Concealed expansion of immature precursors underpins acute burst of adult HSC activity in foetal liver

One day prior to mass emergence of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the foetal liver at E12.5, the embryo contains only a few definitive HSCs. It is thought that the burst of HSC activity in the foetal liver is underpinned by rapid maturation of immature embryonic precursors of definitive HSCs, termed pre-HSCs. However, because pre-HSCs are not detectable by direct transplantations into adult irradiated recipients, the size and growth of this population, which represents the embryonic rudiment of the adult haematopoietic system, remains uncertain. Using a novel quantitative assay, we demonstrate that from E9.5 the pre-HSC pool undergoes dramatic growth in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region and by E11.5 reaches the size that matches the number of definitive HSCs in the E12.5 foetal liver. Thus, this study provides for the first time a quantitative basis for our understanding of how the large population of definitive HSCs emerges in the foetal liver

Increased Expression of PITX2 Transcription Factor Contributes to Ovarian Cancer Progression

BACKGROUND: Paired-like homeodomain 2 (PITX2) is a bicoid homeodomain transcription factor which plays an essential role in maintaining embryonic left-right asymmetry during vertebrate embryogenesis. However, emerging evidence suggests that the aberrant upregulation of PITX2 may be associated with tumor progression, yet the functional role that PITX2 plays in tumorigenesis remains unknown. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (Q-PCR), Western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses, we demonstrated that PITX2 was frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer samples and cell lines. Clinicopathological correlation showed that the upregulated PITX2 was significantly associated with high-grade (P = 0.023) and clear cell subtype (P = 0.011) using Q-PCR and high-grade (P<0.001) ovarian cancer by IHC analysis. Functionally, enforced expression of PITX2 could promote ovarian cancer cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth ability, migration/invasion and tumor growth in xenograft model mice. Moreover, enforced expression of PITX2 elevated the cell cycle regulatory proteins such as Cyclin-D1 and C-myc. Conversely, RNAi mediated knockdown of PITX2 in PITX2-high expressing ovarian cancer cells had the opposite effect. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the increased expression PITX2 is involved in ovarian cancer progression through promoting cell growth and cell migration/invasion. Thus, targeting PITX2 may serve as a potential therapeutic modality in the management of high-grade ovarian tumor.published_or_final_versio

Similar NF-κB Gene Signatures in TNF-α Treated Human Endothelial Cells and Breast Tumor Biopsies

BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse pathologies ranging from vascular and immune diseases to cancer. TNF-α is one of the mediators of endothelial dysfunction through the activation of transcription factors, including NF-κB. While HUVEC (macrovascular cells) have been largely used in the past, here, we documented an NF-κB gene signature in TNFα-stimulated microvascular endothelial cells HMEC often used in tumor angiogenesis studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We measured mRNA expression of 55 NF-κB related genes using quantitative RT-PCR in HUVEC and HMEC. Our study identified twenty genes markedly up-regulated in response to TNFα, including adhesion molecules, cytokines, chemokines, and apoptosis regulators, some of them being identified as TNF-α-inducible genes for the first time in endothelial cells (two apoptosis regulators, TNFAIP3 and TNFRSF10B/Trail R2 (DR5), the chemokines GM-CSF/CSF2 and MCF/CSF1, and CD40 and TNF-α itself, as well as NF-κB components (RELB, NFKB1 or 50/p105 and NFKB2 or p52/p100). For eight genes, the fold induction was much higher in HMEC, as compared to HUVEC. Most importantly, our study described for the first time a connection between NF-κB activation and the induction of most, if not all, of these genes in HMEC as evaluated by pharmacological inhibition and RelA expression knock-down by RNA interference. Moreover, since TNF-α is highly expressed in tumors, we further applied the NF-κB gene signature documented in TNFα-stimulated endothelial cells to human breast tumors. We found a significant positive correlation between TNF and the majority (85 %) of the identified endothelial TNF-induced genes in a well-defined series of 96 (48 ERα positive and 48 ERα negative) breast tumors. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together these data suggest the potential use of this NF-κB gene signature in analyzing the role of TNF-α in the endothelial dysfunction, as well as in breast tumors independently of the presence of ERα

BMP and Hedgehog regulate distinct AGM hematopoietic stem cells ex vivo

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), the self-renewing cells of the adult blood differentiation hierarchy, are generated during embryonic stages. The first HSCs are produced in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region of the embryo through endothelial to a hematopoietic transition. BMP4 and Hedgehog affect their production and expansion, but it is unknown whether they act to affect the same HSCs. In this study using the BRE GFP reporter mouse strain that identifies BMP/Smad-activated cells, we find that the AGM harbors two types of adult-repopulating HSCs upon explant culture: One type is BMP-activated and the other is a non-BMP-activated HSC type that is indirectly controlled by Hedgehog signaling through the VEGF pathway. Transcriptomic analyses demonstrate that the two HSC types express distinct but overlapping genetic programs. These results revealing the bifurcation in HSC types at early embryonic stages in the AGM explant model suggest that their development is dependent upon the signaling molecules in the microenvironment

Erythro-myeloid progenitors can differentiate from endothelial cells and modulate embryonic vascular remodeling

Erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMPs) were recently described to arise from the yolk sac endothelium, just prior to vascular remodeling, and are the source of adult/post-natal tissue resident macrophages. Questions remain, however, concerning whether EMPs differentiate directly from the endothelium or merely pass through. We provide the first evidence in vivo that EMPs can emerge directly from endothelial cells (ECs) and demonstrate a role for these cells in vascular development. We find that EMPs express most EC markers but late EMPs and EMP-derived cells do not take up acetylated low-density lipoprotein (AcLDL), as ECs do. When the endothelium is labelled with AcLDL before EMPs differentiate, EMPs and EMP-derived cells arise that are AcLDL+. If AcLDL is injected after the onset of EMP differentiation, however, the majority of EMP-derived cells are not double labelled. We find that cell division precedes entry of EMPs into circulation, and that blood flow facilitates the transition of EMPs from the endothelium into circulation in a nitric oxide-dependent manner. In gain-of-function studies, we inject the CSF1-Fc ligand in embryos and found that this increases the number of CSF1R+ cells, which localize to the venous plexus and significantly disrupt venous remodeling. This is the first study to definitively establish that EMPs arise from the endothelium in vivo and show a role for early myeloid cells in vascular development

The many faces of hematopoietic stem cell heterogeneity

Not all hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are alike. They differ in their physical characteristics such as cell cycle status and cell surface marker phenotype, they respond to different extrinsic signals, and they have different lineage outputs following transplantation. The growing body of evidence that supports heterogeneity within HSCs, which constitute the most robust cell fraction at the foundation of the adult hematopoietic system, is currently of great interest and raises questions as to why HSC subtypes exist, how they are generated and whether HSC heterogeneity affects leukemogenesis or treatment options. This Review provides a developmental overview of HSC subtypes during embryonic, fetal and adult stages of hematopoiesis and discusses the possible origins and consequences of HSC heterogeneity

The Origins and Functions of Tissue-Resident Macrophages in Kidney Development

The adult kidney hosts tissue-resident macrophages that can cause, prevent, and/or repair renal damage. Most of these macrophages derive from embryonic progenitors that colonize the kidney during its development and proliferate in situ throughout adulthood. Although the precise origins of kidney macrophages remain controversial, recent studies have revealed that embryonic macrophage progenitors initially migrate from the yolk sac, and later from the fetal liver, into the developing kidney. Once in the kidney, tissue-specific transcriptional regulators specify macrophage progenitors into dedicated kidney macrophages. Studies suggest that kidney macrophages facilitate many processes during renal organogenesis, such as branching morphogenesis and the clearance of cellular debris; however, little is known about how the origins and specification of kidney macrophages dictate their function. Here, we review significant new findings about the origins, specification, and developmental functions of kidney macrophages

Are hematopoietic stem cells generated in the placenta?

International audienceIn this issue of Cell Stem Cell, the origin of multipotent hematopoietic cells present in the placenta has been assessed in Ncx1(-/-) embryos lacking a functional heart and circulation. Rhodes and colleagues (Rhodes et al., 2008) found lymphoid progenitors in the placenta, as well as in dorsal aorta and yolk sac and vitelline vessels, indicating that they arose in situ

Etude du rôle du facteur de transcription Pitx2 dans la régulation de l'hématopoïèse

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Immature hematopoietic stem cells undergo maturation in the fetal liver.

International audienceHematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are defined by their capacity to reconstitute adult conventional mice, are first found in the dorsal aorta after 10.5 days post coitus (dpc) and in the fetal liver at 11 dpc. However, lympho-myeloid hematopoietic progenitors are detected in the dorsal aorta from 9 dpc, raising the issue of their role in establishing adult hematopoiesis. Here, we show that these progenitors are endowed with long-term reconstitution capacity, but only engraft natural killer (NK)-deficient Rag2γc(-/-) mice. This novel population, called here immature HSCs, evolves in culture with thrombopoietin and stromal cells, into HSCs, defined by acquisition of CD45 and MHC-1 expression and by the capacity to reconstitute NK-competent mice. This evolution occurs during ontogeny, as early colonization of fetal liver by immature HSCs precedes that of HSCs. Moreover, organ culture experiments show that immature HSCs acquire, in this environment, the features of HSCs