Disruption of Ah Receptor Signaling during Mouse Development Leads to Abnormal Cardiac Structure and Function in the Adult

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) Theory proposes that the environment encountered during fetal life and infancy permanently shapes tissue physiology and homeostasis such that damage resulting from maternal stress, poor nutrition or exposure to environmental agents may be at the heart of adult onset disease. Interference with endogenous developmental functions of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), either by gene ablation or by exposure in utero to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a potent AHR ligand, causes structural, molecular and functional cardiac abnormalities and altered heart physiology in mouse embryos. To test if embryonic effects progress into an adult phenotype, we investigated whether Ahr ablation or TCDD exposure in utero resulted in cardiac abnormalities in adult mice long after removal of the agent. Ten-months old adult Ahr^-/- and in utero TCDD-exposed Ahr^+/+ mice showed sexually dimorphic abnormal cardiovascular phenotypes characterized by echocardiographic findings of hypertrophy, ventricular dilation and increased heart weight, resting heart rate and systolic and mean blood pressure, and decreased exercise tolerance. Underlying these effects, genes in signaling networks related to cardiac hypertrophy and mitochondrial function were differentially expressed. Cardiac dysfunction in mouse embryos resulting from AHR signaling disruption seems to progress into abnormal cardiac structure and function that predispose adults to cardiac disease, but while embryonic dysfunction is equally robust in males and females, the adult abnormalities are more prevalent in females, with the highest severity in Ahr^-/- females. The findings reported here underscore the conclusion that AHR signaling in the developing heart is one potential target of environmental factors associated with cardiovascular disease.     

Abnormalities Occurring during Female Gametophyte Development Result in the Diversity of Abnormal Embryo Sacs and Leads to Abnormal Fertilization in indicaljaponica Hybrids in Rice

Embryo sac abortion is one of the major masons for sterility in indicaljaponica hybrids In rice. To clarify the causal mechanism of embryo sac abortion, we studied the female gametophyte development in two indicaljaponica hybrids via an eosin B staining procedure for embryo sac scanning using confocal laser scanning microscope. Different types of abnormalities occurred during megasporogenesis and megagamatogenesis were demonstrated. The earliest abnormality was observed in the megasporocyte. A lot of the chalazal-most megaspores were degenerated before the mono-nucleate embryo sac stage. Disordered positioning of nucleus and abnormal nucallus tissue were characteristics of the abnormal female gametes from the mono-nucleate to four-nucleate embryo sac stages. The abnormalities that occurred from the early stage of the eight-nucleate embryo sac development to the mature embryo sac stage were characterized by smaller sizes and wrinkled antipodals. Asynchronous nuclear migration, abnormal positioning of nucleus, and degeneration of egg apparatus were also found at the eight-nucleate embryo sac stage. The abnormalities that occurred during female gametophyte development resulted in five major types of abnormal embryo sacs. These abnormal embryo sacs led to abnormal fertilization. Hand pollination using normal pollens on the spikelets during anthesis showed that normal pollens could not exclude the effect of abnormal embryo sac on seed setting.     

Mutation of a Gene Encoding a Putative Glycoprotease Leads to Reduced Salt Tolerance, Altered Pigmentation, and Cyanophycin Accumulation in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

The salt-sensitive mutant 549 of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was genetically and physiologically characterized. The mutated site and corresponding wild-type site were cloned and partially sequenced. The genetic analysis revealed that during the mutation about 1.8 kb was deleted from the chromosome of mutant 549. This deletion affected four open reading frames: a gcp gene homolog, the psaFJ genes, and an unknown gene. After construction of mutants with single mutations, only the gcp mutant showed a reduction in salt tolerance comparable to that of the initial mutant, indicating that the deletion of this gene was responsible for the salt sensitivity and that the other genes were of minor importance. Besides the reduced salt tolerance, a remarkable change in pigmentation was observed that became more pronounced in salt-stressed cells. The phycobilipigment content decreased, and that of carotenoids increased. Investigations of changes in the ultrastructure revealed an increase in the amount of characteristic inclusion bodies containing the high-molecular-weight nitrogen storage polymer cyanophycin (polyaspartate and arginine). The salt-induced accumulation of cyanophycin was confirmed by chemical estimations. The putative glycoprotease encoded by the gcp gene might be responsible for the degradation of cyanophycin in Synechocystis. Mutation of this gene leads to nitrogen starvation of the cells, accompanied by characteristic changes in pigmentation, ultrastructure, and salt tolerance level.     

Abnormalities Occurring during Female Gametophyte Development Result in the Diversity of Abnormal Embryo Sacs and Leads to Abnormal Fertilization in indicaljaponica Hybrids in Rice

Embryo sac abortion is one of the major reasons for sterility in indicaljaponica hybrids in rice. To clarify the causal mechanism of embryo sac abortion, we studied the female gametophyte development in two indicaljaponica hybrids via an eosin B staining procedure for embryo sac scanning using confocal laser scanning microscope. Different types of abnormalities occurred during megasporogenesis and megagametogenesis were demonstrated. The earliest abnormality was observed in the megasporocyte. A lot of the chalazal-most megaspores were degenerated before the mono-nucleate embryo sac stage. Disordered positioning of nucleus and abnormal nucellus tissue were characteristics of the abnormal female gametes from the mono-nucleate to four-nucleate embryo sac stages. The abnormalities that occurred from the early stage of the eight-nucleate embryo sac development to the mature embryo sac stage were characterized by smaller sizes and wrinkled antipodals. Asynchronous nuclear migration, abnormal positioning of nucleus, and degeneration of egg apparatus were also found at the eight-nucleate embryo sac stage. The abnormalities that occurred during female gametophyte development resulted in five major types of abnormal embryo sacs. These abnormal embryo sacs led to abnormal fertilization. Hand pollination using normal pollens on the spikelets during anthesis showed that normal pollens could not exclude the effect of abnormal embryo sac on seed setting.     

Intestine-Specific Mttp Deletion Increases the Severity of Experimental Colitis and Leads to Greater Tumor Burden in a Model of Colitis Associated Cancer

Background

Gut derived lipid factors have been implicated in systemic injury and inflammation but the precise pathways involved are unknown. In addition, dietary fat intake and obesity are independent risk factors for the development of colorectal cancer. Here we studied the severity of experimental colitis and the development of colitis associated cancer (CAC) in mice with an inducible block in chylomicron secretion and fat malabsorption, following intestine-specific deletion of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (Mttp-IKO).

Methodology/Principal Findings

Mttp-IKO mice exhibited more severe injury with ∼90% mortality following dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced colitis, compared to <20% in controls. Intestinal permeability was increased in Mttp-IKO mice compared to controls, both at baseline and after DSS administration, in association with increased circulating levels of TNFα. DSS treatment increased colonic mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-17A as well as inflammasome expression in both genotypes, but the abundance of TNFα was selectively increased in DSS treated Mttp-IKO mice. There was a 2-fold increase in colonic tumor burden in Mttp-IKO mice following azoxymethane/DSS treatment, which was associated with increased colonic inflammation as well as alterations in cytokine expression. To examine the pathways by which alterations in fatty acid abundance might interact with cytokine signaling to regulate colonic epithelial growth, we used primary murine myofibroblasts to demonstrate that palmitate induced expression of amphiregulin and epiregulin and augmented the increase in both of these growth mediators when added to IL-1βor to TNFα.

Conclusions

These studies demonstrate that Mttp-IKO mice, despite absorbing virtually no dietary fat, exhibit augmented fatty acid dependent signaling that in turn exacerbates colonic injury and increases tumor formation.     

一种利用Cre/loxP系统进行标记基因删除与靶基因置换的细胞模型研究

Cre/lox系统可以介导DNA的定点插入和定点删除,可利用其实现转基因动物中"友好位点"的重复利用及标记基因的有效删除.为直观地评估该系统介导的以上两种重组反应的效果,通过标记基因并利用大鼠乳腺癌细胞系SHZ-88进行了模型研究.首先构建了两个载体:a.整合载体pTE-lox2272-DsRed-loxP-GFP-loxP,含有红色荧光标记基因DsRed和绿色荧光标记基因GFP;b.置换载体pT-lox2272-neo-loxP,含有筛选标记基因neo,用以置换DsRed基因.然后,用整合载体转染SHZ-88细胞,并随机挑取了3个同时表达DsRed和GFP的稳定整合细胞克隆.随后用置换载体和Cre表达载体PBS185对以上每个克隆分别进行了3次共转染,通过G418筛选并扩增培养后,总共获得1 070个克隆.通过分析标记基因DsRed和GFP在这些克隆中的表达情况:Cre介导的删除效率为91.1%,定点置换效率为29.3%.最后对部分克隆进行了PCR和DNA印迹鉴定,分子鉴定结果与发光的表型状况一致.这一方法为Cre/lox系统在转基因家畜生产中的进一步应用提供了实验依据.     

Abnormalities Occurring during Female Gametophyte Development Result in the Diversity of Abnormal Embryo Sacs and Leads to Abnormal Fertilization in indica/japonica Hybrids in Rice

Embryo sac abortion is one of the major reasons for sterility in indica/japonica hybrids in rice. To clarify the causal mechanism of embryo sac abortion, we studied the female gametophyte development in two indica/japonica hybrids via an eosin B staining procedure for embryo sac scanning using confocal laser scanning microscope. Different types of abnormalities occurred during megasporogenesis and megagametogenesis were demonstrated. The earliest abnormality was observed in the megasporocyte. A lot of the chalazal-most megaspores were degenerated before the mono-nucleate embryo sac stage. Disordered positioning of nucleus and abnormal nucellus tissue were characteristics of the abnormal female gametes from the mono-nucleate to four-nucleate embryo sac stages. The abnormalities that occurred from the early stage of the eight-nucleate embryo sac development to the mature embryo sac stage were characterized by smaller sizes and wrinkled antipodals. Asynchronous nuclear migration, abnormal positioning of nucleus, and degeneration of egg apparatus were also found at the eight-nucleate embryo sac stage. The abnormalities that occurred during female gametophyte development resulted in five major types of abnormal embryo sacs. These abnormal embryo sacs led to abnormal fertilization. Hand pollination using normal pollens on the spikelets during anthesis showed that normal pollens could not exclude the effect of abnormal embryo sac on seed setting.     

Loss of Corneodesmosin Leads to Severe Skin Barrier Defect, Pruritus, and Atopy: Unraveling the Peeling Skin Disease

Generalized peeling skin disease is an autosomal-recessive ichthyosiform erythroderma characterized by lifelong patchy peeling of the skin. After genome-wide linkage analysis, we have identified a homozygous nonsense mutation in CDSN in a large consanguineous family with generalized peeling skin, pruritus, and food allergies, which leads to a complete loss of corneodesmosin. In contrast to hypotrichosis simplex, which can be associated with specific dominant CDSN mutations, peeling skin disease is characterized by a complete loss of CDSN expression. The skin phenotype is consistent with a recent murine Cdsn knockout model. Using three-dimensional human skin models, we demonstrate that lack of corneodesmosin causes an epidermal barrier defect supposed to account for the predisposition to atopic diseases, and we confirm the role of corneodesmosin as a decisive epidermal adhesion molecule. Therefore, peeling skin disease will represent a new model disorder for atopic diseases, similarly to Netherton syndrome and ichthyosis vulgaris in the recent past.     

Spineless-Aristapedia: A Homeotic Gene That Does Not Control the Development of Specific Compartments in Drosophila

A two-step screen for isolating null mutations of the spineless-aristapedia locus has been performed, and several amorphic mutations, as well as a small deficiency, have been obtained. With the exception of the deficiency, which deletes genes required for viability on either side of the spineless-aristapedia locus, these mutations result in a transformation of only the distal antenna into distal leg, thereby indicating that the spineless-aristapedia gene is required for specifying antennal as opposed to leg development in only the distal portion of the antenna. Because this distal region does not appear to be a developmental compartment, it is probable that the spineless-aristapedia gene, unlike several other homeotic genes, is required for maintaining the correct determined state in a population of cells defined by their relative position, not by their ancestry.     

The Impact of Gene Duplication,Insertion, Deletion,Lateral Gene Transfer and Sequencing Error on Orthology Inference: A Simulation Study

The identification of orthologous genes, a prerequisite for numerous analyses in comparative and functional genomics, is commonly performed computationally from protein sequences. Several previous studies have compared the accuracy of orthology inference methods, but simulated data has not typically been considered in cross-method assessment studies. Yet, while dependent on model assumptions, simulation-based benchmarking offers unique advantages: contrary to empirical data, all aspects of simulated data are known with certainty. Furthermore, the flexibility of simulation makes it possible to investigate performance factors in isolation of one another.Here, we use simulated data to dissect the performance of six methods for orthology inference available as standalone software packages (Inparanoid, OMA, OrthoInspector, OrthoMCL, QuartetS, SPIMAP) as well as two generic approaches (bidirectional best hit and reciprocal smallest distance). We investigate the impact of various evolutionary forces (gene duplication, insertion, deletion, and lateral gene transfer) and technological artefacts (ambiguous sequences) on orthology inference. We show that while gene duplication/loss and insertion/deletion are well handled by most methods (albeit for different trade-offs of precision and recall), lateral gene transfer disrupts all methods. As for ambiguous sequences, which might result from poor sequencing, assembly, or genome annotation, we show that they affect alignment score-based orthology methods more strongly than their distance-based counterparts.     

The Putative Thiosulfate Sulfurtransferases PspE and GlpE Contribute to Virulence of Salmonella Typhimurium in the Mouse Model of Systemic Disease

The phage-shock protein PspE and GlpE of the glycerol 3-phosphate regulon of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium are predicted to belong to the class of thiosulfate sulfurtransferases, enzymes that traffic sulfur between molecules. In the present study we demonstrated that the two genes contribute to S. Typhimurium virulence, as a glpE and pspE double deletion strain showed significantly decreased virulence in a mouse model of systemic infection. However, challenge of cultured epithelial cells and macrophages did not reveal any virulence-associated phenotypes. We hypothesized that their contribution to virulence could be in sulfur metabolism or by contributing to resistance to nitric oxide, oxidative stress, or cyanide detoxification. In vitro studies demonstrated that glpE but not pspE was important for resistance to H₂O₂. Since the double mutant, which was the one affected in virulence, was not affected in this assay, we concluded that resistance to oxidative stress and the virulence phenotype was most likely not linked. The two genes did not contribute to nitric oxid stress, to synthesis of essential sulfur containing amino acids, nor to detoxification of cyanide. Currently, the precise mechanism by which they contribute to virulence remains elusive.     

Metabolomic Profiles Are Gender,Disease and Time Specific in the Interleukin-10 Gene-Deficient Mouse Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Metabolomic profiling can be used to study disease-induced changes in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in the metabolomic profile of males and females as they developed IBD. Using the IL-10 gene-deficient mouse model of IBD and wild-type mice, urine at age 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks was collected and analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Multivariate data analysis was employed to assess differences in metabolomic profiles that occurred as a consequence of IBD development and severity (at week 20). These changes were contrasted to those that occurred as a consequence of gender. Our results demonstrate that both IL-10 gene-deficient and wild-type mice exhibit gender-related changes in urinary metabolomic profile over time. Some male-female separating metabolites are common to both IL-10 gene-deficient and control wild-type mice and, therefore, appear to be related predominantly to gender maturation. In addition, we were able to identify gender-separating metabolites that are unique for IL-10 gene-deficient and wild-type mice and, therefore, may be indicative of a gender-specific involvement in the development and severity of the intestinal inflammation. The comparison of the gender-separating metabolomic profile from IL-10 gene-deficient mice and wild-type mice during the development of IBD allowed us to identify changes in profile patterns that appear to be imperative in the development of intestinal inflammation, but yet central to gender-related differences in IBD development. The knowledge of metabolomic profile differences by gender and by disease severity has potential clinical implications in the design of both biomarkers of disease as well as the development of optimal therapies.     

Repeated Sense of Hunger Leads to the Development of Visceral Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in a Mouse Model

Obesity-related disorders, especially metabolic syndrome, contribute to 2.8 million deaths each year worldwide, with significantly increasing morbidity. Eating at regular times and proper food quantity are crucial for maintaining a healthy status. However, many people in developed countries do not follow a regular eating schedule due to a busy lifestyle. Herein, we show that a repeated sense of hunger leads to a high risk of developing visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome in a mouse model (both 3-week and 6-week-old age, 10 mice in each group). The ad libitum (AL) group (normal eating pattern) and the food restriction (FR) group (alternate-day partially food restriction by given only 1/3 of average amount) were compared after 8-week experimental period. The total food consumption in the FR group was lower than in the AL group, however, the FR group showed a metabolic syndrome-like condition with significant fat accumulation in adipose tissues. Consequently, the repeated sense of hunger induced the typical characteristics of metabolic syndrome in an animal model; a distinct visceral obesity, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and hepatic steatosis. Furthermore, we found that specifically leptin, a major metabolic hormone, played a major role in the development of these pathological disorders. Our study indicated the importance of regular eating habits besides controlling calorie intake.     

Expression of the Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolC Gene in a Deciduous Forest Tree Alters Growth and Development and Leads to Stem Fasciation

We have altered the growth and development of a deciduous forest tree by transforming hybrid aspen (Populus tremula x Populus tremuloides) with the Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolC gene expressed under the strong cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. We demonstrate that the genetically manipulated perennial plants, after a period of dormancy, maintain the induced phenotypical changes during the second growing period. Furthermore, mass-spectrometrical quantifications of the free and conjugated forms of indole-3-acetic acid and cytokinins and several gibberellins on one transgenic line correlate the induced developmental alterations such as stem fasciation to changes in plant hormone metabolism. We also show that the presence of the RolC protein increases the levels of the free cytokinins, but not by a process involving hydrolysis of the inactive cytokinin conjugates.