Role of Mammalian Rad54 in Telomere Length Maintenance

ABSTRACT The homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway participates in telomere length maintenance in yeast but its putative role at mammalian telomeres is unknown. Mammalian Rad54 is part of the HR machinery, and Rad54-deficient mice show a reduced HR capability. Here, we show that Rad54-deficient mice also show significantly shorter telomeres than wild-type controls, indicating that Rad54 activity plays an essential role in telomere length maintenance in mammals. Rad54 deficiency also resulted in an increased frequency of end-to-end chromosome fusions involving telomeres compared to the controls, suggesting a putative role of Rad54 in telomere capping. Finally, the study of mice doubly deficient for Rad54 and DNA-PKcs showed that telomere fusions due to DNA-PKcs deficiency were not rescued in the absence of Rad54, suggesting that they are not mediated by Rad54 activity.

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Regulation of the cognitive aging process by the transcriptional repressor RP58

10.1101/2021.09.18.460879 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tomoko Tanaka ◽

Shinobu Hirai ◽

Hiroyuki Manabe ◽

Kentaro Endo ◽

Hiroko Shimbo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Damage ◽

Dna Repair ◽

Knockout Mice ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Critical Role ◽

Harmful Effect ◽

Transcriptional Repressor ◽

Repair Pathway ◽

Wild Type

Aging involves a decline in physiology which is a natural event in all living organisms. An accumulation of DNA damage contributes to the progression of aging. DNA is continually damaged by exogenous sources and endogenous sources. If the DNA repair pathway operates normally, DNA damage is not life threatening. However, impairments of the DNA repair pathway may result in an accumulation of DNA damage, which has a harmful effect on health and causes an onset of pathology. RP58, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor, plays a critical role in cerebral cortex formation. Recently, it has been reported that the expression level of RP58 decreases in the aged human cortex. Furthermore, the role of RP58 in DNA damage is inferred by the involvement of DNMT3, which acts as a co-repressor for RP58, in DNA damage. Therefore, RP58 may play a crucial role in the DNA damage associated with aging. In the present study, we investigated the role of RP58 in aging. We used RP58 hetero-knockout and wild-type mice in adolescence, adulthood, or old age. We performed immunohistochemistry to determine whether microglia and DNA damage markers responded to the decline in RP58 levels. Furthermore, we performed an object location test to measure cognitive function, which decline with age. We found that the wild-type mice showed an increase in single-stranded DNA and gamma-H2AX foci. These results indicate an increase in DNA damage or dysfunction of DNA repair mechanisms in the hippocampus as age-related changes. Furthermore, we found that, with advancing age, both the wild-type and hetero-knockout mice showed an impairment of spatial memory for the object and increase in reactive microglia in the hippocampus. However, the RP58 hetero-knockout mice showed these symptoms earlier than the wild-type mice did. These results suggest that a decline in RP58 level may lead to the progression of aging.

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Essential Role of Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB–Inducing Kinase and Inhibitor of κb (Iκb) Kinase α in Nf-κb Activation through Lymphotoxin β Receptor, but Not through Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor I

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.193.5.631 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 193 (5) ◽

pp. 631-636 ◽

Cited By ~ 155

Author(s):

Akemi Matsushima ◽

Tsuneyasu Kaisho ◽

Paul D. Rennert ◽

Hiroyasu Nakano ◽

Kyoko Kurosawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tumor Necrosis ◽

Essential Role ◽

Nuclear Factor ◽

Wild Type ◽

Embryonic Fibroblasts ◽

Iκb Kinase ◽

Β Receptor ◽

Deficient Mice ◽

Necrosis Factor

Both nuclear factor (NF)-κB–inducing kinase (NIK) and inhibitor of κB (IκB) kinase (IKK) have been implicated as essential components for NF-κB activation in response to many external stimuli. However, the exact roles of NIK and IKKα in cytokine signaling still remain controversial. With the use of in vivo mouse models, rather than with enforced gene-expression systems, we have investigated the role of NIK and IKKα in signaling through the type I tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor (TNFR-I) and the lymphotoxin β receptor (LTβR), a receptor essential for lymphoid organogenesis. TNF stimulation induced similar levels of phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα in embryonic fibroblasts from either wild-type or NIK-mutant mice. In contrast, LTβR stimulation induced NF-κB activation in wild-type mice, but the response was impaired in embryonic fibroblasts from NIK-mutant and IKKα-deficient mice. Consistent with the essential role of IKKα in LTβR signaling, we found that development of Peyer's patches was defective in IKKα-deficient mice. These results demonstrate that both NIK and IKKα are essential for the induction of NF-κB through LTβR, whereas the NIK–IKKα pathway is dispensable in TNFR-I signaling.

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Analysis of mice carrying targeted mutations of the glucocorticoid receptor gene argues against an essential role of glucocorticoid signalling for generating adrenal chromaffin cells

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.126.13.2935 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 126 (13) ◽

pp. 2935-2944 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Finotto ◽

K. Krieglstein ◽

A. Schober ◽

F. Deimling ◽

K. Lindner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glucocorticoid Receptor ◽

Chromaffin Cells ◽

Essential Role ◽

Adrenal Chromaffin Cells ◽

Wild Type ◽

Sympathetic Neurones ◽

Adrenal Chromaffin ◽

Deficient Mice

Molecular mechanisms underlying the generation of distinct cell phenotypes is a key issue in developmental biology. A major paradigm of determination of neural cell fate concerns the development of sympathetic neurones and neuroendocrine chromaffin cells from a common sympathoadrenal (SA) progenitor cell. Two decades of in vitro experiments have suggested an essential role of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-mediated signalling in generating chromaffin cells. Targeted mutation of the GR should consequently abolish chromaffin cells. The present analysis of mice lacking GR gene product demonstrates that animals have normal numbers of adrenal chromaffin cells. Moreover, there are no differences in terms of apoptosis and proliferation or in expression of several markers (e.g. GAP43, acetylcholinesterase, adhesion molecule L1) of chromaffin cells in GR-deficient and wild-type mice. However, GR mutant mice lack the adrenaline-synthesizing enzyme PNMT and secretogranin II. Chromaffin cells of GR-deficient mice exhibit the typical ultrastructural features of this cell phenotype, including the large chromaffin granules that distinguish them from sympathetic neurones. Peripherin, an intermediate filament of sympathetic neurones, is undetectable in chromaffin cells of GR mutants. Finally, when stimulated with nerve growth factor in vitro, identical proportions of chromaffin cells from GR-deficient and wild-type mice extend neuritic processes. We conclude that important phenotypic features of chromaffin cells that distinguish them from sympathetic neurones develop normally in the absence of GR-mediated signalling. Most importantly, chromaffin cells in GR-deficient mice do not convert to a neuronal phenotype. These data strongly suggest that the dogma of an essential role of glucocorticoid signalling for the development of chromaffin cells must be abandoned.

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Essential role of glucose transporter GLUT3 for post-implantation embryonic development

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe-08-0262 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 200 (1) ◽

pp. 23-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

S Schmidt ◽

A Hommel ◽

V Gawlik ◽

R Augustin ◽

N Junicke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Essential Role ◽

Glucose Transporter ◽

Growth Arrest ◽

Complete Loss ◽

Transporter Gene ◽

Wild Type ◽

Post Implantation ◽

Time Point

Deletion of glucose transporter geneSlc2a3(GLUT3) has previously been reported to result in embryonic lethality. Here, we define the exact time point of growth arrest and subsequent death of the embryo.Slc2a3−/−morulae and blastocysts developed normally, implantedin vivo, and formed egg-cylinder-stage embryos that appeared normal until day 6.0. At day 6.5, apoptosis was detected in the ectodermal cells ofSlc2a3−/−embryos resulting in severe disorganization and growth retardation at day 7.5 and complete loss of embryos at day 12.5. GLUT3 was detected in placental cone, in the visceral ectoderm and in the mesoderm of 7.5-day-old wild-type embryos. Our data indicate that GLUT3 is essential for the development of early post-implanted embryos.

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Systems Modeling of the Role of Interleukin-21 in the Maintenance of Effector CD4+ T Cell Responses during Chronic Helicobacter pylori Infection

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.01243-14 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Adria Carbo ◽

Danyvid Olivares-Villagómez ◽

Raquel Hontecillas ◽

Josep Bassaganya-Riera ◽

Rupesh Chaturvedi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Helicobacter Pylori ◽

T Cell ◽

Wild Type ◽

Content Type ◽

Interleukin 21 ◽

H Pylori ◽

Deficient Mice

ABSTRACTThe development of gastritis duringHelicobacter pyloriinfection is dependent on an activated adaptive immune response orchestrated by T helper (Th) cells. However, the relative contributions of the Th1 and Th17 subsets to gastritis and control of infection are still under investigation. To investigate the role of interleukin-21 (IL-21) in the gastric mucosa duringH. pyloriinfection, we combined mathematical modeling of CD4+T cell differentiation within vivomechanistic studies. We infected IL-21-deficient and wild-type mice withH. pyloristrain SS1 and assessed colonization, gastric inflammation, cellular infiltration, and cytokine profiles. ChronicallyH. pylori-infected IL-21-deficient mice had higherH. pyloricolonization, significantly less gastritis, and reduced expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared to these parameters in infected wild-type littermates. Thesein vivodata were used to calibrate anH. pyloriinfection-dependent, CD4+T cell-specific computational model, which then described the mechanism by which IL-21 activates the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and IL-17 during chronicH. pyloriinfection. The model predicted activated expression of T-bet and RORγt and the phosphorylation of STAT3 and STAT1 and suggested a potential role of IL-21 in the modulation of IL-10. Driven by our modeling-derived predictions, we found reduced levels of CD4+splenocyte-specifictbx21androrcexpression, reduced phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3, and an increase in CD4+T cell-specific IL-10 expression inH. pylori-infected IL-21-deficient mice. Our results indicate that IL-21 regulates Th1 and Th17 effector responses during chronicH. pyloriinfection in a STAT1- and STAT3-dependent manner, therefore playing a major role controllingH. pyloriinfection and gastritis.IMPORTANCEHelicobacter pyloriis the dominant member of the gastric microbiota in more than 50% of the world’s population.H. pyloricolonization has been implicated in gastritis and gastric cancer, as infection withH. pyloriis the single most common risk factor for gastric cancer. Current data suggest that, in addition to bacterial virulence factors, the magnitude and types of immune responses influence the outcome of colonization and chronic infection. This study uses a combined computational and experimental approach to investigate how IL-21, a proinflammatory T cell-derived cytokine, maintains the chronic proinflammatory T cell immune response driving chronic gastritis duringH. pyloriinfection. This research will also provide insight into a myriad of other infectious and immune disorders in which IL-21 is increasingly recognized to play a central role. The use of IL-21-related therapies may provide treatment options for individuals chronically colonized withH. pylorias an alternative to aggressive antibiotics.

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Selected Contribution: Differential role of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in fever of different etiologies: studies using Nosgene-deficient mice

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.01042.2002 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 94 (6) ◽

pp. 2534-2544 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Wieslaw Kozak ◽

Anna Kozak

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽

Corn Oil ◽

Normal Male ◽

Wild Type ◽

Oxide Synthase ◽

And Control ◽

Nos Isoforms ◽

Deficient Mice

Male C57BL/6J mice deficient in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes (knockout) and control (wild-type) mice were implanted intra-abdominally with battery-operated miniature biotelemeters (model VMFH MiniMitter, Sunriver, OR) to monitor changes in body temperature. Intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 50 μg/kg) was used to trigger fever in response to systemic inflammation in mice. To induce a febrile response to localized inflammation, the mice were injected subcutaneously with pure turpentine oil (30 μl/animal) into the left hindlimb. Oral administration (gavage) of N G-monomethyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA) for 3 days (80 mg · kg−1 · day−1in corn oil) before injection of pyrogens was used to inhibit all three NOSs ( N G-monomethyl-d-arginine acetate salt and corn oil were used as control). In normal male C57BL/6J mice, l-NMMA inhibited the LPS-induced fever by ∼60%, whereas it augmented fever by ∼65% in mice injected with turpentine. Challenging the respective NOS knockout mice with LPS and with l-NMMA revealed that inducible NOS and neuronal NOS isoforms are responsible for the induction of fever to LPS, whereas endothelial NOS (eNOS) is not involved. In contrast, none of the NOS isoforms appeared to trigger fever to turpentine. Inhibition of eNOS, however, exacerbates fever in mice treated with l-NMMA and turpentine, indicating that eNOS participates in the antipyretic mechanism. These data support the hypothesis that nitric oxide is a regulator of fever. Its action differs, however, depending on the pyrogen used and the NOS isoform.

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Insights on the mechanisms of Ca2+ regulation of connexin26 hemichannels revealed by human pathogenic mutations (D50N/Y)

The Journal of General Physiology ◽

10.1085/jgp.201210893 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 142 (1) ◽

pp. 23-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

William Lopez ◽

Jorge Gonzalez ◽

Yu Liu ◽

Andrew L. Harris ◽

Jorge E. Contreras

Keyword(s):

Essential Role ◽

Negative Charge ◽

Salt Bridge ◽

Cysteine Residue ◽

Wild Type ◽

Closed State ◽

Large Size ◽

Deactivation Kinetics ◽

Connexin Hemichannel

Because of the large size and modest selectivity of the connexin hemichannel aqueous pore, hemichannel opening must be highly regulated to maintain cell viability. At normal resting potentials, this regulation is achieved predominantly by the physiological extracellular Ca2+ concentration, which drastically reduces hemichannel activity. Here, we characterize the Ca2+ regulation of channels formed by wild-type human connexin26 (hCx26) and its human mutations, D50N/Y, that cause aberrant hemichannel opening and result in deafness and skin disorders. We found that in hCx26 wild-type channels, deactivation kinetics are accelerated as a function of Ca2+ concentration, indicating that Ca2+ facilitates transition to, and stabilizes, the closed state of the hemichannels. The D50N/Y mutant hemichannels show lower apparent affinities for Ca2+-induced closing than wild-type channels and have more rapid deactivation kinetics, which are Ca2+ insensitive. These results suggest that D50 plays a role in (a) stabilizing the open state in the absence of Ca2+, and (b) facilitating closing and stabilization of the closed state in the presence of Ca2+. To explore the role of a negatively charged residue at position 50 in regulation by Ca2+, this position was substituted with a cysteine residue, which was then modified with a negatively charged methanethiosulfonate reagent, sodium (2-sulfanoethyl) methanethiosulfonate (MTSES)−. D50C mutant hemichannels display properties similar to those of D50N/Y mutants. Recovery of the negative charge with chemical modification by MTSES− restores the wild-type Ca2+ regulation of the channels. These results confirm the essential role of a negative charge at position 50 for Ca2+ regulation. Additionally, charge-swapping mutagenesis studies suggest involvement of a salt bridge interaction between D50 and K61 in the adjacent connexin subunit in stabilizing the open state in low extracellular Ca2+. Mutant cycle analysis supports a Ca2+-sensitive interaction between these two residues in the open state of the channel. We propose that disruption of this interaction by extracellular Ca2+ destabilizes the open state and facilitates hemichannel closing. Our data provide a mechanistic understanding of how mutations at position 50 that cause human diseases are linked to dysfunction of hemichannel gating by external Ca2+.

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Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α–deficient Mice Are Resistant to Collagen-induced Arthritis

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.20030016 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 197 (10) ◽

pp. 1297-1302 ◽

Cited By ~ 105

Author(s):

Martin Hegen ◽

Linhong Sun ◽

Naonori Uozumi ◽

Kazuhiko Kume ◽

Mary E. Goad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Critical Role ◽

Wild Type ◽

Collagen Induced Arthritis ◽

Cytosolic Phospholipase ◽

Severity Scores ◽

In The Wild ◽

Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α ◽

Antibody Levels ◽

Deficient Mice

Pathogenic mechanisms relevant to rheumatoid arthritis occur in the mouse model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) releases arachidonic acid from cell membranes to initiate the production of prostaglandins and leukotrienes. These inflammatory mediators have been implicated in the development of CIA. To test the hypothesis that cPLA2α plays a key role in the development of CIA, we backcrossed cPLA2α-deficient mice on the DBA/1LacJ background that is susceptible to CIA. The disease severity scores and the incidence of disease were markedly reduced in cPLA2α-deficient mice compared with wild-type littermates. At completion of the study, >90% of the wild-type mice had developed disease whereas none of the cPLA2α-deficient mice had more than one digit inflamed. Furthermore, visual disease scores correlated with severity of disease determined histologically. Pannus formation, articular fibrillation, and ankylosis were all dramatically reduced in the cPLA2α-deficient mice. Although the disease scores differed significantly between cPLA2α mutant and wild-type mice, anti-collagen antibody levels were similar in the wild-type mice and mutant littermates. These data demonstrate the critical role of cPLA2α in the pathogenesis of CIA.

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Leukocyte-type 12-lipoxygenase-deficient mice show impaired ischemic preconditioning-induced cardioprotection

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.2001.280.5.h1963 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 280 (5) ◽

pp. H1963-H1969 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Scott A. Gabel ◽

Robert E. London ◽

Colin D. Funk ◽

Charles Steenbergen ◽

Elizabeth Murphy

Keyword(s):

Left Ventricular ◽

Rate Pressure Product ◽

Wild Type ◽

Initial Value ◽

Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride ◽

Developed Pressure ◽

12 Lipoxygenase ◽

Postischemic Recovery ◽

Deficient Mice

To investigate the role of 12-lipoxygenase in preconditioning, we examined whether hearts lacking the “leukocyte-type” 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOKO) would be protected by preconditioning. In hearts from wild-type (WT) and 12-LOKO mice, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and 31P NMR were monitored during treatment (±preconditioning) and during global ischemia and reperfusion. Postischemic function (rate-pressure product, percentage of initial value) measured after 20 min of ischemia and 40 min of reperfusion was significantly improved by preconditioning in WT hearts (78 ± 12% in preconditioned vs. 44 ± 7% in nonpreconditioned hearts) but not in 12-LOKO hearts (47 ± 7% in preconditioned vs. 33 ± 10% in nonpreconditioned hearts). Postischemic recovery of phosphocreatine was significantly better in WT preconditioned hearts than in 12-LOKO preconditioned hearts. Preconditioning significantly reduced the fall in intracellular pH during sustained ischemia in both WT and 12-LOKO hearts, suggesting that attenuation of the fall in pH during ischemia can be dissociated from preconditioning-induced protection. Necrosis was assessed after 25 min of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. In WT hearts, preconditioning significantly reduced the area of necrosis (26 ± 4%) compared with nonpreconditioned hearts (62 ± 10%) but not in 12-LOKO hearts (85 ± 3% in preconditioned vs. 63 ± 11% in nonpreconditioned hearts). Preconditioning resulted in a significant increase in 12( S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid in WT but not in 12-LOKO hearts. These data demonstrate that 12-lipoxygenase is important in preconditioning.

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Generation of a Mouse Model for Arginase II Deficiency by Targeted Disruption of the Arginase II Gene

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.21.3.811-813.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 811-813 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

Ou Shi ◽

Sidney M. Morris ◽

Huda Zoghbi ◽

Carl W. Porter ◽

William E. O'Brien

Keyword(s):

Urea Cycle ◽

Elevated Plasma ◽

Wild Type ◽

Targeted Disruption ◽

Arginase Ii ◽

Plasma Arginine ◽

Physiologic Role ◽

Deficient Mice ◽

Arginase I

ABSTRACT Mammals express two isoforms of arginase, designated types I and II. Arginase I is a component of the urea cycle, and inherited defects in arginase I have deleterious consequences in humans. In contrast, the physiologic role of arginase II has not been defined, and no deficiencies in arginase II have been identified in humans. Mice with a disruption in the arginase II gene were created to investigate the role of this enzyme. Homozygous arginase II-deficient mice were viable and apparently indistinguishable from wild-type mice, except for an elevated plasma arginine level which indicates that arginase II plays an important role in arginine homeostasis.

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