"Delayed death" phenomenon: a synergistic action of cyclophosphamide and exogenous DNA

Morbidity and mortality in mice were observed upon administration of exogenous DNA following their pre-treatment with a cytostatic agent cyclophosphamide. Upon intraperitoneal injections, the fragments of exogenous DNA reached bone marrow cells. These cells were also found to internalize up to 1800 kb of exogenous DNA ex vivo. The 18-24 h time frame represents a final stage in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, so when exogenous DNA was administered within this critical period of time, pathological changes were observed in many target organs. Namely, bone marrow cells underwent a sustained increase in apoptosis. Copy number of B1 and B2 DNA repeats in bone marrow cells remained unchanged, whereas in the control group of animals their levels were significantly decreased. Finally, the bone marrow cells of moribund animals completely lacked lymphoid progenitors, yet the CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell counts were normal. Histopathology analysis suggested that mice died due to accidental involution of lymphoid organs combined with a systemic inflammatory process induced by massive administration of exogenous DNA and depletion of lymphoid lineage.     

Hematopoiesis sculpted by pathogens: Toll-like receptors and inflammatory mediators directly activate stem cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) repopulate the immune system during normal replenishment as well as under the burden of pathogen stress, but the respective outcomes of differentiation are not the same. Under homeostatic conditions such as those which accompany turnover of immune cell subsets, HSCs appear to co-equally prime genes associated with the major downstream lineages: lymphoid, myeloid, and megakaryocyte/erythroid. Recent studies reveal, however, that during pathogen exposure, hematopoiesis may yield progeny in proportions different than those produced under homeostasis. At least some of these effects may be due to pathogen engagement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) expressed on HSCs. HSCs are also responsive to inflammatory cytokines that are produced in response to pathogen burden and are present in the bone marrow microenvironment. Thus, hematopoiesis is not a formulaic process that produces the same, predictable outcome regardless of the specific environmental context. Rather, hematopoiesis represents a dynamic biological system that can be appreciably responsive to environmental factors, an influence that extends to the level of the HSC itself. Knowledge of functional consequences of TLR ligation on HSCs may be therapeutically exploited and applied to treatment of hematopoietic insufficiency in the setting of infection and disease.     

Characterization of a cellular retinol-binding protein from lamprey, Lethenteron japonicum

Lampreys are ancestral representatives of vertebrates known as jawless fish. The Japanese lamprey, Lethenteron japonicum, is a parasitic member of the lampreys known to store large amounts of vitamin A within its body. How this storage is achieved, however, is wholly unknown. Within the body, the absorption, transfer and metabolism of vitamin A are regulated by a family of proteins called retinoid-binding proteins. Here we have cloned a cDNA for cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) from the Japanese lamprey, and phylogenetic analysis suggests that lamprey CRBP is an ancestor of both CRBP I and II. The lamprey CRBP protein was expressed in bacteria and purified. Binding of the lamprey CRBP to retinol (Kd of 13.2 nM) was identified by fluorimetric titration. However, results obtained with the protein fluorescence quenching technique indicated that lamprey CRBP does not bind to retinal. Northern blot analysis showed that lamprey CRBP mRNA was ubiquitously expressed, although expression was most abundant in the intestine. Together, these results suggest that lamprey CRBP has an important role in absorbing vitamin A from the blood of host animals.     

中华蜜蜂HSC70-4基因表达特性的研究

组成型热休克蛋白70-4(heat shock protein 70 cognate 4,HSC70-4)是HSP70家族的重要成员,对蛋白质的正确折叠与转运有着重要意义。本研究以中华蜜蜂转录组数据中获得的HSC70-4基因序列为基础,通过对中华蜜蜂不同发育阶段、不同组织以及不同低温胁迫下的HSC70-4 m RNA表达量进行测定,以期为揭示该基因在中华蜜蜂生长发育和耐寒抗冻过程中的生理功能提供理论依据。结果显示,中华蜜蜂HSC70-4基因包含1923 bp的开放阅读框,编码641个氨基酸,蛋白分子量为70.4 k Da。中华蜜蜂HSC70-4氨基酸序列中包含3个HSP70家族的标签序列,其N端含有HSC70家族的GGXP四肽结构标志,C端包含EEVD结构。与膜翅目其它昆虫的氨基酸序列一致性在94%以上,具有较高的保守性。中华蜜蜂HSC70-4在成虫期的表达量显著高于幼虫期和蛹期(P0.01),从幼虫期至10日龄成虫期呈逐渐上升趋势,但在15日龄至30日龄间呈现波动起伏。HSC70-4在中华蜜蜂不同组织中的表达存在显著差异(P0.01),且在胸部高度表达,在足中中度表达,在其余组织中低度表达。中华蜜蜂HSC70-4的表达受低温胁迫的诱导,在低温胁迫2 h时其表达量最低,4 h时表达量最高。本研究结果表明中华蜜蜂HSC70-4在中华蜜蜂的生长发育过程中应对低温胁迫时发挥生理功能。     

Autophagy in stem cell aging

Aging is responsible for changes in mammalian tissues that result in an imbalance to tissue homeostasis and a decline in the regeneration capacity of organs due to stem cell exhaustion. Autophagy is a constitutive pathway necessary to degrade damaged organelles and protein aggregates. Autophagy is one of the hallmarks of aging, which involves a decline in the number and functionality of stem cells. Recent studies show that stem cells require autophagy to get rid of cellular waste produced during the quiescent stage. In particular, two independent studies in muscle and hematopoietic stem cells demonstrate the relevance of the autophagy impairment for stem cell exhaustion and aging. In this review, we summarize the main results of these works, which helped to elucidate the impact of autophagy in stem cell activity as well as in age‐associated diseases.     

Endothelial cell senescence in aging-related vascular dysfunction

Increased cardiovascular disease in aging is partly a consequence of the vascular endothelial cell (EC) senescence and associated vascular dysfunction. In this contest, EC senescence is a pathophysiological process of structural and functional changes including dysregulation of vascular tone, increased endothelium permeability, arterial stiffness, impairment of angiogenesis and vascular repair, and a reduction of EC mitochondrial biogenesis. Dysregulation of cell cycle, oxidative stress, altered calcium signaling, hyperuricemia, and vascular inflammation have been implicated in the development and progression of EC senescence and vascular disease in aging. A number of abnormal molecular pathways are associated with these underlying pathophysiological changes including Sirtuin 1, Klotho, fibroblast growth factor 21, and activation of the renin angiotensin-aldosterone system. However, the molecular mechanisms of EC senescence and associated vascular impairment in aging are not completely understood. This review provides a contemporary update on molecular mechanisms, pathophysiological events, as well functional changes in EC senescence and age-associated cardiovascular disease. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Genetic and epigenetic regulation of aging and longevity edited by Jun Ren & Megan Yingmei Zhang.