LncRNA expression and SDHB mutations in pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas
Annals of diagnostic pathology
Li, H;Hardin, H;Zaeem, M;Huang, W;Hu, R;Lloyd, RV;
PMID: 34461576 | DOI: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2021.151801
Although pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are usual low-grade neoplasms, the metastatic forms of these lesions are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have discovered multiple aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancers that may have regulatory roles in tumor pathogenesis and metastasis; however, the roles of some lncRNAs in PPGLs are still unknown. The expression levels of lncRNAs including metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript (MALAT1), prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3), and HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) in PPGLs were analyzed by in situ hybridization, using two tissue microarrays (TMAs). The pheochromocytoma (PCC) TMA consisted of normal adrenal medulla (N = 25), non-metastatic PCCs (N = 76) and metastatic PCCs (N = 5) while the paraganglioma (PGL) TMA had 73 non-metastatic PGLs and 5 metastatic PGLs. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on all samples with an anti-SDHB antibody. The correlations between lncRNA expression, loss of SDHB expression and clinical characteristics including tumor progression and disease prognosis were investigated. The expression levels of MALAT1 and PCA3 were significantly elevated (2.5-3.9 folds) in both non-metastatic and metastatic PCCs compared to normal adrenal medulla, although there were no significant differences between the non-metastatic and metastatic neoplasms. In contrast to non-metastatic PGLs, metastatic PGLs had significantly upregulated expression of MALAT1, PCA3, and HOTAIR. SDHB loss was more frequently observed in PGLs (25 of 78), especially in metastatic PGLs (5 of 5), compared to PCCs (2 of 81) and in 0 of 5 metastatic PCCs. Patients with SDHB loss, in contrast to SDHB retained, were younger at diagnosis, had higher rates of tumor recurrence, metastatic disease, and mortality. In addition, PGLs with SDHB loss had significantly increased expression of PCA3 compared to tumors with intact SDHB expression. Our findings suggest that specific lncRNAs may be involved in the SDHx signaling pathways in the tumorigenesis and in the development of PPGL.
Localization and genotyping of canine papillomavirus in canine inverted papillomas
Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc
Orlandi, M;Mazzei, M;Vascellari, M;Melchiotti, E;Zanardello, C;Verin, R;Albanese, F;Necci, F;Pazzini, L;Lazzarini, G;Abramo, F;
PMID: 34338089 | DOI: 10.1177/10406387211035799
Numerous canine papillomaviruses (CPVs) have been identified (CPV1-23). CPV1, 2, and 6 have been associated with inverted papillomas (IPs). We retrieved 19 IPs from 3 histopathology archives, and evaluated and scored koilocytes, inclusion bodies, giant keratohyalin granules, cytoplasmic pallor, ballooning degeneration, and parakeratosis. IHC targeting major capsid proteins of PV was performed, and CPV genotyping was achieved by PCR testing. Tissue localization of CPV DNA and RNA was studied by chromogenic and RNAscope in situ hybridization (DNA-CISH, RNA-ISH, respectively). IPs were localized to the limbs (50%), trunk (30%), and head (20%), mainly as single nodules (16 of 19). In 15 of 19 cases, immunopositivity was detected within the nuclei in corneal and subcorneal epidermal layers. PCR revealed CPV1 in 11 IPs and CPV2 DNA in 3 IPs. Overall, 14 of 17 cases were positive by both DNA-CISH and RNA-ISH, in accord with PCR results. A histologic score >5 was always obtained in cases in which the viral etiology was demonstrated by IHC, DNA-CISH, and RNA-ISH. IHC and molecular approaches were useful to ascertain the viral etiology of IPs. Although IHC is the first choice for diagnostic purposes, ISH testing allows identification of PV type and the infection phase. RNA-ISH seems a promising tool to deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of different PV types in animal species.
Subcellular localization of biomolecules and drug distribution by high-definition ion beam imaging
Rovira-Clavé, X;Jiang, S;Bai, Y;Zhu, B;Barlow, G;Bhate, S;Coskun, AF;Han, G;Ho, CK;Hitzman, C;Chen, SY;Bava, FA;Nolan, GP;
PMID: 34330905 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24822-1
Simultaneous visualization of the relationship between multiple biomolecules and their ligands or small molecules at the nanometer scale in cells will enable greater understanding of how biological processes operate. We present here high-definition multiplex ion beam imaging (HD-MIBI), a secondary ion mass spectrometry approach capable of high-parameter imaging in 3D of targeted biological entities and exogenously added structurally-unmodified small molecules. With this technology, the atomic constituents of the biomolecules themselves can be used in our system as the "tag" and we demonstrate measurements down to ~30 nm lateral resolution. We correlated the subcellular localization of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin simultaneously with five subnuclear structures. Cisplatin was preferentially enriched in nuclear speckles and excluded from closed-chromatin regions, indicative of a role for cisplatin in active regions of chromatin. Unexpectedly, cells surviving multi-drug treatment with cisplatin and the BET inhibitor JQ1 demonstrated near total cisplatin exclusion from the nucleus, suggesting that selective subcellular drug relocalization may modulate resistance to this important chemotherapeutic treatment. Multiplexed high-resolution imaging techniques, such as HD-MIBI, will enable studies of biomolecules and drug distributions in biologically relevant subcellular microenvironments by visualizing the processes themselves in concert, rather than inferring mechanism through surrogate analyses.
Multisystemic lymphoplasmacytic inflammation associated with PCV-3 in wasting pigs
Transboundary and emerging diseases
Alomar, J;Saporiti, V;Pérez, M;Gonçalvez, D;Sibila, M;Segalés, J;
PMID: 34328681 | DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14260
Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV-3) has been detected in diseased and healthy pigs of different ages. Several reports have associated the agent with reproductive failure and mummified and stillborn piglets. One report from North America has proposed a consistent potential association with postweaning disorders. Thus, the present case report aimed to describe the histopathological lesions and their association with the presence of PCV-3 genome in postweaning pigs showing growth-retardation and thrown-back ears. All affected animals displayed multi-organic lymphoplasmacytic periarteritis, lymphocytic myocarditis and/or lymphoplasmacytic meningoencephalitis. PCV-3 genetic material was detected by in situ hybridization within the lesions and confirmed by PCV-3 real-time quantitative PCR detection in tissues. This study represents the first report of PCV-3 associated with clinical disease in postweaning pigs in Europe.
Hyaluronan and Collagen Are Prominent Extracellular Matrix Components in Bovine and Porcine Ovaries
Parkes, WS;Amargant, F;Zhou, LT;Villanueva, CE;Duncan, FE;Pritchard, MT;
PMID: 34440360 | DOI: 10.3390/genes12081186
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major component of the ovarian stroma. Collagen and hyaluronan (HA) are critical ovarian stromal ECM molecules that undergo age-dependent changes in the mouse and human. How these matrix components are regulated and organized in other mammalian species with reproductive characteristics similar to women such as cows and pigs, has not been systematically investigated. Therefore, we performed histological, molecular, and biochemical analyses to characterize collagen and HA in these animals. Bovine ovaries had more collagen than porcine ovaries when assessed biochemically, and this was associated with species-specific differences in collagen gene transcripts: Col3a1 was predominant in cow ovaries while Col1a1 was predominant in pig ovaries. We also observed more HA in the porcine vs. bovine ovary. HA was distributed across three molecular weight ranges (<100 kDa, 100-300 kDa, and >300 kDa) in ovarian tissue and follicular fluid, with tissue having more >300 kDa HA than the other two ranges. Transcripts for HA synthesis and degradation enzymes, Has3 and Hyal2, respectively, were predominant in cow ovaries, whereas Has2, Kiaa1199, and Tmem2 tended to be predominant in pig ovaries. Together, our findings have implications for the composition, organization, and regulation of the ovarian ECM in large mammalian species, including humans.
Intravenous, Intratracheal, and Intranasal Inoculation of Swine with SARS-CoV-2
Buckley, A;Falkenberg, S;Martins, M;Laverack, M;Palmer, MV;Lager, K;Diel, DG;
PMID: 34452371 | DOI: 10.3390/v13081506
Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the susceptibility of animals and their potential to act as reservoirs or intermediate hosts for the virus has been of significant interest. Pigs are susceptible to multiple coronaviruses and have been used as an animal model for other human infectious diseases. Research groups have experimentally challenged swine with human SARS-CoV-2 isolates with results suggesting limited to no viral replication. For this study, a SARS-CoV-2 isolate obtained from a tiger which is identical to human SARS-CoV-2 isolates detected in New York City and contains the D614G S mutation was utilized for inoculation. Pigs were challenged via intravenous, intratracheal, or intranasal routes of inoculation (n = 4/route). No pigs developed clinical signs, but at least one pig in each group had one or more PCR positive nasal/oral swabs or rectal swabs after inoculation. All pigs in the intravenous group developed a transient neutralizing antibody titer, but only three other challenged pigs developed titers greater than 1:8. No gross or histologic changes were observed in tissue samples collected at necropsy. In addition, no PCR positive samples were positive by virus isolation. Inoculated animals were unable to transmit virus to naïve contact animals. The data from this experiment as well as from other laboratories supports that swine are not likely to play a role in the epidemiology and spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Towards Personalized Medicine: Non-Coding RNAs and Endometrial Cancer
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
Cavaliere, AF;Perelli, F;Zaami, S;Piergentili, R;Mattei, A;Vizzielli, G;Scambia, G;Straface, G;Restaino, S;Signore, F;
PMID: 34442102 | DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9080965
Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most frequent female cancer associated with excellent prognosis if diagnosed at an early stage. The risk factors on which clinical staging is based are constantly updated and genetic and epigenetic characteristics have recently been emerging as prognostic markers. The evidence shows that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play a fundamental role in various biological processes associated with the pathogenesis of EC and many of them also have a prognosis prediction function, of remarkable importance in defining the therapeutic and surveillance path of EC patients. Personalized medicine focuses on the continuous updating of risk factors that are identifiable early during the EC staging to tailor treatments to patients. This review aims to show a summary of the current classification systems and to encourage the integration of various risk factors, introducing the prognostic role of non-coding RNAs, to avoid aggressive therapies where not necessary and to treat and strictly monitor subjects at greater risk of relapse.
The circadian clock regulates rhythmic erythropoietin expression in the murine kidney
Sciesielski, LK;Felten, M;Michalick, L;Kirschner, KM;Lattanzi, G;Jacobi, CL;Wallach, T;Lang, V;Landgraf, D;Kramer, A;Dame, C;
PMID: 34332958 | DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2021.07.012
Generation of circadian rhythms is cell-autonomous and relies on a transcription/translation feedback loop controlled by a family of circadian clock transcription factor activators including CLOCK, BMAL1 and repressors such as CRY1 and CRY2. The aim of the present study was to examine both the molecular mechanism and the hemopoietic implication of circadian erythropoietin expression. Mutant mice with homozygous deletion of the core circadian clock genes cryptochromes 1 and 2 (Cry-null) were used to elucidate circadian erythropoietin regulation. Wild-type control mice exhibited a significant difference in kidney erythropoietin mRNA expression between circadian times 06 and 18. In parallel, a significantly higher number of erythropoietin-producing cells in the kidney (by RNAscope ) and significantly higher levels of circulating erythropoietin protein (by ELISA) were detected at circadian time 18. Such changes were abolished in Cry-null mice and were independent from oxygen tension, oxygen saturation, or expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha, indicating that circadian erythropoietin expression is transcriptionally regulated by CRY1 and CRY2. Reporter gene assays showed that the CLOCK/BMAL1 heterodimer activated an E-box element in the 5' erythropoietin promoter. RNAscope in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of Bmal1 in erythropoietin-producing cells of the kidney. In Cry-null mice, a significantly reduced number of reticulocytes was found while erythrocyte numbers and hematocrit were unchanged. Thus, circadian erythropoietin regulation in the normoxic adult murine kidney is transcriptionally controlled by master circadian activators CLOCK/BMAL1, and repressors CRY1/CRY2. These findings may have implications for kidney physiology and disease, laboratory diagnostics, and anemia therapy.
SLITRK5 is a negative regulator of hedgehog signaling in osteoblasts
Sun, J;Shin, DY;Eiseman, M;Yallowitz, AR;Li, N;Lalani, S;Li, Z;Cung, M;Bok, S;Debnath, S;Marquez, SJ;White, TE;Khan, AG;Lorenz, IC;Shim, JH;Lee, FS;Xu, R;Greenblatt, MB;
PMID: 34326333 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24819-w
Hedgehog signaling is essential for bone formation, including functioning as a means for the growth plate to drive skeletal mineralization. However, the mechanisms regulating hedgehog signaling specifically in bone-forming osteoblasts are largely unknown. Here, we identified SLIT and NTRK-like protein-5(Slitrk5), a transmembrane protein with few identified functions, as a negative regulator of hedgehog signaling in osteoblasts. Slitrk5 is selectively expressed in osteoblasts and loss of Slitrk5 enhanced osteoblast differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Loss of SLITRK5 in vitro leads to increased hedgehog signaling and overexpression of SLITRK5 in osteoblasts inhibits the induction of targets downstream of hedgehog signaling. Mechanistically, SLITRK5 binds to hedgehog ligands via its extracellular domain and interacts with PTCH1 via its intracellular domain. SLITRK5 is present in the primary cilium, and loss of SLITRK5 enhances SMO ciliary enrichment upon SHH stimulation. Thus, SLITRK5 is a negative regulator of hedgehog signaling in osteoblasts that may be attractive as a therapeutic target to enhance bone formation.
Intercellular Arc Signaling Regulates Vasodilation
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
de la Peña, JB;Barragan-Iglesias, P;Lou, TF;Kunder, N;Loerch, S;Shukla, T;Basavarajappa, L;Song, J;James, DN;Megat, S;Moy, JK;Wanghzou, A;Ray, PR;Hoyt, K;Steward, O;Price, TJ;Shepherd, J;Campbell, ZT;
PMID: 34326146 | DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0440-21.2021
Injury responses require communication between different cell types in the skin. Sensory neurons contribute to inflammation and can secrete signaling molecules that affect non-neuronal cells. Despite the pervasive role of translational regulation in nociception, the contribution of activity-dependent protein synthesis to inflammation is not well understood. To address this problem, we examined the landscape of nascent translation in murine dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons treated with inflammatory mediators using ribosome profiling. We identified the activity-dependent gene, Arc, as a target of translation in vitro and in vivo Inflammatory cues promote local translation of Arc in the skin. Arc-deficient male mice display exaggerated paw temperatures and vasodilation in response to an inflammatory challenge. Since Arc has recently been shown to be released from neurons in extracellular vesicles (EVs), we hypothesized that intercellular Arc signaling regulates the inflammatory response in skin. We found that the excessive thermal responses and vasodilation observed in Arc defective mice are rescued by injection of Arc-containing EVs into the skin. Our findings suggest that activity-dependent production of Arc in afferent fibers regulates neurogenic inflammation potentially through intercellular signaling.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNociceptors play prominent roles in pain and inflammation. We examined rapid changes in the landscape of nascent translation in cultured dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) treated with a combination of inflammatory mediators using ribosome profiling. We identified several hundred transcripts subject to rapid preferential translation. Among them is the immediate early gene (IEG) Arc. We provide evidence that Arc is translated in afferent fibers in the skin. Arc-deficient mice display several signs of exaggerated inflammation which is normalized on injection of Arc containing extracellular vesicles (EVs). Our work suggests that noxious cues can trigger Arc production by nociceptors which in turn constrains neurogenic inflammation in the skin.
Developmental genes controlling neural circuit formation are expressed in the early postnatal hypothalamus and cellular lining of the third ventricle
Journal of neuroendocrinology
Freeman, AK;Glendining, KA;Jasoni, CL;
PMID: 34423876 | DOI: 10.1111/jne.13020
The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus is central in the regulation of body weight homeostasis through its ability to sense peripheral metabolic signals and relay them, through neural circuits, to other brain areas, ultimately affecting physiological and behavioural changes. The early postnatal development of these neural circuits is critical for normal body weight homeostasis, such that perturbations during this critical period can lead to obesity. The role for peripheral regulators of body weight homeostasis, including leptin, insulin and ghrelin, in this postnatal development is well described, yet some of the fundamental processes underpinning axonal and dendritic growth remain unclear. Here, we hypothesised that molecules known to regulate axonal and dendritic growth processes in other areas of the developing brain would be expressed in the postnatal arcuate nucleus and/or target nuclei where they would function to mediate the development of this circuitry. Using state-of-the-art RNAscope technology, we have revealed the expression patterns of genes encoding Dcc/Netrin-1, Robo1/Slit1 and Fzd5/Wnt5a receptor/ligand pairs in the early postnatal mouse hypothalamus. We found that individual genes had unique expression patterns across developmental time in the arcuate nucleus, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, median eminence and, somewhat unexpectedly, the third ventricle epithelium. These observations indicate a number of new molecular players in the development of neural circuits regulating body weight homeostasis, as well as novel molecular markers of tanycyte heterogeneity.
A Model of Impaired Langerhans Cell Maturation Associated With HPV Induced Epithelial Hyperplasia
Tuong, Z;Lukowski, S;Nguyen, Q;Chandra, J;Zhou, C;Gillinder, K;Bashaw, A;Ferdinand, J;Stewart, B;Teoh, S;Hanson, S;Devitt, K;Clatworthy, M;Powell, J;Frazer, I;
| DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3889711
Langerhans cells (LC) are skin-resident antigen-presenting cells that regulate immune responses to epithelial commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. Infection of skin by human papillomavirus (HPV) is commonly persistant and can promote malignant epithelial transformation. As LCs are considered important in control of HPV infection, we compared the transcriptome of LCs from skin transformed by the oncogenic E7 protein of HPV16 and from healthy skin. We identified transcriptome heterogeneity at the single cell level amongst LCs in normal mouse skin, associated with cell ontogeny, cell cycle activity, and maturation. We identified a balanced co-existence of immune-stimulatory and immune-inhibitory LC cell states in normal skin that was signficantly disturbed in HPV16 E7-expressing hyperproliferative murine skin. Hyperplastic skin was depleted of immune-stimulatory LCs, and enriched for LCs with an immune-inhibitory gene signature, and LC-keratinocyte cross-talk was dysregulated. We identified reduced expression of the CSF1R ligand interleukin (IL)-34, a critical molecule for LC homeostasis. Enrichment of an immune-inhibitory LC gene signature and reduced levels of epithelial IL-34 were also found in human HPV-associated cervical epithelial cancers. HPV16 E7 transgenic hyperplastic murine skin thus provides a robust model to investigate interventions to overcome impaired LC maturation induced by epithelial proliferation in HPV associated cancer.