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The temporal and hierarchical control of transcription factors-induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation.

ABSTRACT: Lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs) display instructive roles in directly reprogramming adult cells into alternate developmental fates, in a process known as transdifferentiation. The present study analyses the hypothesis that despite being fast, transdifferentiation does not occur in one step but is rather a consecutive and hierarchical process. Using ectopic expression of Pdx1 in human liver cells, we demonstrate that while glucagon and somatostatin expression initiates within a day, insulin gene expression becomes evident only 2-3 days later. To both increase transdifferentiation efficiency and analyze whether the process indeed display consecutive and hierarchical characteristics, adult human liver cells were treated by three pancreatic transcription factors, Pdx1, Pax4 and Mafa (3pTFs) that control distinct hierarchical stages of pancreatic development in the embryo. Ectopic expression of the 3pTFs in human liver cells, increased the transdifferentiation yield, manifested by 300% increase in the number of insulin positive cells, compared to each of the ectopic factors alone. However, only when the 3pTFs were sequentially supplemented one day apart from each other in a direct hierarchical manner, the transdifferentiated cells displayed increased mature ?-cell-like characteristics. Ectopic expression of Pdx1 followed by Pax4 on the 2(nd) day and concluded by Mafa on the 3(rd) day resulted in increased yield of transdifferentiation that was associated by increased glucose regulated c-peptide secretion. By contrast, concerted or sequential administration of the ectopic 3pTFs in an indirect hierarchical mode resulted in the generation of insulin and somatostatin co-producing cells and diminished glucose regulated processed insulin secretion. In conclusion transcription factors induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation is a progressive and hierarchical process. It is reasonable to assume that this characteristic is general to wide ranges of tissues. Therefore, our findings could facilitate the development of cell replacement therapy modalities for many degenerative diseases including diabetes.

SUBMITTER: Berneman-Zeitouni D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3913675 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The temporal and hierarchical control of transcription factors-induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation.

Berneman-Zeitouni Dana D Molakandov Kfir K Elgart Marina M Mor Eytan E Fornoni Alessia A Domínguez Miriam Ramírez MR Kerr-Conte Julie J Ott Michael M Meivar-Levy Irit I Ferber Sarah S

PloS one 20140204 2

Lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs) display instructive roles in directly reprogramming adult cells into alternate developmental fates, in a process known as transdifferentiation. The present study analyses the hypothesis that despite being fast, transdifferentiation does not occur in one step but is rather a consecutive and hierarchical process. Using ectopic expression of Pdx1 in human liver cells, we demonstrate that while glucagon and somatostatin expression initiates within a day, ...[more]

PMID: 24504462

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Project description:Androgenic steroids are increasingly used for hormone therapy of postmenopausal women and abused as life style drugs and for doping purposes, though knowledge about associated health risks in females is very limited. In order to understand more about short- and long-term androgen effects on a molecular level, we have analyzed hepatic gene expression in female C57BL/6 mice immediately after subcutaneous treatment with testosterone for 3 weeks and after 12 weeks hormone withdrawal using Affymetrix array technology and quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Among about 14,000 genes examined, 48 were up- and 65 genes were downregulated by testosterone after 3-weeks treatment and about 50% of these changes persisted even 12 weeks after testostrone withdrawal. In addition to obvious risks such as induction of hepatocellular carcinomas and virilization of liver metabolism, testosterone induced a series of changes, as e.g. dysregulation of hepatic gene expression due to incomplete conversion of female to male phenotype â in particular downregulation of cytochrom P450 isoforms and sulfotransferases. As a long-term testosterone effect, transcripts emerged in the liver that are normally specific for the exocine pancreas including amylase 2, ribonuclease 1, and several trypsin-, chymotrypsin-, and elastase-like proteases. This transdifferentiation of hepatic to exocrine pancreatic tissue indicates that testosterone can initiate long-lasting differentiation programs, which â once induced â progress even after androgen withdrawal. This may have far-reaching consequences difficult to foresee implying long-term hazards of testosterone-treatment for female health that have not been taken into account yet. Mice were treated with testosterone or sesame oil (vehicle) for three weeks twice a week. Gene expression in the liver was analyzed either directly after treatment or after three weeks of hormone/vehicle withdrawal. For each of these four groups, three individual mice were used as biological replicates.

Dataset Information

The temporal and hierarchical control of transcription factors-induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation.

Publications

The temporal and hierarchical control of transcription factors-induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation.

Similar Datasets

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