转分化研究进展

转分化是近几年发现的成体组织细胞改变其表型的一种现象 ,即在一定条件下控制发育方向的转录因子表达发生改变 ,从而使成体干细胞或分化细胞特定的分化状态也发生改变。随着体外诱导条件的成熟和理论研究的深入 ,转分化将会成为器官移植中获取具有修复细胞的重要手段。对近年来有关转分化的种类、理论基础、研究方法和研究进展及现实意义进行了综述。     

脑损伤后星形胶质细胞的重编程及意义

脑损伤后神经元的死亡及凋亡使脑组织功能受损,是患者出现肢体、语言功能障碍等后遗症的主要原因。因此,修复受损脑组织的神经元是治疗的关键。近年研究表明,星形胶质细胞能发生重编程转化为神经元,其重编程的方式有去分化和转分化两种。去分化主要在体外诱导星形胶质细胞形成神经球,但这种神经球移植回体内后并不能产生神经元。转分化方式,包括直接转分化和间接转分化。间接转分化过程产生新生神经元的周期较长,且存在形成肿瘤的风险;直接转分化尤其是体内的直接转分化方式既避免了细胞移植的复杂过程,又能避免间接转分化方式形成肿瘤的风险,是脑损伤后新生神经元最安全有效的方法。该文就正常星形胶质细胞与脑损伤后反应性星形胶质细胞的重编程的机制和意义进行综述。     

肾小管上皮细胞在肾损伤局部微环境中的免疫调节作用

诸多原因可造成肾脏损伤,而肾小管损伤和肾间质纤维化是各种病因所致慢性肾脏病发展至终末期肾病的共同途径.炎症免疫反应是肾损伤的主要病理生理机制,并受局部微环境的精细调控.在此基础上,经历了一个损伤-修复平衡或失衡过程,从而决定着肾组织损伤与修复的走向.肾小管上皮细胞(renal tubular epithelial cell,RTEC)是兼有免疫调节作用且生物学功能十分活跃的细胞,其在肾损伤的局部微环境形成及调控中发挥重要作用.在肾损伤初始及随后的损伤修复中,RTEC不仅合成分泌各种黏附分子、趋化因子及炎症介质,招募单核/巨噬细胞、淋巴细胞等炎症细胞浸润;亦可转分化为免疫细胞或成纤维细胞,启动、参与并调控局部炎症免疫反应,行使免疫防御和损伤修复作用,在损伤因素持续存在且组织修复失衡状况下,积极参与免疫损伤以及肾间质纤维化的演变过程.因此从这个意义上说,RTEC可能是决定肾损伤趋于修复或肾纤维化最终结局的关键因素.     

中枢神经系统原位细胞转分化的研究进展

中枢神经损伤会导致神经元不可逆的缺失和胶质瘢痕的形成,给患者造成神经功能的障碍。再生医学认为补充缺失的神经元可能是修复损伤最理想的方法。近些年研究显示,多种成熟的细胞经过重编程后可以转分化为功能神经元。因此研究者将内源的胶质细胞进行原位重编程产生功能神经元,用于神经损伤修复及神经退行性疾病的治疗,该方法展现出开发潜力和独特优势。本文就当前中枢神经系统胶质细胞原位转分化研究进行了总结归纳,重点介绍可进行原位转分化的胶质细胞的类型、特征和转分化研究进展,为开发新的神经损伤治疗策略及进一步临床应用提供理论依据。     

成体干细胞的可塑性:横向分化还是细胞融合?

近年来研究显示成体干细胞(adult stem cells)具有可塑性(plasticity),不仅可以生成它们所在组织的成熟细胞,而且在特定环境下能分化成其他组织类型细胞,这种跨系或跨胚层分化现象称为横向分化或转分化(transdifferentiation)。横向分化已为成体干细胞的研究和临床应用包括组织器官损伤的修复提供了新的思路和应用前景。然而,最近的一些研究进展又引出不同的解释,即成体干细胞的可塑性是由于细胞融合(cellfusion)的结果。在此,就成体干细胞的可塑性、横向分化、细胞融合等方面研究作一综述。     

炎症小体在机体血脑屏障损伤中的作用机制研究进展

血脑屏障(blood-brain barrier,BBB)是一种天然的结构和功能屏障,可抑制病原体的进入并严格控制分子进入脑实质,完整的血脑屏障对于维持中枢神经系统内稳态至关重要。这一屏障功能是由特殊的多细胞结构决定的,每一种组成的细胞类型对血脑屏障的完整性都有不可或缺的贡献。炎症小体(inflammasome)是先天免疫系统最重要的组成部分之一,是一种多蛋白复合体。当病原侵入或机体产生过度免疫反应时,能够激活炎症小体并介导大量细胞因子以及趋化因子分泌。细胞因子及趋化因子表达上调会引起血脑屏障破坏,导致病原突破血脑屏障进入中枢神经系统,引发机体各种脑内疾病。本文就感染性疾病与非感染性疾病这两种情况下,对炎症小体介导机体血脑屏障的损伤进行综述,并列举了当前针对血脑屏障损伤的不同修复方式。     

内皮细胞向间充质细胞的转分化

内皮细胞向间充质细胞转分化(endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition,EndMT)过程中,内皮从内皮层分离,获得间充质细胞表型,其特征是细胞连接能力下降,内皮标志物减少,获得间充质细胞标志物,并具有扩散和迁移特性。在受损组织中,内皮细胞能够通过EndMT转分化为成纤维细胞,因此具有EndMT特性的内皮细胞在组织重构和纤维化中发挥重要作用。EndMT不仅参与心脏发育这一重要过程也参与许多病理性疾病如癌症,心脏的纤维化和肺动脉高压等。所以,靶向EndMT对多种疾病具有潜在的治疗意义。     

基因编辑技术在视神经再生修复中的应用

视网膜极易因激光意外事故、中枢神经或视网膜退行性疾病发生异常改变,严重威胁视功能。目前,仍没有针对哺乳动物视网膜损伤的完善修复机制。视网膜“干细胞”穆勒胶质（MG）细胞不能自发进入细胞周期,基因编辑手段可使MG细胞转分化,从而具有视网膜祖细胞的能力。转分化相关信号通路及调控因子对MG基因组重编程至关重要。基因编辑治疗利用腺病毒、慢病毒等载体将外源基因导入体内,促使哺乳动物受损视网膜中MG细胞激增和去分化,损伤的视网膜神经元再生。与传统药物治疗需要长期服药相比,基因疗法的出现有望实现通过一次治疗达到修复目的。文章就视网膜修复机制、调控视神经再生的信号通路以及基因治疗修复损伤视网膜研究现状和应用过程中存在的问题进行综述,并展望未来相关的发展趋势。未来基因编辑治疗将会给视神经再生修复研究带来深刻变革,为视网膜疾病的治疗带来新的曙光。     

功能性细胞获得的研究进展及应用前景

细胞移植可以修复和治疗人体损伤及功能性障碍的组织器官,但体内分离获得可以用于治疗相应疾病的功能性细胞在来源和数量上受到极大限制。因此,如何在体外获得合适的功能性细胞成为重要的科学问题。目前,体外功能性细胞的获得取得了突破性进展。现主要对体外通过胚胎干细胞/诱导多能干细胞分化或体细胞间转分化获取的功能性细胞的研究进展及应用前景进行综述,以期进一步推动我国在功能性细胞获得的基础研究及临床转化。     

小鼠不同脑区星形胶质细胞小分子诱导转分化和基因表达差异的研究

该文旨在比较小分子化合物诱导小鼠不同脑区星形胶质细胞向神经元转分化的特性,并利用转录组测序技术分析小鼠不同脑区星形胶质细胞的基因表达差异。以新生小鼠皮层和海马的星形胶质细胞作为起始细胞,通过小分子化合物VCR诱导其向神经元转分化,利用免疫荧光染色检测转分化过程中细胞形态的变化以及神经元的比例,通过转录组测序比较两种星形胶质细胞的基因表达差异,并对差异基因进行荧光定量PCR验证及GO富集分析。结果表明,皮层星形胶质细胞经VCR诱导转分化为神经元的能力要显著优于海马星形胶质细胞;转录组测序发现,两种星形胶质细胞有12 658个基因存在差异表达,GO分析结果表明,在皮层星形胶质细胞中高表达的基因更多地参与细胞分裂的过程,推测差异显著基因GAD2、EYA2、GSX2、INSM1以及GNG3是与转分化相关的基因。该研究对星形胶质细胞向神经元转分化的机制研究具有借鉴意义。     

Variation in the Competence of Tobacco Pith Cells for Cytokinin-Habituation in Culture

Pith parenchyma tissues of tobacco sometimes lose their exogenous requirement for a cell division factor such as the cytokinin, kinetin. This process, known as cytokinin habituation, appears to involve epigenetic changes since it is a heritable change in cell phenotype which is directed, regularly reversible, and leaves the cell totipotent. In this report, we show that pith cells in culture consist of at least two types of cytokinin-requiring cells. The first type habituates rapidly under inductive conditions. The second type continues to express the cytokinin-requiring phenotype for many cell generations in culture but retains the capacity for habituation. These findings suggest that pith cells differ in their competence to habituate and that different states of competence are inherited by individual cells.     

Isolation of a small-cell mutant in the blue-green bacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum.

A new type of high-temperature conditional cell division mutant has been isolated in Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain BG1 in which the process of cell division is uncoupled from that of growth at 39 C. This mutant produces abnormally small cells under conditions of nutrient limitation and forms multinucleoid filaments under normal growth conditions.     

Cell shrinkage and monovalent cation fluxes: role in apoptosis

The loss of cell volume or cell shrinkage has been a morphological hallmark of the programmed cell death process known as apoptosis. This isotonic loss of cell volume has recently been term apoptotic volume decrease or AVD to distinguish it from inherent volume regulatory responses that occurs in cells under anisotonic conditions. Recent studies examining the intracellular signaling pathways that result in this unique cellular characteristic have determined that a fundamental movement of ions, particularly monovalent ions, underlie the AVD process and plays an important role on controlling the cell death process. An efflux of intracellular potassium was shown to be a critical aspect of the AVD process, as preventing this ion loss could protect cells from apoptosis. However, potassium plays a complex role as a loss of intracellular potassium has also been shown to be beneficial to the health of the cell. Additionally, the mechanisms that a cell employs to achieve this loss of intracellular potassium vary depending on the cell type and stimulus used to induce apoptosis, suggesting multiple ways exist to accomplish the same goal of AVD. Additionally, sodium and chloride have been shown to play a vital role during cell death in both the signaling and control of AVD in various apoptotic model systems. This review examines the relationship between this morphological change and intracellular monovalent ions during apoptosis.     

Biosynthesis and metabolism of dipeptidylpeptidase IV in primary cultured rat hepatocytes and Morris hepatoma 7777 cells.

N-Glycosylation, biosynthesis and degradation of dipeptidylpeptidase IV (EC 3.4.14.5) (DPP IV) were comparatively studied in primary cultured rat hepatocytes and Morris hepatoma 7777 cells (MH 7777 cells). DPP IV had a molecular mass of 105 kDa in rat hepatocytes and of 103 kDa in MH 7777 cells as assessed by SDS/PAGE under reducing conditions. This difference in molecular mass was caused by differences in covalently attached N-glycans. DPP IV from hepatoma cells contained a higher proportion of N-glycans of the oligomannosidic or hybrid type and therefore migrated at a slightly lower molecular mass. In both cell types DPP IV was initially synthesized as a 97-kDa precursor which was completely susceptible to digestion with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H converting the molecular mass to 84 kDa. The precursor was processed to the mature forms of DPP IV, glycosylated with N-glycans mainly of the complex type with a half-life of 20-25 min. The transit of newly synthesized DPP IV to the cell surface displayed identical or very similar kinetics in both cell types with the major portion of DPP IV appearing at the cell surface after 60 min. DPP IV molecules were very slowly degraded in hepatocytes as well as in hepatoma cells with half-lives of approximately 45 h. Inhibition of oligosaccharide processing with 1-deoxymannojirimycin led to the formation of DPP IV molecules containing N-glycans of the oligomannosidic type. This glycosylation variant was degraded with the same half-life as complex-type glycosylated DPP IV. By contrast, inhibition of N-glycosylation with tunicamycin resulted into rapid degradation of non-N-glycosylated DPP IV molecules in both cell types. Non-N-glycosylated DPP IV could not be detected at the cell surface indicating an intracellular proteolytic process soon after biosynthesis.     

Cell surface adhesion molecules and adhesion-initiated signaling: understanding of anoikis resistance mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities

Cells express various cell surface adhesion molecules (receptors) that not only mechanically serve as contacting sites between the cell and extracellular matrix (ECM) or adjacent cells, but also initiate intracellular signaling pathways modulating important cellular events including survival and proliferation. Normal cells undergo apoptosis when lacking ECM attachment. This type of cell death has been termed anoikis. Anoikis can be viewed as a normal process which ensures tissue homeostasis and failure to execute the anoikis program or resistance to anoikis could result in adherent cells surviving under suspension condition and proliferating at ectopic sites where the matrix proteins are different from those the cells originally contact. Resistance to anoikis is emerging as a hallmark of metastatic cancers which enables cancer cells to disseminate to distant organs through systemic circulation. In this review, we will discuss the molecular basis of adhesion-initiated signaling, the impact of loss of cell-ECM adhesion on normal cell survival, the role of cancer cell aggregate formation via intercellular adhesion under non-adherent condition, and mechanisms of anoikis resistance developed in metastatic cancer cells. Understanding of these aspects will provide opportunities to find new potential molecular targets, and therapeutic strategies based on these findings will likely prove to be more specific and effective.     

Experimentally induced granule release in the endocrine cells of dog pyloric antrum

Summary The basal-granulated cells of the dog pyloric antrum were observed under the electron microscope.At least four types of cells were identified: D-like cells, G cells, third type cells, and EC cells. The cells reach regularly the mucosal surface with a cytoplasmic process provided with microvilli and occasionally with a single cilium.Thirty and forty-five minutes after administration of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid into the stomach by oral catheterization, an emiocytotic release of the basal granules occurs frequently in the D-like cells. The cells in control animals did not show this change.This result is the first evidence of the internal secretion of the gastro-enteric basal-granulated cells. The granule release in the D-like cells in response to the acidification of the mucosal surface indicates that this type of cell may produce a hormone inhibiting the acid secretion of the stomach, such as secretin.This paper is dedicated to Prof. W. Bargmann on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

Mice expressing SV40 T antigen directed by the intestinal trefoil factor promoter develop tumors resembling human small cell carcinoma of the colon

The colonic epithelium contains three major types of mature cells, namely, absorptive, goblet, and enteroendocrine cells. These cells are maintained by a complex process of cell renewal involving progenitor and stem cells, and colon cancers develop when this process goes awry. Much is known about the genetic and epigenetic changes that occur in cancer; however, little is known as to the specific cell types involved in carcinogenesis. In this study, we expressed the SV40 Tag oncogene in the intestinal epithelium under the control of an intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) promoter. This caused tumor formation in the proximal colon with remarkable efficiency. ITFTag tumors were rapidly growing, multifocal, and invasive. ITFTag tumor cells express synaptophysin and contain dense core secretory granules, markers of neuroendocrine differentiation. The cell type involved in the early steps of ITFTag tumorigenesis was studied by examining partially transformed crypts that contained populations of both normal and dysplastic cells. The dysplastic cell population always expressed both Tag and synaptophysin. Cells expressing Tag alone were never observed; however, normal enteroendocrine cells expressing synaptophysin but not Tag were readily visualized. This suggests that ITFTag tumor cells originate from the enteroendocrine cell lineage following a transforming event that results in Tag expression. ITFTag tumors closely resemble human small cell carcinomas of the colon, suggesting the possibility that these tumors might be derived from the enteroendocrine cell lineage as well.     

Asymmetry and directionality in production of new cell types during clonal growth: the switching pattern of homothallic yeast.

Homothallic Saccharomyces yeasts efficiently interconvert between two cell types, the mating types a and alpha. These interconversions have been proposed to occur by genetic rearrangement ("cassette" insertion) at the locus controlling cell type (the mating type locus). The pattern of switching from one cell type to the other during growth of a clone of homothallic cells has been followed by direct microscopic observation, and the results have been summarized as "rules" of switching. First, when a cell divides, it produces either two cells with the same mating type as the original cell or two cells that have switched to the other mating type. This observation suggests that the mating type locus is changed early in the cell cycle, in late Gl or during S. Second, the ability to produce cells that have switched mating type is restricted to cells that have previously divided ("experienced cells"). Spores and buds ("inexperienced cells") rarely if ever give rise to cells with changed mating type. A homothallic yeast cell thus exhibits asymmetric segregation of the potential for mating type interconversion--at each cell division, the mother, but not the daughter, is capable of switching cell types in its next division. Homothallic cells also exhibit directionality in switching: experienced cells switch to the opposite cell type in more than 50% of cell divisions. These results show that the process of mating type interconversion is itself controlled during growth of a clone of homothallic cells. By analogy and extension of these results, we propose that multiple cell types can be produced in a specific pattern during development of a higher eucaryote in a model involving sequential cassette insertion.     

The use of gating technology in bioengineering insulin-secreting cells from embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem cells display the ability to differentiate in vitro into a variety of cell types. This process is induced by embryoid body formation, addition of several soluble growth factors to the culture medium and other strategies. However, none of the used factors is capable to drive differentiation to only one specific celltype. The use of gating technology has allowed to partially overcome this problem. The rational behind this technique is based on the transfection of stem cells with a transgene carrying expression cassettes for a cell type specific promoter, regulating expression ofa selectable marker to select one cell lineage from other cell lineages.Using this system, we have obtained insulin-secreting cells by transfecting mouse embryonic stem cells with a DNA construct providing resistance to neomycin under the control of the regulatory regions of the human insulin gene. Furthermore, gating technology has been successfully used to isolate other cell types such as cardiomyocytes and neural precursors from undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. This review focuses on the possibilities offered by this technology in embryonic stem cell bioengineering, mainly to obtain insulin-secreting cells. Advantages and considerations of this selection system will be also discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Premature cytokinesis in pollen mother cells of transgenic tobacco plants Nicotiana tabacum L

In majority species of dicotyledonous plants cytokinesis in PMCs occurs once after completion of two caryokinesis cycles, that is a simultaneous type. This paper represents cytological picture and frequency characteristics of abnormality which resulted in cytokinesis triggering after first meiotic division in a part of transgenic tobacco PMCs. It was shown that the main process of cytoskeleton reorganization typical for simultaneous cytokinesis remained without any alterations in such cells. However, in most cases premature cell division occurred with abnormalities such as membrane "tunnel" or "gash" formation. It was ascertained that initiation of additional round ofcytokinesis did not block nuclear cycle and cytokinesis after second meiotic division. Thus, transition of cell division from simultaneous type to successive one occurs under this abnormality.