Understanding the Roles of the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway during T-Cell Lymphopoiesis and in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL)

The Hedgehog (HH) signaling network is one of the main regulators of invertebrate and vertebrate embryonic development. Along with other networks, such as NOTCH and WNT, HH signaling specifies both the early patterning and the polarity events as well as the subsequent organ formation via the temporal and spatial regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. However, aberrant activation of HH signaling has been identified in a broad range of malignant disorders, where it positively influences proliferation, survival, and therapeutic resistance of neoplastic cells. Inhibitors targeting the HH pathway have been tested in preclinical cancer models. The HH pathway is also overactive in other blood malignancies, including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). This review is intended to summarize our knowledge of the biological roles and pathophysiology of the HH pathway during normal T-cell lymphopoiesis and in T-ALL. In addition, we will discuss potential therapeutic strategies that might expand the clinical usefulness of drugs targeting the HH pathway in T-ALL

Expression and localization of Phosphoinositide-specific Phospholipases C in cultured, differentiating and stimulated human osteoblasts

The osteoblasts contribute to bone homeostasis maintaining the bone mass, and intervene in bone injuries repair. The limited number of available therapeutic agents promoting osteogenesis aroused the greatest interest in the control of osteoblasts’ activity. Insights in the events leading to the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts might allow uncover potential molecular targets to control the complex mechanisms underlying bone remodeling. Oscillations of calcium act crucially during this remodeling, affecting both the differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts. Signal transduction pathways contribute to the differentiation and metabolic activities of osteoblasts, with special regard to calcium-related signaling, including the Phosphoinositide (PI) pathway and related Phospholipases C (PLCs). In order to evaluate the role of PLC enzymes’ family in human osteoblasts (HOBs), we analyzed the expression of PLC genes and the localization of PLC enzymes in cultured HOBs and in in vitro differentiating HOBs after 3, 10, 17 and 23 days, and in HOBs stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide, which affects the differentiation of osteoblasts, after 3, 6, 24 and 48 hours. Our results confirm the transcription of most PLC genes and the presence of a number of PLC enzymes in HOBs, differently localized in the nucleus, in the cytoplasm or both, as well as in cell protrusions. The localization of PLC enzymes within the cell suggests the activation of both the PI nuclear and of the cytoplasmic cycle in HOBs. Depending on the experimental conditions, transcripts of splicing variants of selected PLC genes were detected and the localization of most PLC enzymes varied, with special regard to enzymes belonging to the PLC , and sub-families. Further studies addressed to elucidate the complex network involving the signal transduction of PLCs might provide further insights into the complex signal transduction network in bone remodeling, also offering the opportunity to identify promising molecular targets

Unexpected Absence of Skeletal Responses to Dietary Magnesium Depletion: Basis for Future Perspectives?

It's known that a magnesium (Mg)-deficient diet is associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. The aim of this work is to investigate, by a histological approach, the effects of a Mg-deprived diet on the bone of 8-weeks-old C57BL/6J male mice. Treated and control mice were supplied with a Mg-deprived or normal diet for 8 weeks, respectively. Body weight, serum Mg concentration, expression of kidney magnesiotropic genes, and histomorphometry on L5 vertebrae, femurs, and tibiae were evaluated. Body weight gain and serum Mg concentration were significantly reduced, while a trend toward increase was found in gene expression in mice receiving the Mg-deficient diet, suggesting the onset of an adaptive response to Mg depletion. Histomorphometric parameters on the amount of trabecular and cortical bone, number of osteoclasts, and thickness of the growth plate in femoral distal and tibial proximal metaphyses did not differ between groups; these findings partially differ from most data present in the literature showing that animals fed a Mg-deprived diet develop bone loss and may be only in part explained by differences among the experimental protocols. However, the unexpected findings we recorded on bones could be attributed to genetic differences that may have developed after multiple generations of inbreeding