THE IMPACT OF THE FOOD ADDITIVE E407A ON THE METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT CELL CULTURES

Objectives. To study the effects of various concentrations of the food additive E407a (semi-refined carrageenan) on the metabolic activity of fetal liver cells, splenocytes, and bone marrow cells. Material and methods. Fetal liver, splenocytes and bone marrow cell cultures were incubated with the food additive E407a at concentrations varying from 0 mg/ml to 10 mg/ml for 24 hours (n=8). To analyze the effects of this food additive on the metabolic activity of cells, a colorimetric MTT assay was used. It is based on the ability of viable, metabolically active cells to convert 3 (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide into formazan. The data were statistically processed using Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s criteria. Results. The bone marrow cell culture was found to be the most sensitive to carrageenan. More than a twofold statistically significant (p<0.0001) increase in the metabolic activity of bone marrow cells was observed when using E407a from 200 μg/ml and above. The metabolic activity of splenocytes increased approximately 1.5 times and over (p<0.0001) when using carrageenans at the concentration of 500 μg/ml and higher. Fetal liver cells turned out to be the most resistant to the direct toxic effect of the food additive E407a. Conclusions. The food additive E407a is cytotoxic to bone marrow cells and splenocytes at concentrations of 200 μg/ml and 500 μg/ml, respectively.

Modern approach to the treatment of atopic dermatitis with preserved fetal liver cells (experimental study)

One of the urgent problems of modern dermatology is atopic dermatitis (AD), which has multifactorial pathogenesis, the significant prevalence of the disease, the increased frequency of the complicated course, the lack of radical methods of therapy. The expediency to use cryopreserved fetal liver cells (cFLCs) for the treatment of AD is proved by a wide range of produced by them biologically active substances with immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activity. Disclosure of the mechanisms of the therapeutic action of biotherapeutic drugs in AD provides for the determination of the state of the cellular and humoral links of the immune system (IS). In this regard, the aim of the work was to assess the effectiveness of cFLCs injection by characteristic clinical and immunological parameters in rats with AD. The results of the study in rats with AD revealed disorders in the IS, manifested in a decrease in the total number of T-lymphocytes and their subpopulations in the spleen, in an increase in the level of circulating immune complexes and a number of immunoglobulins in the blood serum, and in a decrease in the phagocytic activity of the peritoneal cavity cells. Therapy with cFLCs, in contrast to the standard treatment with prednisolone, significantly improves the therapeutic effect, which is demonstrated by the restoration of the parameters of the cellular and humoral links of the immune system in animals with AD. The amplifying effect of the combined use of cFLCs and prednisolone on a number of parameters of the immune system in AD was shown.

Fetal liver hematopoiesis: from development to delivery

Clinical transplants of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) can provide a lifesaving therapy for many hematological diseases; however, therapeutic applications are hampered by donor availability. In vivo, HSC exist in a specified microenvironment called the niche. While most studies of the niche focus on those residing in the bone marrow (BM), a better understanding of the fetal liver niche during development is vital to design human pluripotent stem cell (PSC) culture and may provide valuable insights with regard to expanding HSCs ex vivo for transplantation. This review will discuss the importance of the fetal liver niche in HSC expansion, a feat that occurs during development and has great clinical potential. We will also discuss emerging approaches to generate expandable HSC in cell culture that attain more complexity in the form of cells or organoid models in combination with engineering and systems biology approaches. Overall, delivering HSC by charting developmental principles will help in the understanding of the molecular and biological interactions between HSCs and fetal liver cells for their controlled maturation and expansion.

What Links Neutropenia to Immature Cardiolipin in Patients with Barth Syndrome (tafazzin-deficiency)?

Barth syndrome is an inherited X-linked disorder characterized by cardiomyopathy, skeletal muscle myopathy, and neutropenia. The syndrome arises because of inherited mutations in the gene TAZ, resulting in a loss of function of the protein tafazzin. Of note, a group of investigators recently described how tafazzin can regulate 'stemness' in models of acute myeloid leukemia (Cell Stem Cell, 2019). Tafazzin is an enzyme that processes the final step of cardiolipin maturation, replacing saturated with unsaturated acyl chains. Cardiolipin is a 4-tailed phospholipid that is almost-exclusively found in the inner membrane of the mitochondria. The lack of tafazzin activity results in a cardiolipin pool that contains more highly saturated lipid tails and it is this lack of unsaturated cardiolipins that contributes to a disorganized inner mitochondrial membrane. The link between tafazzin-deficiency and myopathy is generally explained by the dependence of muscle cells on mitochondrial function as well as oxidative respiration. The components of the electron transport chain are co-localized with cardiolipin in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and it is felt that their appropriate organization within the membrane lipid bilayer is dependent on the presence of mature cardiolipin which is lacking in those individuals with Barth syndrome. The link between tafazzin-deficiency and neutropenia is less clear. Neutrophils are terminally-differentiated effector cells of the innate immune system. They are critical for protection against bacterial and fungal pathogens and patients without sufficient neutrophils are among the most immunocompromised and at risk of lethal infection. Neutrophils have few mitochondria at baseline and are generally believed to rely primarily on glycolysis for energy production. It is not known if the mechanism of neutropenia in Barth syndrome is due to a lack of production or due to increased clearance (e.g. more prone to apoptosis). We undertook the study of tafazzin-deficient neutrophils to try to elucidate the mechanism of neutropenia in patients with Barth syndrome. We took advantage of an existing tafazzin-knockout mouse and a system of conditional immortalization of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMP) using the ER-Hoxb8 system pioneered in our laboratory. This ER-Hoxb8 system allows for the unlimited ex vivo expansion of myeloid progenitors in the presence of estradiol and active Hoxb8. Once estradiol is removed from culture media, the Hoxb8 protein is inactive and the cells undergo normal, synchronous and terminal neutrophilic differentiation. In this manner, we were able to generate tafazzin-wild-type and knockout GMP lines from murine fetal liver cells. Analysis of the myeloid progenitor compartment in fetal liver cells (d14.5-d16.5) showed no difference between wild-type and knockout mice, arguing against a developmental defect (E15 results shown in PANEL A). Furthermore, the tafazzin-deficient ER-Hoxb8 GMPs and neutrophils were remarkably normal when tested across a variety of assays including phagocytosis, cytokine production and ROS generation (ROS by H2DCFDA shown in PANEL B). We hypothesized that the unpredictable neutropenia in patients with Barth Syndrome might be due to an increased proclivity to apoptosis because of the mitochondrial membrane defect. Indeed, the tafazzin-deficient GMPs showed an increased sensitivity to Bcl2-inhibition following treatment with ABT199 (PANEL C). Two lines of evidence have suggested that the increased tendency towards apoptosis may be due to endoplasmic-reticulum (ER) stress. (1) Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated 'swollen' ER in the tafazzin-deficient cells (not shown) and (2) a comparison of gene expression patterns demonstrated an increased expression of ATF4 and CHOP (DDIT3) in the tafazzin-deficient cells (PANEL D). We are now focused on validating these findings and in establishing models to confirm the ER-stress phenotype in vivo in the TAZ-knockout mouse model as well as primary samples from patients with Barth Syndrome. We hope that this line of work will confirm the mechanism of neutropenia and shed light on potential targets for therapeutic intervention. In addition, this very rare disorder has provided insight into a previously-unexpected link between neutrophil survival and the membrane integrity of the inner mitochondrial membrane. Figure Disclosures Sykes: Clear Creek Bio: Equity Ownership, Other: Co-Founder.

The Translocation t(7;12)(q36;p13) Induces Myeloid Leukemia in Immuno-Compromised but Not Immunocompetent Mice

Introduction: Non-random cytogenetic aberrations are often involved in the development of AML in children and several aberrations can serve as diagnostic markers, prognosis predictors and impact choice of therapy. In infant AML, a chromosomal translocation t(7;12)(q36;p13) has been found in up to 20-30 % of the cases, making it the second most common genetic aberration in this age group after KMT2A (MLL) rearrangements. Previous studies indicate that this patient group has a dismal prognosis with virtually no event-free survival. Limiting the chances to improve this is the lack of understanding how the t(7;12)(q36;p13) is involved in leukemia development. The translocation leads to a gene fusion MNX1-ETV6 but also to increased MNX1 gene expression. Although both ETV6 and MNX1 are expressed in normal hematopoietic tissues, the role of the fusion protein MNX1-ETV6in the development of AML is not established. Also unclear is whether the driver of leukemogenesis is the fusion itself or the simultaneous overexpression of MNX1. The aim of this study was to assess the transformation capacity and the molecular mechanism of the MNX1-ETV6 fusion and the overexpressed MNX1in vitro and in vivo using murine transplantation models. Material and methods: In a liquid culture system, we introduced the MNX1-ETV6 fusion, MNX1 overexpression, or empty vector into primary murine (C57BL/6) hematopoietic progenitor cells with retroviral transfection. Cells were isolated from either adult bone marrow after 5-FU stimulation, or from fetal liver at E14.5. After enrichment by fluorescence activated cell sorting based on vector co-expressed green/yellow fluorescence protein, transfected cells were used for in vitro experiments and for transplantation into lethally irradiated immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice or sub-lethally irradiated immunocompromised NSGW41 mice. In vitro, cells were assessed with RNA sequencing for gene expression, gamma H2AX assay for DNA double strand brakes, flow cytometry for lineage marker expression, apoptosis and proliferation, and with colony forming unit assay. Results: Upon transplantation, only fetal liver cells transduced with MNX1 or with MNX1-ETV6 fusion were able to induce leukemia in immunocompromised (NSGW41) mice. When MNX1 or MNX1-ETV6 transduced cells were transplanted into immunocompetent mice (C57BL/6) mice, no leukemia development was seen, when either fetal liver or adult bone marrow cells were used for transduction. However, when immunocompromised mice were transplanted with MNX1 or MNX1-ETV6 fusion expressing cells they typically developed signs of disease after 1-2 months and exhibited leukocytosis and elevated blast cells in blood and bone marrow, severe anemia, and enlarged spleens with infiltration of leukemic cells. The cells showed expression of predominantly myeloid markers. In vitro, cells with overexpression of MNX1 or MNX1-ETV6 fusion expression also showed altered lineage differentiation in favor of myeloid differentiation. In addition, MNX1 overexpressing cells, but not MNX1-ETV6 expressing cells, exhibited increased proliferation and colony formation capacity. Both MNX1 overexpressing and MNX1-ETV6 fusion expressing cells showed increased DNA damage as evident from an increased gamma-phosphorylated H2AX in fetal liver and adult bone marrow transduced cells respectively, accompanied with G1 arrest, compared to cells transduced with empty vectors. Both MNX1 and MNX1-ETV6 also led to increased apoptosis in adult bone marrow (3-fold) and to a lesser extent in fetal liver cells (1.5-fold). Results from transcriptome sequencing showed enrichment for specific pathways in G2/M transition of cell cycle in cells transduced by either MNX1or the MNX1-ETV6 fusion. Further investigations to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and pathways through which MNX1 and/or MNX1-ETV6 induce leukemia is ongoing. Conclusions: MNX1 overexpression and MNX1-ETV6 fusion, both characteristics of infant AML with t(7;12)(q36;p13), induced leukemogenic effects in both fetal liver cells and adult bone marrow cells, but could cause a myeloid leukemia only under immunocompromised conditions. This may be of importance for the exclusive prevalence of this AML subtype in young children, with the highest peak during the first six months of life when the immune system is less developed. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.