Cancer stem cells and human malignant melanoma

Cancer stem cells (CSC) have been identified in hematological malignancies and several solid cancers. Similar to physiological stem cells, CSC are capable of self-renewal and differentiation and have the potential for indefinite proliferation, a function through which they may cause tumor growth. Although conventional anti-cancer treatments might eradicate most malignant cells in a tumor, they are potentially ineffective against chemoresistant CSC, which may ultimately be responsible for recurrence and progression. Human malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive and drug-resistant cancer. Detection of tumor heterogeneity, undifferentiated molecular signatures, and increased tumorigenicity of melanoma subsets with embryonic-like differentiation plasticity strongly suggest the presence and involvement of malignant melanoma stem cells (MMSC) in the initiation and propagation of this malignancy. Here, we review these findings in the context of functional properties ascribed to melanocyte stem cells and CSC in other cancers. We discuss the association of deregulated signaling pathways, genomic instability, and vasculogenic mimicry phenomena observed in melanoma subpopulations in light of the CSC concept. We propose that a subset of MMSC may be responsible for melanoma therapy-resistance, tumor invasiveness, and neoplastic progression and that targeted abrogation of a MMSC compartment could therefore ultimately lead to stable remissions and perhaps cures of metastatic melanoma.     

Induction of the differentiation of human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line by succinoyl trehalose lipids

Four analogs of succinoyl trehalose lipid-3 (STL-3)with saturated even-number or odd-number carbonchains, and unsaturated or halogenated fatty acidswere examined for their ability to inhibit the growthand induce the differentiation of HL-60 humanpromyelocytic leukemia cells. The optimalconcentration of STL-3 at which such activities wererecognized was closed to the critical micelleconcentration of STL-3. Analog of STL-3 witheven-number or odd-number carbon chain and unsaturatedfatty acids strongly inhibited growth and induced thedifferentiation of HL-60 cells, as evaluated in termsof nitroblue tetrazilium-reducing activity and theappearance of the CD36 antigen. An analog of STL-3with halogenated fatty acids significantly inhibitedproliferation but only induced the differentiation ofHL-60 cells. Our results indicate that the effects ofSTL-3 and its analogs on HL-60 cells depend on thestructure of the hydrophobic moiety of STL-3.These authors contributed equally to this work     

Testing hypotheses driving genetic structure in the cooperatively breeding Brown‐headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla

Habitat fragmentation has often been implicated in the decline of many species. For habitat specialists and/or sedentary species, loss of habitat can result in population isolation and lead to negative genetic effects. However, factors other than fragmentation can often be important and also need to be considered when assessing the genetic structure of a species. We genotyped individuals from 13 populations of the cooperatively breeding Brown‐headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla in Florida to test three alternative hypotheses regarding the effects that habitat fragmentation might have on genetic structure. A map of potential habitat developed from recent satellite imagery suggested that Brown‐headed Nuthatch populations in southern Florida occupied smaller and more isolated habitat patches (i.e. were more fragmented) than populations in northern Florida. We also genotyped individuals from a small, isolated Brown‐headed Nuthatch population on Grand Bahama Island. We found that populations associated with more fragmented habitat in southern Florida had lower allelic richness than populations in northern Florida (P = 0.02), although there were no differences in heterozygosity. Although pairwise estimates of F_ST were low overall, values among southern populations were generally higher than northern populations. Population assignment tests identified K = 3 clusters corresponding to a northern cluster, a southern cluster and a unique population in southeast Florida; using sampling localities as prior information revealed K = 7 clusters, with greater structure only among southern Florida populations. The Bahamas population showed moderate to high differentiation compared with Florida populations. Overall, our results suggest that fragmentation could affect gene flow in Brown‐headed Nuthatch populations and is likely to become more pronounced over time.     

Cyclic AMP-induced reversible decrease in cAMP-binding to cell surface receptors of Dictyostelium discoideum

Abstract Adaptation may be the result of a change in affinity and/or number of cAMP-binding sites at the cell surface. To test this possibility we used agip 53, a mutant that does not synthesize cAMP in response to cAMP stimulation. cAMP induced a fast decrease in cAMP-binding to aggregation-competent cells, which reached a maximum at 10–20 s and was reversible with a t _0.5 of about 70 s. The decrease in cAMP-binding involved 46000 sites per cell and was mainly due to a reduction in the apparent affinity for cAMP-binding and to a smaller extent to slowly dissociating cAMP. Our results suggest that under these conditions only a fraction of the cAMP-binding sites at the cell surface are involved in transmembrane signalling, which is indeed observed for many of the physiological responses in Dictyostelium discoideum .     

竹叶眼子菜居群遗传多样性和克隆结构

采用ISSR技术对长江中游南岸豹澥湖和大冶湖不同生境中的竹叶眼子菜(Potamogeton malaianus)居群的遗传多样性及克隆结构进行了研究.结果表明,在两居群的106株个体中,利用6条ISSR引物共得到40条符合3/N标准并无连锁不平衡的清晰位点,竹叶眼子菜具有较高的遗传多样性,其多态位点百分率为75.0％,Shannon多样性指数为0.3736, 两居群的遗传分化很小.竹叶眼子菜的克隆多样性很高(D=0.9917),两居群间的克隆分化很大,不具有共有的基因型.竹叶眼子菜的基株分布为游击型构型,位于湖心的大冶居群克隆距离(3.0～31.5 m)明显地大于湖岸豹澥居群(2.4～6.7 m).     

Wnt通路中蓬松蛋白DNA甲基化对骨质疏松患者骨髓间充质干细胞成骨分化影响

摘要 目的：探讨蓬松蛋白（DVL）DNA甲基化对骨质疏松（OP）患者骨髓间充质干细胞（BMSCs）成骨分化及Wnt通路的影响。方法：分离、培养OP患者的BMSCs,成骨诱导培养BMSCs 0、7、14、21天,观察BMSCs细胞形态变化,检测碱性磷酸酶（ALP）染色及活性,检测茜素红染色及钙结节形成,荧光定量聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）及免疫印迹检测远端缺失同源盒5（Dlx5）、核心结合蛋白因子2（Runx2）、成骨细胞特异性转录因子（OSX）、Ⅰ型胶原蛋白（Colla Ⅰ）表达。检测DVL1、Wnt、糖原合成酶激酶3（GSK3）、β连环蛋白（β-catenin）表达及DVL DNA甲基化水平。在成骨诱导培养基中加入甲基转移酶抑制剂5-Aza,将BMSCs分为对照组（Control组）、甲基转移酶抑制剂组（5-Aza组）、甲基转移酶抑制剂+si-NC组（5-Aza+si-NC组）、甲基转移酶抑制剂+si-Wnt组（5-Aza+si-Wnt组）,依次进行ALP活性测定,茜素红染色及钙结节形成测定。RT-PCR检测Dlx5、Runx2、OSX、Colla 1水平,免疫印迹检测Dlx5、Runx2、OSX、Colla Ⅰ、DVL1、Wnt、GSK3、β-catenin的蛋白表达量,并检测DVL DNA甲基化水平。结果：成骨诱导后BMSCs具有强的ALP活性和矿化结节生成能力,且随着培养时间的增长,BMSCs细胞ALP活性和矿化结节生成能力增强,Dlx5、Runx2、OSX、Colla Ⅰ mRNA水平和Wnt、GSK3、β-catenin、DVL1表达升高,DVL DNA甲基化水平降低（P＜0.05）。5-Aza组较Control组ALP染色加深,活性增强,钙结节形成增多（P＜0.05）,Dlx5、Runx2、OSX、Colla Ⅰ mRNA及蛋白表达、Wnt、GSK3、β-catenin、DVL1表达升高,DVL DNA甲基化水平降低（P＜0.05）。5-Aza+si-Wnt组较5-Aza+si-NC组ALP染色变浅,活性降低,钙结节形成减少（P＜0.05）,Dlx5、Runx2、OSX、Colla Ⅰ mRNA及蛋白表达、Wnt、GSK3、β-catenin、DVL1表达降低,DVL DNA甲基化水平升高（P＜0.05）。结论：DVL DNA甲基化可以通过抑制Wnt/β-catenin信号通路抑制OP患者BMSCs成骨分化。     

Roles of cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the progression of prostate cancer: Cross-talk with the androgen receptor

Prostate carcinomas are among the most frequently diagnosed and death causing cancers affecting males in the developed world. It has become clear that the molecular mechanisms that drive the differentiation of normal prostate cells towards neoplasia involve multiple signal transduction cascades that often overlap and interact. A critical mediator of cellular proliferation and differentiation in various cells (and cancers) is the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, also known as protein kinase A (PKA), and its activating secondary messenger, cAMP. PKA and cAMP have been shown to play critical roles in prostate carcinogenesis and are the subject of this review. In particular we will focus on the cross-talk between PKA/cAMP signaling and that of the androgen receptor.     

Silencing of the ADNP-family member, ADNP2, results in changes in cellular viability under oxidative stress

Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) 2 (KIAA0863; ZNF508) gene, a homeobox-profile containing gene, was identified in a screen for homologous proteins to ADNP. The human ADNP2 contains 1131 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 122.8 KDa. In silico analysis indicated that ortholgs to ADNP2 exist in different phyla, suggesting that ADNP2 might be evolutionary conserved. Here, we began to explore the molecular and functional characterization of ADNP2. Results showed that the mouse ADNP2 mRNA is ubiquitously expressed in distinct normal tissues with increased expression in the brain, particularly in the cerebral cortex. During development, a relatively high level of ADNP2 gene expression was found in the embryonic mouse brain and was sustained throughout embryogenesis and adulthood. An increase in the mRNA was detected in differentiated P19 neuronal/glial-like cells as compared with the non-differentiated cells. To gain insight into ADNP2 function, ADNP2-deficient cell lines were established by the RNA silencing (small interfering RNA) technology. ADNP2 deficiency significantly changed the toxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide in P19 embryonic carcinoma cells, similar to what would be predicted for ADNP deficiency. These findings represent an initial characterization of ADNP2 and suggest that this gene product may have an important function in brain by playing a role in cellular survival pathways.