Polyoma Virus Infection of Retinoic Acid-Induced Differentiated Teratocarcinoma Cells

The mouse teratocarcinoma stem cell line, F9, becomes permissive for productive polyoma infection upon treatment with retinoic acid. Through the use of M13-polyoma recombinant single-stranded DNA probes, spliced and unspliced early viral RNA were detected after polyoma infection of retinoic acid-treated and untreated F9 cultures.     

Transformation-Defective Polyoma Middle T Antigen Mutants Defective in PLCγ, PI-3, or src Kinase Activation Enhance ERK2 Activation and Promote Retinoic Acid-Induced, Cell Differentiation Like Wild-Type Middle T

In HL-60 human myeloblastic leukemia cells, retinoic acid is known to cause cFMS, RAF, MEK, and ERK2 dependent myeloid cell differentiation and G0 arrest associated with RB tumor suppressor protein hypophosphorylation, implicating receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction in propelling these retinoic acid-induced cellular effects. Furthermore, ectopic expression of polyoma middle T antigen, which activates similar early signal transduction molecules as PDGF class receptors such as cFMS, accelerates these retinoic acid-induced effects. To determine if this depends on middle T's ability to activate PLCγ, PI-3 kinase, and src-like kinases, stable transfectants of HL-60 cells expressing either the polyoma middle T dl23 mutant, which is defective for PLCγ and PI-3 kinase activation, or the Δ205 mutant, which in addition has greatly attenuated src-like kinase activation ability, were created and compared to wild-type middle T-transfected HL-60. The transgenes were under control of the retinoic acid (or 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3) inducible Moloney murine leukemia virus LTRs. Expression of the dl23 or Δ205 mutant accelerated retinoic acid-induced cell differentiation. The effects of the mutants were comparable to those of the wild-type middle T. Likewise, retinoic acid-induced G0 arrest of mutant transfected cells and wild-type middle T transfected cells was similar. The same was true for 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3-induced monocytic differentiation as for retinoic acid-induced myeloid differentiation. The mutants did not cause the same slight shortening of the cell cycle as wild-type middle T. Both the mutants and the wild-type middle T caused a similar increase in the cellular basal level of activated ERK2 MAPK. Since retinoic acid increases ERK2 activation, which is necessary for differentiation, the data suggest that mutant and wild-type middle T enhanced the retinoic acid effects by increasing basal levels of ERK2 activation. Consistent with this, the polyoma-induced foreshortening of the time for differentiation coincided with the time for retinoic acid to significantly increase ERK2 activation. As in wild-type HL-60, retinoic acid induced the early down-regulation of RXRα in mutant transfectants similar to wild-type middle T transfectants, consistent with no loss or gain of relevant functions due to the mutations. In contrast, vitamin D3 did not down-regulate RXRα in HL-60 or transfectants. Polyoma middle T and these transformation-defective mutants thus enhanced ERK2 activation to have an early effect in promoting retinoic acid-induced differentiation without a strong dependence on activating PLCγ, PI-3 kinase, or src-like kinase.     

Retinoic Acid-Induced blr1 Expression Promotes ERK2 Activation and Cell Differentiation in HL-60 Cells

Retinoids are known to induce the differentiation and cell cycle arrest of human myeloid leukemia cells in vitro. Differential display was used to identify putative early regulatory genes that are differentially expressed in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells treated with retinoic acid. One of the cDNAs cloned encodes sequences identifying Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1), a recently described chemokine receptor. Northern blot analysis demonstrates that blr1 mRNA expression increases within 9 h of retinoic acid treatment, well before functional differentiation or G₁/G₀ growth arrest at 48 h or onset of morphological changes, suggesting a possible regulatory function. The expression of blr1 mRNA is transient, peaking at 72 h when cells are differentiated. blr1 mRNA also is induced by other differentiation-inducing agents, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ and DMSO. Induction of blr1 mRNA by retinoic acid is not blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. In HL-60 cells stably transfected with blr1 cDNA, ectopic expression of blr1 causes an increase in ERK2 MAPK activation and promotes retinoic acid-induced G₁/G₀ growth arrest and cell differentiation. The early expression of blr1 mRNA during differentiation, its ability to increase ERK2 activation, and its enhancement of retinoic acid-induced differentiation suggest that blr1 expression may be involved in retinoic acid-induced HL-60 differentiation.     

TGF-β Modulates the Expression of Retinoic Acid-Induced RAR-β in Primary Cultures of Embryonic Palate Cells

We have previously shown that both transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and retinoic acid (HA) regulate the expression of cellular retinoic acid binding proteins (CRABP) I and II and TGF-β3 mRNAs in primary cultures of murine embryonic palate mesenchyreal (MEPM) cells. We now describe additional crosstalk between the RA and TGF-β signal transduction pathways—the ability of TGF-β, including the endogenous form(s), to modulate the expression of the nuclear retinoic acid receptor-β (RAR-β). Northern blot hybridization revealed that RA induced the expression of RAR-β mRNA, there being little or no detectable expression in untreated MEPM cells. Induction by 3.3 μM RA was abrogated by simultaneous treatment with TGF-β1 (5 ng/ml). TGF-β1 alone had no effect on RAR. mRNA expression. Determination of RAR-β mRNA half-life by treatment with actinomycin D indicated that TGF-β1 did not alter the stability of RAR-β mRNA. Conditioned medium (CM) from MEPM cells contained little active TGF-β protein; heat treatment of the CM dramatically increased the amount of active TGF-β as assessed by the mink lung epithelial cell bioassay. Furthermore, heat- or acid-activated CM also inhibited CRABP-I and RA-induced RAR-β expression. The effect of heat-activated conditioned medium could be abrogated with panspecific neutralizing antibodies to TGF-β, confirming that endogenous TGF-β is the biologically active factor in heat-activated CM. These results provide evidence for complex interactions between TGF-β and RA in the regulation of gene expression in embryonic palatal cells and suggest a role for endogenous TGF-β in the regulation of expression of genes encoding elements of the RA signal transduction pathway.     

Structural classification of αββ and ββα supersecondary structure units in proteins

We present a fully automatic structural classification of supersecondary structure units, consisting of two hydrogen-bonded β strands, preceded or followed by an α helix. The classification is performed on the spatial arrangement of the secondary structure elements, irrespective of the length and conformation of the intervening loops. The similarity of the arrangements is estimated by a structure alignment procedure that uses as similarity measure the root mean square deviation of superimposed backbone atoms. Applied to a set of 141 well-resolved nonhomologous protein structures, the classification yields 11 families of recurrent arrangements. In addition, fragments that are structurally intermediate between the families are found; they reveal the continuity of the classification. The analysis of the families shows that the α helix and β hairpin axes can adopt virtually all relative orientations, with, however, some preferable orientations; moreover, according to the orientation, preferences in the left/right handedness of the α–β connection are observed. These preferences can be explained by favorable side by side packing of the α helix and the β hairpin, local interactions in the region of the α–β connection or stabilizing environments in the parent protein. Furthermore, fold recognition procedures and structure prediction algorithms coupled to database-derived potentials suggest that the preferable nature of these arrangements does not imply their intrinsic stability. They usually accommodate a large number of sequences, of which only a subset is predicted to stabilize the motif. The motifs predicted as stable could correspond to nuclei formed at the very beginning of the folding process. Proteins 30:193–212, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Analysis of the Factors Involved in the Retinoic Acid-Induced Differentiation of a Retinoid-Hypersensitive Embryonal Carcinoma Cell Mutant

Retinoic acid (RA) has been known to play an important role in cellular growth and differentiation as well as in vertebrate development. Many in vitro cell cultures also respond to RA by differentiating. Perhaps the most widely studied of these cultures are embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. We have used an RA-hypersensitive EC cell mutant, created by retroviral insertion, to analyze the activity of the identifiable components in the RA response pathway. We have analyzed the mRNA expression patterns of the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) α, β, and γ, the retinoid X receptors (RXRs) α, β, and γ, and the cellular retinoic acid binding proteins (CRABPs) I and II. Our results indicate that CRABP I, RAR β, and RAR γ mRNAs are expressed differentially between parent and RA-hypersensitive mutant cells. All three messages are present at higher basal levels and at earlier times after RA addition in the mutant relative to parental cells. All other elements examined are equivalently expressed. Therefore analyses of the expression patterns of CRABPs, RARs, and RXRs in these RA-hypersensitive cells point to the probable importance of CRABP I, RAR β, and RAR γ in the RA induction pathway and also indicate that CRABP II and RXR γ are not likely to be critical elements in the early differentiative response of cells to RA.     

Activation of Integrin αVβ3 Regulates Cell Adhesion and Migration to Bone Sialoprotein

α_Vβ₃, a broadly distributed member of the integrin family of adhesion receptors, has been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological events, including control of bone density, angiogenesis, apoptosis, tumor growth, and metastasis. Recently, it has been shown that activation of α_Vβ₃, its transition from a low- to a high-affinity/avidity state, influences its recognition of certain ligands. Bone sialoprotein (BSP) is recognized as an important ligand for α_Vβ₃ in processes ranging from bone formation to the homing of metastatic tumor cells. Here, the influence of α_Vβ₃ activation on the adhesion and migration of relevant cells to BSP has been examined. Stimulation of lymphoblastoid, osteoblastoid, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with PMA or Mn²⁺ markedly enhanced α_Vβ₃-dependent adhesion to BSP. α_Vβ₃-mediated migration of HUVEC or osteoblastic cells to BSP was substantially enhanced by stimulation, demonstrating that α_Vβ₃ activation enhances both adhesive and migratory responses. However, adhesion and/or migration of certain tumor cell lines, including M21 melanoma and MDA MB435 and SKBR3 breast carcinoma cell lines, to BSP was constitutively high and was not augmented by α_Vβ₃-activating stimuli. Inhibitors of the intracellular signaling molecules, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase with wortmannin, hsp90-dependent kinases with geldanamycin, and calpain with calpeptin, but not MAPKK with PD98059, reduced the high spontaneous adhesion and migration of the M21 cells to BSP, consistent with the constitutive activation of the receptor on these tumor cells. These results indicate that the activation state of α_Vβ₃ can regulate cell migration and adhesion to BSP and, by extension, to other ligands of this receptor. The constitutive activation of α_Vβ₃ on neoplastic cells may contribute to tumor growth and metastatic potential.     

Laminin 5 Promotes Activation and Apoptosis of the T Cells Expressing α3β1 Integrin

By introducing an α3 gene-containing plasmid into a human T cell line Jurkat, we prepared the T cells, which express a high level of the α3β1 integrin, to assess the role of laminin 5 in the skin immune system. The α3β1-expressing T cells adhered to laminin 5 and exhibited spreading. These adhered T cells showed a significant tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular proteins including p59^fynupon T-cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Six hours after cross-linking TCR, these cells on laminin 5 secreted a three times higher level of IL-2 than those on a BSA-coated plate. Twenty hours after the stimulation, 48% of the α3β1-expressing T cells on laminin 5 caused apoptosis. The protein level of cyclin D3 and E decreased, while that of p53 increased in these T cells. These data suggest that laminin 5 may play at least two regulatory roles for T cell functions: augmentation of IL-2 production by antigen-stimulated T cells and induction of apoptosis in these T cells.     

Activation of CaMKKβ/AMPKα pathway by 2‐AG in human platelets

The objective of this study was to determine whether AMPK is activated by 2‐arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG) and participates to the cytoskeleton control in human platelets. We found that 2‐AG stimulates the AMPKα activation through a Ca²⁺/Calmodulin‐dependent pathway as the specific inhibition of the CaMKKβ by STO‐609 inhibits the AMPKα phosphorylation/activation. Moreover, the CaMKKβ/AMPKα pathway activated by 2‐AG is involved in the phosphorylation of cofilin, vasodilator stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), and myosin light chain (MLCs). These proteins participate to actin cytoskeletal remodelling during aggregation. We found that the phosphorylation/activation inhibition of these proteins is associated with a significant reduction in actin polymerization, aggregation, ATP, and α‐granule secretion. Finally, AMPKα activation, Cofilin, VASP, and MLCs phosphorylation are significantly reduced by SR141716, the specific inhibitor of type 1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptor, suggesting that the CB1 receptor is involved in the 2‐AG effect. In conclusion, we have shown that the CaMKKβ/AMPKα pathway is activated by 2‐AG in human platelets and controls the phosphorylation of key proteins involved in actin polymerization and aggregation.     

Activation of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling is required for TGF‐β/Smad2/3 signalling during myofibroblast proliferation

Fibrosis in animal models and human diseases is associated with aberrant activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. Despite extensive research efforts, effective therapies are still not available. Myofibroblasts are major effectors, responsible for extracellular matrix deposition. Inhibiting the proliferation of the myofibroblast is crucial for treatment of fibrosis. Proliferation of myofibroblasts can have many triggering effects that result in fibrosis. In recent years, the Wnt pathway has been studied as an underlying factor as a primary contributor to fibrotic diseases. These efforts notwithstanding, the specific mechanisms by which Wnt‐mediated promotes fibrosis reaction remain obscure. The central role of the transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) and myofibroblast activity in the pathogenesis of fibrosis has become generally accepted. The details of interaction between these two processes are not obvious. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the level of sustained expression of fibrosis iconic proteins (vimentin, α‐SMA and collagen I) and the TGF‐β signalling pathway that include smad2/3 and its phosphorylated form p‐smad2/3. Detailed analysis of the possible molecular mechanisms mediated by β‐catenin revealed epithelial–mesenchymal transition and additionally demonstrated transitions of fibroblasts to myofibroblast cell forms, along with increased activity of β‐catenin in regulation of the signalling network, which acts to counteract autocrine TGF‐β/smad2/3 signalling. A major outcome of this study is improved insight into the mechanisms by which epithelial and mesenchymal cells activated by TGFβ1‐smad2/3 signalling through Wnt/β‐catenin contribute to lung fibrosis.     

Studies on the 5α-androstane-3β, 17β-diol-6α-hydroxylase and on the 5α-androstane-3β, 17β-diol-7α-hydroxylase in anterior hypophysis of male rats.

In anterior pituitaries from male rats, it appeared that 5α-androstane-3β, 17β-diol was quickly metabolized into 5α-androstane-3β,6α-17β-triol and 5α-androstane-3β,7α, 17β-triol by action of 6α- and 7α-hydroxylases. Hydroxysteroid hydroxylases were located in endoplasmic reticulum and were dependent on NADPH⁺. Their optimum pH was 8.0, optima temperature, 37°C, and their apparent Km was 2.7 μM. Hydroxylative reactions were not reversible and not modified by gonadectomy. Hydroxylation seemed an efficient control of the pituitary level of 5α-andros-tane-3β, 17β-diol.     

A PU.1 Suppressive Target Gene,Metallothionein 1G,Inhibits Retinoic Acid-Induced NB4 Cell Differentiation

We recently revealed that myeloid master regulator SPI1/PU.1 directly represses metallothionein (MT) 1G through its epigenetic activity of PU.1, but the functions of MT1G in myeloid differentiation remain unknown. To clarify this, we established MT1G-overexpressing acute promyelocytic leukemia NB4 (NB4MTOE) cells, and investigated whether MT1G functionally contributes to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-induced NB4 cell differentiation. Real-time PCR analyses demonstrated that the inductions of CD11b and CD11c and reductions in myeloperoxidase and c-myc by ATRA were significantly attenuated in NB4MTOE cells. Morphological examination revealed that the percentages of differentiated cells induced by ATRA were reduced in NB4MTOE cells. Since G1 arrest is a hallmark of ATRA-induced NB4 cell differentiation, we observed a decrease in G1 accumulation, as well as decreases in p21^WAF1/CIP1 and cyclin D1 inductions, by ATRA in NB4MTOE cells. Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assays revealed that the proportions of NBT-positive cells were decreased in NB4MTOE cells in the presence of ATRA. Microarray analyses showed that the changes in expression of several myeloid differentiation-related genes (GATA2, azurocidin 1, pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1, matrix metallopeptidase -8, S100 calcium-binding protein A12, neutrophil cytosolic factor 2 and oncostatin M) induced by ATRA were disturbed in NB4MTOE cells. Collectively, overexpression of MT1G inhibits the proper differentiation of myeloid cells.