cAMP-induced morphological changes in an immortalized schwann cell line: A prelude to differentiation?

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick G. De Deyne ◽  
George H. De Vries ◽  
John W. Bigbee
Author(s):  
Sylvie Polak-Charcon ◽  
Mehrdad Hekmati ◽  
Yehuda Ben Shaul

The epithelium of normal human colon mucosa “in vivo” exhibits a gradual pattern of differentiation as undifferentiated stem cells from the base of the crypt of “lieberkuhn” rapidly divide, differentiate and migrate toward the free surface. The major differentiated cell type of the intestine observed are: absorptive cells displaying brush border, goblet cells containing mucous granules, Paneth and endocrine cells containing dense secretory granules. These different cell types are also found in the intestine of the 13-14 week old embryo.We present here morphological evidence showing that HT29, an adenocarcinoma of the human colon cell line, can differentiate into various cell types by changing the growth and culture conditions and mimic morphological changes found during development of the intestine in the human embryo.HT29 cells grown in tissue-culture dishes in DMEM and 10% FCS form at late confluence a multilayer of morphologically undifferentiated cell culture covered with irregular microvilli, and devoid of tight junctions (Figs 1-3).


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1584
Author(s):  
Germán L. Vélez-Reyes ◽  
Nicholas Koes ◽  
Ji Hae Ryu ◽  
Gabriel Kaufmann ◽  
Mariah Berner ◽  
...  

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are highly aggressive, genomically complex, have soft tissue sarcomas, and are derived from the Schwann cell lineage. Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 syndrome (NF1), an autosomal dominant tumor predisposition syndrome, are at a high risk for MPNSTs, which usually develop from pre-existing benign Schwann cell tumors called plexiform neurofibromas. NF1 is characterized by loss-of-function mutations in the NF1 gene, which encode neurofibromin, a Ras GTPase activating protein (GAP) and negative regulator of RasGTP-dependent signaling. In addition to bi-allelic loss of NF1, other known tumor suppressor genes include TP53, CDKN2A, SUZ12, and EED, all of which are often inactivated in the process of MPNST growth. A sleeping beauty (SB) transposon-based genetic screen for high-grade Schwann cell tumors in mice, and comparative genomics, implicated Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K-AKT-mTOR, and other pathways in MPNST development and progression. We endeavored to more systematically test genes and pathways implicated by our SB screen in mice, i.e., in a human immortalized Schwann cell-based model and a human MPNST cell line, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. We individually induced loss-of-function mutations in 103 tumor suppressor genes (TSG) and oncogene candidates. We assessed anchorage-independent growth, transwell migration, and for a subset of genes, tumor formation in vivo. When tested in a loss-of-function fashion, about 60% of all TSG candidates resulted in the transformation of immortalized human Schwann cells, whereas 30% of oncogene candidates resulted in growth arrest in a MPNST cell line. Individual loss-of-function mutations in the TAOK1, GDI2, NF1, and APC genes resulted in transformation of immortalized human Schwann cells and tumor formation in a xenograft model. Moreover, the loss of all four of these genes resulted in activation of Hippo/Yes Activated Protein (YAP) signaling. By combining SB transposon mutagenesis and CRISPR/Cas9 screening, we established a useful pipeline for the validation of MPNST pathways and genes. Our results suggest that the functional genetic landscape of human MPNST is complex and implicate the Hippo/YAP pathway in the transformation of neurofibromas. It is thus imperative to functionally validate individual cancer genes and pathways using human cell-based models, to determinate their role in different stages of MPNST development, growth, and/or metastasis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 1145-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gao ◽  
S. Negash ◽  
H.S. Wang ◽  
D. Ledee ◽  
H. Guo ◽  
...  

The cyclin-dependent kinase member, Cdk5, is expressed in a variety of cell types, but neuron-specific expression of its activator, p35, is thought to limit its activity to neurons. Here we demonstrate that both Cdk5 and p35 are expressed in the human astrocytoma cell line, U373. Cdk5 and p35 are present in the detergent-insoluble cytoskeletal fraction of this cell line and Cdk5 localizes to filopodia and vinculin-rich regions of cell-matrix contact in lamellopodia. When exposed to a 46(o)C heat shock, U373 cells change shape, lose cell-matrix contacts and show increased levels of apoptosis. To test whether Cdk5 activation might play a role in these events, U373 cells were stably transfected with histidine-tagged or green fluorescent protein-tagged constructs of Cdk5 or a dominant negative mutation, Cdk5T33. Under normal growth conditions, growth characteristics of the stably transfected lines were indistinguishable from untransfected U373 cells and Cdk5 localization was not changed. However, when subjected to heat shock, cells stably transfected with Cdk5-T33 remained flattened, showed little loss of cell-matrix adhesion, and exhibited significantly lower levels of apoptosis. In contrast, cells that overexpressed wild-type Cdk5 showed morphological changes similar to those seen in untransfected U373 cells in response to heat shock and had significantly higher levels of apoptosis. Heat-shocked cells showed changes in p35 mobility and stability of the Cdk5/p35 complex consistent with endogenous Cdk5 activity. Together these findings suggest that endogenous Cdk5 activity may play a key role in regulating morphology, attachment, and apoptosis in U373 cells, and raise the possibility that Cdk5 may be a general regulator of cytoskeletal organization and cell adhesion in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (4) ◽  
pp. G504-G517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick D. Benoit ◽  
Fréderic Paré ◽  
Caroline Francoeur ◽  
Dominique Jean ◽  
Eric Tremblay ◽  
...  

In the intestinal epithelium, the Cdx, GATA, and HNF transcription factor families are responsible for the expression of differentiation markers such as sucrase-isomaltase. Although previous studies have shown that Cdx2 can induce differentiation in rat intestinal IEC-6 cells, no data are available concerning the direct implication of transcription factors on differentiation in human normal intestinal epithelial cell types. We investigated the role of Cdx2, GATA-4, and HNF-1α using the undifferentiated human intestinal epithelial crypt cell line HIEC. These transcription factors were tested on proliferation and expression of polarization and differentiation markers. Ectopic expression of Cdx2 or HNF-1α, alone or in combination, altered cell proliferation abilities through the regulation of cyclin D1 and p27 expression. HNF-1α and GATA-4 together induced morphological modifications of the cells toward polarization, resulting in the appearance of functional features such as microvilli. HNF-1α was also sufficient to induce the expression of cadherins and dipeptidylpeptidase, whereas in combination with Cdx2 it allowed the expression of the late differentiation marker sucrase-isomaltase. Large-scale analysis of gene expression confirmed the cooperative effect of these factors. Finally, although DcamKL1 and Musashi-1 expression were downregulated in differentiated HIEC, other intestinal stem cell markers, such as Bmi1, were unaffected. These observations show that, in cooperation with Cdx2, HNF-1α acts as a key factor on human intestinal cells to trigger the onset of their functional differentiation program whereas GATA-4 appears to promote morphological changes.


2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junji Yamauchi ◽  
Yuki Miyamoto ◽  
Jonah R. Chan ◽  
Akito Tanoue

The cellular events that precede myelination in the peripheral nervous system require rapid and dynamic morphological changes in the Schwann cell. These events are thought to be mainly controlled by axonal signals. But how signals on the axons are coordinately organized and transduced to promote proliferation, migration, radial sorting, and myelination is unknown. We describe that the axonal signal neuregulin-1 (NRG1) controls Schwann cell migration via activation of the atypical Dock180-related guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Dock7 and subsequent activation of the Rho guanine triphosphatases (GTPases) Rac1 and Cdc42 and the downstream c-Jun N-terminal kinase. We show that the NRG1 receptor ErbB2 directly binds and activates Dock7 by phosphorylating Tyr-1118. Dock7 knockdown, or expression of Dock7 harboring the Tyr-1118–to–Phe mutation in Schwann cells, attenuates the effects of NRG1. Thus, Dock7 functions as an intracellular substrate for ErbB2 to promote Schwann cell migration. This provides an unanticipated mechanism through which ligand-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation can trigger the activation of Rho GTPase-GEFs of the Dock180 family.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Caiazza ◽  
Massimo D’Agostino ◽  
Fabiana Passaro ◽  
Deriggio Faicchia ◽  
Massimo Mallardo ◽  
...  

Acute administration of a high level of extracellular citrate displays an anti-proliferative effect on both in vitro and in vivo models. However, the long-term effect of citrate treatment has not been investigated yet. Here, we address this question in PC3 cells, a prostate-cancer-derived cell line. Acute administration of high levels of extracellular citrate impaired cell adhesion and inhibited the proliferation of PC3 cells, but surviving cells adapted to grow in the chronic presence of 20 mM citrate. Citrate-resistant PC3 cells are significantly less glycolytic than control cells. Moreover, they overexpress short-form, citrate-insensitive phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1) together with full-length PFK1. In addition, they show traits of mesenchymal-epithelial transition: an increase in E-cadherin and a decrease in vimentin. In comparison with PC3 cells, citrate-resistant cells display morphological changes that involve both microtubule and microfilament organization. This was accompanied by changes in homeostasis and the organization of intracellular organelles. Thus, the mitochondrial network appears fragmented, the Golgi complex is scattered, and the lysosomal compartment is enlarged. Interestingly, citrate-resistant cells produce less total ROS but accumulate more mitochondrial ROS than control cells. Consistently, in citrate-resistant cells, the autophagic pathway is upregulated, possibly sustaining their survival. In conclusion, chronic administration of citrate might select resistant cells, which could jeopardize the benefits of citrate anticancer treatment.


1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin F. Pera ◽  
Daniella Herszfeld

Pluripotent human teratocarcinoma stem cells cultured in vitro provide a resource for the study of early embryonic development in man, as well as a means for discovery of novel factors controlling cell differentiation and commitment. We previously reported that the human teratocarcinoma stem cell line GCT 27X-1 could be induced to differentiate into an endodermal progenitor cell by treatment with high doses of retinoic acid. A search for polypeptide inducers of differentiation in this system has identified bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) as a potent inducer of differentiation. In cell line GCT 27X-1, treatment with BMP-2 reduces proliferation, induces morphological changes similar to obtained following treatment with retinoic acid, and causes a decrease in the expression of transcripts for the stem cell markers CD30 and Oct-4. Preliminary immunochemical studies indicate that the differentiated cells produced by BMP-2 are endodermal precursors with a pattern of marker expression similar to that found in retinoic acid treated cells. Models of endoderm differentiation in humans will be useful for identifying the molecules which mediate cell interactions in development, and in achieving directed differentiation of cells for use in transplantation.


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