Intercellular transfer regulation of the paracrine activity of GPI-anchored Cripto-1 as a Nodal co-receptor

Cripto-1 (CR-1) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein which acts as an obligate co-receptor of a TGFβ family ligand, Nodal. Previous studies have demonstrated that CR-1 functions in a paracrine fashion by a cellular mechanism which has not been fully described. This paracrine activity was observed only when CR-1 was expressed as a membrane-bound form and was abolished when CR-1 was expressed in a soluble form. In the current study, we found that there were few biochemical differences in post-translational modifications between membrane-anchored and soluble forms of CR-1. Flow cytometric analysis revealed an intercellular transfer of the membrane-bound form of CR-1 between cells. CR-1-expressing cells formed unique membrane extensions, generated more membrane fragments than control cells, and exhibited enhanced cellular adhesion. Thus, expression of CR-1 may alter the physiochemical properties of the plasma membrane resulting in an enhancement of intercellular transfer of cellular signaling components which may account for the paracrine activity of CR-1.     

Nodal蛋白的表达、纯化及多克隆抗体制备

斑马鱼心脏发育模型中Nodal编码转录因子调节心脏的左右不对称发育,为了进一步研究Nodal信号途径在心脏发育中的调控作用和心脏疾病发生的分子机制,需要获得斑马鱼Nodal蛋白并制备其抗体.采用从斑马鱼心脏组织中提取RNA,通过反转录得到心脏组织各种表达基因的cDNA为模板,PCR扩增得到Nodal部分编码区序列,然后将其连接到pET-28a载体上获得原核表达.经酶切及测序鉴定后,转化Rosseta细菌,并用IPTG诱导表达融合蛋白,Ni-IDA凝胶柱亲和纯化,将纯化的融合蛋白免疫新西兰大白兔制备多克隆抗体,并用Western blotting检测抗体.获得了Nodal原核表达重组融合蛋白及高效价的特异性兔抗Nodal多克隆抗体,为Nodal功能的进一步研究奠定了基础.     

In vitro plantlet regeneration of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Schinopsis balansae</Emphasis> (Anacardiaceae)

A protocol for the in vitro regeneration of rooted plants from nodal single bud segments of 10-year-old Schinopsis balansae trees was developed. Nodal segments were harvested from actively growing shoots of plants grown from seeds and maintained in pots under greenhouse conditions, and from epicormic shoots obtained by forced flushing of branches. Culture of nodal segments on nutrient medium containing the mineral salts and vitamins of Murashige and Skoog medium at 1/4 strength (1/4 MS), supplemented with 100 mg l^–1 ascorbic acid, 3% sucrose, and 5–15 M 6-benzyladenine resulted in regeneration of multiple shoots. Rooting of regenerated shoots was observed in 1/4 MS medium with vermiculite as the substrate and supplemented with 7.5 M indolbutyric acid.     

Regulation of hhex expression in the yolk syncytial layer, the potential Nieuwkoop center homolog in zebrafish

The Nieuwkoop center is the earliest signaling center during dorsal-ventral pattern formation in amphibian embryos and has been implied to function in induction of the Spemann-Mangold organizer. In zebrafish, Nieuwkoop-center-like activity resides in the dorsal yolk syncytial layer (YSL) at the interface of the vegetal yolk cell and the blastoderm. hex homologs are expressed in the anterior endomesoderm in frogs (Xhex), the anterior visceral endoderm in mice, and the dorsal YSL in zebrafish (hhex). Here, we investigate the control of hhex expression in the YSL. We demonstrate that bozozok (boz) is absolutely required for early hhex expression, while overexpression of boz causes ectopic hhex expression. Activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling by LiCl induces hhex expression in wild-type YSL but not in boz mutant embryos, revealing that boz activity is required downstream of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling for hhex expression. Further, we show that the boz-mediated induction of hhex is independent of the Boz-mediated repression of bmp2b. Our data reveal that repressive effects of both Vega1 and Vega2 may be responsible for the exclusion of hhex expression from the ventral and lateral parts of the YSL. In summary, zebrafish hhex appears to be activated by Wnt/beta-catenin in the dorsal YSL, where Boz acts in a permissive way to limit repression of hhex by Vega1 and Vega2.     

Signals derived from the underlying mesoderm are dispensable for zebrafish neural crest induction

Signals from the non-neural ectoderm, the neural ectoderm, and the underlying mesoderm have all been implicated in the induction of neural crest. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in particular has an important role in this process; however, it is unclear whether this activity of BMP is due to its effects on patterning the underlying mesoderm, to its ability to establish a competent neural plate boundary zone, or to the direct specification of neural crest at intermediate levels of activity within a BMP gradient. We show neural crest induction occurs in zebrafish in the absence of involuted mesoderm, indicating that this tissue and signals derived from it are dispensable for the formation of neural crest. Dorsal-involuted mesoderm is a major source of secreted BMP antagonists, and the activity of BMP signaling is thought to depend on the presence of the opposing activity of these antagonists. We find that the three BMP antagonists known to be expressed during gastrulation in zebrafish, noggin1, follistatin, and chordin, are dispensable for neural crest induction. These results suggest that mechanisms for restricting the spatio-temporal pattern of BMP expression may compensate for the loss of secreted BMP antagonist activity in establishing dorso-ventral patterning, neural induction, and the neural crest.     

Xenopus tropicalis nodal-related gene 3 regulates BMP signaling: an essential role for the pro-region

In vertebrates, nodal-related genes are crucial for specifying mesendodermal cell fates. Six nodal-related genes have been identified in Xenopus, but only one, nodal, has been identified in the mouse. The Xenopus nodal-related gene 3 (Xnr3), however, lacks the mesoderm-inducing activity of the other five nodal-related genes in Xenopus, and can directly induce neural tissue in animal caps by antagonizing BMP signals. In this study, we isolated three clones of the Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis nodal-related gene 3 (Xtnr3) and analyzed their function. The Xtnr3 genes show high homology to Xnr3 and have the same activity. Southern blot and genomic PCR analyses indicate that the X. tropicalis genome has duplications in the Xtnr3 gene sequences and our three clones represent separate gene loci. We also found a partial clone of Xtnr3 that coded for the N-terminal part of its pro-region. Surprisingly, this sequence also induced neural tissue by antagonizing BMP signals, and its coded protein physically associated with BMP4 mature protein. Furthermore, we showed that the pro-region of Xnr5 has the same activity. Together, these findings indicate that the pro-region of nodal-related genes acts antagonistically towards BMP signals, which identifies a novel mechanism for the inhibition of BMP signaling.     

Unveiling the establishment of left-right asymmetry in the chick embryo

Vertebrates display striking left-right asymmetries in the placement of internal organs, which are concealed by a seemingly bilaterally symmetric body plan. The establishment of asymmetries about the left-right axis occurs early during embryo development and requires the concerted and sequential action of several epigenetic, genetic and cellular mechanisms. Experiments in the chick embryo model have contributed crucially to our current understanding of such mechanisms and are reviewed here. Particular emphasis is given to the elucidation of a genetic network that conveys left-right information from Hensen's node to the organ primordia, characterized to a significant degree of detail in the chick embryo. We also point out a number of early and late events in the determination of left-right asymmetries that are currently poorly understood and for whose study the chick embryo model presents several advantages. We anticipate that the availability of the chick genome sequence will be combined with multidisciplinary approaches from experimental embryology, biophysics, live-cell imaging, and mathematical modeling to boost up our knowledge of left-right organ asymmetry in the near future.     

Direct somatic embryogenesis in a selected tea clone, `TRI-2025' (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) from nodal explants

An efficient method for the in vitro propagation of a tea (Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze) clone, `TRI-2025', from somatic embryos is described. This technique involves two phases; the induction of adventitious buds from nodal cuttings followed by the development of somatic embryos. Single nodal cuttings were excised from 1-year-old in vitro axenic cultures and inoculated on MS medium with different combinations of IBA/BAP/GA₃. Induction of multiple shoots from nodal explants occurred on MS medium with 0.5 mg l^–1 BAP, 0.1 mg l^–1 IBA and 0.0 mg l^–1 GA₃ within 6 weeks of incubation. The cultures with multiple shoots were transferred to fresh medium, incubated for 120 days and transferred to MS medium with half-strength macro nutrients, full-strength micronutrients and vitamins and no growth regulator. The direct induction of somatic embryos without callus formation occurred on this medium at 60% frequency within 4 weeks. The production of embryos continued upon transfer of the cultures to fresh medium and a four- to eightfold multiplication rate was obtained during each 6-week culture cycle. The plantlets from these embryos were acclimatised with a 90% success rate. All plants were vigorous and hardy, with well-developed tap-root systems. Received: 20 July 1996 / Revision received: 2 January 1998 / Accepted: 19 January 1998     

稳定高表达和干扰Nodal基因黑色素瘤细胞株构建及EMT表型鉴定

目的:构建稳定过表达及稳定干扰Nodal的黑色素瘤细胞B16细胞株,并鉴定其EMT表型,用于研究Nodal诱导黑色素瘤EMT的现象及机理。方法:将过表达小鼠Nodal基因的质粒pL-tdTomatomNodal,及携带有干扰Nodal基因序列的shRNA质粒pGFP-V-RS-Nodal,分别转染B16细胞。通过抗性筛选富集,阳性克隆挑选及扩大培养,获得稳定转染细胞株B16/dT-mNodal及B16/sh-Nodal。通过实时荧光定量PCR和Western blot技术检测胞内Nodal的过表达及敲除情况和EMT标记物的表达情况。结果:两株细胞均构建成功,B16/dT-mNodal细胞株发出强烈红色荧光,胞内Nodal水平上调明显,并呈现间质细胞特性;B16/sh-Nodal细胞株发出强烈绿色荧光,胞内Nodal水平下调明显,并呈现上皮细胞特性。结论:成功构建稳定过表达Nodal及稳定干扰Nodal的B16细胞株,并构建Nodal影响B16细胞EMT过程的模型,为研究Nodal在黑色素瘤EMT过程中的作用提供了重要的实验工具。