A reserve stem cell population in small intestine renders Lgr5-positive cells dispensable

The small intestine epithelium renews every 2 to 5 days, making it one of the most regenerative mammalian tissues. Genetic inducible fate mapping studies have identified two principal epithelial stem cell pools in this tissue. One pool consists of columnar Lgr5-expressing cells that cycle rapidly and are present predominantly at the crypt base. The other pool consists of Bmi1-expressing cells that largely reside above the crypt base. However, the relative functions of these two pools and their interrelationship are not understood. Here we specifically ablated Lgr5-expressing cells in mice using a human diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) gene knocked into the Lgr5 locus. We found that complete loss of the Lgr5-expressing cells did not perturb homeostasis of the epithelium, indicating that other cell types can compensate for the elimination of this population. After ablation of Lgr5-expressing cells, progeny production by Bmi1-expressing cells increased, indicating that Bmi1-expressing stem cells compensate for the loss of Lgr5-expressing cells. Indeed, lineage tracing showed that Bmi1-expressing cells gave rise to Lgr5-expressing cells, pointing to a hierarchy of stem cells in the intestinal epithelium. Our results demonstrate that Lgr5-expressing cells are dispensable for normal intestinal homeostasis, and that in the absence of these cells, Bmi1-expressing cells can serve as an alternative stem cell pool. These data provide the first experimental evidence for the interrelationship between these populations. The Bmi1-expressing stem cells may represent both a reserve stem cell pool in case of injury to the small intestine epithelium and a source for replenishment of the Lgr5-expressing cells under non-pathological conditions.     

Paneth cells constitute the niche for Lgr5 stem cells in intestinal crypts

Homeostasis of self-renewing small intestinal crypts results from neutral competition between Lgr5 stem cells, which are small cycling cells located at crypt bottoms. Lgr5 stem cells are interspersed between terminally differentiated Paneth cells that are known to produce bactericidal products such as lysozyme and cryptdins/defensins. Single Lgr5-expressing stem cells can be cultured to form long-lived, self-organizing crypt-villus organoids in the absence of non-epithelial niche cells. Here we find a close physical association of Lgr5 stem cells with Paneth cells in mice, both in vivo and in vitro. CD24(+) Paneth cells express EGF, TGF-α, Wnt3 and the Notch ligand Dll4, all essential signals for stem-cell maintenance in culture. Co-culturing of sorted stem cells with Paneth cells markedly improves organoid formation. This Paneth cell requirement can be substituted by a pulse of exogenous Wnt. Genetic removal of Paneth cells in vivo results in the concomitant loss of Lgr5 stem cells. In colon crypts, CD24(+) cells residing between Lgr5 stem cells may represent the Paneth cell equivalents. We conclude that Lgr5 stem cells compete for essential niche signals provided by a specialized daughter cell, the Paneth cell.     

Differentiation of embryonic stem cells transfected by ibeB gene

We have previously identified an E. coli determinant, ibeB gene locus contributing to invasion of human brain microvascular endothelial cells. In the present study, we established embryonic stem (ES) cell lines overexpressing IbeB and found that exogenic ibeB gene could start-up expression of a neural stem cell specific marker, nestin, and give rise to polar changes. In analysis of IbeB location, it was found that GFP-IbeB fusion protein targeted at the ES cell nucleus. These data suggests that ibeB gene may play an important role in the regulation of nestin expression.     

Goblet cells deliver luminal antigen to CD103+ dendritic cells in the small intestine

The intestinal immune system is exposed to a mixture of foreign antigens from diet, commensal flora and potential pathogens. Understanding how pathogen-specific immunity is elicited while avoiding inappropriate responses to the background of innocuous antigens is essential for understanding and treating intestinal infections and inflammatory diseases. The ingestion of protein antigen can induce oral tolerance, which is mediated in part by a subset of intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) that promote the development of regulatory T cells. The lamina propria (LP) underlies the expansive single-cell absorptive villous epithelium and contains a large population of DCs (CD11c(+) CD11b(+) MHCII(+) cells) comprised of two predominant subsets: CD103(+) CX(3)CR1(-) DCs, which promote IgA production, imprint gut homing on lymphocytes and induce the development of regulatory T cells, and CD103(-) CX(3)CR1(+) DCs (with features of macrophages), which promote tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production, colitis, and the development of T(H)17 T cells. However, the mechanisms by which different intestinal LP-DC subsets capture luminal antigens in vivo remains largely unexplored. Using a minimally disruptive in vivo imaging approach we show that in the steady state, small intestine goblet cells (GCs) function as passages delivering low molecular weight soluble antigens from the intestinal lumen to underlying CD103(+) LP-DCs. The preferential delivery of antigens to DCs with tolerogenic properties implies a key role for this GC function in intestinal immune homeostasis.     

大鵟胃和小肠的组织学及嗜银细胞的观察

为了解大鵟(Buteo hemilasius)胃和小肠的组织结构及嗜银细胞的分布特点,本实验采用生物显微技术和Grimelius银染法对大鵟胃和小肠的组织结构及嗜银细胞的形态和分布进行了观察.结果表明:大鵟胃由黏膜层、黏膜下层、肌层、外膜4层组成,腺胃固有层中充满胃腺,浅层腺为单管腺,深层腺为复管泡状腺;胃黏膜肌层由环行平滑肌构成;小肠无黏膜下层,由黏膜层、肌肉层、外膜构成,黏膜层包括上皮、固有层和粘膜肌层,黏膜肌层较明显,十二指肠和空肠黏膜平滑肌为纵行,回肠黏膜平滑肌为内环外纵行.小肠绒毛无分支现象,绒毛中没有中央乳糜管;小肠肌肉层均由内环行平滑肌和外纵行平滑肌构成.大鵟胃和小肠嗜银细胞的形态多样,有圆形、椭圆形、锥形、长梭形和不规则形等.嗜银细胞的末端有突起,大部分突起常指向管腔,少部分指向固有层.嗜银细胞在不同部位的大小有所不同,在肠腺和黏膜上皮之间的嗜银细胞个体较大,而在固有层基部个体较小.大鵟胃肠道嗜银细胞的分布数量在腺胃最多,依次为空肠、十二指肠、回肠,肌胃内未见有嗜银细胞分布.大鵟胃肠道内分泌细胞可能有内分泌、腔分泌和旁分泌3种分泌方式.     

Suppression of tumorigenicity in human colon carcinoma cells by introduction of normal chromosome 5 or 18.

Development of colon carcinomas can be associated with allelic deletions on several chromosomes, including 5q and 18q. The APC gene on 5q and the DCC gene on 18q have been identified as potential tumour suppressor genes, whose suppression contributes to colon carcinogenesis. To investigate the role of genes in these deleted regions, we have now introduced a single normal human chromosome into a human colon carcinoma cell line, COKFu, through microcell hybridization. Several clones of hybrid cells containing normal chromosome 5, and others containing normal chromosome 18, were obtained. The morphology of the hybrid cells was markedly altered: the hybrids with chromosome 5 exhibited a closely packed polygonal morphology, and the hybrid cells with chromosome 18 were flattened. The cloning efficiency of the hybrid cells in soft agar was reduced from 0.46 to 0% of that of the parental carcinoma cells, and the tumorigenicity of these hybrid cells in athymic nude mice was completely suppressed. The growth properties of the hybrid cells with chromosome 11 were not substantially changed. These results strongly suggest that the genes on normal chromosome 5 and 18 function as tumour suppressors in colon carcinogenesis.     

Expression of interleukin-2 receptors as a differentiation marker on intrathymic stem cells

The thymus is regarded as the primary site for T-cell lymphopoiesis, but very little is known about the lineage inter-relationships of cells within that organ. At least four subpopulations of mouse thymocytes can be defined on the basis of staining with monoclonal antibodies directed against the T-cell differentiation antigens Lyt-2 and L3T4 (ref. 2). Thus immunocompetent (medullary) thymocytes, like peripheral T cells, express either Lyt-2 (cytotoxic phenotype) or L3T4 (helper phenotype) but not both, whereas non-functional (cortical) thymocytes express both markers. In addition, a small subpopulation comprising 2-3% of cells in the thymus and expressing neither Lyt-2 nor L3T4 has recently been described. The latter cells have the properties of intrathymic 'stem cells' in that they are the first to appear in the embryonic thymus and at least some can be shown to give rise, both in vivo (ref. 4. and our unpublished data) and in vitro, to other thymocyte subpopulations. We show here that 50% of Lyt-2-/L3T4- cells in the adult thymus express receptors for the polypeptide growth hormone interleukin-2 (IL-2) whereas other cells in the thymus do not. Furthermore, immunohistochemical localization studies on frozen sections indicate a disperse distribution of IL-2 receptor-positive cells in both the cortex and medulla. These novel findings have potential implications in the context of current models of differentiation pathways within the thymus.     

Production of a mutation in mouse En-2 gene by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells

A full understanding of the function of genes that control developmental events can be obtained only by a combination of molecular and mutational analysis. One putative developmental gene is the mouse engrailed-like gene En-2, which was isolated by virtue of its extensive homology to Drosophila engrailed, which contributes to the control of segmentation in the developing insect. Our hybridization analysis in situ has revealed that expression of En-2 is restricted to a specific domain of the developing central nervous system from 8 days of development on, indicating a role for the gene in establishing spatial domains in the brain. Unfortunately no En-2 mutations are available to elucidate further its function in development. To this end, we report here the isolation of three pluripotent embryonic stem cell lines in which one copy of the homoeobox-containing gene, En-2, has been altered by homologous recombination.     

Identification of RPS14 as a 5q- syndrome gene by RNA interference screen

Somatic chromosomal deletions in cancer are thought to indicate the location of tumour suppressor genes, by which a complete loss of gene function occurs through biallelic deletion, point mutation or epigenetic silencing, thus fulfilling Knudson's two-hit hypothesis. In many recurrent deletions, however, such biallelic inactivation has not been found. One prominent example is the 5q- syndrome, a subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome characterized by a defect in erythroid differentiation. Here we describe an RNA-mediated interference (RNAi)-based approach to discovery of the 5q- disease gene. We found that partial loss of function of the ribosomal subunit protein RPS14 phenocopies the disease in normal haematopoietic progenitor cells, and also that forced expression of RPS14 rescues the disease phenotype in patient-derived bone marrow cells. In addition, we identified a block in the processing of pre-ribosomal RNA in RPS14-deficient cells that is functionally equivalent to the defect in Diamond-Blackfan anaemia, linking the molecular pathophysiology of the 5q- syndrome to a congenital syndrome causing bone marrow failure. These results indicate that the 5q- syndrome is caused by a defect in ribosomal protein function and suggest that RNAi screening is an effective strategy for identifying causal haploinsufficiency disease genes.     

Germ-line transmission of a disrupted beta 2-microglobulin gene produced by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are integral membrane proteins present on virtually all vertebrate cells and consist of a heterodimer between the highly polymorphic alpha-chain and the beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) protein of relative molecular mass 12,000 (ref. 1). These cell-surface molecules play a pivotal part in the recognition of antigens, the cytotoxic response of T cells, and the induction of self tolerance. It is possible, however, that the function of MHC class I molecules is not restricted to the immune system, but extends to a wide variety of biological reactions including cell-cell interactions. For example, MHC class I molecules seem to be associated with various cell-surface proteins, including the receptors for insulin, epidermal growth factor, luteinizing hormone and the beta-adrenergic receptor. In mice, class I molecules are secreted in the urine and act as highly specific olfactory cues which influence mating preference. The beta 2-m protein has also been identified as the smaller component of the Fc receptor in neonatal intestinal cells, and it has been suggested that the protein induces collagenase in fibroblasts. Cells lacking beta 2-m are deficient in the expression of MHC class I molecules, indicating that the association with beta 2-m is crucial for the transport of MHC class I molecules to the cell surface. The most direct means of unravelling the many biological functions of beta 2-m is to create a mutant mouse with a defective beta 2-m gene. We have now used the technique of homologous recombination to disrupt the beta 2-m gene. We report here that introduction of a targeting vector into embryonic stem cells resulted in beta 2-m gene disruption with high frequency. Chimaeric mice derived from blastocysts injected with mutant embryonic stem cell clones transmit the mutant allele to their offspring.     

Targetted correction of a mutant HPRT gene in mouse embryonic stem cells

Two recent developments suggest a route to predetermined alterations in mammalian germlines. These are, first, the characterization of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells that can still enter the germline after genetic manipulation in culture and second, the demonstration that homologous recombination between a native target chromosomal gene and exogenous DAN can be used in culture to modify specifically the target locus. We here use gene targetting functionally to correct the mutant hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) gene in the ES cell line which has previously been isolated and used to produce an HPRT-deficient mouse. This modification of a chosen gene in pluripotent ES cells demonstrates the feasibility of this route to manipulating mammalian genomes in predetermined ways.     

超顺磁氧化铁标记对干细胞转铁蛋白受体基因和蛋白表达的影响

目的:探讨超顺磁氧化铁(SPIO)标记对大鼠脂肪干细胞(ADSCs)内转铁蛋白受体(TfR)基因和蛋白表达的影响,及SPIO标记与TfR表达的剂量-效应关系.方法:从3周龄雄性SD大鼠脂肪组织中提取干细胞,用多聚赖胺酸(PLL)介导SPIO(质量浓度分别为12.5～、25～、50～、75～、100～μg/mL,PLL/SPIO为1:0.03)标记大鼠ADSCs 12 h后,用普鲁士蓝染色、台盼蓝及噻唑蓝法(MTr)试验检测SPIO标记率、细胞活力及增殖力,并用逆转录聚合酶链反应( RT - PCR)、Western blot技术检测各质量浓度SPIO标记细胞内TfR表达情况.结果:PLL介导SPIO可以简单、高效地标记大鼠ADSCs.当SPIO终质量浓度为25～100 μg/mL时,SPIO标记率达到近100％;各质量浓度SPIO标记可抑制细胞增殖,但对细胞活力没有明显影响.SPIO标记大鼠ADSCs内TfR表达水平下调,其中rfR mRNA表达量以标记后24h时最低,TfR蛋白表达量以标记后7d时最低.随着SPIO标记质量浓度的增加,TfR表达水平越低,持续时间越长,但当SPIO标记质量浓度达25μg/mL及以上时,TfR mRNA表达维持在一定的水平.结论:PLL介导SPIO可以简单、高效的标记大鼠ADSCs.PLL介导SPIO标记可引起大鼠ADSCs内TfR表达水平暂时性降低以减少对细胞外铁的摄取,且随着SPIO标记质量浓度的增加,TfR表达水平越低,低水平表达持续时间越长.     

牛乳蛋白在人工瘤胃和小肠液中体外降解的动态变化

研究了牛乳蛋白在人工瘤胃和小肠液中体外消化的动态过程.采用高效液相色谱分析消化液中的游离氨基酸含量,同时测定消化液中蛋白浓度和组成的变化.结果显示,脱脂乳在人工瘤胃中发酵24 h内,总游离氨基酸含量逐渐增加,其中Arg、Leu和Pro含量增加最明显;发酵30 min~7 h内,蛋白浓度迅速下降;发酵5 h后,大部分酪蛋白被降解,而β-乳球蛋白和α-乳清蛋白变化很小;脱脂乳在小肠液中进行体外消化,总游离氨基酸迅速增加,反应至7 h时,溶液中的总游离氨基酸增加约4倍,其中以Arg、Tyr、Phe、Leu、Lys和Pro含量增加最明显.     

豚鼠离体小肠电活动与机械收缩

以小肠电活动和环肌张力、纵肌张力为指标，用同步记录的方法研究了豚鼠离体小肠电活动与环肌张力、纵肌张力之间的关系，结果表明：（１）豚鼠离体小肠的电活动包括慢波与峰波；（２）豚鼠离体小肠始终存在着节律性张力活动，其环肌收缩与纵肌收缩的关系表现为拮抗收缩、共同收缩、交互抑制等形式；（３）峰波可增加收缩力，峰波的个数、振幅与小肠张力呈正变关系，尤其与环肌收缩的对应关系更为显著．（４）慢波可触发收缩，尤其是纵肌收缩．在没有峰波仅有慢波时，亦可有收缩活动甚至活跃的收缩活动．     

3只红腹锦鸡小肠的显微结构观察

用组织学方法对 3只红腹锦鸡的小肠进行了显微结构观察 :红腹锦鸡的小肠由粘膜层、粘膜下层、肌层和外膜等 4层结构组成 .其环状皱襞明显 ,粘膜层较其它各层厚 ,从十二指肠到回肠 ,肠绒毛由细长密集逐渐变得宽短稀疏 ,肠绒毛中存在明显的平滑肌束 ,但未见中央乳糜管 ;固有膜中有发达的腺体 ;粘膜肌层由一层纵行平滑肌组成 ;粘膜下层由十二指肠缺无到回肠得变明显出现 ;肌层由内环肌和外纵肌组成 .另外 ,将红腹锦鸡与其它鸟类小肠壁的结构进行了比较     

Induction-dependent neural marker expression and electrophysiological characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells that naturally express high levels of nestin

Under certain experimental conditions, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) express neuronal phenotypes and neuronal markers, which suggests that they could be used to treat various neurological diseases. In the present study, MSCs were isolated from adult rat bone marrow, cultivated, and evaluated for neurotrophin expression profiles, as well as the potential to differentiate into functional neuronal-like cells in vitro. MSCs from passage 5 were pre-induced with DMEM/F12 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 10 ng/mL bFGF (fibroblast growth factor-2). Subsequently, a chemical inductor containing Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO), Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and forskolin were used to induce neural expression of MSCs. Expression patterns of nestin, NF-200, and GFAP at time points before and after induction were detected by immunofluorescence. Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expressions in MSCs were evaluated by RT-PCR. The whole-cell patch clamp technique was utilized to elucidate the electrical behavior of MSC before and after 24-h differentiation induction. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that MSCs expressed nestin (57.1% ± 6.9%), but not NF-200 or GFAP. Following neural induction, the cells exhibited a neuronal-like appearance. Nestin and NF-200 expression was positive in the neuronal-like cells, but GFAP expression was negative. After 6-, 12- and 24-h induction, the ratio of nestin-positive cells was 96.5% ± 1.9%, 88.1% ± 5.4%, and 33.5% ± 5.4%. NF-200 positive cells were 90.1% ± 2.9%, 97.5% ± 1.3%, and 98.1% ± 1.6%, respectively. However, prior to induction, MSCs already expressed NGF and BDNF. With a stimulus impulse of 40 mV, the density of the transient outward K current was (9.95 ± 4.85) pA/pF (n = 9) and (328.50 ± 30.62) pA/pF (n = 9) before and after induction, and the density of transient calcium ion currents was (−0.059 ± 0.027) pA/pF (n = 7) and (−6.66 ± 0.50) pA/pF (n = 7), respectively. Transient outward potassium currents and calcium ions currents gradually increased following induction. In addition, MSCs isolated from bone marrow exhibited characteristics of neuronal progenitor cells and expressed neurotrophins. These cells exhibited the capacity to differentiate into functional neuronal-like cells in vitro. These results suggested that MSCs express high levels of nestin and could be utilized for therapeutic strategies to treat nervous system diseases.