Project description:Muscle development and regeneration strongly depends on extracellular cues and growth factors, which are taken up by muscle stem cells and guide them either towards proliferation and fusion or towards quiescence. Here we investigated the effect of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling on Pax7 positive adult muscle stem cells of the mouse. We discovered a cross talk between the BMP- and NOTCH-signalling pathways, leading to high upregulation upon BMP4/BMP6-stimulation of Hes1 mRNA which is a key component of the NOTCH-siganling pathway.
Project description:Muscle development and regeneration strongly depends on extracellular cues and growth factors, which are taken up by muscle stem cells and guide them either towards proliferation and fusion or towards quiescence. Here we investigated the effect of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling on Pax7 positive adult muscle stem cells of the mouse. We discovered a cross talk between the BMP- and NOTCH-signalling pathways, leading to high upregulation upon BMP4/BMP6-stimulation of Hes1 mRNA which is a key component of the NOTCH-siganling pathway.
Project description:This randomized phase I/II clinical trial is studying the side effects and best dose of gamma-secretase/notch signalling pathway inhibitor RO4929097 when given together with vismodegib and to see how well they work in treating patients with advanced or metastatic sarcoma. Vismodegib may slow the growth of tumor cells. Gamma-secretase/notch signalling pathway inhibitor RO4929097 may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving vismodegib together with gamma-secretase/notch signalling pathway inhibitor RO4929097 may be an effective treatment for sarcoma.
Project description:Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) trigger as cell-extrinsic signals the differentiation of neural crest progenitor cells to the sympathoadrenal cell lineage. Human neuroblastoma derives from aberrant neural crest progenitor cells. We here show that histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11), the most recently identified family member with, as yet, largely unknown function, is recruited to the BMP4 gene promoter and represses its transcription in neuroblastoma. Both HDAC11 depletion and enzymatic inhibition revert the epigenetic silencing of BMP4, thereby blocking a critical oncogenic function of HDAC11. Activated BMP4 signaling through targeting of HDAC11 induces a transcriptional profile predictive of favorable prognosis for patients when expressed in the tumors, indicating that the HDAC11-BMP4 axis plays a critical role for neuroblastoma biology. Furthermore, pathway activation causes MYCN proto-oncogene repression on a molecular level and anti-proliferative effects in functional assays in neuroblastoma cell lines and primary sphere cultures as well as strongly inhibiting tumor formation and growth of subcutaneous neuroblastoma xenografts in mice. For high-risk neuroblastoma, with cure rates below 30% using current treatment strategies, our work suggests a novel targeted therapeutic approach that would reactivate the developmental pathway inducing normal differentiation of neural crest progenitor cells.
Project description:We used RNA-Seq to analyse the interactions between Bmp4 and Wnt at a genome-wide level in EpiSCs treated for 48 hrs with Bmp4 and/or Wnt3a in the presence of Activin and bFGF. Control EpiSC were cultured in the presence of IWP2 for 48h. Cells were cultured with BMP4 with or without IWP2; Wnt3a and Wnt3a with BMP4 for 48h.
Project description:We used RNA-Seq to analyse the interactions between Bmp4 and Wnt at a genome-wide level in EpiSCs treated for 48 hrs with Bmp4 and/or Wnt3a in the presence of Activin and bFGF.
Project description:Airway remodelling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) originates, in part, from smoking-induced changes in airway basal stem/progenitor cells (BCs). Based on the knowledge that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) influences epithelial progenitor function in the developing and adult mouse lung, we hypothesised that BMP4 signalling may regulate the biology of adult human airway BCs relevant to COPD. BMP4 signalling components in human airway epithelium were analysed at the mRNA and protein levels, and the differentiation of BCs was assessed using the BC expansion and air-liquid interface models in the absence/presence of BMP4, BMP receptor inhibitor and/or small interfering RNAs against BMP receptors and downstream signalling.
Project description:Cardiac lineage specification in the mouse is controlled by TGFβ and WNT signaling. From fly to fish, BMP has been identified as an indispensable heart inducer. A detailed analysis of the role of Bmp4 and its effectors Smad1/5, however, was still missing. We show that Bmp4 induces cardiac mesoderm formation in murine embryonic stem cells in vitro. Bmp4 first activates Wnt3 and upregulates Nodal. pSmad1/5 and the WNT effector Tcf3 form a complex, and together with pSmad2/3 activate mesoderm enhancers and Eomes. They then cooperate with Eomes to consolidate the expression of many mesoderm factors, including T. Eomes and T form a positive feedback loop and open additional enhancers regulating early mesoderm genes, including the transcription factor Mesp1 establishing the cardiac mesoderm lineage. In parallel, the neural fate is suppressed. Our data confirm the pivotal role of Bmp4 in cardiac mesoderm formation in the mouse. We describe in detail the consecutive and cooperative actions of three signaling pathways, BMP, WNT and Nodal, and their effector transcription factors, during cardiac mesoderm specification.
Project description:Endoglin is a membrane glycoprotein primarily expressed by the vascular endothelium and involved in cardiovascular diseases. Upon the proteolytic processing of the membrane-bound protein, a circulating form of endoglin (soluble endoglin, sEng) can be released, and high levels of sEng have been observed in several endothelial-related pathological conditions, where it appears to contribute to endothelial dysfunction. Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder of high prevalence in pregnant women characterized by the onset of high blood pressure and often associated with increased levels of sEng. Although a pathogenic role for sEng involving hypertension has been reported in several animal models of preeclampsia, the exact molecular mechanisms implicated remain to be identified. To search for sEng-induced mediators, we have analyzed the protein secretome of human endothelial cells in the presence of sEng. We find that sEng induces the expression of BMP4 in endothelial cells, as evidenced by their proteomic signature, gene transcript levels and BMP4 promoter activity. A mouse model of preeclampsia with high sEng plasma levels (sEng+) showed increased levels of BMP4 transcripts in lungs and increased circulating BMP4, compared to those of control animals. In addition, after crossing female wild type with male sEng+ mice, hypertension appears 18 days after mating, precisely coinciding with the appearance of high plasma levels of BMP4. Also, serum levels of sEng and BMP4 are positively correlated in pregnant women with and without preeclampsia. Interestingly, sEng-induced arterial pressure elevation in sEng+ mice was abolished in the presence of the BMP4 inhibitor noggin, suggesting that BMP4 is a downstream mediator of sEng. These results provide a better understanding on the role of sEng in the pathobiology of preeclampsia and other cardiovascular diseases, where sEng levels are increased.
Project description:MIXL1-GFP reporter lines were differentiated as Spin EBs in APEL medium supplemented with Wnt3a alone, BMP4 alone or Wnt3a/BMP4 in combination. EBs induced in the absence of growth factors were used as control. EBs induced with BMP4 or Wnt3a/BMP4 were FACS sorted based on E-CADHERIN and GFP expression. Unsorted EBs and sorted fractions were subjected to Illumina microarray processing.