arise from pre-existing, living cells.¹ Only a few decades later (in 1885), Walter Flemming described for the first time some of the morphologic features that have been largely (but often inappropriately) used to define apoptosis throughout the past four decades.^{2, 3, 4}A corollary of the cell theory is that viruses do not constitute bona fide living organisms.⁵ However, the discovery that the giant Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus can itself be infected by other viral species has casted doubts on this point.^{6, 7, 8} Thus, the features that underlie the distinction between a living and an inert entity remain a matter of debate. Along similar lines, defining the transition between an organism''s life and death is complex, even when the organism under consideration is the basic unit of life, a cell. From a conceptual standpoint, cell death can obviously be defined as the permanent degeneration of vital cellular functions. Pragmatically speaking, however, the precise boundary between a reversible alteration in homeostasis and an irreversible loss of cellular activities appears to be virtually impossible to identify. To circumvent this issue, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) previously proposed three criteria for the identification of dead cells: (1) the permanent loss of the barrier function of the plasma membrane; (2) the breakdown of cells into discrete fragments, which are commonly referred to as apoptotic bodies; or (3) the engulfment of cells by professional phagocytes or other cells endowed with phagocytic activity.^{9, 10, 11}However, the fact that a cell is engulfed by another via phagocytosis does not imply that the cell-containing phagosome fuses with a lysosome and that the phagosomal cargo is degraded by lysosomal hydrolases.^{12, 13, 14} Indeed, it has been reported that engulfed cells can be released from phagosomes as they preserve their viability, at least under some circumstances.¹⁵ Thus, the NCCD recommends here to consider as dead only cells that either exhibit irreversible plasma membrane permeabilization or have undergone complete fragmentation. A compendium of techniques that can be used to quantify these two markers of end-stage cell death in vitro and in vivo goes beyond the scope of this review and can be found in several recent articles.^{16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25}Importantly, cell death instances can be operationally classified into two broad, mutually exclusive categories: ‘accidental'' and ‘regulated''. Accidental cell death (ACD) is caused by severe insults, including physical (e.g., elevated temperatures or high pressures), chemical (e.g., potent detergents or extreme variations in pH) and mechanical (e.g., shearing) stimuli, is virtually immediate and is insensitive to pharmacologic or genetic interventions of any kind. The NCCD thinks that this reflects the structural disassembly of cells exposed to very harsh physicochemical conditions, which does not involve a specific molecular machinery. Although ACD can occur in vivo, for instance as a result of burns or traumatic injuries, it cannot be prevented or modulated and hence does not constitute a direct target for therapeutic interventions.^{23, 26, 27, 28} Nonetheless, cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical insults die while releasing elevated amounts of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), that is, endogenous molecules with immunomodulatory (and sometimes cytotoxic) activity. Some DAMPs can indeed propagate an unwarranted cytotoxic response (directly or upon the involvement of innate immune effectors) that promotes the demise of local cells surviving the primary insult.^{16, 19, 29, 30, 31} Intercepting DAMPs or blocking DAMP-ignited signaling pathways may mediate beneficial effects in a wide array of diseases involving accidental (as well as regulated) instances of cell death.^{19, 32}At odds with its accidental counterpart, regulated cell death (RCD) involves a genetically encoded molecular machinery.^{9, 33} Thus, the course of RCD can be altered by means of pharmacologic and/or genetic interventions targeting the key components of such a machinery. Moreover, RCD often occurs in a relatively delayed manner and is initiated in the context of adaptive responses that (unsuccessfully) attempt to restore cellular homeostasis.^{34, 35, 36, 37, 38} Depending on the initiating stimulus, such responses can preferentially involve an organelle, such as the reticular unfolded protein response, or operate at a cell-wide level, such as macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy).^{39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44} Thus, while ACD is completely unpreventable, RCD can be modulated (at least to some extent, see below) not only by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals but also by improving the capacity of cells to mount adaptive responses to stress.^{45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50} Importantly, RCD occurs not only as a consequence of microenvironmental perturbations but also in the context of (post-)embryonic development, tissue homeostasis and immune responses.^{51, 52, 53, 54} Such completely physiologic instances of RCD are generally referred to as ‘programmed cell death'' (PCD) (Figure 1).^{9, 33}Open in a separate windowFigure 1Types of cell death. Cells exposed to extreme physical, chemical or mechanical stimuli succumb in a completely uncontrollable manner, reflecting the immediate loss of structural integrity. We refer to such instances of cellular demise with the term ‘accidental cell death'' (ACD). Alternatively, cell death can be initiated by a genetically encoded machinery. The course of such ‘regulated cell death'' (RCD) variants can be influenced, at least to some extent, by specific pharmacologic or genetic interventions. The term ‘programmed cell death'' (PCD) is used to indicate RCD instances that occur as part of a developmental program or to preserve physiologic adult tissue homeostasisFor the purpose of this discussion, it is useful to keep in mind the distinction that is currently made between the initiation of RCD and its execution. The term execution is generally used to indicate the ensemble of biochemical processes that truly cause the cellular demise. Conversely, initiation is commonly used to refer to the signal transduction events that activate executioner mechanisms. Thus, the activation of caspase-8 (CASP8) in the course of FAS ligand (FASL)-triggered apoptosis is widely considered as an initiator mechanism, whereas the consequent activation of caspase-3 (CASP3) is categorized as an executioner mechanism (see below).^{51, 55, 56, 57}Here, the NCCD formulates a set of recommendations to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of RCD, that is, between those that etiologically mediate its occurrence and those that change its kinetics or morphologic and biochemical manifestations.     

TRAF2 is a biologically important necroptosis suppressor

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) triggers necroptotic cell death through an intracellular signaling complex containing receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIPK) 1 and RIPK3, called the necrosome. RIPK1 phosphorylates RIPK3, which phosphorylates the pseudokinase mixed lineage kinase-domain-like (MLKL)—driving its oligomerization and membrane-disrupting necroptotic activity. Here, we show that TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2)—previously implicated in apoptosis suppression—also inhibits necroptotic signaling by TNFα. TRAF2 disruption in mouse fibroblasts augmented TNFα–driven necrosome formation and RIPK3-MLKL association, promoting necroptosis. TRAF2 constitutively associated with MLKL, whereas TNFα reversed this via cylindromatosis-dependent TRAF2 deubiquitination. Ectopic interaction of TRAF2 and MLKL required the C-terminal portion but not the N-terminal, RING, or CIM region of TRAF2. Induced TRAF2 knockout (KO) in adult mice caused rapid lethality, in conjunction with increased hepatic necrosome assembly. By contrast, TRAF2 KO on a RIPK3 KO background caused delayed mortality, in concert with elevated intestinal caspase-8 protein and activity. Combined injection of TNFR1-Fc, Fas-Fc and DR5-Fc decoys prevented death upon TRAF2 KO. However, Fas-Fc and DR5-Fc were ineffective, whereas TNFR1-Fc and interferon α receptor (IFNAR1)-Fc were partially protective against lethality upon combined TRAF2 and RIPK3 KO. These results identify TRAF2 as an important biological suppressor of necroptosis in vitro and in vivo.Apoptotic cell death is mediated by caspases and has distinct morphological features, including membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage and nuclear fragmentation.^{1, 2, 3, 4} In contrast, necroptotic cell death is caspase-independent and is characterized by loss of membrane integrity, cell swelling and implosion.^{1, 2, 5} Nevertheless, necroptosis is a highly regulated process, requiring activation of RIPK1 and RIPK3, which form the core necrosome complex.^{1, 2, 5} Necrosome assembly can be induced via specific death receptors or toll-like receptors, among other modules.^{6, 7, 8, 9} The activated necrosome engages MLKL by RIPK3-mediated phosphorylation.^{6, 10, 11} MLKL then oligomerizes and binds to membrane phospholipids, forming pores that cause necroptotic cell death.^{10, 12, 13, 14, 15} Unchecked necroptosis disrupts embryonic development in mice and contributes to several human diseases.^{7, 8, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22}The apoptotic mediators FADD, caspase-8 and cFLIP suppress necroptosis.^{19, 20, 21, 23, 24} Elimination of any of these genes in mice causes embryonic lethality, subverted by additional deletion of RIPK3 or MLKL.^{19, 20, 21, 25} Necroptosis is also regulated at the level of RIPK1. Whereas TNFα engagement of TNFR1 leads to K63-linked ubiquitination of RIPK1 by cellular inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (cIAPs) to promote nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation,²⁶ necroptosis requires suppression or reversal of this modification to allow RIPK1 autophosphorylation and consequent RIPK3 activation.^{2, 23, 27, 28} CYLD promotes necroptotic signaling by deubiquitinating RIPK1, augmenting its interaction with RIPK3.²⁹ Conversely, caspase-8-mediated CYLD cleavage inhibits necroptosis.²⁴TRAF2 recruits cIAPs to the TNFα-TNFR1 signaling complex, facilitating NF-κB activation.^{30, 31, 32, 33} TRAF2 also supports K48-linked ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of death-receptor-activated caspase-8, curbing apoptosis.³⁴ TRAF2 KO mice display embryonic lethality; some survive through birth but have severe developmental and immune deficiencies and die prematurely.^{35, 36} Conditional TRAF2 KO leads to rapid intestinal inflammation and mortality.³⁷ Furthermore, hepatic TRAF2 depletion augments apoptosis activation via Fas/CD95.³⁴ TRAF2 attenuates necroptosis induction in vitro by the death ligands Apo2L/TRAIL and Fas/CD95L.³⁸ However, it remains unclear whether TRAF2 regulates TNFα-induced necroptosis—and if so—how. Our present findings reveal that TRAF2 inhibits TNFα necroptotic signaling. Furthermore, our results establish TRAF2 as a biologically important necroptosis suppressor in vitro and in vivo and provide initial insight into the mechanisms underlying this function.     

Isolation of Helicobacter spp. from Mice with Rectal Prolapses

Enterohepatic Helicobacter species (EHS) often are associated with typhlocolitis and rectal prolapse in mice. We sought to describe rectal prolapses histologically, relate lesions to mouse genotype and EHS infection status, and characterize EHS pathogens on our campus. Our mouse population was housed among 6 facilities on our main campus and a seventh, nearby facility. We investigated cases of rectal prolapse over 1 y and included 76 mice, which were broadly categorized according to genotype. Microscopically, lesions ranged from mild to severe typhlocolitis, often with hyperplastic and dysplastic foci. Neoplastic foci tended to occur at the ileocecal–colic junction. Lesions were most severe in strains that had lower-bowel inflammatory disease, notably IL10, Rag1, and Rag2 knockout strains; prolapses occurred in these strains when housed both in areas with endemic EHS and in our Helicobacter-free barrier facility. Most mice with rectal prolapses were immunocompromised genetically modified mice; however, the most frequently sampled strain, the lamellipodin knockout, was noteworthy for its high incidence of rectal prolapse, localized distal colonic and rectal lesions, and lack of known immunodeficiency. This strain is being explored as a model of rectal carcinoma. Most of the colons examined tested PCR-positive for EHS, often with coinfections. Although H. bilis is prevalent on our campus, we did not find this organism in any mice exhibiting clinical signs of rectal prolapse. Identification of H. apodemus in 22% of cases has fueled increased surveillance on our campus to characterize this organism and differentiate it from the closely related H. rodentium.Abbreviations: EHS, enterohepatic Helicobacter species; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; RFLP, restriction-fragment–length polymorphism; RP, rectal prolapseRectal prolapse (RP) occurs commonly in laboratory mice and is often associated with lower-bowel inflammation. Mice have a relatively short and poorly supported distal colon, which lacks a serosal covering.³⁰ This anatomic weakness, coupled with a microbial insult, toxic injury, or space-occupying neoplastic masses within the gastrointestinal tract, are the predisposing factors for tenesmus and RP (Figure 1). In the context of microbial insults, the pathogenesis involves diffuse or multifocal inflammation in the more proximal segments of colon or distal colon, which can result in thickened edematous tissue and tenesmus, triggering a prolapse.^6,30,40 Bacteria most often associated with this condition are the enterohepatic Helicobacter species (EHS) and Citrobacter rodentium; although in theory any pathogenic bacteria causing colitis may predispose mice to RP.^1,11,13,38Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Mouse rectal prolapse. An example of the clinical presentation of rectal prolapse in laboratory mice. Note the attachment of bedding and nesting material in the film of mucous that frequently is seen covering the exposed rectal tissue. Generally the tissue becomes severely erythematous, as can be appreciated in this photograph.Although the clinical presentation of RP may occur in immunocompetent mice, it is most often associated with mice that have a spontaneous or transgenic mutation causing immunodeficiency.^11,13,38 Indeed, these naturally occurring murine pathogens are used to model inflammatory bowel disease in strains that are highly susceptible to typhlocolitis with EHS infection; examples include Il10^−/− and Rag-deficient mice.^{3,5,8,9,13,16,19,20,22,40} In addition, H. hepaticus and other EHS including H. typhlonius, H. rodentium, and H. bilis, which are known to persistently colonize the intestinal crypt of the lower bowel, have been shown to induce colitis-associated cancer in susceptible immunodeficient strains of mice.^{4,7,9,23,24,27,29,31}In 1999, our institution introduced a rodent importation policy to reduce the introduction of murine pathogens. As part of this program, all approved commercial vendors were screened to ensure animals were SPF for EHS. Any random-source mice (typically imported from other academic institutions for collaborative projects) were required to be rederived by embryo transfer. In comparing PCR data between 1999 (prior to implementing the ET policy) and 2009, we found that after more than a decade of strict rederivation and husbandry practices that reduce fecal–oral transmission, EHS prevalence was markedly reduced.²¹ Despite this success, these practices did not completely eradicate rodent EHS. Of particular note, 2 facilities on campus house well-established long-term breeding colonies, many of which are unique transgenic lines with various immunodeficiencies, that are used primarily for immunology and cancer research. Rederivation of each of these strains was considered to be cost-prohibitive; thus EHS has remained endemic in these breeding colonies for more than a decade, as evident by our recent surveillance for EHS prevalence.²¹ The species known to be prevalent on our campus prior to the current study included H. hepaticus, H. rodentium, H. typhlonius, and H. bilis; in a few isolated areas, H. mastomyrinus was identified also.²¹Although EHS infections often are subclinical, we sought to correlate the presence of EHS-endemic areas with clinical lower-bowel inflammation (evident by rectal prolapse). In this survey of laboratory mice at our institution, we identified patterns in mouse strain susceptibility to RP, RP association with EHS, and histopathologic findings and correlated specific EHS species with clinical disease. Because we sought to study spontaneous infections, we excluded any mice on study with experimentally induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Helicobacter-induced IBD and chemically induced colitis models.From July 2011 to July 2012, a total of 63 mice with RP from these 6 facilities at our institution were necropsied as part of this investigation. In addition, 13 mice with RP were identified at a nearby research institute housing mice known to have endemic EHS.     

Hypoxia-cultured human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells are non-oncogenic and have enhanced viability,motility, and tropism to brain cancer

Adult human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) are multipotent cells, which are abundant, easily collected, and bypass the ethical concerns that plague embryonic stem cells. Their utility and accessibility have led to the rapid development of clinical investigations to explore their autologous and allogeneic cellular-based regenerative potential, tissue preservation capabilities, anti-inflammatory properties, and anticancer properties, among others. hAMSCs are typically cultured under ambient conditions with 21% oxygen. However, physiologically, hAMSCs exist in an environment of much lower oxygen tension. Furthermore, hAMSCs cultured in standard conditions have shown limited proliferative and migratory capabilities, as well as limited viability. This study investigated the effects hypoxic culture conditions have on primary intraoperatively derived hAMSCs. hAMSCs cultured under hypoxia (hAMSCs-H) remained multipotent, capable of differentiation into osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic lineages. In addition, hAMSCs-H grew faster and exhibited less cell death. Furthermore, hAMSCs-H had greater motility than normoxia-cultured hAMSCs and exhibited greater homing ability to glioblastoma (GBM) derived from brain tumor-initiating cells from our patients in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, hAMSCs-H did not transform into tumor-associated fibroblasts in vitro and were not tumorigenic in vivo. Rather, hAMSCs-H promoted the differentiation of brain cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. These findings suggest an alternative culturing technique that can enhance the function of hAMSCs, which may be necessary for their use in the treatment of various pathologies including stroke, myocardial infarction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and GBM.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells, isolated from the bone marrow, adipose tissue, and muscle, among others. They are clonally expansive, with the capacity to differentiate into osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes.^{1, 2} MSCs are widely studied for their regenerative potential, tissue preservation capabilities, anti-inflammatory properties, and anticancer therapeutic potential.^{3, 4, 5} MSCs can serve as vehicles for delivering effective targeted therapy to primary brain cancer and metastatic cancer.^{6, 7, 8}Notwithstanding aggressive treatment of primary brain cancer (glioblastoma (GBM)) with surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the median survival following diagnosis is 14.6 months.^{9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} GBM-targeted therapy using neural stem cells and MSCs as vehicles for therapeutic agents is a promising strategy.¹⁶ MSCs seem to be the ideal stem cells, as they are autologous, easily collected, and easily re-implanted.^{17, 18} The most commonly used MSCs are bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and human adipose-derived MSCs (hAMSCs). Compared with BM-MSCs, hAMSCs are easier to obtain.^{19, 20}Despite the potential utility of hAMSCs, their use is hampered by their low concentration within tissues.^{21, 22} Thus, in vitro expansion of hAMSCs is necessary. Compared with BM-MSCs, hAMSCs are more genetically and morphologically stable in long-term culture.^{19, 20} Nevertheless, current culturing conditions for both BM-MSCs and hAMSCs show a progressive decrease in viability and proliferative ability, and an increase in senescence ratio for these stem cells with time.^{23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29} Typically, hAMSCs are cultured under ambient conditions with 21% oxygen in vitro.³⁰ However, physiologically, hAMSCs exist at much lower oxygen tensions, between 1 and 14%.^{31, 32} As a result of the limitations of culturing under normoxia, we investigated the effect of hypoxia on intraoperatively obtained hAMSCs by assessing proliferation, survival, differentiation, tumor formation, tumor tropism, and migration in vitro and in vivo in a rodent model with a human brain cancer. hAMSCs have been reported to transform into tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs), which can potentially support tumor growth and promote malignant phenotypes.^{33, 34} Yet, no studies have reported on the changes that may occur in hypoxia-cultured hAMSCs after they are exposed to brain cancer, both in vitro and in vivo. An understanding of the effects of hypoxia on hAMSCs³⁵ is critical for its potential therapeutic applications including in the treatment of brain tumors, stroke, neuro-degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and dementia (Figure 1a).Open in a separate windowFigure 1Primary human adipose-derived cells cultured in hypoxia (hAMSCs-H) and normoxia (hAMSCs-N) are both MSCs but normoxia-cultured cells show increased signs of senescence, such as increased area and elongated morphology, compared with hypoxia-cultured cells. (a) hAMSCs were isolated from human fat tissue and cultured in hypoxic (1.5% oxygen) or normoxic (21% oxygen) conditions in vitro. The viability, mobility, tumor tropism, safety, and tumorigenic potential were subsequently compared in vitro and in vivo. (b) Differentiation assay. hAMSCs were cultured in control media and differentiation media for 3 weeks, 10 days after the second passage. Three different stains were performed to assess differentiation capabilities (scale bar, 100 μm). (c) Flow cytometric analysis was performed to confirm the absence of CD31-, CD34-, and CD45-positive cells in both cell cultures. In addition, primary hAMSC cultures expressed high levels of CD73, CD90, and CD105, both in hypoxic and normoxic culture conditions at day 10 after passage 2. (d) Representative images of cell morphologies of hAMSCs on 2D surface (scale bar, 200 μm). (e) Schematic of 3D-nanopatterned surface used to assess morphology and motility. (f) Images of cell morphologies of hAMSCs on 3D-nanopatterned surface (scale bar, 200 μm). (g–j) The length, width, area, and length-to-width ratio were measured and compared after cell aligned on the nanopattern surface. Error bars represent S.E.M. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, N.S., not significant     

A cellular screen identifies ponatinib and pazopanib as inhibitors of necroptosis

Necroptosis is a form of regulated necrotic cell death mediated by receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and RIPK3. Necroptotic cell death contributes to the pathophysiology of several disorders involving tissue damage, including myocardial infarction, stroke and ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, no inhibitors of necroptosis are currently in clinical use. Here we performed a phenotypic screen for small-molecule inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced necroptosis in Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD)-deficient Jurkat cells using a representative panel of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs. We identified two anti-cancer agents, ponatinib and pazopanib, as submicromolar inhibitors of necroptosis. Both compounds inhibited necroptotic cell death induced by various cell death receptor ligands in human cells, while not protecting from apoptosis. Ponatinib and pazopanib abrogated phosphorylation of mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) upon TNF-α-induced necroptosis, indicating that both agents target a component upstream of MLKL. An unbiased chemical proteomic approach determined the cellular target spectrum of ponatinib, revealing key members of the necroptosis signaling pathway. We validated RIPK1, RIPK3 and transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) as novel, direct targets of ponatinib by using competitive binding, cellular thermal shift and recombinant kinase assays. Ponatinib inhibited both RIPK1 and RIPK3, while pazopanib preferentially targeted RIPK1. The identification of the FDA-approved drugs ponatinib and pazopanib as cellular inhibitors of necroptosis highlights them as potentially interesting for the treatment of pathologies caused or aggravated by necroptotic cell death.Programmed cell death has a crucial role in a variety of biological processes ranging from normal tissue development to diverse pathological conditions.^{1, 2} Necroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that has been shown to occur during pathogen infection or sterile injury-induced inflammation in conditions where apoptosis signaling is compromised.^{3, 4, 5, 6} Given that many viruses have developed strategies to circumvent apoptotic cell death, necroptosis constitutes an important, pro-inflammatory back-up mechanism that limits viral spread in vivo.^{7, 8, 9} In contrast, in the context of sterile inflammation, necroptotic cell death contributes to disease pathology, outlining potential benefits of therapeutic intervention.¹⁰ Necroptosis can be initiated by death receptors of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily,¹¹ Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3),¹² TLR4,¹³ DNA-dependent activator of IFN-regulatory factors¹⁴ or interferon receptors.¹⁵ Downstream signaling is subsequently conveyed via RIPK1¹⁶ or TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β,^{8, 17} and converges on RIPK3-mediated^{13, 18, 19, 20} activation of MLKL.²¹ Phosphorylated MLKL triggers membrane rupture,^{22, 23, 24, 25, 26} releasing pro-inflammatory cellular contents to the extracellular space.²⁷ Studies using the RIPK1 inhibitor necrostatin-1 (Nec-1) ²⁸ or RIPK3-deficient mice have established a role for necroptosis in the pathophysiology of pancreatitis,¹⁹ artherosclerosis,²⁹ retinal cell death,³⁰ ischemic organ damage and ischemia-reperfusion injury in both the kidney³¹ and the heart.³² Moreover, allografts from RIPK3-deficient mice are better protected from rejection, suggesting necroptosis inhibition as a therapeutic option to improve transplant outcome.³³ Besides Nec-1, several tool compounds inhibiting different pathway members have been described,^{12, 16, 21, 34, 35} however, no inhibitors of necroptosis are available for clinical use so far.^{2, 10} In this study we screened a library of FDA approved drugs for the precise purpose of identifying already existing and generally safe chemical agents that could be used as necroptosis inhibitors. We identified the two structurally distinct kinase inhibitors pazopanib and ponatinib as potent blockers of necroptosis targeting the key enzymes RIPK1/3.     

Ovine Model for Critical-Size Tibial Segmental Defects

A segmental tibial defect model in a large animal can provide a basis for testing materials and techniques for use in nonunions and severe trauma. This study reports the rationale behind establishing such a model and its design and conclusions. After ethics approval of the study, aged ewes (older than 5 y; n = 12) were enrolled. A 5-cm mid diaphyseal osteoperiosteal defect was made in the left tibia and was stabilized by using an 8-mm stainless-steel cross-locked intramedullary nail. Sheep were euthanized at 12 wk after surgery and evaluated by using radiography, microCT, and soft-tissue histology techniques. Radiology confirmed a lack of hard tissue callus bridging across the defect. Volumetric analysis based on microCT showed bone growth across the 16.5-cm³ defect of 1.82 ± 0.94 cm³. Histologic sections of the bridging tissues revealed callus originating from both the periosteal and endosteal surfaces, with fibrous tissue completing the bridging in all instances. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the quality of the healing response. Clinical, radiographic, and histologic union was not achieved by 12 wk. This model may be effective for the investigation of surgical techniques and healing adjuncts for nonunion cases, where severe traumatic injury has led to significant bone loss.Abbreviations: BMP2, bone morphogenic protein 2; CATK, cathepsin K; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factorThe human tibia is the most frequently broken long bone, often with significant bone loss.⁴ Segmental tibial defects can occur as a result of large tumor removal, trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, and more recently, blast injuries as seen with the escalating number of global conflicts. Treatment of these large bone and surrounding soft tissue defects is an ongoing, costly, and challenging clinical problem; no surgical technique has currently achieved preeminence.⁴ The general consensus on factors that affect healing include concomitant disease, age, and degree of trauma.⁵ When the first 2 factors, which are patient-related, are removed from the equation, healing is influenced by the size, anatomic location, and soft-tissue coverage of the defect. The ability to study these situations in a well-controlled, robust, and reproducible preclinical model would be advantageous to help establish effective surgical techniques and evaluate implants and materials.A literature review revealed that many ovine models for bone defects have been used, but all have limitations^{6,12,14,15,20,21,24,25,27,31,37,39,40} (Figure 1). Variations in protocols, such as age of the animals, size of the defect, and the bone and stabilization techniques used, limit meaningful comparison between studies.^33,34 Although some studies have investigated material performance in the healing of defects, they did not rigorously quantify control defects,^17,20 and others used no controls at all.³⁹ There is often no explanation regarding the use of a particular defect size, leading to the question of whether the defect size was critical.²⁴ The choice of bone used has been also varied; the femur,¹⁵ tibia,³⁷ and metatarsus⁴⁰ have all been studied. A noncritical-size defect implies that healing would eventually occur without the presence of any graft materials. One study,¹² for example, used a 3-cm defect at an average of 1.8 times the diameter of the tibias in question and found that empty controls achieved as much as 26% of the stiffness of an intact tibia after 12 wk. Stabilization methods include plating,^21,40 external fixtures,²⁰ intramedullary nails,^6,16 and a combination of intramedullary nails and plating.³⁷Open in a separate windowFigure 1.A limited summary of the many studies where a segmental tibial has been used with their references.The criteria used in the present study for a critical-size segmental tibial defect model were based on the following factors. The ovine tibia closely resembles that of the human tibia in terms of size, shape, and physical properties and is commonly used when studying human orthopedic diseases.^26,34 Intramedullary nailing has become the most commonly used method of tibial fracture fixation in human orthopedic surgery.^8,22 An 8-mm intramedullary nail is commonly used in the treatment of human fractures, further confirming the size similarity between the ovine and human tibiae.¹⁹The aim of this study was to establish and characterize a preclinical ovine 5-cm osteoperiosteal critical-size tibial segmental defect model in mature sheep. The endpoints included those commonly used clinically, such as radiography and microCT. Histology to investigate the degree of healing and immunohistochemistry to characterize the healing process were included to complete the evaluation process.     

p62/SQSTM1 upregulation constitutes a survival mechanism that occurs during granulocytic differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia cells

The p62/SQSTM1 adapter protein has an important role in the regulation of several key signaling pathways and helps transport ubiquitinated proteins to the autophagosomes and proteasome for degradation. Here, we investigate the regulation and roles of p62/SQSTM1 during acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell maturation into granulocytes. Levels of p62/SQSTM1 mRNA and protein were both significantly increased during all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-induced differentiation of AML cells through a mechanism that depends on NF-κB activation. We show that this response constitutes a survival mechanism that prolongs the life span of mature AML cells and mitigates the effects of accumulation of aggregated proteins that occurs during granulocytic differentiation. Interestingly, ATRA-induced p62/SQSTM1 upregulation was impaired in maturation-resistant AML cells but was reactivated when differentiation was restored in these cells. Primary blast cells of AML patients and CD34⁺ progenitors exhibited significantly lower p62/SQSTM1 mRNA levels than did mature granulocytes from healthy donors. Our results demonstrate that p62/SQSTM1 expression is upregulated in mature compared with immature myeloid cells and reveal a pro-survival function of the NF-κB/SQSTM1 signaling axis during granulocytic differentiation of AML cells. These findings may help our understanding of neutrophil/granulocyte development and will guide the development of novel therapeutic strategies for refractory and relapsed AML patients with previous exposure to ATRA.p62 or sequestosome 1 (p62/SQSTM1) is a scaffold protein, implicated in a variety of biological processes including those that control cell death, inflammation, and metabolism.^{1, 2} Through its multi-domain structure, p62/SQSTM1 interacts specifically with key signaling proteins, including atypical PKC family members, NF-κB, and mTOR to control cellular responses.^{3, 4, 5, 6, 7} p62/SQSTM1 functions also as a key mediator of autophagy. Through its interaction with LC3, an essential protein involved in autophagy, p62/SQSTM1 selectively directs ubiquitinated substrates to autophagosomes leading to their subsequent degradation in lysosomes.^{8, 9} At the molecular level, p62/SQSTM1 acts as a pro-tumoral molecule by ensuring efficient and selective activation of cell signaling axes involved in cell survival, proliferation, and metabolism (i.e., NF-κB, mTOR, and Nrf-2 pathways).^{3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13} p62/SQSTM1 can also signal anti-tumoral responses either by inactivating the pro-oncogenic signaling through BCR-ABL¹⁴ and Wnt pathways^{15, 16} or by inducing the activation of caspase 8, a pro-death protein.^{17, 18} Interestingly, in response to stress, autophagy promotes the degradation of p62, thus limits the activation of p62-regulatory pathways that control tumorigenesis.¹⁰ In addition, p62/SQSTM1 controls pathways that modulate differentiation of normal and cancerous cells. For example, p62/SQSTM1 has been shown to antagonize basal ERK activity and adipocyte differentiation.¹⁹ In contrast, p62/SQSTM1 favors differentiation of osteoclasts,²⁰ osteoblasts,²¹ neurons,²² megakaryocytes²³ and macrophages.²⁴ The role and regulation of p62/SQSTM1 during leukemia cell differentiation has been poorly documented.Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological disease characterized by multiple deregulated pathways resulting in a blockade of myeloid precursors at different stages of maturation.^{25, 26} Acute promyelocyte leukemia (APL) is the M3 type of AML characterized by an arrest of the terminal differentiation of promyelocytes into granulocytes and frequently associated with the expression of the oncogenic PML-RAR alpha fusion gene.^{27, 28} All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a potent activator of cellular growth arrest, differentiation, and death of APL cells, has been shown to effectively promote complete clinical remission of APL when combined with chemotherapy.^{29, 30, 31} Despite the success of this treatment, some APL patients are refractory to ATRA treatment or relapse owing to the development of resistance to ATRA in leukemia cells.^{32, 33, 34}Our previous results revealed that autophagy flux is activated during granulocyte differentiation of myeloid leukemia cell lines induced by ATRA.³⁵ In the present study, we observed that p62/SQSTM1, an autophagic substrate, is markedly upregulated at both mRNA and protein levels during the granulocytic differentiation process. Here, we investigated the regulation and the function of p62/SQSTM1 during AML cells differentiation into neutrophils/granulocytes.     

Stress-induced ceramide generation and apoptosis via the phosphorylation and activation of nSMase1 by JNK signaling

Neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase) activation in response to environmental stress or inflammatory cytokine stimuli generates the second messenger ceramide, which mediates the stress-induced apoptosis. However, the signaling pathways and activation mechanism underlying this process have yet to be elucidated. Here we show that the phosphorylation of nSMase1 (sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 2, SMPD2) by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling stimulates ceramide generation and apoptosis and provide evidence for a signaling mechanism that integrates stress- and cytokine-activated apoptosis in vertebrate cells. An nSMase1 was identified as a JNK substrate, and the phosphorylation site responsible for its effects on stress and cytokine induction was Ser-270. In zebrafish cells, the substitution of Ser-270 for alanine blocked the phosphorylation and activation of nSMase1, whereas the substitution of Ser-270 for negatively charged glutamic acid mimicked the effect of phosphorylation. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 blocked the phosphorylation and activation of nSMase1, which in turn blocked ceramide signaling and apoptosis. A variety of stress conditions, including heat shock, UV exposure, hydrogen peroxide treatment, and anti-Fas antibody stimulation, led to the phosphorylation of nSMase1, activated nSMase1, and induced ceramide generation and apoptosis in zebrafish embryonic ZE and human Jurkat T cells. In addition, the depletion of MAPK8/9 or SMPD2 by RNAi knockdown decreased ceramide generation and stress- and cytokine-induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells. Therefore the phosphorylation of nSMase1 is a pivotal step in JNK signaling, which leads to ceramide generation and apoptosis under stress conditions and in response to cytokine stimulation. nSMase1 has a common central role in ceramide signaling during the stress and cytokine responses and apoptosis.The sphingomyelin pathway is initiated by the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to generate the second messenger ceramide.¹ Sphingomyelin hydrolysis is a major pathway for stress-induced ceramide generation. Neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase) is activated by a variety of environmental stress conditions, such as heat shock,^{1, 2, 3} oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), oxidized lipoproteins),¹ ultraviolet (UV) radiation,¹ chemotherapeutic agents,⁴ and β-amyloid peptides.^{5, 6} Cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,^{7, 8, 9} interleukin (IL)-1β,¹⁰ Fas ligand,¹¹ and their associated proteins, also trigger the activation of nSMase.¹² Membrane-bound Mg²⁺-dependent nSMase is considered to be a strong candidate for mediating the effects of stress and inflammatory cytokines on ceramide.³Among the four vertebrate nSMases, nSMase1 (SMPD2) was the first to be cloned and is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus.¹³ Several studies have focused on the potential signaling roles of nSMase1, and some reports have suggested that nSMase1 is important for ceramide generation in response to stress.^{5, 6, 14, 15} In addition, nSMase1 is responsible for heat-induced apoptosis in zebrafish embryonic cultured (ZE) cells, and a loss-of-function study showed a reduction in ceramide generation, caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis in zebrafish embryos.¹⁶ However, nSMase1-knockout mice showed no lipid storage diseases or abnormalities in sphingomyelin metabolism.¹⁷ Therefore, the molecular mechanisms by which nSMase1 is activated have yet to be elucidated.Environmental stress and inflammatory cytokines^{1, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27} stimulate stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, which involves the sequential activation of members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, including MAPK/ERK kinase kinase (MEKK)1/MAPK kinase (MKK)4, and/or SAPK/ERK kinase (SEK)1/MKK7, JNK, and c-jun. Both the JNK and sphingomyelin signaling pathways coordinately mediate the induction of apoptosis.¹ However, possible crosstalk between the JNK and sphingomyelin signaling pathways has not yet been characterized. Previously, we used SDS-PAGE to determine that nSMase1 polypeptides migrated at higher molecular masses,¹⁶ suggesting that the sphingomyelin signaling pathway might cause the production of a chemically modified phosphorylated nSMase1, which is stimulated under stressed conditions in ZE cells.¹⁶ Here, we demonstrate that JNK signaling results in the phosphorylation of Ser-270 of nSMase1, which initiates ceramide generation and apoptosis. We also provide evidence for a signaling mechanism that integrates cytokine- and stress-activated apoptosis in vertebrate cells. We studied stress-induced ceramide generation in two cell types: ZE cells and human leukemia Jurkat T-lymphoid cells. Stress-induced apoptosis has been investigated in these systems previously.^{16, 28}     

Induction of COX-2-PGE2 synthesis by activation of the MAPK/ERK pathway contributes to neuronal death triggered by TDP-43-depleted microglia

Neuroinflammation is a striking hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders. Previous studies have shown the contribution of glial cells such as astrocytes in TDP-43-linked ALS. However, the role of microglia in TDP-43-mediated motor neuron degeneration remains poorly understood. In this study, we show that depletion of TDP-43 in microglia, but not in astrocytes, strikingly upregulates cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production through the activation of MAPK/ERK signaling and initiates neurotoxicity. Moreover, we find that administration of celecoxib, a specific COX-2 inhibitor, greatly diminishes the neurotoxicity triggered by TDP-43-depleted microglia. Taken together, our results reveal a previously unrecognized non-cell-autonomous mechanism in TDP-43-mediated neurodegeneration, identifying COX-2-PGE2 as the molecular events of microglia- but not astrocyte-initiated neurotoxicity and identifying celecoxib as a novel potential therapy for TDP-43-linked ALS and possibly other types of ALS.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.¹ Most cases of ALS are sporadic, but 10% are familial. Familial ALS cases are associated with mutations in genes such as Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TARDBP) and, most recently discovered, C9orf72. Currently, most available information obtained from ALS research is based on the study of SOD1, but new studies focusing on TARDBP and C9orf72 have come to the forefront of ALS research.^{1, 2} The discovery of the central role of the protein TDP-43, encoded by TARDBP, in ALS was a breakthrough in ALS research.^{3, 4, 5} Although pathogenic mutations of TDP-43 are genetically rare, abnormal TDP-43 function is thought to be associated with the majority of ALS cases.¹ TDP-43 was identified as a key component of the ubiquitin-positive inclusions in most ALS patients and also in other neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal lobar degeneration,^{6, 7} Alzheimer''s disease (AD)^{8, 9} and Parkinson''s disease (PD).^{10, 11} TDP-43 is a multifunctional RNA binding protein, and loss-of-function of TDP-43 has been increasingly recognized as a key contributor in TDP-43-mediated pathogenesis.^{5, 12, 13, 14}Neuroinflammation, a striking and common hallmark involved in many neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, is characterized by extensive activation of glial cells including microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.^{15, 16} Although numerous studies have focused on the intrinsic properties of motor neurons in ALS, a large amount of evidence showed that glial cells, such as astrocytes and microglia, could have critical roles in SOD1-mediated motor neuron degeneration and ALS progression,^{17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22} indicating the importance of non-cell-autonomous toxicity in SOD1-mediated ALS pathogenesis.Very interestingly, a vital insight of neuroinflammation research in ALS was generated by the evidence that both the mRNA and protein levels of the pro-inflammatory enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) are upregulated in both transgenic mouse models and in human postmortem brain and spinal cord.^{23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29} The role of COX-2 neurotoxicity in ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders has been well explored.^{30, 31, 32} One of the key downstream products of COX-2, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), can directly mediate COX-2 neurotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo.^{33, 34, 35, 36, 37} The levels of COX-2 expression and PGE2 production are controlled by multiple cell signaling pathways, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK pathway,^{38, 39, 40} and they have been found to be increased in neurodegenerative diseases including AD, PD and ALS.^{25, 28, 32, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46} Importantly, COX-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib exhibited significant neuroprotective effects and prolonged survival or delayed disease onset in a SOD1-ALS transgenic mouse model through the downregulation of PGE2 release.²⁸Most recent studies have tried to elucidate the role of glial cells in neurotoxicity using TDP-43-ALS models, which are considered to be helpful for better understanding the disease mechanisms.^{47, 48, 49, 50, 51} Although the contribution of glial cells to TDP-43-mediated motor neuron degeneration is now well supported, this model does not fully suggest an astrocyte-based non-cell autonomous mechanism. For example, recent studies have shown that TDP-43-mutant astrocytes do not affect the survival of motor neurons,^{50, 51} indicating a previously unrecognized non-cell autonomous TDP-43 proteinopathy that associates with cell types other than astrocytes.Given that the role of glial cell types other than astrocytes in TDP-43-mediated neuroinflammation is still not fully understood, we aim to compare the contribution of microglia and astrocytes to neurotoxicity in a TDP-43 loss-of-function model. Here, we show that TDP-43 has a dominant role in promoting COX-2-PGE2 production through the MAPK/ERK pathway in primary cultured microglia, but not in primary cultured astrocytes. Our study suggests that overproduction of PGE2 in microglia is a novel molecular mechanism underlying neurotoxicity in TDP-43-linked ALS. Moreover, our data identify celecoxib as a new potential effective treatment of TDP-43-linked ALS and possibly other types of ALS.