The SH2 tyrosine phosphatase shp2 is required for mammalian limb development

The tyrosine phosphatase Shp2 is recruited into tyrosine-kinase signalling pathways through binding of its two amino-terminal SH2 domains to specific phosphotyrosine motifs, concurrent with its re-localization and stimulation of phosphatase activity. Shp2 can potentiate signalling through the MAP-kinase pathway and is required during early mouse development for gastrulation. Chimaeric analysis can identify, by study of phenotypically normal embryos, tissues that tolerate mutant cells (and therefore do not require the mutated gene) or lack mutant cells (and presumably require the mutated gene during their developmental history). We therefore generated chimaeric mouse embryos to explore the cellular requirements for Shp2. This analysis revealed an obligatory role for Shp2 during outgrowth of the limb. Shp2 is specifically required in mesenchyme cells of the progress zone (PZ), directly beneath the distal ectoderm of the limb bud. Comparison of Ptpn11 (encoding Shp2)-mutant and Fgfr1 (encoding fibroblast growth factor receptor-1)-mutant chimaeric limbs indicated that in both cases mutant cells fail to contribute to the PZ of phenotypically normal chimaeras, leading to the hypothesis that a signal transduction pathway, initiated by Fgfr1 and acting through Shp2, is essential within PZ cells. Rather than integrating proliferative signals, Shp2 probably exerts its effects on limb development by influencing cell shape, movement or adhesion. Furthermore, the branchial arches, which also use Fgfs during bud outgrowth, similarly require Shp2. Thus, Shp2 regulates phosphotyrosine-signalling events during the complex ectodermal-mesenchymal interactions that regulate mammalian budding morphogenesis.     

AID is required for germinal center-derived lymphomagenesis

Most human B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (B-NHLs) derive from germinal centers (GCs), the structure in which B cells undergo somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) before being selected for high-affinity antibody production. The pathogenesis of B-NHL is associated with distinct genetic lesions, including chromosomal translocations and aberrant SHM, which arise from mistakes occurring during CSR and SHM. A direct link between these DNA remodeling events and GC lymphoma development, however, has not been demonstrated. Here we have crossed three mouse models of B cell lymphoma driven by oncogenes (Myc, Bcl6 and Myc/Bcl6; refs. 5,6) with mice lacking activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), the enzyme required for both CSR and SHM. We show that AID deficiency prevents Bcl6-dependent, GC-derived B-NHL, but has no impact on Myc-driven, pre-GC lymphomas. Accordingly, abrogation of AID is associated with the disappearance of CSR- and SHM-mediated structural alterations. These results show that AID is required for GC-derived lymphomagenesis, supporting the notion that errors in AID-mediated antigen-receptor gene modification processes are principal contributors to the pathogenesis of human B-NHL.     

Dax1 is required for testis determination

The orphan nuclear receptor, Dax1, was originally proposed to act as an 'anti-testis' factor. We find, however, that Nr0b1 (also called Dax1 and Ahch, which encodes Dax1) is in fact required for testis differentiation.     

Gremlin is the BMP antagonist required for maintenance of Shh and Fgf signals during limb patterning

During limb outgrowth, signaling by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) must be moderated to maintain the signaling loop between the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) and the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Gremlin, an extracellular Bmp antagonist, has been proposed to fulfill this function and therefore be important in limb patterning. We tested this model directly by mutating the mouse gene encoding gremlin (Cktsf1b1, herein called gremlin). In the mutant limb, the feedback loop between the ZPA and the AER is interrupted, resulting in abnormal skeletal pattern. We also show that the gremlin mutation is allelic to the limb deformity mutation (ld). Although Bmps and their antagonists have multiple roles in limb development, these experiments show that gremlin is the principal BMP antagonist required for early limb outgrowth and patterning.     

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 is essential for meiosis but not for mitotic cell division in mice

We targeted the locus encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Embryonic fibroblasts lacking CDK2 proliferate normally and become immortal after continuous passage in culture. Elimination of a conditional Cdk2 allele in immortal cells does not have a significant effect on proliferation. Cdk2-/- mice are viable and survive for up to two years, indicating that CDK2 is also dispensable for proliferation and survival of most cell types. But CDK2 is essential for completion of prophase I during meiotic cell division in male and female germ cells, an unforeseen role for this cell cycle kinase.     

The mismatch repair system is required for S-phase checkpoint activation

Defective S-phase checkpoint activation results in an inability to downregulate DNA replication following genotoxic insult such as exposure to ionizing radiation. This 'radioresistant DNA synthesis' (RDS) is a phenotypic hallmark of ataxia-telangiectasia, a cancer-prone disorder caused by mutations in ATM. The mismatch repair system principally corrects nucleotide mismatches that arise during replication. Here we show that the mismatch repair system is required for activation of the S-phase checkpoint in response to ionizing radiation. Cells deficient in mismatch repair proteins showed RDS, and restoration of mismatch repair function restored normal S-phase checkpoint function. Catalytic activation of ATM and ATM-mediated phosphorylation of the protein NBS1 (also called nibrin) occurred independently of mismatch repair. However, ATM-dependent phosphorylation and activation of the checkpoint kinase CHK2 and subsequent degradation of its downstream target, CDC25A, was abrogated in cells lacking mismatch repair. In vitro and in vivo approaches both show that MSH2 binds to CHK2 and that MLH1 associates with ATM. These findings indicate that the mismatch repair complex formed at the sites of DNA damage facilitates the phosphorylation of CHK2 by ATM, and that defects in this mechanism form the molecular basis for the RDS observed in cells deficient in mismatch repair.     

Chfr is required for tumor suppression and Aurora A regulation

Tumorigenesis is a consequence of loss of tumor suppressors and activation of oncogenes. Expression of the mitotic checkpoint protein Chfr is lost in 20-50% of primary tumors and tumor cell lines. To explore whether downregulation of Chfr contributes directly to tumorigenesis, we generated Chfr knockout mice. Chfr-deficient mice are cancer-prone, develop spontaneous tumors and have increased skin tumor incidence after treatment with dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. Chfr deficiency leads to chromosomal instability in embryonic fibroblasts and regulates the mitotic kinase Aurora A, which is frequently upregulated in a variety of tumors. Chfr physically interacts with Aurora A and ubiquitinates Aurora A both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our data suggest that Chfr is a tumor suppressor and ensures chromosomal stability by controlling the expression levels of key mitotic proteins such as Aurora A.     

Fgf8 is required for outgrowth and patterning of the limbs

The expression pattern and activity of fibroblast growth factor-8 (FGF8) in experimental assays indicate that it has important roles in limb development, but early embryonic lethality resulting from mutation of Fgf8 in the germ line of mice has prevented direct assessment of these roles. Here we report that conditional disruption of Fgf8 in the forelimb of developing mice bypasses embryonic lethality and reveals a requirement for Fgf8 in the formation of the stylopod, anterior zeugopod and autopod. Lack of Fgf8 in the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) alters expression of other Fgf genes, Shh and Bmp2.     

A structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes hinge domain-containing protein is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation

RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a process in which dicer-generated small RNAs guide de novo cytosine methylation at the homologous DNA region. To identify components of the RdDM machinery important for Arabidopsis thaliana development, we targeted an enhancer active in meristems for methylation, which resulted in silencing of a downstream GFP reporter gene. This silencing system also features secondary siRNAs, which trigger methylation that spreads beyond the targeted enhancer region. A screen for mutants defective in meristem silencing and enhancer methylation retrieved six dms complementation groups, which included the known factors DRD1 (ref. 3; a SNF2-like chromatin-remodeling protein) and Pol IVb subunits. Additionally, we identified a previously unknown gene DMS3 (At3g49250), encoding a protein similar to the hinge-domain region of structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins. This finding implicates a putative chromosome architectural protein that can potentially link nucleic acids in facilitating an RNAi-mediated epigenetic modification involving secondary siRNAs and spreading of DNA methylation.     

Dynamic assembly of silent chromatin during thymocyte maturation

Considerable knowledge has been gained from temporal analyses of molecular events culminating in gene activation, but technical hurdles have hindered comparable studies of gene silencing. Here we describe the temporal assembly of silent chromatin at the mouse terminal transferase gene (Dntt), which is silenced and repositioned to pericentromeric heterochromatin during thymocyte maturation. Silencing was nucleated at the Dntt promoter by the ordered deacetylation of histone H3 at Lys9 (H3-Lys9), loss of methylation at H3-Lys4 and acquisition of methylation at H3-Lys9, followed by bidirectional spreading of each event. Deacetylation at H3-Lys9 coincided with pericentromeric repositioning, and neither of these early events required de novo protein synthesis. CpG methylation increased primarily in mature T cells that had left the thymus. A transformed thymocyte line supported reversible inactivation of Dntt without repositioning. In these cells, histone modification changes were nucleated at the promoter but did not spread. These results provide a foundation for elucidating the mechanisms of silent chromatin assembly during development.     

CEP41 is mutated in Joubert syndrome and is required for tubulin glutamylation at the cilium

Tubulin glutamylation is a post-translational modification that occurs predominantly in the ciliary axoneme and has been suggested to be important for ciliary function. However, its relationship to disorders of the primary cilium, termed ciliopathies, has not been explored. Here we mapped a new locus for Joubert syndrome (JBTS), which we have designated as JBTS15, and identified causative mutations in CEP41, which encodes a 41-kDa centrosomal protein. We show that CEP41 is localized to the basal body and primary cilia, and regulates ciliary entry of TTLL6, an evolutionarily conserved polyglutamylase enzyme. Depletion of CEP41 causes ciliopathy-related phenotypes in zebrafish and mice and results in glutamylation defects in the ciliary axoneme. Our data identify CEP41 mutations as a cause of JBTS and implicate tubulin post-translational modification in the pathogenesis of human ciliary dysfunction.     

Secretory COPII coat component Sec23a is essential for craniofacial chondrocyte maturation

An increasing number of human disorders have been linked to mutations in genes of the secretory pathway. The chemically induced zebrafish crusher variant results in malformed craniofacial skeleton, kinked pectoral fins and a short body length. By positional cloning, we identified a nonsense mutation converting leucine to a stop codon (L402X) in the sec23a gene, an integral component of the COPII complex, which is critical for anterograde protein trafficking between endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Zebrafish crusher mutants develop normally until the onset of craniofacial chondrogenesis. crusher chondrocytes accumulate proteins in a distended endoplasmic reticulum, resulting in severe reduction of cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) deposits, including type II collagen. We demonstrate that the paralogous gene sec23b is also an essential component of the ECM secretory pathway in chondrocytes. In contrast, knockdown of the COPI complex does not hinder craniofacial morphogenesis. As SEC23A lesions cause the cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia syndrome, crusher provides the first vertebrate model system that links the biology of endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi trafficking with a clinically relevant dysmorphology.