scholarly journals Replacing the PDZ-interacting C-termini of DSCAM and DSCAML1 with epitope tags causes different phenotypic severity in different cell populations

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M Garrett ◽  
Abigail LD Tadenev ◽  
Yuna T Hammond ◽  
Peter G Fuerst ◽  
Robert W Burgess

Different types of neurons in the retina are organized vertically into layers and horizontally in a mosaic pattern that helps ensure proper neural network formation and information processing throughout the visual field. The vertebrate Dscams (DSCAM and DSCAML1) are cell adhesion molecules that support the development of this organization by promoting self-avoidance at the level of cell types, promoting normal developmental cell death, and directing vertical neurite stratification. To understand the molecular interactions required for these activities, we tested the functional significance of the interaction between the C-terminus of the Dscams and multi-PDZ domain-containing scaffolding proteins in mouse. We hypothesized that this PDZ-interacting domain would mediate a subset of the Dscams’ functions. Instead, we found that in the absence of these interactions, some cell types developed almost normally, while others resembled complete loss of function. Thus, we show differential dependence on this domain for Dscams’ functions in different cell types.

Author(s):  
U. Aebi ◽  
P. Rew ◽  
T.-T. Sun

Various types of intermediate-sized (10-nm) filaments have been found and described in many different cell types during the past few years. Despite the differences in the chemical composition among the different types of filaments, they all yield common structural features: they are usually up to several microns long and have a diameter of 7 to 10 nm; there is evidence that they are made of several 2 to 3.5 nm wide protofilaments which are helically wound around each other; the secondary structure of the polypeptides constituting the filaments is rich in ∞-helix. However a detailed description of their structural organization is lacking to date.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huixia Ren ◽  
Yanjun Li ◽  
Chengsheng Han ◽  
Yi Yu ◽  
Bowen Shi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe Ca2+ modulated pulsatile secretions of glucagon and insulin by pancreatic α and β cells play a key role in glucose metabolism and homeostasis. However, how different types of islet cells couple and coordinate via paracrine interactions to produce various Ca2+ oscillation patterns are still elusive. By designing a microfluidic device to facilitate long-term recording of islet Ca2+ activity at single cell level and simultaneously identifying different cell types in live islet imaging, we show heterogeneous but intrinsic Ca2+ oscillation patterns of islets upon glucose stimulation. The α and β cells oscillate in antiphase and are globally phase locked to various phase delays, causing fast, slow or mixed oscillations. A mathematical model of coupled phase oscillators quantitatively agrees with experiments and reveals the essential role of paracrine regulations in tuning the oscillation modes. Our study highlights the importance of cell-cell interactions to generate stable but tunable islet oscillation patterns.


Author(s):  
Christian J. Hendriksz ◽  
Francois Karstens

There are 8 different types of diseases of the mucopolysaccharides, each caused by a deficiency in one of 10 different enzymes involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Partially degraded GAGs accumulate within the lysosomes of many different cell types and lead to clinical symptoms and excretion of large amounts of GAGs in the urine. Heritability is autosomal recessive except for MPS type II, which is X-linked. The disorders are chronic and progressive and, although the specific types all have their individual features, they share an abundance of clinical similarities. All involve the musculoskeletal, the cardiovascular, the pulmonary and the central nervous system.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 3896-3905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Oberdoerffer ◽  
Chryssa Kanellopoulou ◽  
Vigo Heissmeyer ◽  
Corinna Paeper ◽  
Christine Borowski ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring posttranscriptional gene-silencing mechanism that has been adapted as a genetic tool for loss-of-function studies of a variety of organisms. It is more widely applicable than classical gene targeting and allows for the simultaneous inactivation of several homologous genes with a single transgene. Recently, RNAi has been used for conditional and conventional gene inactivation in mice. Unlike gene targeting, RNAi is a dynamic process, and its efficiency may vary both between cell types and throughout development. Here we demonstrate that RNAi can be used to target three separately encoded isoforms of the bcl-2 family gene bfl-1/A1 in a conditional manner in mice. The extent of gene inactivation varies between different cell types and is least efficient in mature lymphocytes. Our data suggest that RNAi is affected by factors beyond small interfering RNA-mRNA stoichiometry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 98-112
Author(s):  
S. S. Shklyaev ◽  
G. A. Melnichenko ◽  
N. N. Volevodz ◽  
N. A. Falaleeva ◽  
S. A. Ivanov ◽  
...  

Adipose tissue mostly composed of different types of fat is one of the largest endocrine organs in the body playing multiple intricate roles including but not limited to energy storage, metabolic homeostasis, generation of heat, participation in immune functions and secretion of a number of biologically active factors known as adipokines. The most abundant of them is adiponectin. This adipocite-derived hormone exerts pleiotropic actions and exhibits insulin-sensitizing, antidiabetic, anti-obesogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, cardio- and neuroprotective properties. Contrariwise to its protective effects against various pathological events in different cell types, adiponectin may have links to several systemic diseases and malignances. Reduction in adiponectin levels has an implication in COVID-19-associated respiratory failure, which is attributed mainly to a phenomenon called ‘adiponectin paradox’. Ample evidence about multiple functions of adiponectin in the body was obtained from animal, mostly rodent studies. Our succinct review is entirely about multifaceted roles of adiponectin and mechanisms of its action in different physiological and pathological states.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Nichols ◽  
Victor G. Corces

AbstractChromatin is organized in the nucleus by CTCF loops and compartmental domains, the latter of which contain sequences bound by proteins capable of mediating interactions among themselves. While compartmental domains are one of the most prominent features of genome 3D organization at the chromosome scale, we lack a nuanced understanding of the different types of compartmental domains present in chromosomes and a mechanistic knowledge of the forces responsible for their formation. In this study, we compared different cell types to identify distinct paradigms of compartmental domain formation in human tissues. We identified and quantified compartmental forces correlated with histone modifications characteristic of transcriptional activity as well as previously underappreciated roles for compartmental domains correlated with the presence of H3K9me3, H3K27me3, or none of these histone modifications. We present a simple computer simulation model capable of predicting compartmental organization based on the biochemical characteristics of independent chromatin features. Using this computational model, we show that the underlying forces responsible for compartmental domain formation in human cells are conserved and that the diverse compartmentalization patterns seen across cells are due to differences in chromatin features. We extend these findings to Drosophila to suggest that the same fundamental forces are at work beyond humans. These results offer mechanistic insights into the fundamental forces driving the 3D organization of the genome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 13173
Author(s):  
Lauréline Roger ◽  
Fanny Tomas ◽  
Véronique Gire

Cellular senescence entails a state of an essentially irreversible proliferative arrest in which cells remain metabolically active and secrete a range of pro-inflammatory and proteolytic factors as part of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. There are different types of senescent cells, and senescence can be induced in response to many DNA damage signals. Senescent cells accumulate in different tissues and organs where they have distinct physiological and pathological functions. Despite this diversity, all senescent cells must be able to survive in a nondividing state while protecting themselves from positive feedback loops linked to the constant activation of the DNA damage response. This capacity requires changes in core cellular programs. Understanding how different cell types can undergo extensive changes in their transcriptional programs, metabolism, heterochromatin patterns, and cellular structures to induce a common cellular state is crucial to preventing cancer development/progression and to improving health during aging. In this review, we discuss how senescent cells continuously evolve after their initial proliferative arrest and highlight the unifying features that define the senescent state.


Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 2555-2563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Latimer ◽  
Xinhong Dong ◽  
Youlia Markov ◽  
Bruce Appel

Different cell types that occupy the midline of vertebrate embryos originate within the Spemann-Mangold or gastrula organizer. One such cell type is hypochord, which lies ventral to notochord in anamniote embryos. We show that hypochord precursors arise from the lateral edges of the organizer in zebrafish. During gastrulation, hypochord precursors are closely associated with no tail-expressing midline precursors and paraxial mesoderm, which expresses deltaC and deltaD. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that deltaC and deltaD were required for her4 expression in presumptive hypochord precursors and for hypochord development. Conversely, ectopic, unregulated Notch activity blocked no tail expression and promoted her4 expression. We propose that Delta signaling from paraxial mesoderm diversifies midline cell fate by inducing a subset of neighboring midline precursors to develop as hypochord, rather than as notochord.


Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (23) ◽  
pp. 4769-4779 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sotillos ◽  
F. Roch ◽  
S. Campuzano

The Notch transmembrane protein is the receptor of an evolutionary conserved pathway that mediates intercellular signalling leading to the specification of different cell types during development. In this pathway, many aspects of the signal transduction mechanism remain poorly understood, especially the role of proteolytic processing of Notch. We present genetic evidence indicating that the metalloprotease-disintegrin kuzbanian (J. Rooke, D. Pan, T. Xu and G. M. Rubin (1996) Science 273, 1227–1231) is a new component of the Notch signalling pathway and is involved in Notch activation. kuzbanian genetic mosaics demonstrate that, during neurogenesis, wing margin formation and vein width specification kuzbanian is autonomously required in the cell where Notch is activated. Genetic interactions between kuzbanian and different genes of the Notch pathway indicate that kuzbanian is required upstream of Suppressor of Hairless. Moreover, the requirement of kuzbanian for signalling by a ligand-dependent Abruptex receptor, but not by a constitutively activated form of Notch, suggests that kuzbanian is involved in the generation of a Notch functional receptor and/or in its activation. However, differences in the phenotypes of loss-of-function Notch and kuzbanian mutations suggest the existence of alternative Kuzbanian-independent mechanisms that generate Notch functional receptors.


Reproduction ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
S C Mizrak ◽  
F Renault-Mihara ◽  
M Párraga ◽  
J Bogerd ◽  
H J G van de Kant ◽  
...  

Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes (PEA-15) is a 15 kDa acidic serine-phosphorylated protein expressed in different cell types, especially in the CN. We initially detected the expression of PEA-15 in primary cultures of Sertoli cells. To assess the presence and localization of PEA-15 in the mouse testis, we studied the expression pattern of the PEA-15 protein by immunohistochemistry and mRNA byin situhybridization. Both the protein and the mRNA of PEA-15 were localized in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells, all types of spermatogonia, and spermatocytes up till zygotene phase of the meiotic prophase. Subsequently, with ongoing development of the spermatocytes, the expression decreased and was very low in the cytoplasm of diplotene spermatocytes. To analyze the possible role of PEA-15 in the developing testis, null mutants for PEA-15 were examined. As the PEA-15 C terminus contains residues for ERK binding, we studied possible differences between the localization of the ERK2 protein in wild type (WT) andPEA-15−/−mice. In the WT testis, ERK2 was localized in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells, B spermatogonia, preleptotene, leptotene, and zygotene spermatocytes, whereas in the KO testis, ERK2 was primarily localized in the nuclei of these cells and only little staining remained in the cytoplasm. Moreover, in PEA-15-deficient mice, significantly increased numbers of apoptotic spermatocytes were found, indicating an anti-apoptotic role of PEA-15 during the meiotic prophase. The increased numbers of apoptotic spermatocytes were not found at a specific step in the meiotic prophase.


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