Distinct Roles of Bcl-2 and Bcl-Xl in the Apoptosis of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells during Differentiation

Background: Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be maintained over extended periods of time before activation and differentiation. Little is known about the programs that sustain the survival of these cells. Principal Findings: Undifferentiated adult human MSCs (hMSCs) did not undergo apoptosis in response to different cell death inducers. Conversely, the same inducers can readily induce apoptosis when hMSCs are engaged in the early stages of differentiation. The survival of undifferentiated cells is linked to the expression of Bcl-Xl and Bcl-2 in completely opposite ways. Bcl-Xl is expressed at similar levels in undifferentiated and differentiated hMSCs while Bcl-2 is expressed only in differentiated cells. In undifferentiated hMSCs, the down-regulation of Bcl-Xl is associated with an increased sensitivity to apoptosis while the ectopic expression of Bcl-2 induced apoptosis. This apoptosis is linked to the presence of cytoplasmic Nur 77 in undifferentiated hMSCs. Significance: In hMSCs, the expression of Bcl-2 depends on cellular differentiation and can be either pro- or anti-apoptotic. Bcl-Xl, on the other hand, exhibits an anti-apoptotic activity under all conditions

IL-3 and oncogenic Abl regulate the myeloblast transcriptome by altering mRNA stability

The growth factor interleukin-3 (IL-3) promotes the survival and growth of multipotent hematopoietic progenitors and stimulates myelopoiesis. It has also been reported to oppose terminal granulopoiesis and to support leukemic cell growth through autocrine or paracrine mechanisms. The degree to which IL-3 acts at the posttranscriptional level is largely unknown. We have conducted global mRNA decay profiling and bioinformatic analyses in 32Dcl3 myeloblasts indicating that IL-3 caused immediate early stabilization of hundreds of transcripts in pathways relevant to myeloblast function. Stabilized transcripts were enriched for AU-Response elements (AREs), and an ARE-containing domain from the interleukin-6 (IL-6) 3′-UTR rendered a heterologous gene responsive to IL-3-mediated transcript stabilization. Many IL-3-stabilized transcripts had been associated with leukemic transformation. Deregulated Abl kinase shared with IL-3 the ability to delay turnover of transcripts involved in proliferation or differentiation blockade, relying, in part, on signaling through the Mek/ Erk pathway. These findings support a model of IL-3 action through mRNA stability control and suggest that aberrant stabilization of an mRNA network linked to IL-3 contributes to leukemic cell growth. © 2009 Ernst et al

The human thymus in ageing: histologic involution paralleled by increased mitogen response and by enrichment of OKT3+ lymphocytes.

In the present study, based on 24 individuals aged 5-61 years, the histological pattern of the thymus has been determined and correlated to the thymus lymphocyte in-vitro responses to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A). It has been found that lymphocytes from histologically involuted thymus were significantly more responsive to PHA and Con A stimulation than lymphocytes from histologically normal thymus. These data indicate that thymus age-dependent involution is associated with increased lymphocyte in-vitro reactivity. In addition, in 10 cases the relative proportions of the thymus lymphocyte subpopulations have been determined by the use of monoclonal antibodies OKT3, OKT4, OKT6 and OKT8. These results have been correlated to the histology of the organ and to the mitogen responsiveness of thymus lymphocytes. In normal thymus the majority of the cells were OKT6+, while there were lower numbers were OKT3+. However, in involuted thymus, OKT3+ lymphocytes prevailed over OKT6+ cells. Furthermore, a direct relationship between the proportion of OKT3+ lymphocytes and the response to mitogens has been observed. These findings indicate that the increased mitogen response noticed in histologically involuted thymus is accompanied by an OKT3+-cell enrichment which is paralleled by a depletion of OKT6+ cells

HOX and TALE signatures specify human stromal stem cell populations from different sources.

Human stromal stem cell populations reside in different tissues and anatomical sites, however a critical question related to their efficient use in regenerative medicine is whether they exhibit equivalent biological properties. Here, we compared cellular and molecular characteristics of stromal stem cells derived from the bone marrow, at different body sites (iliac crest, sternum, and vertebrae) and other tissues (dental pulp and colon). In particular, we investigated whether homeobox genes of the HOX and TALE subfamilies might provide suitable markers to identify distinct stromal cell populations, as HOX proteins control cell positional identity and, together with their co-factors TALE, are involved in orchestrating differentiation of adult tissues. Our results show that stromal populations from different sources, although immunophenotypically similar, display distinct HOX and TALE signatures, as well as different growth and differentiation abilities. Stromal stem cells from different tissues are characterized by specific HOX profiles, differing in the number and type of active genes, as well as in their level of expression. Conversely, bone marrow-derived cell populations can be essentially distinguished for the expression levels of specific HOX members, strongly suggesting that quantitative differences in HOX activity may be crucial. Taken together, our data indicate that the HOX and TALE profiles provide positional, embryological and hierarchical identity of human stromal stem cells. Furthermore, our data suggest that cell populations derived from different body sites may not represent equivalent cell sources for cell-based therapeutical strategies for regeneration and repair of specific tissues

Cytokine-dependent granulocytic differentiation: Regulation of proliferative and differentiative responses in a murine progenitor cell line

Human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) can support the survival and short term proliferation of the interleukin 3 (IL 3)-dependent diploid murine hemopoietic progenitor cell line 32D C13. After 8 days in the presence of 30 U/ml of G-CSF and in the absence of IL 3, the great majority of 32D C13 cells becomes positive for myeloperoxidase (a marker that appears at the promyelocytic stage of the granulocytic lineage) and progressively differentiates into lactoferrin-containing neutrophilic granulocytes. Myeloperoxidase mRNA rapidly increases after 24 to 48 hr of treatment with G-CSF, peaks at day 6 and is no longer detectable at day 9 and 12, paralleling the appearance of myeloperoxidase-positive promyelocytes and myelocytes in the culture. After 12 days, 100% of the cells terminally differentiate, and clonogenic assays in IL 3-containing semisolid media indicate that the whole population has irreversibly lost proliferative capability. By using varying concentrations of both murine IL 3 and recombinant human G-CSF, the cultures develop an heterogeneous population of cells representing all the differentiation stages of the myeloid lineage, and the relative ratios of immature proliferating precursors and terminally differentiated cells present in the cultures can be modulated by modifying the concentrations of IL 3 or recombinant human G-CSF. Isobolic curves indicate that IL 3 and G-CSF have an antagonistic effect on the proliferation of 32D C13 cells. Thus, these cells represent a simplified in vitro model of normal granulocytic differentiation whose extent may be modulated completely in the presence of serum by two well-defined growth and differentiation factors: IL 3 and G-CSF