Mesenchymal–epithelial interactions during digestive tract development and epithelial stem cell regeneration

The gastrointestinal tract develops from a simple and uniform tube into a complex organ with specific differentiation patterns along the anterior–posterior and dorso-ventral axes of asymmetry. It is derived from all three germ layers and their cross-talk is important for the regulated development of fetal and adult gastrointestinal structures and organs. Signals from the adjacent mesoderm are essential for the morphogenesis of the overlying epithelium. These mesenchymal–epithelial interactions govern the development and regionalization of the different gastrointestinal epithelia and involve most of the key morphogens and signaling pathways, such as the Hedgehog, BMPs, Notch, WNT, HOX, SOX and FOXF cascades. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying mesenchyme differentiation into smooth muscle cells influence the regionalization of the gastrointestinal epithelium through interactions with the enteric nervous system. In the neonatal and adult gastrointestinal tract, mesenchymal–epithelial interactions are essential for the maintenance of the epithelial regionalization and digestive epithelial homeostasis. Disruption of these interactions is also associated with bowel dysfunction potentially leading to epithelial tumor development. In this review, we will discuss various aspects of the mesenchymal–epithelial interactions observed during digestive epithelium development and differentiation and also during epithelial stem cell regeneration.     

Updating the mechanisms of common fragile site instability: how to reconcile the different views?

Common fragile sites (CFSs) are large chromosomal regions long identified by conventional cytogenetics as sequences prone to breakage in cells subjected to replication stress. The interest in CFSs came from their key role in the formation of DNA damage, resulting in chromosomal rearrangements. The instability of CFSs was notably correlated with the appearance of genome instability in precancerous lesions and during tumor progression. Identification of the molecular mechanisms responsible for their instability therefore represents a major challenge. A number of data show that breaks result from mitotic entry before replication completion but the mechanisms responsible for such delayed replication of CFSs and relaxed checkpoint surveillance are still debated. In addition, clues to the molecular events leading to breakage just start to emerge. We present here the results of recent reports addressing these questions.     

Role of the ubiquitin–proteasome system in the regulation of P2Y13 receptor expression: impact on hepatic HDL uptake

The protective effect of high density lipoproteins (HDL) against atherosclerosis is mainly attributed to their capacity to transport excess cholesterol from peripheral tissues back to the liver for further elimination into the bile, a process called reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Recently, the importance of the P2Y₁₃ receptor (P2Y₁₃-R) was highlighted in HDL metabolism since HDL uptake by the liver was decreased in P2Y₁₃-R deficient mice, which translated into impaired RCT. Here, we investigated for the first time the molecular mechanisms regulating cell surface expression of P2Y₁₃-R. When transiently expressed, P2Y₁₃-R was mainly detected in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and strongly subjected to proteasome degradation while its homologous P2Y₁₂ receptor (P2Y₁₂-R) was efficiently targeted to the plasma membrane. We observed an inverse correlation between cell surface expression and ubiquitination level of P2Y₁₃-R in the ER, suggesting a close link between ubiquitination of P2Y₁₃-R and its efficient targeting to the plasma membrane. The C-terminus tail exchange between P2Y₁₃-R and P2Y₁₂-R strongly restored plasma membrane expression of P2Y₁₃-R, suggesting the involvement of the intra-cytoplasmic tail of P2Y₁₃-R in expression defect. Accordingly, proteasomal inhibition increased plasma membrane expression of functionally active P2Y₁₃-R in hepatocytes, and consequently stimulated P2Y₁₃-R-mediated HDL endocytosis. Importantly, proteasomal inhibition strongly potentiated HDL hepatic uptake (>200 %) in wild-type but not in P2Y₁₃-R-deficient mice, thus reinforcing the role of P2Y₁₃-R expression in regulating HDL metabolism. Therefore, specific inhibition of the ubiquitin–proteasome system might be a novel powerful HDL therapy to enhance P2Y₁₃-R expression and consequently promote the overall RCT.     

Somatic histone H3 alterations in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas and non-brainstem glioblastomas

To identify somatic mutations in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), we performed whole-genome sequencing of DNA from seven DIPGs and matched germline tissue and targeted sequencing of an additional 43 DIPGs and 36 non-brainstem pediatric glioblastomas (non-BS-PGs). We found that 78% of DIPGs and 22% of non-BS-PGs contained a mutation in H3F3A, encoding histone H3.3, or in the related HIST1H3B, encoding histone H3.1, that caused a p.Lys27Met amino acid substitution in each protein. An additional 14% of non-BS-PGs had somatic mutations in H3F3A causing a p.Gly34Arg alteration.     

Common variants near TARDBP and EGR2 are associated with susceptibility to Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma, a pediatric tumor characterized by EWSR1-ETS fusions, is predominantly observed in populations of European ancestry. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 401 French individuals with Ewing sarcoma, 684 unaffected French individuals and 3,668 unaffected individuals of European descent and living in the United States. We identified candidate risk loci at 1p36.22, 10q21 and 15q15. We replicated these loci in two independent sets of cases and controls. Joint analysis identified associations with rs9430161 (P = 1.4 × 10(-20); odds ratio (OR) = 2.2) located 25 kb upstream of TARDBP, rs224278 (P = 4.0 × 10(-17); OR = 1.7) located 5 kb upstream of EGR2 and, to a lesser extent, rs4924410 at 15q15 (P = 6.6 × 10(-9); OR = 1.5). The major risk haplotypes were less prevalent in Africans, suggesting that these loci could contribute to geographical differences in Ewing sarcoma incidence. TARDBP shares structural similarities with EWSR1 and FUS, which encode RNA binding proteins, and EGR2 is a target gene of EWSR1-ETS. Variants at these loci were associated with expression levels of TARDBP, ADO (encoding cysteamine dioxygenase) and EGR2.     

A comparison of epiphytic diatom assemblages on living and dead stems of the common grass Phragmites australis

Diatoms epiphytic on Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steaded stems were collected from a single clone at the southern end of Provo Bay, Utah Lake, Utah. Diatom populations from both living and dead stem sections were analyzed. Species diversity in each sample was high, indicating that the stems provide a relatively stable habitat for diatom epiphytes. Of the 23 genera found, only Gomphonema and Navicula showed significant trends toward stem preference. The diatoms in this study support the current view that Utah Lake is a slightly saline, eutrophic system.     

Ablation of cyclase-associated protein 2 (CAP2) leads to cardiomyopathy

Cyclase-associated proteins are highly conserved proteins that have a role in the regulation of actin dynamics. Higher eukaryotes have two isoforms, CAP1 and CAP2. To study the in vivo function of CAP2, we generated mice in which the CAP2 gene was inactivated by a gene-trap approach. Mutant mice showed a decrease in body weight and had a decreased survival rate. Further, they developed a severe cardiac defect marked by dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with drastic reduction in basal heart rate and prolongations in atrial and ventricular conduction times. Moreover, CAP2-deficient myofibrils exhibited reduced cooperativity of calcium-regulated force development. At the microscopic level, we observed disarrayed sarcomeres with development of fibrosis. We analyzed CAP2’s role in actin assembly and found that it sequesters G-actin and efficiently fragments filaments. This activity resides completely in its WASP homology domain. Thus CAP2 is an essential component of the myocardial sarcomere and is essential for physiological functioning of the cardiac system, and a deficiency leads to DCM and various cardiac defects.     

Surface display of a single-domain antibody library on Gram-positive bacteria

Combinatorial protein engineering for selection of proteins with novel functions, such as enzymes and affinity reagents, is an important tool in biotechnology, drug discovery, and other biochemical fields. Bacterial display is an emerging technology for isolation of new affinity proteins from such combinatorial libraries. Cells have certain properties that are attractive for directed evolution purposes, in particular the option to use quantitative flow-cytometric cell sorting for selection of binders. Here, an immune library of around 10⁷ camelid single-domain antibody fragments (Nanobodies) was displayed on both the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus carnosus and on phage. As demonstrated for the first time, the antibody repertoire was found to be well expressed on the bacterial surface and flow-cytometric sorting yielded a number of Nanobodies with subnanomolar affinity for the target protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP). Interestingly, the staphylococcal output repertoire and the binders from the phage display selection contained two slightly different sets of clones, containing both unique as well as several similar variants. All of the Nanobodies from the staphylococcal selection were also shown to enhance the fluorescence of GFP upon binding, potentially due to the fluorescence-based sorting principle. Our study highlights the impact of the chosen display technology on the variety of selected binders and thus the value of having alternative methods available, and demonstrates in addition that the staphylococcal system is suitable for generation of high-affinity antibody fragments.