Calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules

The adhesive function of Ca2(+)-dependent CAMS has in the past been studied only indirectly, mainly using immunological techniques. The molecular cloning and information about the primary structure of several CAMs has been an important step in a more detailed molecular analysis. If there is a homophilic interaction between CAMs of neighbouring cells, an important question concerns the specificity of each CAM-mediated adhesiveness. Has each CAM a unique specificity and can this specificity be linked to a defined amino acid sequence? It will be important to elucidate the molecular mechanism of how each CAM interacts with the other. The experiments of Volk et al. (1987) suggest that an interaction of two different CAMs can occur. Since during development a given cell can express more than one CAM such an heterophilic interaction could play some regulatory role. Alternative splicing mechanisms or different protein forms during development or on different cell types have not yet been observed for Ca2(+)-dependent CAMs. However, uvomorulin is assumed to have a slightly different function during development and in adult tissues. During development uvomorulin is involved in the condensation, the pattern formation, and the sorting out of cells. In these processes the uvomorulin-mediated adhesiveness should be controlled, since cells reorganize and migrate during development. For the maintenance of the histoarchitecture in adult tissues uvomorulin might act more as a glue. This argues for the existence of mechanisms to regulate the strength of adhesiveness, and the cytoplasmic domain might be involved in these processes. The association of the cytoplasmic domain of uvomorulin with catenins could be an important observation in this respect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Calcium-dependent adhesion of Drosophila embryonic cells

Summary By using an in vitro functional assay, we have shown that Drosophila embryonic cells possess Ca²⁺-dependent adhesive sites, which resemble in many respects those described for vertebrate cells and tissues. The cells, obtained by mechanical disruption of gastrulastage embryos, form aggregates within 30 min when maintained under constant rolling. The aggregation is completely dependent on the presence of Ca²⁺ in the medium. In its absence, the cells remain dispersed but the process is reversible by readdition of Ca²⁺. In addition the aggregation is temperature-dependent. No aggregation occurs at 4° C but it can be restored by raising the temperature to 25° C. These properties are characteristic of these cells: established cell lines do not aggregate under the same conditions and mixing of cell lines and embryonic cells does not result in chimeric aggregates, thus pointing towards cell-type selectivity with respect to aggregability. Observations in electron microscopy have shown that the embryonic cells in the aggregates tightly adhere to one another and form, as early as after 30 min, maculae adherens junctions. Drosophila embryonic cells have adhesion sites that are protected from trypsin proteolysis in the presence of Ca²⁺ and sensitive in its absence. The cells' aggregation can be inhibited by a mouse antiserum directed against cell-surface components and a good correlation exists between neutralization of the inhibitory activity of the antiserum and the presence of trypsin-sensitive sites on the cells. These data are in favour of cell-cell adhesion mediated by specific adhesion proteins.     

Calcineurin is necessary for the maintenance but not embryonic development of slow muscle fibers

Skeletal muscles are a mosaic of slow and fast twitch myofibers. During embryogenesis, patterns of fiber type composition are initiated that change postnatally to meet physiological demand. To examine the role of the protein phosphatase calcineurin in the initiation and maintenance of muscle fiber types, we used a "Flox-ON" approach to obtain muscle-specific overexpression of the modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein 1 (MCIP1/DSCR1), an inhibitor of calcineurin. Myo-Cre transgenic mice with early skeletal muscle-specific expression of Cre recombinase were used to activate the Flox-MCIP1 transgene. Contractile components unique to type 1 slow fibers were absent from skeletal muscle of adult Myo-Cre/Flox-MCIP1 mice, whereas oxidative capacity, myoglobin content, and mitochondrial abundance were unaltered. The soleus muscles of Myo-Cre/Flox-MCIP1 mice fatigued more rapidly than the wild type as a consequence of the replacement of the slow myosin heavy chain MyHC-1 with a fast isoform, MyHC-2A. MyHC-1 expression in Myo-Cre/Flox-MCIP1 embryos and early neonates was normal. These results demonstrate that developmental patterning of slow fibers is independent of calcineurin, while the maintenance of the slow-fiber phenotype in the adult requires calcineurin activity.     

NODAL in the uterus is necessary for proper placental development and maintenance of pregnancy

Preterm birth is the single leading cause of perinatal mortality in developed countries, affecting approximately 12% of pregnancies and accounting for 75% of neonatal loss in the United States. Despite the prevalence and severity of premature delivery, the causes and mechanisms that underlie spontaneous and idiopathic preterm birth remain unknown. Our inability to elucidate these fundamental causes has been attributed to a poor understanding of the signaling pathways associated with the premature induction of parturition and a lack of suitable animal models available for preterm birth research. In this study, we describe the generation and analysis of a novel conditional knockout of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) superfamily member, Nodal, from the maternal reproductive tract of mice. Strikingly, uterine Nodal knockout females exhibited a severe malformation of the maternal decidua basalis during placentation, leading to significant intrauterine growth restriction, and ultimately preterm birth and fetal loss on Day 17.5 of gestation. Using several approaches, we characterized aberrant placental development and demonstrated that reduced proliferation combined with increased apoptosis resulted in a diminished decidua basalis and compromised maternal-fetal interface. Last, we evaluated various components of the established parturition cascade and determined that preterm birth derived from the maternal Nodal knockout occurs prior to PTGS2 (COX-2) upregulation at the placental interface. Taken together, the results presented in this study highlight an in vivo role for maternal NODAL during placentation, present an interesting link between disrupted decidua basalis formation and premature parturition, and describe a potentially valuable model toward elucidating the complex processes that underlie preterm birth.     

The nebulette repeat domain is necessary for proper maintenance of tropomyosin with the cardiac sarcomere

Nebulette is a cardiac-specific isoform of the giant actin-binding protein nebulin. Nebulette, having a mass of ∼ 100 kDa, is only predicted to extend 150 nm from the edge of the Z-lines. Overexpression of the nebulette C-terminal linker and/or SH3 domains in chicken cardiomyocytes results in a loss of endogenous nebulette with a concomitant loss of tropomyosin (TPM) and troponin, as well as a shortening of the thin filaments. These data suggest that nebulette's position in the sarcomere is important for the maintenance of TPM, troponin and thin filament length. To evaluate this hypothesis, N-terminal nested truncations tagged with GFP were expressed in chicken cardiomyocytes and the cells were analyzed for the distribution of myofilament proteins. Minimal effects on the myofilaments were observed with N-terminal deletions of up to 10 modules; however, deletion of 15 modules replicated the phenotype observed with expression of the C-terminal fragments. Expression of internal deletions of nebulette verifies that a site between module 10 and 15 is important for TPM maintenance within the sarcomeric lattice. We have additionally isolated TPM cDNAs from a yeast two hybrid (Y2H) analysis. These data indicate the importance of the nebulette-TPM interactions in the maintenance and stability of the thin filaments.     

Direct interaction of the C-terminal domain of alpha-catenin and F-actin is necessary for stabilized cell-cell adhesion

Alpha-catenin functions to anchor adherens junctions to the filamentous actin (F-actin) cytoskeleton, through direct and indirect binding mechanisms. When truncated at amino acid 865, alpha-catenin exhibited a markedly reduced F-actin binding affinity compared to wild-type. Expression of the truncated mutant in the alpha-catenin deficient colon carcinoma cell line, Clone A, could not restore an adhesive phenotype when compared. Furthermore, the truncated alpha-catenin fusion protein failed to concentrate at sites of cell-cell contact, to promote morphological changes associated with epithelial monolayers, and to stimulate resistance to shearing forces in a hanging drop aggregation assay. Subsequent attempts to isolate single residues governing the direct F-actin interaction, using neutralizing charge or reverse charge mutations of basic residues within a homology modeled alpha-catenin C-terminal 5-helix bundle, had no effect on F-actin cosedimentation. We conclude that direct attachment of alpha-catenin to F-actin is required to promote cadherin-mediated contact formation and strong cell-cell adhesive states.     

The glucocorticoid receptor in the distal nephron is not necessary for the development or maintenance of dexamethasone-induced hypertension

Glucocorticoids are used as a treatment for a variety of conditions and hypertension is a well-recognized side effect of their use. The mechanism of glucocorticoid-induced hypertension is incompletely understood and has traditionally been attributed to promiscuous activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor by cortisol. Multiple lines of evidence, however, point to the glucocorticoid receptor as an important mediator as well. We have developed a mouse model of glucocorticoid-induced hypertension, which is dependent on the glucocorticoid receptor. To determine the site(s) of glucocorticoid receptor action relevant to the development of hypertension, we studied glucocorticoid-induced hypertension in a mouse with a tissue-specific knockout of the glucocorticoid receptor in the distal nephron. Although knockout mice had similar body weight, nephron number and renal histology compared to littermate controls, their baseline blood pressure was mildly elevated. Nevertheless, distal nephron glucocorticoid receptor knockout mice and controls had a similar hypertensive response to dexamethasone. Urinary excretion of electrolytes, both before and after administration of glucocorticoid was also indistinguishable between the two groups. We conclude that the glucocorticoid receptor in the distal nephron is not necessary for the development or maintenance of dexamethasone-induced hypertension in our model.     

TGFbeta/activin/nodal signaling is necessary for the maintenance of pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) self-renew indefinitely and give rise to derivatives of all three primary germ layers, yet little is known about the signaling cascades that govern their pluripotent character. Because it plays a prominent role in the early cell fate decisions of embryonic development, we have examined the role of TGFbeta superfamily signaling in hESCs. We found that, in undifferentiated cells, the TGFbeta/activin/nodal branch is activated (through the signal transducer SMAD2/3) while the BMP/GDF branch (SMAD1/5) is only active in isolated mitotic cells. Upon early differentiation, SMAD2/3 signaling is decreased while SMAD1/5 signaling is activated. We next tested the functional role of TGFbeta/activin/nodal signaling in hESCs and found that it is required for the maintenance of markers of the undifferentiated state. We extend these findings to show that SMAD2/3 activation is required downstream of WNT signaling, which we have previously shown to be sufficient to maintain the undifferentiated state of hESCs. Strikingly, we show that in ex vivo mouse blastocyst cultures, SMAD2/3 signaling is also required to maintain the inner cell mass (from which stem cells are derived). These data reveal a crucial role for TGFbeta signaling in the earliest stages of cell fate determination and demonstrate an interconnection between TGFbeta and WNT signaling in these contexts.     

Rat dorsal prostate is necessary for vaginal adhesion of the seminal plug and sperm motility in the uterine horns

The rat prostate comprises dorsal, ventral and lateral lobes that are morphologically and biochemically distinct. Lesions to these structures are expected to affect the quality of the ejaculate and male fertility. In experiment 1, we analyzed ejaculate parameters of males that had chemical lesions of the dorsal or ventral lobes. At pre-lesion and at 5 and 20 days post-lesion males were mated, and after ejaculation, seminal fluid and seminal plug were obtained from the mated females. In experiment 2, the ventral lobes were ablated, and the ejaculate was analyzed. In experiment 3, the fertility of males with chemically-lesioned dorsal lobes or ablation of the ventral lobes was evaluated. Chemical lesion of the dorsal lobe prevented the adhesion of the seminal plug to vaginal walls. When these males were tested at 5-days postlesion, no sperm were found in uterus, and at 20-days post-lesion, the few sperm encountered showed slow progressive motility. None of the females that mated with dorsal lobe-lesioned males became pregnant. However, chemical lesion or ablation of the ventral lobes did not affect ejaculate or fertility. Our results indicate that the dorsal prostatic lobes are indispensable for reproductive success in males, and define parameters of ejaculate with which fertility can be estimated.     

Seed dispersal in both space and time is necessary for plant diversity maintenance in fragmented landscapes

Metacommunity theory emphasizes that seed dispersal not only limits but equally maintains plant diversity, though the latter receives little empirical attention. Discerning the temporal and spatial components of seed dispersal and understanding how their interaction shapes fragmented communities and maintains their diversity may be pivotal to further our ecological understanding of spatial and temporal seed dispersal and its implications for landscape‐scale conservation management. To investigate the relative importance of spatial and temporal seed dispersal and their roles in maintaining plant diversity, the herb layer and seed bank of grassland communities were inventoried in 77 sites across abandoned and intact rotational grazing networks in a 100 km² fragmented grassland landscape in the Stockholm archipelago (Baltic Sea, Sweden). Besides analysing alpha‐ and beta‐diversity patterns, nestedness analyses connect deterministic community changes and diversity losses with dispersal‐related life‐history traits and habitat specialization to identify the mechanism driving community changes and maintaining local diversity. The loss of rotational grazing networks caused community diversity declines via non‐random extinctions of spatially and temporally poor dispersers, particularly among grassland specialists. Temporal seed dispersal halted further community disassembly, maintaining diversity in the abandoned grazing networks. Spatial dispersal within the intact grazing networks was found to be an overriding, homogenizing agent conserving diversity in both the herb layer and seed bank. This empirical evidence establishes how spatial and temporal seed dispersal interact to maintain diversity in fragmented landscapes. Poorly connected grasslands appear limited by spatial dispersal, yet are maintained by temporal seed dispersal. In fragmented landscapes where grazing networks are rarely present, temporal rather than spatial seed dispersal may be more important in maintaining species diversity, since effective spatial dispersal may be significantly diminished. The grazing network's efficacy at boosting spatial dispersal and upholding community diversity presents a powerful management tool to conserve local and regional species diversity.     

A lily stylar pectin is necessary for pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix

Pollen tube cells adhere to the wall surface of the stylar transmitting tract epidermis in lily. This adhesion has been proposed as essential for the proper delivery of the sperm cells to the ovule. An in vitro adhesion bioassay has been used to isolate two stylar molecules required for lily pollen tube adhesion. The first molecule was determined to be a small, cysteine-rich protein with some sequence similarity to lipid transfer proteins and now called stigma/stylar cysteine-rich adhesin (SCA). The second, larger, molecule has now been purified from style fragments and characterized. Chemical composition, specific enzyme degradations, and immunolabeling data support the idea that this molecule required for pollen tube adhesion is a pectic polysaccharide. In vitro binding assays revealed that this lily stylar adhesive pectin and SCA are able to bind to each other in a pH-dependent manner.     

Histone variant H2B.Z acetylation is necessary for maintenance of Toxoplasma gondii biological fitness

Through regulation of DNA packaging, histone proteins are fundamental to a wide array of biological processes. A variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs), including acetylation, constitute a proposed histone code that is interpreted by “reader” proteins to modulate chromatin structure. Canonical histones can be replaced with variant versions that add an additional layer of regulatory complexity. The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is unique among eukaryotes in possessing a novel variant of H2B designated H2B.Z. The combination of PTMs and the use of histone variants are important for gene regulation in T. gondii, offering new targets for drug development. In this work, T. gondii parasites were generated in which the 5 N-terminal acetylatable lysines in H2B.Z were mutated to either alanine (c-Myc-A) or arginine (c-Myc-R). The c-Myc-A mutant displayed no phenotype over than a mild defect in its ability to kill mice. The c-Myc-R mutant presented an impaired ability to grow and an increase in differentiation to latent bradyzoites. The c-Myc-R mutant was also more sensitive to DNA damage, displayed no virulence in mice, and provided protective immunity against future infection. While nucleosome composition was unaltered, key genes were abnormally expressed during in vitro bradyzoite differentiation. Our results show that regulation of the N-terminal positive charge patch of H2B.Z is important for these processes. We also show that acetylated N-terminal H2B.Z interacts with some unique proteins compared to its unacetylated counterpart; the acetylated peptide pulled down proteins associated with chromosome maintenance/segregation and cell cycle, suggesting a link between H2B.Z acetylation status and mitosis.     

The integrity of the histone-DNA complex in chromatin fibres is not necessary for the maintenance of the shape of mitotic chromosomes

In this study we addressed the question of whether scaffold structures produced from purified mitotic chromosomes are an artefact of dehistonization, and whether the integrity of the chromatin fibres is necessary for the maintenance of the well-known shape of mitotic chromosomes. Purified mitotic chromosomes from Friend erythroleukemia cells were treated either with increasing NaCl concentrations up to 500 mM, or with 6 M urea in the presence or absence of 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol. The main criterion for the intactness of the overall chromosome shape as seen by electron microscopy was the characteristic X-or U-like appearance with clearly discernable chromatid axes. Histone H1 is known to be essential for the integrity of chromatin fibres. Its removal in sucrose gradients containing 500 mM NaCl did not lead to loss of the overall chromosome shape. However, treatment of chromosomes in sucrose gradients containing 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and 6 M urea led to loss of the structure probably due to dissociation (or denaturation) of shape-determining (scaffolding) components. Under these conditions most of the histones remained bound to the chromosomes, and the fibres in this chromatin material, after removal of excess urea and 2-mercaptoethanol, still showed condensation of the nucleosome filaments into the characteristic fibre structures upon increasing ionic strength. Our observations are compatible with the model that specific non-histone components, independently of histone-DNA interactions, organize or stabilize the structure of metaphase chromosomes.     

Tissue transglutaminase expression is necessary for adhesion,metastatic potential and cancer stemness of renal cell carcinoma

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is the ubiquitously expressed member of transglutaminase family and shown to play a critical role in the development and progression of drug resistance malignancies. We have previously showed the association of TG2 upregulation with progression and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and low disease-free survival. In the present study we further investigate the role of TG2 in cell adhesion, migration and invasion of RCC by silencing TG2 expression in Caki-2 and A-498 primary site and Caki-1 and ACHN metastatic site RCC cell lines. Downregulation of TG2 expression led up to a 60% decrease in actin stress fiber formation and adhesion to β 1 integrin (ITGB1) substrates fibronectin, collagen type I and laminin in both primary and metastatic site RCC cell lines. In addition, treatment with siRNAs against TG2 impaired the migration capacity and cellular invasiveness of ITGB1 substrates in all 4 RCC cell lines. Lastly, the knockdown of TG2 in metastatic Caki-1 cells diminished the expression of CD44, CD73-and CD105 cancer stem cell-like markers. We conclude, for the first time, that TG2 expression is critical for cancer cell adhesion, migration, invasiveness and cancer cell-stemness during RCC progression and dissemination. Therefore, combined targeting of TG2 with drugs widely used in the treatment of RCC may be a promising therapeutic strategy for RCC.