The role of the renin-angiotensin system in chronic kidney disease involves multiple peptides and receptors. Exerting antipodal pathophysiological mechanisms, renin inhibition and AT1 antagonism ameliorate renal damage.
AT1 antagonism and renin inhibition in mice: pivotal role of targeting angiotensin II in chronic kidney disease.
Age, Specimen part, Treatment
View Samplescompare wild type and Batf-/- B cells activated for 0 1 or 2 days in vitro.
The transcription factor BATF controls the global regulators of class-switch recombination in both B cells and T cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe transcription factor Evi1 is essential for the formation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, and induces clonal dominance with malignant progression upon constitutive activation by chromosomal rearrangements or transgene integration events. To understand the immediate and adaptive response of primary murine hematopoietic cells to the transcriptional upregulation of Evi1, we developed an inducible lentiviral vector system with a robust expression switch. We found that Evi1 delays differentiation and promotes survival in myeloid culture conditions, orchestrating a battery of genes involved in stemness (Aldh1a1, Ly6a [Sca1], Abca1, Epcam, among others). Importantly, Evi1 suppresses Cyclins and Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk), while it upregulates Cdk inhibitors, inducing quiescence in various proliferation-inducing cytokine conditions and operating in a strictly dose-dependent manner. Hematopoietic cells with persisting Evi1-induction tend to adopt a relatively low expression level. We thus classify Evi1 as a dormancy-inducing oncogene, likely requiring epigenetic and genetic compensation for cell expansion and malignant progression.
Activation of Evi1 inhibits cell cycle progression and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe cytosolic protein Sharpin is as a component of the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), which regulates NF-B signaling in response to specific ligands. Its inactivating mutation in Cpdm (chronic proliferative dermatitis mutation) mice causes multi-organ inflammation, yet this phenotype is not transferable into wildtype mice by hematopoietic stem cell transfer. Recent evidence demonstrated that Cpdm mice additionally display low bone mass, but the cellular and molecular causes of this phenotype remained to be established. Here we have applied non-decalcified histology together with cellular and dynamic histomorphometry to perform a thorough skeletal phenotyping of Cpdm mice. We show that Cpdm mice display trabecular and cortical osteopenia, solely explained by impaired bone formation, whereas osteoclastogenesis is unaffected. We additionally found that Cpdm mice display a severe disturbance of articular cartilage integrity in the absence of joint inflammation, supporting the concept that Sharpin-deficiency affects mesenchymal cell differentiation. Consistently, Cpdm mesenchymal cells displayed reduced osteogenic capacitiy ex vivo, yet this defect was not associated with impaired NF-B signaling. A molecular comparison of wildtype and Cpdm bone marrow cell populations further revealed that Cpdm mesenchymal cells produce higher levels of Cxcl5 and lower levels of IL1ra. Collectively, our data demonstrate that skeletal defects of Cpdm mice are not caused by chronic inflammation, but that Sharpin is as a critical regulator of mesenchymal cell differentiation and gene expression. They additionally provide an alternative molecular explanation for the inflammatory phenotype of Cpdm mice and the absence of disease transfer by hematopoetic stem cell transplantation.
Sharpin Controls Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Bone Marrow Cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesUniparental parthenotes are considered an unwanted byproduct of in vitro fertilization. In utero parthenote development is severely compromised by defective organogenesis and in particular by defective cardiogenesis. Although developmentally compromised, apparently pluripotent stem cells can be derived from parthenogenetic blastocysts. Here we hypothesized that nonembryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair. We first confirmed similar fundamental properties in murine PSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), despite notable differences in genetic (allelic variability) and epigenetic (differential imprinting) characteristics. Haploidentity of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in PSCs is particularly attractive for allogeneic cell-based therapies. Accordingly, we confirmed acceptance of PSCs in MHC-matched allotransplantation. Cardiomyocyte derivation from PSCs and ESCs was equally effective. The use of cardiomyocyte-restricted GFP enabled cell sorting and documentation of advanced structural and functional maturation in vitro and in vivo. This included seamless electrical integration of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes into recipient myocardium. Finally, we enriched cardiomyocytes to facilitate engineering of force-generating myocardium and demonstrated the utility of this technique in enhancing regional myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Collectively, our data demonstrate pluripotency, with unrestricted cardiogenicity in PSCs, and introduce this unique cell type as an attractive source for tissue-engineered heart repair.
Parthenogenetic stem cells for tissue-engineered heart repair.
Specimen part
View SamplesJoMa1 cells are pluripotent precursor cells, derived from the neural crest of mice transgenic for tamoxifen-inducible c-Myc. Following transfection with a cDNA encoding for MYCN, cells become immortlized even in the absence of tamoxifen.
MYCN and ALKF1174L are sufficient to drive neuroblastoma development from neural crest progenitor cells.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThe cellular heterogeneity of the brain confounds efforts to elucidate the biological properties of distinct neuronal populations.
A translational profiling approach for the molecular characterization of CNS cell types.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe cellular heterogeneity of the brain confounds efforts to elucidate the biological properties of distinct neuronal populations.
A translational profiling approach for the molecular characterization of CNS cell types.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe cellular heterogeneity of the brain confounds efforts to elucidate the biological properties of distinct neuronal populations.
A translational profiling approach for the molecular characterization of CNS cell types.
No sample metadata fields
View Samplesprenatal stress response, genetic modification
Differential effects of prenatal stress in 5-Htt deficient mice: towards molecular mechanisms of gene × environment interactions.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View Samples