Project description:Although endothelial cells have been shown to affect mouse pancreatic development, their precise function in human development remains unclear. Using a coculture system containing human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived progenitors and endothelial cells, we found that endothelial cells play a stage-dependent role in pancreatic development, in which they maintain pancreatic progenitor (PP) self-renewal and impair further differentiation into hormone-expressing cells. The mechanistic studies suggest that the endothelial cells act through the secretion of EGFL7. Consistently, endothelial overexpression of EGFL7 in vivo using a transgenic mouse model resulted in an increase of PP proliferation rate and a decrease of differentiation toward endocrine cells. These studies not only identified the role of EGFL7 as the molecular handle involved in the crosstalk between endothelium and pancreatic epithelium, but also provide a paradigm for using hESC stepwise differentiation to dissect the stage-dependent roles of signals controlling organogenesis.
Project description:Analysis of gene expression of Pdx-EGFP1+ pancreatic progenitors before or after co-culture at mRNA level. The hypothesis tested in the study was that the overall gene expression in Pdx1-EGFP+ does not alter after co-culture with endothelial cells. The result supported our hypothesis. Total RNA isolated from Pdx1-EGFP+ progenitors from the Pdx1-EGFP HUES8 cell-derived pancreatic progenitor population before (none) and after co-culture (AKT-HUVEC, MPEC, or BJ) Fig 2d in publication.
Project description:Analysis of overall gene expression in endothelial cells, MPEC and AKT-HUVEC, comparing to a human fibroblast line, BJ. We are looking for the highly abundant genes in endothelial cells comparing to fibroblasts. Total RNA isolated from MPEC, AKT-HUVEC and BJ Fig 3b in publication.
Project description:Lymphatic vessels are thought to arise from PROX1-positive endothelial cells (ECs) in the cardinal vein in response to induction of SOX18 expression; however, the molecular event responsible for increased SOX18 expression has not been established. We generated mice with endothelial-specific, inducible expression of an RAF1 gene with a gain-of-function mutation (RAF1(S259A)) that is associated with Noonan syndrome. Expression of mutant RAF1(S259A) in ECs activated ERK and induced SOX18 and PROX1 expression, leading to increased commitment of venous ECs to the lymphatic fate. Excessive production of lymphatic ECs resulted in lymphangiectasia that was highly reminiscent of abnormal lymphatics seen in Noonan syndrome and similar "RASopathies." Inhibition of ERK signaling during development abrogated the lymphatic differentiation program and rescued the lymphatic phenotypes induced by expression of RAF1(S259A). These data suggest that ERK activation plays a key role in lymphatic EC fate specification and that excessive ERK activation is the basis of lymphatic abnormalities seen in Noonan syndrome and related diseases.
Project description:ELL associated factor 1 and ELL associated factor 2 (EAF1/2 factors) are reported to play important roles in tumor suppression and embryogenesis. Our previous studies showed that eaf factors mediated effective convergence and extension (C&E) movements and modulated mesoderm and neural patterning by regulating both non-canonical and canonical Wnt signaling in the early embryonic process. In this study, through knockdown of both eaf1 and eaf2 in embryos, we found that differentiation of primary erythroid cells was blocked, but hematopoietic precursor cells maintained in eafs morphants. Co-injection of c-myb-MO rescued the erythroid differentiation in eafs morphants, as indicated by the restored expression of the erythroid-specific gene, βe3 globin. In addition, low dosage of c-myb effectively blocked the βe3 globin expression in embryos, and did not affect the expression of markers of hematopoietic progenitor cells and other mesoderm, which was similar to the phenotypes we observed in eafs morphants. We also revealed that knockdown Wnt signaling by transiently inducing dn-Tcf in embryos at the bud stage down-regulated the increased c-myb to normal level and also restored βe3 globin expression in eafs morphants. Our evidence points to a novel role for eaf factors in controlling erythroid cell fate by regulating c-Myb expression through canonic Wnt signaling.
Project description:Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to blood vessel formation. Canonical Wnt signaling plays an important role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis and EPC fate regulation. However, the mechanism for Wnt signaling to regulate EPC fate in neovascularization (NV) has not been clearly defined. Here, we showed that very low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (Vldlr -/- ) mice, a model of ocular NV induced by Wnt signaling overactivation, have increased EPC numbers in the bone marrow, blood, and retina, as well as an elevated mitochondrial membrane potential indicating higher mitochondrial function of EPCs in the circulation. Isolated EPCs from Vldlr -/- mice showed overactivated Wnt signaling, correlating with increased mitochondrial function, mass, and DNA copy numbers, compared with WT EPCs. Our results also demonstrated that Wnt signaling upregulated mitochondrial biogenesis and function, while inhibiting glycolysis in EPCs, which further decreased EPC stemness and promoted EPCs to a more active state toward differentiation, which may contribute to pathologic vascular formation. Fenofibric acid, an active metabolite of fenofibrate, inhibited Wnt signaling and mitochondrial function in EPCs and decreased EPC numbers in Vldlr -/- mice. It also decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and reactive oxygen species production in Vldlr -/- EPCs, which may be responsible for its therapeutic effect on diabetic retinopathy. These findings demonstrated that Wnt signaling regulates EPC fate through metabolism, suggesting potential application of the EPC metabolic profile as predictor and therapeutic target for neovascular diseases. Stem Cells 2019;37:1331-1343.
Project description:Explant culture data have suggested that the liver and pancreas originate from common progenitors. We used single-cell-lineage tracing in zebrafish to investigate this question in vivo as well as to analyze the hepatic versus pancreatic fate decision. At early somite stages, endodermal cells located at least two cells away from the midline can give rise to both liver and pancreas. In contrast, endodermal cells closer to the midline give rise to pancreas and intestine, but not liver. Loss- and gain-of-function analyses show that Bmp2b, expressed in the lateral plate mesoderm, signals through Alk8 to induce endodermal cells to become liver. When Bmp2b was overexpressed, medially located endodermal cells, fated to become pancreas and intestine, contributed to the liver. These data provide in vivo evidence for the existence of bipotential hepatopancreatic progenitors and indicate that their fate is regulated by the medio-lateral patterning of the endodermal sheet, a process controlled by Bmp2b.
Project description:Hematopoietic stem cells maintain a quiescent state in the bone marrow to preserve their self-renewal capacity, but also undergo cell divisions as required. Organelles such as the mitochondria sustain cumulative damage during these cell divisions and this damage may eventually compromise the cells' self-renewal capacity. Hematopoietic stem cell divisions result in either self-renewal or differentiation, with the balance between the two affecting hematopoietic homeostasis directly; however, the heterogeneity of available hematopoietic stem cell-enriched fractions, together with the technical challenges of observing hematopoietic stem cell behavior, has long hindered the analysis of individual hematopoietic stem cells and prevented the elucidation of this process. Recent advances in genetic models, metabolomics analyses, and single-cell approaches have revealed the contributions made to hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal by metabolic cues, mitochondrial biogenesis, and autophagy/mitophagy, which have highlighted mitochondrial quality control as a key factor in the equilibrium of hematopoietic stem cells. A deeper understanding of precisely how specific modes of metabolism control hematopoietic stem cells fate at the single-cell level is therefore not only of great biological interest, but will also have clear clinical implications for the development of therapies for hematological diseases.
Project description:Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal and metastatic malignancy resistant to therapy. Elucidating how pancreatic tumor-specific T cells differentiate and are maintained in vivo could inform novel therapeutic avenues to promote T cell antitumor activity. Here, we show that the spleen is a critical site harboring tumor-specific CD8 T cells that functionally segregate based on differential Cxcr3 and Klrg1 expression. Cxcr3+ Klrg1- T cells express the memory stem cell marker Tcf1, whereas Cxcr3-Klrg1 + T cells express GzmB consistent with terminal differentiation. We identify a Cxcr3+ Klrg1+ intermediate T cell subpopulation in the spleen that is highly enriched for tumor specificity. However, tumor-specific T cells infiltrating primary tumors progressively downregulate both Cxcr3 and Klrg1 while upregulating exhaustion markers PD-1 and Lag-3. We show that antigen-specific T cell infiltration into PDA is Cxcr3 independent. Further, Cxcr3-deficiency results in enhanced antigen-specific T cell IFNγ production in primary tumors, suggesting that Cxcr3 promotes loss of effector function. Ultimately, however, Cxcr3 was critical for mitigating cancer cell dissemination following immunotherapy with CD40 agonist + anti-PD-L1 or T cell receptor engineered T cell therapy targeting mesothelin. In the absence of Cxcr3, splenic Klrg1 + GzmB + antitumor T cells wain while pancreatic cancer disseminates suggesting a role for these cells in eliminating circulating metastatic tumor cells. Intratumoral myeloid cells are poised to produce Cxcl10, whereas splenic DC subsets produce Cxcl9 following immunotherapy supporting differential roles for these chemokines on T cell differentiation. Together, our study supports that Cxcr3 mitigates tumor cell dissemination by impacting peripheral T cell fate rather than intratumoral T cell trafficking.