scholarly journals G protein-coupled receptors in stem cell maintenance and somatic reprogramming to pluripotent or cancer stem cells

BMB Reports ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Yeon Choi ◽  
Subbroto Kumar Saha ◽  
Kyeongseok Kim ◽  
Sangsu Kim ◽  
Gwang-Mo Yang ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi23-vi24
Author(s):  
Kelly Mitchell ◽  
Joseph Alvarado ◽  
Christopher Goins ◽  
Steven Martinez ◽  
Jonathan Macdonald ◽  
...  

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) progression and resistance to conventional therapies is driven in part by cells within the tumor with stem cell properties including quiescence, self-renewal and drug efflux potential. It is thought that eliminating these cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a key component to successful clinical management of GBM. However, currently, few known molecular mechanisms driving CSCs can be exploited for therapeutic development. Core transcription factors such as SOX2, OLIG2, OCT4 and NANOG maintain the CSC state in GBM. Our laboratory recently uncovered a self-renewal signaling axis involving RBBP5 that is necessary and sufficient for CSC maintenance through driving expression of these core stem cell maintenance transcription factors. RBBP5 is a component of the WRAD complex, which promotes Lys4 methylation of histone H3 to positively regulate transcription. We hypothesized that targeting RBBP5 could be a means to disrupt epigenetic programs that maintain CSCs in stemness transcriptional states. We found that genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of the WRAD complex reduced CSC growth, self-renewal and tumor initiation potential. WRAD inhibitors partially dissembled the WRAD complex and reduced H3K4 trimethylation both globally and at the promoters of key stem cell maintenance transcription factors. Using a CSC reporter system, we demonstrated that WRAD complex inhibition decreased growth of SOX2/OCT4 expressing CSCs in a concentration-dependent manner as quantified by live imaging. Overall, our studies assess the function of the WRAD complex and the effect of WRAD complex inhibitors in preclinical models and specifically on the stem cell state for the first time in GBM. Studying the functions of the WRAD complex in CSCs may improve understanding of GBM pathogenesis and elucidate how CSCs survive despite aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. Our ongoing studies aim to develop brain penetrant inhibitors targeting the WRAD complex as an anti-CSC strategy that could potentially synergize with standard of care treatments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (17) ◽  
pp. 1952-1963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhong Jiang ◽  
Xin Zhuo ◽  
Canquan Mao

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are highly expressed on a variety of tumour tissues while several GPCR exogenous ligands become marketed pharmaceuticals. In recent decades, cancer stem cells (CSCs) become widely investigated drug targets for cancer therapy but the underlying mechanism is still not fully elucidated. There are vigorous participations of GPCRs in CSCs-related signalling and functions, such as biomarkers for CSCs, activation of Wnt, Hedgehog (HH) and other signalling to facilitate CSCs progressions. This relationship can not only uncover a novel molecular mechanism for GPCR-mediated cancer cell functions but also assist our understanding of maintaining and modulating CSCs. Moreover, GPCR antagonists and monoclonal antibodies could be applied to impair CSCs functions and consequently attenuate tumour growth, some of which have been undergoing clinical studies and are anticipated to turn into marketed anticancer drugs. Therefore, this review summarizes and provides sufficient evidences on the regulation of GPCR signalling in the maintenance, differentiation and pluripotency of CSCs, suggesting that targeting GPCRs on the surface of CSCs could be potential therapeutic strategies for cancer therapy.


Blood ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
JP Wineman ◽  
S Nishikawa ◽  
CE Muller-Sieburg

We show here that mouse pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells can be maintained in vitro on stroma for at least 3 weeks at levels close to those found in bone marrow. The extent of stem cell maintenance is affected by the nature of the stromal cells. The stromal cell line S17 supported stem cells significantly better than heterogeneous, primary stromal layers or the stromal cell line Strofl-1. Stem cells cultured on S17 repopulated all hematopoietic lineages in marrow-ablated hosts for at least 10 months, indicating that this culture system maintained primitive stem cells with extensive proliferative capacity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, while pluripotent stem cells express c-kit, this receptor appears to play only a minor role in stem cell maintenance in vitro. The addition of an antibody that blocks the interaction of c-kit with its ligand essentially abrogated myelopoiesis in cultures. However, the level of stem cells in antibody-treated cultures was similar to that found in untreated cultures. Thus, it seems likely that the maintenance of primitive stem cells in vitro depends on yet unidentified stromal cell-derived factor(s).


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihiko Saito ◽  
Nozomi Hirai ◽  
Kazuya Aoki ◽  
Satoshi Fujita ◽  
Haruo Nakayama ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Sung Bae ◽  
Sun Mi Kim ◽  
Yoon Jeon ◽  
Juyeon Sim ◽  
Ji Yun Jang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Hippo pathway plays a crucial role in cell proliferation and apoptosis and can regulate stem cell maintenance and embryonic development. MOB kinase activators 1A and 1B (Mob1a/b) are key components of the Hippo pathway, whose homozygous deletion in mice causes early embryonic lethality at the preimplantation stage. To investigate the role of Mob1a/b in stem cell maintenance and differentiation, an embryonic stem cell (ESC) clone in which Mob1a/b could be conditionally depleted was generated and characterized. Although Mob1a/b depletion did not affect the stemness or proliferation of mouse ESCs, this depletion caused defects in differentiation into the three germ layers. Yap knockdown rescued the in vitro and in vivo defects in differentiation caused by Mob1a/b depletion, suggesting that differentiation defects caused by Mob1a/b depletion were Yap-dependent. In teratoma experiments, Yap knockdown in Mob1a/b-depleted ESCs partially restored defects in differentiation, indicating that hyperactivation of Taz, another effector of the Hippo pathway, inhibited differentiation into the three germ layers. Taken together, these results suggest that Mob1a/b or Hippo signaling plays a critical role in the differentiation of mouse ESCs into the three germ layers, which is dependent on Yap. These close relationship of the Hippo pathway with the differentiation of stem cells supports its potential as a therapeutic target in regenerative medicine.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. e1500723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg Fedorov ◽  
Josefina Castex ◽  
Cynthia Tallant ◽  
Dafydd R. Owen ◽  
Sarah Martin ◽  
...  

Mammalian SWI/SNF [also called Brg/Brahma-associated factors (BAFs)] are evolutionarily conserved chromatin-remodeling complexes regulating gene transcription programs during development and stem cell differentiation. BAF complexes contain an ATP (adenosine 5′-triphosphate)–driven remodeling enzyme (either BRG1 or BRM) and multiple protein interaction domains including bromodomains, an evolutionary conserved acetyl lysine–dependent protein interaction motif that recruits transcriptional regulators to acetylated chromatin. We report a potent and cell active protein interaction inhibitor, PFI-3, that selectively binds to essential BAF bromodomains. The high specificity of PFI-3 was achieved on the basis of a novel binding mode of a salicylic acid head group that led to the replacement of water molecules typically maintained in other bromodomain inhibitor complexes. We show that exposure of embryonic stem cells to PFI-3 led to deprivation of stemness and deregulated lineage specification. Furthermore, differentiation of trophoblast stem cells in the presence of PFI-3 was markedly enhanced. The data present a key function of BAF bromodomains in stem cell maintenance and differentiation, introducing a novel versatile chemical probe for studies on acetylation-dependent cellular processes controlled by BAF remodeling complexes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuan-Hung Lin ◽  
Jui-Chung Chiang ◽  
Ya-Hsuan Ho ◽  
Chao-Ling Yao ◽  
Hsinyu Lee

Vertebrate hematopoiesis is a complex physiological process that is tightly regulated by intracellular signaling and extracellular microenvironment. In recent decades, breakthroughs in lineage-tracing technologies and lipidomics have revealed the existence of numerous lipid molecules in hematopoietic microenvironment. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a bioactive phospholipid molecule, is one of the identified lipids that participates in hematopoiesis. LPA exhibits various physiological functions through activation of G-protein-coupled receptors. The functions of these LPARs have been widely studied in stem cells, while the roles of LPARs in hematopoietic stem cells have rarely been examined. Nonetheless, mounting evidence supports the importance of the LPA-LPAR axis in hematopoiesis. In this article, we have reviewed regulation of hematopoiesis in general and focused on the microenvironmental and intracellular effects of the LPA in hematopoiesis. Discoveries in these areas may be beneficial to our understanding of blood-related disorders, especially in the context of prevention and therapy for anemia.


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