Search

An understanding of the mechanisms that govern pancreatic endocrine cell ontogeny may offer strategies for their somatic replacement in diabetic patients. During embryogenesis, transcription factor FoxO1 is expressed in pancreatic progenitor cells. Subsequently, it becomes restricted to beta cells and to a rare population of insulin-negative juxtaductal cells (FoxO1+ Ins(-)). It is unclear whether FoxO1+ Ins(-) cells give rise to endocrine cells. To address this question, we first evaluated FoxO1's role in pancreas development using gain- and loss-of-function alleles in mice. Premature FoxO1 activation in pancreatic progenitors promoted alpha-cell formation but curtailed exocrine development. Conversely, FoxO1 ablation in pancreatic progenitor cells, but not in committed endocrine progenitors or terminally differentiated beta cells, selectively increased juxtaductal beta cells. As these data indicate an involvement of FoxO1 in pancreatic lineage determination, FoxO1+ Ins(-) cells were clonally isolated and assayed for their capacity to undergo endocrine differentiation. Upon FoxO1 activation, FoxO1+ Ins(-) cultures converted into glucagon-producing cells. We conclude that FoxO1+ Ins(-) juxtaductal cells represent a hitherto-unrecognized pancreatic cell population with in vitro capability of endocrine differentiation.

LKB1 is a key regulator of energy homeostasis through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and is functionally linked to vascular development, cell polarity, and tumor suppression. In humans, germ line LKB1 loss-of-function mutations cause Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), which is characterized by a predisposition to gastrointestinal neoplasms marked by a high risk of pancreatic cancer. To explore the developmental and physiological functions of Lkb1 in vivo, we examined the impact of conditional Lkb1 deletion in the pancreatic epithelium of the mouse. The Lkb1-deficient pancreas, although grossly normal at birth, demonstrates a defective acinar cell polarity, an abnormal cytoskeletal organization, a loss of tight junctions, and an inactivation of the AMPK/MARK/SAD family kinases. Rapid and progressive postnatal acinar cell degeneration and acinar-to-ductal metaplasia occur, culminating in marked pancreatic insufficiency and the development of pancreatic serous cystadenomas, a tumor type associated with PJS. Lkb1 deficiency also impacts the pancreas endocrine compartment, characterized by smaller and scattered islets and transient alterations in glucose control. These genetic studies provide in vivo evidence of a key role for LKB1 in the establishment of epithelial cell polarity that is vital for pancreatic acinar cell function and viability and for the suppression of neoplasia.

Phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the blood vessel wall from a differentiated to a proliferative state during vascular injury and inflammation plays an important role in restenosis and atherosclerosis. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is a member of the MMP family of proteases, which participate in extracellular matrix degradation and turnover. MMP9 is upregulated and required for SMC migration during the development of restenotic and atherosclerotic lesions. In this study, we show that FoxO4 activates transcription of the MMP9 gene in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) signaling. Inhibition of FoxO4 expression by small interfering RNA or gene knockout reduces the abilities of SMCs to migrate in vitro and inhibit neointimal formation and MMP9 expression in vivo. We further show that both the N-terminal, Sp1-interactive domain and the C-terminal transactivation domain of FoxO4 are required for FoxO4-activated MMP9 transcription. TNF-alpha signaling upregulates nuclear FoxO4. Our studies place FoxO4 in the center of a transcriptional regulatory network that links gene transcription required for SMC remodeling to upstream cytokine signals and implicate FoxO4 as a potential therapeutic target for combating proliferative arterial diseases.

Telomeres are key structural elements for the protection and maintenance of linear chromosomes, and they function to prevent recognition of chromosomal ends as DNA double-stranded breaks. Loss of telomere capping function brought about by telomerase deficiency and gradual erosion of telomere ends or by experimental disruption of higher-order telomere structure culminates in the fusion of defective telomeres and/or the activation of DNA damage checkpoints. Previous work has implicated the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair pathway as a critical mediator of these biological processes. Here, employing the telomerase-deficient mouse model, we tested whether the NHEJ component DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) was required for fusion of eroded/dysfunctional telomere ends and the telomere checkpoint responses. In late-generation mTerc(-/-) DNA-PKcs(-/-) cells and tissues, chromosomal end-to-end fusions and anaphase bridges were readily evident. Notably, nullizygosity for DNA Ligase4 (Lig4)--an additional crucial NHEJ component--was also permissive for chromosome fusions in mTerc(-/-) cells, indicating that, in contrast to results seen with experimental disruption of telomere structure, telomere dysfunction in the context of gradual telomere erosion can engage additional DNA repair pathways. Furthermore, we found that DNA-PKcs deficiency does not reduce apoptosis, tissue atrophy, or p53 activation in late-generation mTerc(-/-) tissues but rather moderately exacerbates germ cell apoptosis and testicular degeneration. Thus, our studies indicate that the NHEJ components, DNA-PKcs and Lig4, are not required for fusion of critically shortened telomeric ends and that DNA-PKcs is not required for sensing and executing the telomere checkpoint response, findings consistent with the consensus view of the limited role of DNA-PKcs in DNA damage signaling in general.

Class I(A) phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are activated by growth factor receptors, and they regulate, among other processes, cell growth and organ size. Studies using transgenic mice overexpressing constitutively active and dominant negative forms of the p110alpha catalytic subunit of class I(A) PI3K have implicated the role of this enzyme in regulating heart size and physiological cardiac hypertrophy. To further understand the role of class I(A) PI3K in controlling heart growth and to circumvent potential complications from the overexpression of dominant negative and constitutively active proteins, we generated mice with muscle-specific deletion of the p85alpha regulatory subunit and germ line deletion of the p85beta regulatory subunit of class I(A) PI3K. Here we show that mice with cardiac deletion of both p85 subunits exhibit attenuated Akt signaling in the heart, reduced heart size, and altered cardiac gene expression. Furthermore, exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy is also attenuated in the p85 knockout hearts. Despite such defects in postnatal developmental growth and physiological hypertrophy, the p85 knockout hearts exhibit normal contractility and myocardial histology. Our results therefore provide strong genetic evidence that class I(A) PI3Ks are critical regulators for the developmental growth and physiological hypertrophy of the heart.

The Werner and Bloom syndromes are caused by loss-of-function mutations in WRN and BLM, respectively, which encode the RecQ family DNA helicases WRN and BLM, respectively. Persons with Werner syndrome displays premature aging of the skin, vasculature, reproductive system, and bone, and those with Bloom syndrome display more limited features of aging, including premature menopause; both syndromes involve genome instability and increased cancer. The proteins participate in recombinational repair of stalled replication forks or DNA breaks, but the precise functions of the proteins that prevent rapid aging are unknown. Accumulating evidence points to telomeres as targets of WRN and BLM, but the importance in vivo of the proteins in telomere biology has not been tested. We show that Wrn and Blm mutations each accentuate pathology in later-generation mice lacking the telomerase RNA template Terc, including acceleration of phenotypes characteristic of latest-generation Terc mutants. Furthermore, pathology not observed in Terc mutants but similar to that observed in Werner syndrome and Bloom syndrome, such as bone loss, was observed. The pathology was accompanied by enhanced telomere dysfunction, including end-to-end chromosome fusions and greater loss of telomere repeat DNA compared with Terc mutants. These findings indicate that telomere dysfunction may contribute to the pathogenesis of Werner syndrome and Bloom syndrome.

Silencing of gene transcription involves local chromatin modification achieved through the local recruitment of large multiprotein complexes containing histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. The mammalian corepressors mSin3A and mSin3B have been shown to play a key role in this process by tethering HDACs 1 and 2 to promoter-bound transcription factors. Similar mechanisms appear to be operative in yeast, in which epistasis experiments have established that the mSin3 and HDAC orthologs (SIN3 and RPD3), along with a novel protein, SDS3, function in the same repressor pathway. Here, we report the identification of a component of the mSin3-HDAC complex that bears homology to yeast SDS3, physically associates with mSin3 proteins in vivo, represses transcription in a manner that is partially dependent on HDAC activity, and enables HDAC1 catalytic activity in vivo. That key physical and functional properties are also shared by yeast SDS3 underscores the central role of the Sin3-HDAC-Sds3 complex in eukaryotic cell biology, and the discovery of mSds3 in mammalian cells provides a new avenue for modulating the activity of this complex in human disease.

Epithelial tumors of the pancreas exhibit a wide spectrum of histologies with varying propensities for metastasis and tissue invasion. The histogenic relationship among these tumor types is not well established; moreover, the specific role of genetic lesions in the progression of these malignancies is largely undefined. Transgenic mice with ectopic expression of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) in the pancreatic acinar cells develop tubular metaplasia, a potential premalignant lesion of the pancreatic ductal epithelium. To evaluate the cooperative interactions between TGF-alpha and signature mutations in pancreatic tumor genesis and progression, TGFalpha transgenic mice were crossed onto Ink4a/Arf and/or p53 mutant backgrounds. These compound mutant mice developed a novel pancreatic neoplasm, serous cystadenoma (SCA), presenting as large epithelial tumors bearing conspicuous gross and histological resemblances to their human counterpart. TGFalpha animals heterozygous for both the Ink4a/Arf and the p53 mutation showed a dramatically increased incidence of SCA, indicating synergistic interaction of these alleles. Inactivation of p16(Ink4a) by loss of heterozygosity, intragenic mutation, or promoter hypermethylation was a common feature in these SCAs, and correspondingly, none of the tumors expressed wild-type p16(Ink4a). All tumors sustained loss of p53 or Arf, generally in a mutually exclusive fashion. The tumor incidence data and molecular profiles establish a pathogenic role for the dual inactivation of p16(Ink4a) and p19(Arf)-p53 in the development of SCA in mice, demonstrating that p16(Ink4a) is a murine tumor suppressor. This genetically defined model provides insights into the molecular pathogenesis of SCA and serves as a platform for dissection of cell-specific programs of epithelial tumor suppression.

The frequent loss of both INK4a and ARF in melanoma raises the question of which INK4a-ARF gene product functions to suppress melanoma genesis in vivo. Moreover, the high incidence of INK4a-ARF inactivation in transformed melanocytes, along with the lack of p53 mutation, implies a cell type-specific role for INK4a-ARF that may not be complemented by other lesions of the RB and p53 pathways. A mouse model of cutaneous melanoma has been generated previously through the combined effects of INK4a(Delta2/3) deficiency (null for INK4a and ARF) and melanocyte-specific expression of activated RAS (tyrosinase-driven H-RAS(V12G), Tyr-RAS). In this study, we made use of this Tyr-RAS allele to determine whether activated RAS can cooperate with p53 loss in melanoma genesis, whether such melanomas are biologically comparable to those arising in INK4a(Delta2/3-/-) mice, and whether tumor-associated mutations emerge in the p16(INK4a)-RB pathway in such melanomas. Here, we report that p53 inactivation can cooperate with activated RAS to promote the development of cutaneous melanomas that are clinically indistinguishable from those arisen on the INK4a(Delta2/3) null background. Genomewide analysis of RAS-induced p53 mutant melanomas by comparative genomic hybridization and candidate gene surveys revealed alterations of key components governing RB-regulated G(1)/S transition, including c-Myc, cyclin D1, cdc25a, and p21(CIP1). Consistent with the profile of c-Myc dysregulation, the reintroduction of p16(INK4a) profoundly reduced the growth of Tyr-RAS INK4a(Delta2/3-/-) tumor cells but had no effect on tumor cells derived from Tyr-RAS p53(-/-) melanomas. Together, these data validate a role for p53 inactivation in melanomagenesis and suggest that both the RB and p53 pathways function to suppress melanocyte transformation in vivo in the mouse.

The susceptibility of BALB/c mice to pristane-induced plasmacytomas is a complex genetic trait involving multiple loci, while DBA/2 and C57BL/6 strains are genetically resistant to the plasmacytomagenic effects of pristane. In this model system for human B-cell neoplasia, one of the BALB/c susceptibility and modifier loci, Pctr1, was mapped to a 5.7-centimorgan (cM) chromosomal region that included Cdkn2a, which encodes p16(INK4a) and p19(ARF), and the coding sequences for the BALB/c p16(INK4a) and p19(ARF) alleles were found to be polymorphic with respect to their resistant Pctr1 counterparts in DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice (45). In the present study, alleles of Pctr1, Cdkn2a, and D4Mit15 from a resistant strain (BALB/cDAG) carrying DBA/2 chromatin were introgressively backcrossed to the susceptible BALB/c strain. The resultant C.DAG-Pctr1 Cdkn2a D4Mit15 congenic was more resistant to plasmacytomagenesis than BALB/c, thus narrowing Pctr1 to a 1.5-cM interval. Concomitantly, resistant C57BL/6 mice, from which both gene products of the Cdkn2a gene have been eliminated, developed pristane-induced plasma cell tumors over a shorter latency period than the traditionally susceptible BALB/cAn strain. Biological assays of the p16(INK4a) and p19(ARF) alleles from BALB/c and DBA/2 indicated that the BALB/c p16(INK4a) allele was less active than its DBA/2 counterpart in inducing growth arrest of mouse plasmacytoma cell lines and preventing ras-induced transformation of NIH 3T3 cells, while the two p19(ARF) alleles displayed similar potencies in both assays. We propose that the BALB/c susceptibility/modifier locus, Pctr1, is an "efficiency" allele of the p16(INK4a) gene.

This study examines in vivo the role and functional interrelationships of components regulating exit from the G1 resting phase into the DNA synthetic (S) phase of the cell cycle. Our approach made use of several key experimental attributes of the developing mouse lens, namely its strong dependence on pRb in maintenance of the postmitotic state, the down-regulation of cyclins D and E and up-regulation of the p57(KIP2) inhibitor in the postmitotic lens fiber cell compartment, and the ability to target transgene expression to this compartment. These attributes provide an ideal in vivo context in which to examine the consequences of forced cyclin expression and/or of loss of p57(KIP2) inhibitor function in a cellular compartment that permits an accurate quantitation of cellular proliferation and apoptosis rates in situ. Here, we demonstrate that, despite substantial overlap in cyclin transgene expression levels, D-type and E cyclins exhibited clear functional differences in promoting entry into S phase. In general, forced expression of the D-type cyclins was more efficient than cyclin E in driving lens fiber cells into S phase. In the case of cyclins D1 and D2, ectopic proliferation required their enhanced nuclear localization through CDK4 coexpression. High nuclear levels of cyclin E and CDK2, while not sufficient to promote efficient exit from G1, did act synergistically with ectopic cyclin D/CDK4. The functional differences between D-type and E cyclins was most evident in the p57(KIP2)-deficient lens wherein cyclin D overexpression induced a rate of proliferation equivalent to that of the pRb null lens, while overexpression of cyclin E did not increase the rate of proliferation over that induced by the loss of p57(KIP2) function. These in vivo analyses provide strong biological support for the prevailing view that the antecedent actions of cyclin D/CDK4 act cooperatively with cyclin E/CDK2 and antagonistically with p57(KIP2) to regulate the G1/S transition in a cell type highly dependent upon pRb.

To determine the role of L-Myc in normal mammalian development and its functional relationship to other members of the Myc family, we determined the normal patterns of L-myc gene expression in the developing mouse by RNA in situ hybridization and assessed the phenotypic impact of L-Myc deficiency produced through standard gene targeting methodology. L-myc transcripts were detected in the developing kidney and lung as well as in both the proliferative and the differentiative zones of the brain and neural tube. Despite significant expression of L-myc in developing mouse tissue, homozygous null L-myc mice were found to be viable, reproductively competent, and represented in expected frequencies from heterozygous matings. A detailed histological survey of embryonic and adult tissues, characterization of an embryonic neuronal marker, and measurement of cellular proliferation in situ did not reveal any congenital abnormalities. The lack of an apparent phenotype associated with L-Myc deficiency indicates that L-Myc is dispensable for gross morphological development and argues against a unique role for L-Myc in early central nervous system development as had been previously suggested. Although overlapping expression patterns among myc family members raise the possibility of complementation of L-Myc deficiency by other Myc oncoproteins, compensatory changes in the levels of c- and/or N-myc transcripts were not detected in homozygous null L-myc mice.

To gain insight into the role of Myc family oncoproteins and their associated protein Max in vertebrate growth and development, we sought to identify homologs in the zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio). A combination of a polymerase chain reaction-based cloning strategy and low-stringency hybridization screening allowed for the isolation of zebra fish c-, N-, and L-myc and max genes; subsequent structural characterization showed a high degree of conservation in regions that encode motifs of known functional significance. On the functional level, zebra fish Max, like its mammalian counterpart, served to suppress the transformation activity of mouse c-Myc in rat embryo fibroblasts. In addition, the zebra fish c-myc gene proved capable of cooperating with an activated H-ras to effect the malignant transformation of mammalian cells, albeit with diminished potency compared with mouse c-myc. With respect to their roles in normal developing tissues, the differential temporal and spatial patterns of steady-state mRNA expression observed for each zebra fish myc family member suggest unique functions for L-myc in early embryogenesis, for N-myc in establishment and growth of early organ systems, and for c-myc in increasingly differentiated tissues. Furthermore, significant alterations in the steady-state expression of zebra fish myc family genes concomitant with relatively constant max expression support the emerging model of regulation of Myc function in cellular growth and differentiation.

A polymerase chain reaction-based cloning strategy allowed for the isolation of two distinct Xenopus L-myc genes, as well as previously isolated xc- and xN-myc genes, thus demonstrating that these three well-defined members of the mammalian myc gene family are present in lower vertebrates as well. Comparison of the Xenopus and mammalian Myc families revealed a high degree of structural relatedness at the gene and protein levels; this homology was consistent with the ability of the xc-myc1 and xN-myc1 genes to function as oncogenes in primary mammalian cells. In contrast, the xL-myc1 gene was found to be incapable of transforming rat embryo fibroblast cells, and this inactivity may relate to localized but significant differences in its putative transactivation domain. Analysis of xc-, xN-, and xL-myc gene expression demonstrated that (i) all three genes were highly expressed during oogenesis and their transcripts accumulated as abundant maternal mRNAs, (ii) each gene exhibited a distinctive pattern of expression during embryogenesis and in adult tissues, and (iii) the xL-myc1 and xL-myc2 genes were coordinately expressed in the maternal and zygotic genomes. The markedly high expression of the Xenopus myc gene family in differentiated tissues, such as the central nervous system and kidney, contrasts sharply with the low levels observed in mammalian adult tissues. These differences may reflect unique functions of the Myc family proteins in processes specific to amphibians, such as tissue regeneration.

myc family genes (c-, N-, and L-myc) have been shown to be differentially expressed with respect to tissue type and developmental stage. To define and compare the regulatory mechanisms governing their differential developmental expression, we examined the transcriptional regulation of each myc family member during murine postnatal brain and liver development. Nuclear run-on transcription assays demonstrated that both the rate of transcriptional initiation and the degree of transcriptional blocking contribute in a complex manner to the regulation of all three genes. During postnatal brain development, the relative contribution of each transcriptional control mechanism to the regulation of myc family gene expression was found to be different for each gene. For instance, while modulation of transcriptional attenuation did not appear to contribute to the down-regulation of L-myc expression, attenuation was found to be the dominant mechanism by which steady-state N-myc mRNA levels were down-regulated. Different transcriptional strategies were found to be employed in newborn versus adult developing liver for repression of N- and L-myc expression. Undetectable steady-state N- and L-myc mRNA levels in newborn liver were associated with a very low rate of transcriptional initiation, whereas the lack of N- and L-myc expression at the adult stage was accompanied by a high rate of initiation and a striking degree of transcriptional attenuation. Transcriptional attenuation in the N-myc gene was found to map to a region encoding a potential stem-loop structure followed by a thymine tract within the first exon and was not dependent on the use of a specific transcriptional start site.