scholarly journals Epithelial argininosuccinate synthetase is dispensable for intestinal regeneration and tumorigenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. M. van der Meer ◽  
Ruben J. de Boer ◽  
Bartolomeus J. Meijer ◽  
Wouter L. Smit ◽  
Jacqueline L. M. Vermeulen ◽  
...  

AbstractThe epithelial signaling pathways involved in damage and regeneration, and neoplastic transformation are known to be similar. We noted upregulation of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS1) in hyperproliferative intestinal epithelium. Since ASS1 leads to de novo synthesis of arginine, an important amino acid for the growth of intestinal epithelial cells, its upregulation can contribute to epithelial proliferation necessary to be sustained during oncogenic transformation and regeneration. Here we investigated the function of ASS1 in the gut epithelium during tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis, using intestinal epithelial conditional Ass1 knockout mice and organoids, and tissue specimens from colorectal cancer patients. We demonstrate that ASS1 is strongly expressed in the regenerating and Apc-mutated intestinal epithelium. Furthermore, we observe an arrest in amino acid flux of the urea cycle, which leads to an accumulation of intracellular arginine. However, loss of epithelial Ass1 does not lead to a reduction in proliferation or increase in apoptosis in vivo, also in mice fed an arginine-free diet. Epithelial loss of Ass1 seems to be compensated by altered arginine metabolism in other cell types and the liver.

2000 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Frey ◽  
Jennifer A. Clark ◽  
Olga Leontieva ◽  
Joshua M. Uronis ◽  
Adrian R. Black ◽  
...  

Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) family of signal transduction molecules have been widely implicated in regulation of cell growth and differentiation, although the underlying molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly defined. Using combined in vitro and in vivo intestinal epithelial model systems, we demonstrate that PKC signaling can trigger a coordinated program of molecular events leading to cell cycle withdrawal into G0. PKC activation in the IEC-18 intestinal crypt cell line resulted in rapid downregulation of D-type cyclins and differential induction of p21waf1/cip1 and p27kip1, thus targeting all of the major G1/S cyclin-dependent kinase complexes. These events were associated with coordinated alterations in expression and phosphorylation of the pocket proteins p107, pRb, and p130 that drive cells to exit the cell cycle into G0 as indicated by concomitant downregulation of the DNA licensing factor cdc6. Manipulation of PKC isozyme levels in IEC-18 cells demonstrated that PKCα alone can trigger hallmark events of cell cycle withdrawal in intestinal epithelial cells. Notably, analysis of the developmental control of cell cycle regulatory molecules along the crypt–villus axis revealed that PKCα activation is appropriately positioned within intestinal crypts to trigger this program of cell cycle exit–specific events in situ. Together, these data point to PKCα as a key regulator of cell cycle withdrawal in the intestinal epithelium.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry O Traktuev ◽  
Daniel N Prater ◽  
Aravind R Sanjeevaiah ◽  
Stephanie Merfeld-Clauss ◽  
Brian H Johnstone ◽  
...  

Introduction Both Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) and adipose stromal cells (ASC) are under investigation as therapies for cardiovascular diseases. Both cell types are capable of modulating vascular assembly and are, thereby, capable of directly promoting revascularization of ischemic tissues. We have shown that EPC differentiate into endothelial cells to form small vessels, whereas ASC have pericytic properties and naturally stabilize vessels. In this study we tested the possibility that ASC would interact with EPC to assemble de novo vessels in collagen in an in vivo chimeric implant. Methods and Results Collagen implants embedded with either umbilical cord blood EPC or adult ASC or a 4:1 mixture of both (2x10 6 cells/ml) were implanted subcutaneously into NOD/SCID mice. After 14 d implants were harvested and evaluated by immunohistochemistry. There was a pronounced difference among the groups in vascular network assembly. The majority of vessels formed in the EPC and ASC monocultures were small capillaries bounded by a single endothelial layer. Conversely, 100% of the plugs embedded with both cell types were highly invaded with multilayered arteriolar vessels. The density of the CD31 + vessels in the EPC and co-culture plugs was 26.6 ± 5.8 and 122.4 ± 9.8 per mm 2 , respectively. No CD31 + cells of human origin were detected in the ASC monocultures, indicating that ASC, which do not express this EC-specific marker, engage murine EC or form pseudovessels in this system. The density of α-SMA + vessels with lumens per mm 2 was 13.1 ± 3.6 (EPC), 10.2 ± 3.5 (ASC) and 124.7 ± 19.7 (co-culture). The total overlap of CD31 + and SMA + vessels demonstrates that mature, multilayered conduits were formed with the co-culture. Moreover, the majority of these vessels were filled with erythrocytes (92.5 ± 16.2 per mm 2 ), indicating inosculation with the native vasculature, which was confirmed by ultrasound with echogenic microbubbles and persisted to at least 4 months. Conclusion This study is the first to demonstrate that non-transformed human EPC and ASC cooperatively form mature and stable vasculature with subsequent functional integration into a host vasculature system.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. G815-G821 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Barada ◽  
S. S. Dika ◽  
S. F. Atweh ◽  
N. E. Saade ◽  
C. F. Nassar

It has recently been shown that capsaicin inhibits alanine absorption in rat jejunum via mechanisms that involve intestinal capsaicin-sensitive primary afferent (CSPA) fibers. This study provides further evidence that the effect of capsaicin is neurally mediated and demonstrates that CSPA fibers regulate Na+-dependent amino acid absorption. In vivo, basal alanine absorption in rats neonatally treated with capsaicin was reduced by 35% below control. Furthermore, intraluminal perfusion of 400 microM capsaicin reduced jejunal alanine absorption by 31% in sham rats but had no significant effect in rats neonatally treated with capsaicin. In vitro, capsaicin significantly reduced uptake of alanine and proline by jejunal strips but had no effect on uptake of lysine. Tetrodotoxin (0.2 microM) partially blocked the effects of capsaicin but did not itself affect alanine absorption. Capsaicin reduced unidirectional mucosal-to-serosal alanine (1 mM) influx by 33%, an effect that becomes significant after 5 min of preincubation with capsaicin. Neonatal capsaicin treatment reduced basal alanine influx in jejunal strips by 37%; however, preincubation of these strips with capsaicin had no significant effect. Kinetic analysis of alanine steady-state uptake and influx by jejunal strips incubated with capsaicin revealed that capsaicin reduced the Na+-dependent component of alanine influx into intestinal epithelial cells. Long-term sensory denervation by capsaicin also decreased the Na+-dependent component of alanine absorption. These data suggest that intestinal capsaicin-sensitive primary afferent fibers regulate Na+-dependent amino acid absorption.


Glycobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon E Mohl ◽  
Thomas A Gerken ◽  
Ming-Ying Leung

Abstract Mucin-type O-glycosylation is one of the most common posttranslational modifications of proteins. The abnormal expression of various polypeptide GalNAc-transferases (GalNAc-Ts) which initiate and define sites of O-glycosylation are linked to many cancers and other diseases. Current O-glycosyation prediction programs utilize O-glycoproteomics data obtained without regard to the transferase isoform (s) responsible for the glycosylation. With 20 different GalNAc-Ts in humans, having an ability to predict and interpret O-glycosylation sites in terms of specific GalNAc-T isoforms is invaluable. To fill this gap, ISOGlyP (Isoform-Specific O-Glycosylation Prediction) has been developed. Using position-specific enhancement values generated based on GalNAc-T isoform-specific amino acid preferences, ISOGlyP predicts the propensity that a site would be glycosylated by a specific transferase. ISOGlyP gave an overall prediction accuracy of 70% against in vivo data, which is comparable to that of the NetOGlyc4.0 predictor. Additionally, ISOGlyP can identify the known effects of long- and short-range prior glycosylation and can generate potential peptide sequences selectively glycosylated by specific isoforms. ISOGlyP is freely available for use at ISOGlyP.utep.edu. The code is also available on GitHub (https://github.com/jonmohl/ISOGlyP).


Mouse embryo cells induced to differentiate with the demethylating agent 5- azacytidine represent an excellent model system to investigate the molecular control of development. Clonal derivatives of 10T1/2 cells that have become determined to the myogenic or adipogenic lineages can be isolated from the multipotential parental line after drug treatment. These determined derivatives can be cultured indefinitely and will differentiate into end-stage phenotypes on appropriate stimulation. A gene called Myo D1, recently isolated from such a myoblast line, will confer myogenesis when expressed in 10T1/2 or other cell types (Davis et al. 1987). The cDNA for Myo D1 contains a large number of CpG sequences and the gene is relatively methylated in 10T1/2 cells and an adipocyte derivative, but is demethylated in myogenic derivatives. Myo D1 may therefore be subject to methylation control in vitro . On the other hand, preliminary observations suggest that Myo D1 is not methylated at CCGG sites in vivo so that a de novo methylation event may have occurred in vitro . These observations may have significance in the establishment of immortal cell lines and tumours.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 4356-4364 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Walsh ◽  
A Sanchez-Pozo ◽  
N S Leleiko

Purines and purine nucleotides were found to affect transcription of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene in whole nuclei isolated from intestinal mucosa of adult rats fed a purine- and purine nucleotide-free diet. Nuclear run-on transcription assays, performed on whole nuclei from different tissues and cell types, identified an intestine-specific decrease in the overall incorporation of [alpha-32P]UTP in HPRT transcripts from intestinal epithelial cell nuclei when exogenous purines or purine nucleotides were omitted from either the diet or culture medium. Using a 990-base-pair genomic fragment that contains the 5'-flanking region from the HPRT gene, we generated plasmid constructs with deletions, transfected the DNA into various cell types, and assayed for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter activity in vitro. We determined that an element upstream from the putative transcriptional start site is necessary to maintain the regulatory response to purine and nucleotide levels in cultured intestinal epithelial cells. These results were tissue and cell type specific and suggest that in the absence of exogenous purines, the presence of specific factors influences transcriptional initiation of HPRT. This information provides evidence for a mechanism by which the intestinal epithelium, which has been reported to lack constitutive levels of de novo purine nucleotide biosynthetic activity, could maintain and regulate the salvage of purines and nucleotides necessary for its high rate of cell and protein turnover during fluctuating nutritional and physiological conditions. Furthermore, this information may provide more insight into regulation of the broad class of genes recognized by their lack of TATA and CCAAT box consensus sequences within the region proximal to the promoter.


2015 ◽  
Vol 212 (13) ◽  
pp. 2253-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles K. Pallangyo ◽  
Paul K. Ziegler ◽  
Florian R. Greten

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) comprise one of the most important cell types in the tumor microenvironment. A proinflammatory NF-κB gene signature in CAFs has been suggested to promote tumorigenesis in models of pancreatic and mammary skin cancer. Using an autochthonous model of colitis-associated cancer (CAC) and sporadic cancer, we now provide evidence for a tumor-suppressive function of IKKβ/NF-κB in CAFs. Fibroblast-restricted deletion of Ikkβ stimulates intestinal epithelial cell proliferation, suppresses tumor cell death, enhances accumulation of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, and induces angiogenesis, ultimately promoting colonic tumor growth. In Ikkβ-deficient fibroblasts, transcription of negative regulators of TGFβ signaling, including Smad7 and Smurf1, is impaired, causing up-regulation of a TGFβ gene signature and elevated hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion. Overexpression of Smad7 in Ikkβ-deficient fibroblasts prevents HGF secretion, and pharmacological inhibition of Met during the CAC model confirms that enhanced tumor promotion is dependent on HGF–Met signaling in mucosa of Ikkβ-mutant animals. Collectively, these results highlight an unexpected tumor suppressive function of IKKβ/NF-κB in CAFs linked to HGF release and raise potential concerns about the use of IKK inhibitors in colorectal cancer patients.


Blood ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 3112-3119
Author(s):  
RJ Jr Kelm ◽  
GA Hair ◽  
KG Mann ◽  
BW Grant

Osteonectin is an adhesive, cell, and extracellular matrix-binding glycoprotein found primarily in the matrix of bone and in blood platelets in vivo. Osteonectins isolated from these two sources differ with respect to the complexity of their constituent N-linked oligosaccharide. In this study, osteonectin synthesized by bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and platelet-producing cells (megakaryocytes) in vitro was analyzed to determine if the proteins produced were analogous in terms of glycosylation to those isolated from bone and platelets, respectively. Immunoblot analyses of osteonectin produced by the osteoblast-like cell lines, SaOS-2 and MG-63, indicated that secreted and intracellular forms of the molecule are structurally distinct. Endoglycosidase treatment and immunoblotting of osteonectin secreted from SaOS-2 and MG-63 cells, under serum-deprived conditions, suggested that the molecule possessed a complex type oligosaccharide unlike the high-mannose moiety found on bone matrix-derived osteonectin. Biosynthetic labeling of SaOS-2 cells and human megakaryocytes indicated that both cell types synthesize osteonectin de novo. Electrophoretic and glycosidase sensitivity analyses of [35S]-osteonectin isolated from lysates of metabolically labeled SaOS-2 cells and megakaryocytes indicated that these two cell types synthesize osteonectin molecules that are identical in oligosaccharide structure to the isolated bone and platelet proteins. These data suggest that the intracellular form of the osteonectin molecule is glycosylated differently in SaOS-2 cells and megakaryocytes but that the extracellular form which is secreted from platelets in vivo and osteoblasts in vitro is characterized by the presence of a complex type N-linked oligosaccharide.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil McCarthy ◽  
Guodong Tie ◽  
Shariq Madha ◽  
Adrianna Maglieri ◽  
Judith Kraiczy ◽  
...  

Wnt and Rspondin (RSPO) signaling triggers proliferation, and bone morphogenetic protein inhibitors (BMPi) impede differentiation, of intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Here we report that the functional ISC niche is a complex, multi-layered mesenchymal structure that includes distinct smooth muscle populations and describe how that niche organizes early in mouse life. Diverse sub-cryptal cells provide redundant supportive factors, with distinct BMPi and the most potent Wnt agonist, RSPO2, restricted to single cell types. Two functionally opposing elements arise in tandem during a critical period of crypt morphogenesis: a prominent shelf of BMP+ sub-epithelial myofibroblasts that promote epithelial differentiation and the muscularis mucosae, a specialized muscle layer generated de novo to supplement other RSPO and BMPi sources. In vivo ablation of smooth muscle, while preserving trophocytes, raises crypt BMP activity and potently limits crypt expansion. Thus, distinct and progressively refined mesenchymal components together create the milieu necessary to propagate crypts during rapid organ growth and to sustain ISCs in the adult niche.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Liu ◽  
Ye-Guang Chen

AbstractThe intestinal epithelium possesses a great capacity of self-renewal under normal homeostatic conditions and of regeneration upon damages. The renewal and regenerative processes are driven by intestinal stem cells (ISCs), which reside at the base of crypts and are marked by Lgr5. As Lgr5+ ISCs undergo fast cycling and are vulnerable to damages, there must be other types of cells that can replenish the lost Lgr5+ ISCs and then regenerate the damage epithelium. In addition to Lgr5+ ISCs, quiescent ISCs at the + 4 position in the crypt have been proposed to convert to Lgr5+ ISCs during regeneration. However, this “reserve stem cell” model still remains controversial. Different from the traditional view of a hierarchical organization of the intestinal epithelium, recent works support the dynamic “dedifferentiation” model, in which various cell types within the epithelium can de-differentiate to revert to the stem cell state and then regenerate the epithelium upon tissue injury. Here, we provide an overview of the cell identity and features of two distinct models and discuss the possible mechanisms underlying the intestinal epithelial plasticity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document