scholarly journals PPARgamma in Metabolism, Immunity, and Cancer: Unified and Diverse Mechanisms of Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Hernandez-Quiles ◽  
Marjoleine F. Broekema ◽  
Eric Kalkhoven
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
And Function ◽  
Cancer And Inflammation

The proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is one of the most extensively studied ligand-inducible transcription factors. Since its identification in the early 1990s, PPARγ is best known for its critical role in adipocyte differentiation, maintenance, and function. Emerging evidence indicates that PPARγ is also important for the maturation and function of various immune system-related cell types, such as monocytes/macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes. Furthermore, PPARγ controls cell proliferation in various other tissues and organs, including colon, breast, prostate, and bladder, and dysregulation of PPARγ signaling is linked to tumor development in these organs. Recent studies have shed new light on PPARγ (dys)function in these three biological settings, showing unified and diverse mechanisms of action. Classical transactivation—where PPARγ activates genes upon binding to PPAR response elements as a heterodimer with RXRα—is important in all three settings, as underscored by natural loss-of-function mutations in FPLD3 and loss- and gain-of-function mutations in tumors. Transrepression—where PPARγ alters gene expression independent of DNA binding—is particularly relevant in immune cells. Interestingly, gene translocations resulting in fusion of PPARγ with other gene products, which are unique to specific carcinomas, present a third mode of action, as they potentially alter PPARγ’s target gene profile. Improved understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying PPARγ activity in the complex regulatory networks in metabolism, cancer, and inflammation may help to define novel potential therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes, or cancer.

scholarly journals Developmental loss of MeCP2 from VIP interneurons impairs cortical function and behavior

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M Mossner ◽  
Renata Batista-Brito ◽  
Rima Pant ◽  
Jessica A Cardin
Keyword(s):  
Rett Syndrome ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Behavioral Phenotypes ◽  
Pathophysiological Role ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Behavior

Rett Syndrome is a devastating neurodevelopmental disorder resulting from mutations in the gene MECP2. Mutations of Mecp2 that are restricted to GABAergic cell types largely replicate the behavioral phenotypes associated with mouse models of Rett Syndrome, suggesting a pathophysiological role for inhibitory interneurons. Recent work has suggested that vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) interneurons may play a critical role in the proper development and function of cortical circuits, making them a potential key point of vulnerability in neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known about the role of VIP interneurons in Rett Syndrome. Here we find that loss of MeCP2 specifically from VIP interneurons replicates key neural and behavioral phenotypes observed following global Mecp2 loss of function.

scholarly journals AKT1-CREB stimulation of PDGFRα expression is pivotal for PTEN deficient tumor development

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Wan ◽  
Meng Zhou ◽  
Fuqiang Huang ◽  
Na Zhao ◽  
Xu Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Akt Inhibitor ◽  
Human Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Direct Binding

AbstractAs evidenced by the behavior of loss-of-function mutants of PTEN in the context of a gain-of-function mutation of AKT1, the PTEN-AKT1 signaling pathway plays a critical role in human cancers. In this study, we demonstrated that a deficiency in PTEN or activation of AKT1 potentiated the expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα) based on studies on Pten−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts, human cancer cell lines, the hepatic tissues of Pten conditional knockout mice, and human cancer tissues. Loss of PTEN enhanced PDGFRα expression via activation of the AKT1-CREB signaling cascade. CREB transactivated PDGFRα expression by direct binding of the promoter of the PDGFRα gene. Depletion of PDGFRα attenuated the tumorigenicity of Pten-null cells in nude mice. Moreover, the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway has been shown to positively correlate with PDGFRα expression in multiple cancers. Augmented PDGFRα was associated with poor survival of cancer patients. Lastly, combination treatment with the AKT inhibitor MK-2206 and the PDGFR inhibitor CP-673451 displayed synergistic anti-tumor effects. Therefore, activation of the AKT1-CREB-PDGFRα signaling pathway contributes to the tumor growth induced by PTEN deficiency and should be targeted for cancer treatment.

Form and Function in Cells of the Brain

The Neuron ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Irwin B. Levitan ◽  
Leonard K. Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Axonal Transport ◽  
Molecular Motors ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Neuronal Cell Body ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Brain

This chapter examines unique mechanisms that the neuron has evolved to establish and maintain the form required for its specialized signaling functions. Unlike some other organs, the brain contains a variety of cell types including several classes of glial cells, which play a critical role in the formation of the myelin sheath around axons and may be involved in immune responses, synaptic transmission, and long-distance calcium signaling in the brain. Neurons share many features in common with other cells (including glia), but they are distinguished by their highly asymmetrical shapes. The neuronal cytoskeleton is essential for establishing this cell shape during development and for maintaining it in adulthood. The process of axonal transport moves vesicles and other organelles to regions remote from the neuronal cell body. Proteins such as kinesin and dynein, called molecular motors, make use of the energy released by hydrolysis of ATP to drive axonal transport.

scholarly journals Mutations in the cofilin partner Aip1/Wdr1 cause autoinflammatory disease and macrothrombocytopenia

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 2371-2380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin T. Kile ◽  
Athanasia D. Panopoulos ◽  
Roslynn A. Stirzaker ◽  
Douglas F. Hacking ◽  
Lubna H. Tahtamouni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autoinflammatory Disease ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Allelic Series ◽  
Interacting Protein ◽  
Normal Platelet ◽  
Cytoskeletal Responses ◽  
Hypomorphic Alleles ◽  
And Function

A pivotal mediator of actin dynamics is the protein cofilin, which promotes filament severing and depolymerization, facilitating the breakdown of existing filaments, and the enhancement of filament growth from newly created barbed ends. It does so in concert with actin interacting protein 1 (Aip1), which serves to accelerate cofilin's activity. While progress has been made in understanding its biochemical functions, the physiologic processes the cofilin/Aip1 complex regulates, particularly in higher organisms, are yet to be determined. We have generated an allelic series for WD40 repeat protein 1 (Wdr1), the mammalian homolog of Aip1, and report that reductions in Wdr1 function produce a dramatic phenotype gradient. While severe loss of function at the Wdr1 locus causes embryonic lethality, macrothrombocytopenia and autoinflammatory disease develop in mice carrying hypomorphic alleles. Macrothrombocytopenia is the result of megakaryocyte maturation defects, which lead to a failure of normal platelet shedding. Autoinflammatory disease, which is bone marrow–derived yet nonlymphoid in origin, is characterized by a massive infiltration of neutrophils into inflammatory lesions. Cytoskeletal responses are impaired in Wdr1 mutant neutrophils. These studies establish an essential requirement for Wdr1 in megakaryocytes and neutrophils, indicating that cofilin-mediated actin dynamics are critically important to the development and function of both cell types.

scholarly journals Golgi spectrin: identification of an erythroid beta-spectrin homolog associated with the Golgi complex.

1994 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 707-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Beck ◽  
J A Buchanan ◽  
V Malhotra ◽  
W J Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Golgi Complex ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Brefeldin A ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Golgi Membranes ◽  
Golgi Structure ◽  
And Function

Spectrin is a major component of a membrane-associated cytoskeleton involved in the maintenance of membrane structural integrity and the generation of functionally distinct membrane protein domains. Here, we show that a homolog of erythrocyte beta-spectrin (beta I sigma*) co-localizes with markers of the Golgi complex in a variety of cell types, and that microinjected beta-spectrin codistributes with elements of the Golgi complex. Significantly, we show a dynamic relationship between beta-spectrin and the structural and functional organization of the Golgi complex. Disruption of both Golgi structure and function, either in mitotic cells or following addition of brefeldin A, is accompanied by loss of beta-spectrin from Golgi membranes and dispersal in the cytoplasm. In contrast, perturbation of Golgi structure without a loss of function, by the addition of nocodazole, results in retention of beta-spectrin with the dispersed Golgi elements. These results indicate that the association of beta-spectrin with Golgi membranes is coupled to Golgi organization and function.

scholarly journals Hypoxia. 4. Hypoxia and ion channel function

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (5) ◽  
pp. C951-C967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa A. Shimoda ◽  
Jan Polak
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cardiac Contractility ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Oxygen Sensitive ◽  
Sense And Respond ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Control

The ability to sense and respond to oxygen deprivation is required for survival; thus, understanding the mechanisms by which changes in oxygen are linked to cell viability and function is of great importance. Ion channels play a critical role in regulating cell function in a wide variety of biological processes, including neuronal transmission, control of ventilation, cardiac contractility, and control of vasomotor tone. Since the 1988 discovery of oxygen-sensitive potassium channels in chemoreceptors, the effect of hypoxia on an assortment of ion channels has been studied in an array of cell types. In this review, we describe the effects of both acute and sustained hypoxia (continuous and intermittent) on mammalian ion channels in several tissues, the mode of action, and their contribution to diverse cellular processes.

scholarly journals GM-CSF: Orchestrating the Pulmonary Response to Infection

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. McCormick ◽  
Rana B. Hejal ◽  
Luis O. Leal ◽  
Mahmoud A. Ghannoum
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Alveolar Epithelium ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Adjunctive Treatment ◽  
Gm Csf ◽  
Lung Physiology ◽  
Pulmonary Immune System ◽  
And Function

This review summarizes the structure and function of the alveolar unit, comprised of alveolar macrophage and epithelial cell types that work in tandem to respond to infection. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) helps to maintain the alveolar epithelium and pulmonary immune system under physiological conditions and plays a critical role in restoring homeostasis under pathologic conditions, including infection. Given the emergence of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome, understanding basic lung physiology in infectious diseases is especially warranted. This review summarizes clinical and preclinical data for GM-CSF in respiratory infections, and the rationale for sargramostim (yeast-derived recombinant human [rhu] GM-CSF) as adjunctive treatment for COVID-19 and other pulmonary infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Emerging concepts and future challenges in innate lymphoid cell biology

2016 ◽  
Vol 213 (11) ◽  
pp. 2229-2248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elia D. Tait Wojno ◽  
David Artis
Keyword(s):  
Immune Cells ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Lymphoid Cells ◽  
Adaptive Immune Cells ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Basic Studies ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
And Function

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are innate immune cells that are ubiquitously distributed in lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues and enriched at mucosal and barrier surfaces. Three major ILC subsets are recognized in mice and humans. Each of these subsets interacts with innate and adaptive immune cells and integrates cues from the epithelium, the microbiota, and pathogens to regulate inflammation, immunity, tissue repair, and metabolic homeostasis. Although intense study has elucidated many aspects of ILC development, phenotype, and function, numerous challenges remain in the field of ILC biology. In particular, recent work has highlighted key new questions regarding how these cells communicate with their environment and other cell types during health and disease. This review summarizes new findings in this rapidly developing field that showcase the critical role ILCs play in directing immune responses through their ability to interact with a variety of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells. In addition, we define remaining challenges and emerging questions facing the field. Finally, this review discusses the potential application of basic studies of ILC biology to the development of new treatments for human patients with inflammatory and infectious diseases in which ILCs play a role.

scholarly journals Critical role for scaffolding adapter Gab2 in FcγR-mediated phagocytosis

2003 ◽  
Vol 161 (6) ◽  
pp. 1151-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haihua Gu ◽  
Roberto J. Botelho ◽  
Min Yu ◽  
Sergio Grinstein ◽  
Benjamin G. Neel
Keyword(s):  
De Novo ◽  
Lipid Production ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Regulatory Subunit ◽  
Pleckstrin Homology Domain ◽  
Downstream Target ◽  
Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase ◽  
And Function ◽  
Auxiliary Role

Grb2-associated binder 2 (Gab2), a member of the Dos/Gab subfamily scaffolding molecules, plays important roles in regulating the growth, differentiation, and function of many hematopoietic cell types. In this paper, we reveal a novel function of Gab2 in Fcγ receptor (FcγR)–initiated phagocytosis in macrophages. Upon FcγR activation, Gab2 becomes tyrosyl phosphorylated and associated with p85, the regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the protein–tyrosine phosphatidylinositol Shp-2. FcγR-mediated phagocytosis is severely impaired in bone marrow–derived macrophages from Gab2−/− mice. The defect in phagocytosis correlates with decreased FcγR-evoked activation of Akt, a downstream target of PI3K. Using confocal fluorescence microscopy, we find that Gab2 is recruited to the nascent phagosome, where de novo PI3K lipid production occurs. Gab2 recruitment requires the pleckstrin homology domain of Gab2 and is sensitive to treatment with the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin. The Grb2 binding site on Gab2 also plays an auxiliary role in recruitment to the phagosome. Because PI3K activity is required for FcγR-mediated phagocytosis, our results indicate that Gab2 acts as a key component of FcγR-mediated phagocytosis, most likely by amplifying PI3K signaling in the nascent phagosome.

scholarly journals Notch–RBP-J signaling controls the homeostasis of CD8− dendritic cells in the spleen

2007 ◽  
Vol 204 (7) ◽  
pp. 1653-1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele L. Caton ◽  
Matthew R. Smith-Raska ◽  
Boris Reizis
Keyword(s):  
Target Gene ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Notch Pathway ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Receptor Ligands ◽  
Notch Receptors ◽  
And Function

Signaling through Notch receptors and their transcriptional effector RBP-J is essential for lymphocyte development and function, whereas its role in other immune cell types is unclear. We tested the function of the canonical Notch–RBP-J pathway in dendritic cell (DC) development and maintenance in vivo. Genetic inactivation of RBP-J in the bone marrow did not preclude DC lineage commitment but caused the reduction of splenic DC fraction. The inactivation of RBP-J in DCs using a novel DC-specific deleter strain caused selective loss of the splenic CD8− DC subset and reduced the frequency of cytokine-secreting CD8− DCs after challenge with Toll-like receptor ligands. In contrast, other splenic DC subsets and DCs in the lymph nodes and tissues were unaffected. The RBP-J–deficient splenic CD8− DCs were depleted at the postprogenitor stage, exhibited increased apoptosis, and lost the expression of the Notch target gene Deltex1. In the spleen, CD8− DCs were found adjacent to cells expressing the Notch ligand Delta-like 1 in the marginal zone (MZ). Thus, canonical Notch–RBP-J signaling controls the maintenance of CD8− DCs in the splenic MZ, revealing an unexpected role of the Notch pathway in the innate immune system.

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