Combined transgene immortalized urothelial cells capable of reprogramming and hepatic differentiation

Human primary cells, including urine-derived cells (UCs), are an excellent source for generation of pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model disease. However, replicative senescence starts early and shortens the time window for generation of iPSCs. We addressed the question whether combinations of transgenes allows efficient immortalization of UCs, iPSC generation, and differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs). Retroviral transfer of three gene cassettes HPVE6E7 (H), hTERT/p53DD (T), cyclinD1/CDK4R24C (C) encoding five genes was established in primary UCs. Long-term cell proliferation was observed in cells carrying transgenes H, HT, HC, and HCT, whereas cells carrying transgenes C, T and CT showed early senescence similar to UCs. iPSCs could be exclusively generated from immortalized UCs transduced with transgenes HCT and HC. iPSC colonies appeared however later and in smaller number as compared to UCs. Using an established hepatic differentiation protocol, HLCs were obtained with high efficacy. Of note, a high expression of individual transgenes was observed in immortalized UCs, which was down-regulated after reprogramming in four out of five genes. One transgene was re-expressed in HLCs as compared to iPSCs. Our data suggest that individual transgene combinations result in advanced growth rates of immortalized cells and do not prevent iPSC formation and HLC differentiation. Retroviral transgene expression is mostly silenced in iPSCs but can be rarely re-expressed after hepatic differentiation. An extended time window for iPSC establishment can be proposed that allows straightforward functional analyses of differentiated cells.     

BRCA1、PTEN、Rb、C-myc和C-myb在乳腺癌中的异常表达及临床意义探讨

目的 探讨BRCA1、PTEN、Rb、C-myc、C-myb蛋白异常表达在乳腺癌发生、发展中的作用及其临床意义.方法应用免疫组织化学S-P法检测150例乳腺癌、20例不典型增生和30例良性增生性病变组织中BRCA1、PTEN、Rb、C-myc、C-myb蛋白的表达;结合临床病理指标进行分析.结果 乳腺癌组织和不典型增生组织中 BRCA1、PTEN、Rb、C-myc、C-myb蛋白表达与良性增生性病变组织中表达均具有显著性差异(P<0.05).BRCA1蛋白失表达率随乳腺癌组织学分级的增高而增高,在年龄<50岁和ER(雌激素受体)阴性时BRCA1蛋白失表达率增高.PTEN蛋白的失表达与淋巴结转移、ER失表达有关(P<0.05).Rb蛋白在乳腺癌Ⅲ级中失表达率较高,但无统计学差异(P＞0.05).C-myc蛋白的过表达与组织学分级、淋巴结转移及病理类型有关(P<0.05).C-myb蛋白的过表达与乳腺癌组织学分级有关(P<0.05).结论 BRCA1、PTEN、Rb、C-myc、C-myb蛋白异常表达均在乳腺癌的发生过程中起作用;PTEN、C-myc、C-myb 蛋白的异常表达参与了乳腺癌的浸润和转移.     

Molecular modeling and biophysical analysis of the c-MYC NHE-III<Subscript>1</Subscript> silencer element

G-Quadruplex and i-Motif-forming sequences in the promoter regions of several oncogenes show promise as targets for the regulation of oncogenes. In this study, molecular models were created for the c-MYC NHE-III₁ (nuclease hypersensitivity element III₁) from two 39-base complementary sequences. The NHE modeled here consists of single folded conformers of the polypurine intramolecular G-Quadruplex and the polypyrimidine intramolecular i-Motif structures, flanked by short duplex DNA sequences. The G-Quadruplex was based on published NMR structural data for the c-MYC 1:2:1 loop isomer. The i-Motif structure is theoretical (with five cytosine–cytosine pairs), where the central intercalated cytosine core interactions are based on NMR structural data obtained for a tetramolecular [d(A₂C₄)₄] model i-Motif. The loop structures are in silico predictions of the c-MYC i-motif loops. The porphyrin meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine (TMPyP4), as well as the ortho and meta analogs TMPyP2 and TMPyP3, were docked to six different locations in the complete c-MYC NHE. Comparisons are made for drug binding to the NHE and the isolated G-Quadruplex and i-Motif structures. NHE models both with and without bound cationic porphyrin were simulated for 100 ps using molecular dynamics techniques, and the non-bonded interaction energies between the DNA and porphyrins calculated for all of the docking interactions. Figure Molecular models of the average structure of the final 20 ps of the molecular dynamics simulation of the c-MYC NHE-III₁ (nuclease hypersensitivity element III₁) “silencer” element. The G-Quadruplex structure is at the top-center, and the i-Motif is at the bottom-center of each picture. a “Rotation #1” of the G-Quadruplex, with the T15 loop at the top and rear and the G19/A20 loop at the top and front of the picture. b “Rotation #2” of the G-Quadruplex, with the T15 loop at the top and front of the image, and the G19/A20 loop at the front and adjacent to the G-Quadruplex/i-Motif interface     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA gene 6b stimulates rol-induced root formation, permits growth at high auxin concentrations and increases root size

Summary All Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains studied up to now transfer an active 6b gene to plant cells. However, the role of this gene in natural tumour induction is unknown. Various effects of 6b on plant cell growth have been described, but the precise mechanism by which 6b causes these effects has not been elucidated. Earlier experiments indicated that the 6b gene might increase auxin sensitivity as do the A. rhizogenes rol genes. The 6b gene from Tm4 (T-6b) was therefore compared with the rolB and rolABC genes. Although T-6b was unable to induce root formation, it strongly interfered with root induction and root elongation. In rolABC/T-6b coinfection experiments on carrots, T-6b-transformed cells stimulated root outgrowth of rolABC-transformed cells, indicating that the biologically active T-6b product is diffusible. Carrot rolABC roots containing the T6b gene rapidly developed into unorganized calli. Nicotiana rustica roots with rolABC and T-6b continued their development, but became very large. Fragments of such roots formed callus at -naphthaleneacetic acid concentrations which inhibited growth of rolABC and normal root fragments, suggesting that the role of 6b genes in natural tumour induction may be to reduce the inhibitory effects of high auxin levels and to keep cells in an undifferentiated state.     

新型生长抑肽对成纤维细胞的DNA合成及某些癌基因表达的影响

从细胞水平和基因水平研究了新型生长抑肽（ＥＰＰ）的生物学作用,研究表明：ＥＰＰ对ＮＣ３Ｈ１０及ＴＣ３Ｈ１０细胞的ＤＮＡ合成均有抑制作用,当ＥＰＰ与ｃＡＭＰ的位点选择性类似物８－Ｂｒ－ｃＡＭＰ共同作用时,其对ＮＣ３Ｈ１０细胞的ＤＮＡ合成的抑制作用消失,而对ＴＣ３Ｈ１０仍具有抑制作用;核酸杂交分析表明,ＥＰＰ可以抑制ｃ－ｆｏｓ、ｎｅｕ、ｋｉ－ｒａｓ三类癌基因在转化细胞中的表达。证明了ＥＰＰ对转化细胞的生长具有一定的抑制效应,且与８－Ｂｒ－ｃＡＭＰ联合使用时其效果更佳。     

Oncogene expression in endocrine pancreatie tumors

The mRNA expression of the (proto) oncogenes Ha-ras, Ki-ras, fos, c-myc, N-myc, and sis was studied in five pancreatic endocrine tumors and two non-neoplastic pancreases by in situ hybridization and Northern blot analysis. Ha-ras, Ki-ras, fos and c-myc, but not N-myc or sis mRNA was detected in all the tumors as well as in the non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues. Compared with non-tumorous pancreatic tissue, Ha-ras and Ki-ras mRNA was overexpressed up to 42-fold in all the tumors; metastasizing tumors showed 2–6 times higher Ha-ras mRNA levels than benign neoplasias. In contrast, c-myc mRNA levels were higher in normal tissue than in tumors and fos mRNA levels did not differ significantly between tumors and normal tissue. The activities of Ki-ras, fos and c-myc mRNA expression did not correlate with any of the histological or biological properties of the tumors, nor with the clinical course of disease. Our results, although based on a limited number of cases, suggest that Ha-ras and Ki-ras mRNA overexpression is associated with the development of pancreatic endocrine tumors. The measurement of Ha-ras mRNA levels may contribute to the assessment of tumor prognosis. Supported by grants of the “ Fonds zur F?rderung der Forschung” (P 5314) and by the “Jubil?umsfonds” of the Austrian National Bank (P 2889) to H.H.     

Ligand-independent oncogenic signaling by the epidermal growth factor receptor: v-ErbB as a paradigm

Relay of information from the extracellular environment into the cell often results from a peptide growth factor binding to its cognate cell surface receptor; this event is an integral mechanism by which many cellular functions occur, including cell growth, motility, and survival. In recent years, however, this requirement for ligand binding has been shown to be surpassed by several distinct mechanisms, including cell surface receptor cross-talk (e.g., between epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] and G-coupled receptors), receptor-extracellular matrix interactions (e.g., EGFR: integrin complexes), and finally by structural mutations within the receptor itself. While all of these pathways result in so-called ligand-independent signaling by the EGF receptor, to date, only structural mutations in the receptor have been shown to result in qualitative changes in downstream targets of the receptor, which specifically result in oncogenic signaling, transformation, and tumorigenicity. In this review, we describe aspects of the known signaling properties of the retroviral oncogene v-ErbB as a model of ligand-independent oncogenic signaling, and compare these properties to results emerging from ongoing studies on structurally related EGF receptor mutants originally identified in human tumors. A better understanding of the signaling pathways used by these uniquely oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase mutants may ultimately reveal new targets for the development of novel therapeutics selective for the inhibition of tumor cell growth.     

Antibody-induced activation of p185HER2 in the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line Calu-3 requires bivalency

In the present study we utilized two previously described monoclonal antibodies (mAb), and their respective Fab portions, directed against the extracellular domain of p185^HER2, a transmembrane glycoprotein with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity coded by theHER2/neu oncogene, to study the mechanism of mAb-induced receptor internalization and phosphorylation. Fluorescence scan analysis and direct binding of radiolabelled mAb and their Fab fragments showed that entire MGR2 and MGR3 mAb were reactive with similar binding affinity on two cell lines (Calu-3 and Sk-Br-3) overexpressing the p185^HER2 receptor, and unreactive on unrelated cells. The corresponding Fab fragments were positive on the related cells, but bound with diminished intensity and affinity. Entire MGR2 and MGR3 induced internalization in both Calu-3 and Sk-Br-3 cells, whereas their Fab portions were not internalized. When the bivalency of the MGR2 Fab fragment was artificially reconstituted by incubation with rabbit anti-(mouse IgG), internalization was obtained. Monovalent binding of the entire labelled antibodies, obtained in the presence of a saturating amount of unlabelled antibody, decreased both the rate and the final amount of internalized antibody. Metabolic labelling and immunoblotting experiments showed that incubation with entire MGR3 amplified the basal phosphorylation of the p185^HER2 receptor in Calu-3 and Sk-Br-3 cells, whereas MGR3 Fab decreased the signal. Taken together, our data indicate that antibody-mediated activation of p185^HER2 in Calu-3 and Sk-Br-3 cells occurs through the dimerization of receptor molecules and that bivalency of the activating antibody is mandatory for induction of internalization and phosphorylation of the receptor. Our data support an allosteric model of activation for the p185^HER2 receptor.     

MicroRNA-34a通过多向调控促癌基因抑制肾癌细胞生长

目的:探讨microRNA-34a(miR-34a)在肾癌细胞中的生物学作用及调控机制.方法:应用miR-34amimics在体外转染769P,786-O和Caki-1细胞;运用qRT-PCR检测miR-34a在三个细胞株的相对表达情况,以及转染后癌基因mRNA的表达情况;观察miR-34a对细胞生长的影响.结果:769P,786-O和Caki-1细胞中miR-34a在786-O中表达最低,769P次之,Caki-1表达最高;利用miR-34a mimics升高769P,786-O和Caki-1细胞miR-34a,发现三个细胞株多个癌基因mRNA表达不同程度的降低(P＜0.05)及生长和集聚能力的降低.结论:miR-34a可能通过调控多个癌基因表达在肾癌中起抑癌作用.miR-34a mimics可抑制肾癌细胞的生长,因此miR-34a有可能作为肾癌基因治疗的新靶点.