Cartilage-Specific Overexpression of ERRγ Results in Chondrodysplasia and Reduced Chondrocyte Proliferation

While the role of estrogen receptor-related receptor alpha (ERRα) in chondrogenesis has been investigated, the involvement of ERR gamma (ERRγ) has not been determined. To assess the effect of increased ERRγ activity on cartilage development in vivo, we generated two transgenic (Tg) lines overexpressing ERRγ2 via a chondrocyte-specific promoter; the two lines exhibited ∼3 and ∼5 fold increased ERRγ2 protein expression respectively in E14.5 Tg versus wild type (WT) limbs. On postnatal day seven (P7), we observed a 4–10% reduction in the size of the craniofacial, axial and appendicular skeletons in Tg versus WT mice. The reduction in bone length was already present at birth and did not appear to involve bones that are derived via intramembranous bone formation as the bones of the calvaria, clavicle, and the mandible developed normally. Histological analysis of P7 growth plates revealed a reduction in the length of the Tg versus WT growth plate, the majority of which was attributable to a reduced proliferative zone. The reduced proliferative zone paralleled a decrease in the number of Ki67-positive proliferating cells, with no significant change in apoptosis, and was accompanied by large cell-free swaths of cartilage matrix, which extended through multiple zones of the growth plate. Using a bioinformatics approach, we identified known chondrogenesis-associated genes with at least one predicted ERR binding site in their proximal promoters, as well as cell cycle regulators known to be regulated by ERRγ. Of the genes identified, Col2al, Agg, Pth1r, and Cdkn1b (p27) were significantly upregulated, suggesting that ERRγ2 negatively regulates chondrocyte proliferation and positively regulates matrix synthesis to coordinate growth plate height and organization.     

Infection with Strains of Citrus Tristeza Virus Does Not Exclude Superinfection by Other Strains of the Virus

Superinfection exclusion or homologous interference, a phenomenon in which a primary viral infection prevents a secondary infection with the same or closely related virus, has been observed commonly for viruses in various systems, including viruses of bacteria, plants, and animals. With plant viruses, homologous interference initially was used as a test of virus relatedness to define whether two virus isolates were “strains” of the same virus or represented different viruses, and subsequently purposeful infection with a mild isolate was implemented as a protective measure against isolates of the virus causing severe disease. In this study we examined superinfection exclusion of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a positive-sense RNA closterovirus. Thirteen naturally occurring isolates of CTV representing five different virus strains and a set of isolates originated from virus constructs engineered based on an infectious cDNA clone of T36 isolate of CTV, including hybrids containing sequences from different isolates, were examined for their ability to prevent superinfection by another isolate of the virus. We show that superinfection exclusion occurred only between isolates of the same strain and not between isolates of different strains. When isolates of the same strain were used for sequential plant inoculation, the primary infection provided complete exclusion of the challenge isolate, whereas isolates from heterologous strains appeared to have no effect on replication, movement or systemic infection by the challenge virus. Surprisingly, substitution of extended cognate sequences from isolates of the T68 or T30 strains into T36 did not confer the ability of resulting hybrid viruses to exclude superinfection by those donor strains. Overall, these results do not appear to be explained by mechanisms proposed previously for other viruses. Moreover, these observations bring an understanding of some previously unexplained fundamental features of CTV biology and, most importantly, build a foundation for the strategy of selecting mild isolates that would efficiently exclude severe virus isolates as a practical means to control CTV diseases.Superinfection exclusion or homologous interference is a phenomenon in which a preexisting viral infection prevents a secondary infection with the same or a closely related virus, whereas infection by unrelated viruses can be unaffected. The phenomenon was first observed by McKinney (57, 58) between two genotypes of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and later with bacteriophages (21, 94). Since that time, the phenomenon has been observed often for viruses of animals (1, 13, 18, 34, 43, 47, 50, 85, 86-88, 102, 103) and plants (11, 30, 31, 32, 39, 40, 49, 77, 99, 100). In plant virology, homologous interference initially was used as a test of virus relatedness to define whether two virus isolates were “strains” of the same virus or represented different viruses (58, 77). Subsequently, it was developed into a management tool to reduce crop losses by purposely infecting plants with mild isolates of a virus to reduce infection and losses due to more severe isolates, which is referred to as “cross-protection” (reviewed in references 32 and 40).Homologous superinfection exclusion of animal viruses has been related to several mechanisms acting at various stages of the viral life cycle, including prevention of the incoming virus entry into cells (50, 86, 87), or inhibition of translation or interference with replication (1, 47, 50, 83). Several mechanisms have been postulated for homologous interference of plant viruses, including prevention of the disassembly of the challenge virus as it enters the cell resulting from the expression of the coat protein of the protector virus (67, 84; reviewed in reference 10) and induction of RNA silencing by the protector virus that leads to sequence-specific degradation of the challenge virus RNA (24, 69, 70). However, common mechanisms of superinfection exclusion, expected to be associated with the viruses of plants and animals, have not been elucidated.Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is the largest and most complex member of the Closteroviridae family, which contains viruses with mono-, bi-, and tripartite genomes transmitted by a range of insect vectors, including aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs (3, 6, 19, 20, 46). CTV has long flexuous virions (2,000 nm by 10 to 12 nm) encapsidated by two coat proteins and a single-stranded RNA genome of ∼19.3 kb. The major coat protein (CP) covers ca. 97% of the genomic RNA, and the minor coat protein (CPm) completes encapsidation of the genome at its 5′ end (25, 81). The RNA genome of CTV encodes 12 open reading frames (ORFs) (44, 64) (Fig. ​(Fig.1).1). ORFs 1a and 1b are expressed from the genomic RNA and encode polyproteins required for virus replication. ORF 1a encodes a 349-kDa polyprotein containing two papainlike protease domains plus methyltransferaselike and helicaselike domains. Translation of the polyprotein is thought to occasionally continue through the polymerase-like domain (ORF 1b) by a +1 frameshift. Ten 3′-end ORFs are expressed by 3′-coterminal subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) (37, 45) and encode the following proteins: major (CP) and minor (CPm) coat proteins, p65 (HSP70 homolog), and p61 that are involved in assembly of virions (79); a hydrophobic p6 protein with a proposed role in virus movement (20, 89); p20 and p23, which along with CP are suppressors of RNA silencing (54); and p33, p13, and p18, whose functions remain unknown. Remarkably, citrus trees can be infected with mutants with three genes deleted: p33, p18, and p13 (89).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.(A) Schematic diagram of the genome organization of wild-type CTV (CTV9R) and its derivative CTV-BC5/GFP encoding GFP. The open boxes represent ORFs and their translation products. PRO, papainlike protease domain; MT, methyltransferase; HEL, helicase; RdRp, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; HSP70h, HSP70 homolog; CPm, minor coat protein; CP, major coat protein; GFP, green fluorescent protein. Bent arrows indicate positions of BYV (B_CP) or CTV CP (C_CP) sgRNA controller elements. Inserted elements are shown in gray. (B) Scheme of the “superinfection exclusion assay.” Young Madam Vinous sweet orange trees were initially inoculated with one of 13 tested CTV isolates. When primary infections were established, the trees were subsequently challenged with CTV-BC5/GFP. All inoculations were done by grafting of the infected tissue into the stem of a tree. The positions of primary (Pri) and challenge (Chl) graft inoculations are shown. The ability of the challenge virus to superinfect trees was determined by visual observation of GFP fluorescence in phloem-associated cells on the internal surface of bark from a young flash starting at about 2 months upon challenge inoculation. Scale bar, 0.4 mm.The host range of CTV is limited to citrus in which the virus infects only phloem-associated cells. CTV consists of numerous isolates that have distinctive biological and genetic characteristics (38, 48, 56, 72, 74, 75, 95). Recently, a classification strategy for CTV isolates was proposed based on sequence similarity. Analysis of nearly 400 isolates in an international collection revealed five major CTV genotype groups with some isolates undefined (38). For the purposes of the present study, strains are defined as phylogenetically distinct lineages of CTV based upon analysis of nucleotide sequences of the 1a ORF (38). This region of the genome shows high genetic diversity between CTV variants, with levels of sequence identity ranging between 72.3 to 90.3% (38, 48, 52, 74, 75; M. Hilf, unpublished data). Using this definition, T3, T30, T36, VT, and T68 are designated as strains. Individual virus samples are designated as isolates of one of these strains. The ORF 1a nucleotide sequences of isolates of the T36 and T68 strains are equally dissimilar to isolates of the T3, T30, and VT strains, with identities of 72.9, 73, and 72.4% and 77.6, 77.9, and 76.8%, respectively. Identities of ORF 1a range from 89.4 to 90.3% between isolates of the T3, T30, and VT strains. Sequences of ORF1a of isolates belonging to the T36 strain and those from the T68 strain show 72.3% identity. This compares to a range of 89 to 94.8% identity found in the more conserved 3′-half regions of the genomes of isolates from different CTV strains. Each strain is named after a “type isolate” and is composed of isolates with minor sequence divergence (generally less than 5% throughout genome) from the type member. However, isolates of a strain may have significant variations in symptoms and symptoms severity. Remarkably, field trees harbor complex populations of CTV, which are often composed of mixtures of different strains and recombinants between these strains (36, 48, 52, 68, 75, 96, 101). The genetic basis of such frequent coexistence of different strains within the same tree is unknown.CTV causes economically important diseases of citrus worldwide. One of the most effective management tools has been cross-protection when effective protecting isolates could be found. Preinfection with mild isolates allows commercial production of sweet oranges and limes in Brazil (16) and Peru (9) and grapefruit in South Africa (92). However, identification of protecting isolates has been empirical, difficult, and rare. Cross-protection usually has worked only in certain varieties, and the lack of effective protecting isolates has prevented its use in many varieties and citrus growing areas (15, 41, 61, 73). In general, there has been no understanding why some mild isolates were effective and others failed to protect. Because CTV diseases prevail in citrus growing areas worldwide, elucidation of the mechanisms of exclusion of one CTV variant by another one is an important goal.In the present study we examined relationships between different genotypes of CTV in terms of their ability to prevent superinfection by another isolate of the virus. We show that superinfection exclusion occurred only between minor genetic variants of the same strain (sequence group) and not between isolates of different strains. When isolates of the same strain were used for sequential plant inoculation, the primary infection provided full exclusion of the challenge isolate. In all combinations of virus isolates belonging to different strains, the primary infection of plants with one strain had no noticeable effect on the establishment of the secondary infection. The results obtained here help elucidate some previously unexplained fundamental features of CTV biology and pose the possibility of an existence of a novel mechanism for superinfection exclusion between virus variants.     

Immunohistochemistry on Paraffin Sections of Mouse Epidermis Using Fluorescent Antibodies

In the epidermis, immunohistochemistry is an efficient means of localizing specific proteins to their relative expression compartment; namely the basal, suprabasal, and stratum corneum layers. The precise localization within the epidermis of a particular protein lends clues toward its functional role within the epidermis. In this chapter, we describe a reliable method for immunolocalization within the epidermis modified for both frozen and paraffin sections that we use very routinely in our laboratory. Paraffin sections generally provide much better morphology, hence, superior results and photographs; however, not all antibodies will work with the harsh fixation and treatment involved in their processing. Therefore, the protocol for frozen sectioning is also included. Within paraffin sectioning, two fixation protocols are described (Bouin''s and paraformaldehyde); the choice of fixative will be directly related to the antibody specifications and may require another fixing method.Download video file.^{(94M, mov)}     

The temporal and spatial expression of Claudins in epidermal development and the accelerated program of epidermal differentiation in K14-CaSR transgenic mice

The importance of the epidermal permeability barrier (EPB) in protecting the mammalian species against harmful UV irradiation, microorganism invasion and water loss is well recognized, as is the role of calcium (Ca(2+)) in keratinocyte differentiation, cell-cell contact and the EPB. In a previous study, we reported that the overexpression of the Ca(2+)-sensing receptor (CaSR) in the undifferentiated basal cells of the epidermis induced a modified epidermal differentiation program including an accelerated EPB formation in transgenic mice, suggesting a role for CaSR signaling in the differentiation of embryonic epidermal cells during development. We now describe the expression profile of claudins (Cldns) and keratin markers in the accelerated EPB formation of K14-CaSR transgenic mice during development as compared to the wild type from E12.5 to newborn stages. Our data show that the transgenic epidermis undergoes an advanced epidermal differentiation program as compared to the wild type as evidenced morphologically as well as by the expression of K14, K1, loricrin, Cldn6, Cldn18 and Cldn11. In addition, we report for the first time the sequential expression of Cldns in epidermal development and describe that the localization of some Cldns change within the epidermis as it matures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Cldn6 is expressed very early in epidermal morphogenesis, followed by Cldn18, Cldn11 and Cldn1.     

The effects of ketorolac and morphine on articular cartilage and synovium in the rabbit knee joint

Analgesics are commonly injected intra-articularly for analgesia after arthroscopic surgery, especially of knee joints. The aim of this study was to research the effects of ketorolac and morphine on articular cartilage and synovial membrane. This study used rabbit right and left hind knee joints. The treatments, saline, morphine, or ketorolac, were administered intra-articularly 24 h after injection, and 5 joints from animals in each drug group were chosen randomly to form Group I and subgroups of Group I. The same procedures were applied after 48 h and 10 days of injection to form Groups II and III, respectively, and subgroups of these groups. Knee joints were excised and a blinded observer evaluated the histopathology according to inflammation of the articular cartilage, inflammatory cell infiltration, hypertrophy, and hyperplasia of the synovial membrane. No histopathological changes were found in the control groups. In the ketorolac and morphine groups, there were varying degrees of synovial membrane inflammatory cell infiltration and minimal, mild, or moderate synovial membrane cell hyperplasia or hypertrophy. Except for the ketorolac group at 24 h, both ketorolac and morphine groups showed more histopathological changes than controls (p < 0.05). Morphine and ketorolac both cause mild histopathological changes in rabbit knee joints, morphine causing more than ketorolac, but both of the drugs can be used intra-articularly with safety.     

Insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 levels of children living in an iodine- and selenium-deficient endemic goiter area

Serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels were investigated in 31 children living in an endemic goiter area and 33 healthy subjects living in an nonendemic area. Serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels of iodine- and selenium-deficient children were found to be lower than those of control subjects (p<0.001). There was a positive correlation between the IGF-I with chronological age and body mass index. There was also positive correlation between the IGF-I and IGFBP-3. No significant difference was found between the goitrous and nongoitrous children. These results suggest that IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels are affected by thyroid dysfunction as a result of iodine and selenium deficiency. However, IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels are not associated with goiter.