C. Graham, D. Solter, J. Gearhart, J. Nadeau, B. Knowles
{"title":"Honoring the work and life of Leroy C. Stevens. A symposium as part of the International Stem Cell Initiative Workshop.","authors":"C. Graham, D. Solter, J. Gearhart, J. Nadeau, B. Knowles","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.160420bk","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.160420bk","url":null,"abstract":"In 2016, a symposium was convened in Leroy C. Stevens' honor, in association with a meeting of the International Stem Cell Initiative (ISCI). ISCI, funded internationally, is composed of a group of ~100 scientists from many countries, under the leadership of Peter Andrews, who have worked together to characterize a significant number of human pluripotent stem cell lines, to monitor their genetic stability and their differentiation into mature cell types and tissues in vitro and in vivo. Those at the ISCI meeting puzzled through one of the thorniest problems in the therapeutic use of the differentiated derivatives of pluripotent stem cells for human therapy; namely, pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into any cell type in the adult organism, but they also have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal, hence if mutated they may have tumorigenic potential. The meeting considered how these cells might become genetically or epigenetically abnormal and how the safety of these cells for human therapeutic uses could be assessed and assured. The symposium was an opportunity to pay tribute to Leroy Stevens and to the basic science origins of this newest aspect of regenerative medicine. It was a time to reflect on the past and on how it can influence the future of our field.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"67 1","pages":"327-336"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76517765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yu Xue, Cencan Xing, Wenjuan Zhang, Can-bin Chen, Jingjin Xu, A. Meng, Yutian Pan
{"title":"Coordinate involvement of Nodal-dependent inhibition and Wnt-dependent activation in the maintenance of organizer-specific bmp2b in zebrafish.","authors":"Yu Xue, Cencan Xing, Wenjuan Zhang, Can-bin Chen, Jingjin Xu, A. Meng, Yutian Pan","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150193yx","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150193yx","url":null,"abstract":"A vertebrate signaling center, known in zebrafish as the organizer, is essential for axis patterning and formation and is regulated by multiple cell signaling pathways, including Wnt, Nodal, and Bmp. Organizer-specific Bmp2b plays important roles in the maintenance of the Bmp activity gradient and dorsal-ventral patterning. However, it is unknown how transcription of bmp2b in the organizer is regulated. In this study, we generated a bmp2b transgenic line Tsg(-2.272bmp2b:gfp) that reproduced organizer-specific bmp2b expression. Dissection analysis revealed that a 0.273-kb minimal promoter was indispensable for bmp2b expression in the dorsal organizer. Reporter assays showed that organizer-specific bmp2b is negatively regulated by the Nodal signal and positively regulated by the Wnt signal in both embryos and cell lines. Promoter analysis and chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) indicated that one consensus Smad-binding element (SBE) (CAGAC) and one Lef/Tcf-binding element (LBE) (AGATAA) were present in the 0.273-kb promoter, and could be directly bound by Smad2 and β-catenin proteins. Together, these results suggest that maintenance of organizer-specific bmp2b expression involves opposite and concerted regulation by Nodal and Wnt signaling.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"5 1","pages":"13-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87657693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nucleolar protein 4-like has a complex expression pattern in zebrafish embryos.","authors":"S. Borah, Praveen Barrodia, R. Swain","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150307rs","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150307rs","url":null,"abstract":"The nucleolar protein 4-like (NOL4L) gene is present on chromosome 20 (20q11.21) in humans. Parts of this gene have been shown to fuse with RUNX1 and PAX5 in acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively. The normal function of NOL4L in humans and other organisms is not well understood. The expression patterns and functions of NOL4L homologs during vertebrate development have not been reported. We sought to address these questions by studying the expression pattern of zebrafish nol4l during embryogenesis. Our data show that Znol4l mRNA is expressed in multiple organs in zebrafish embryos. The sites of expression include parts of the brain, spinal cord, pronephros, hematopoietic cells and gut.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"45 1","pages":"53-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88622096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Jevtić, A. Milunović-Jevtić, Matthew R. Dilsaver, J. Gatlin, D. Levy
{"title":"Use of Xenopus cell-free extracts to study size regulation of subcellular structures.","authors":"P. Jevtić, A. Milunović-Jevtić, Matthew R. Dilsaver, J. Gatlin, D. Levy","doi":"10.1387/IJDB.160158DL","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/IJDB.160158DL","url":null,"abstract":"Striking size variations are prominent throughout biology, at the organismal, cellular, and subcellular levels. Important fundamental questions concern organelle size regulation and how organelle size is regulated relative to cell size, also known as scaling. Uncovering mechanisms of organelle size regulation will inform the functional significance of size as well as the implications of misregulated size, for instance in the case of nuclear enlargement in cancer. Xenopus egg and embryo extracts are powerful cell-free systems that have been utilized extensively for mechanistic and functional studies of various organelles and subcellular structures. The open biochemical nature of the extract permits facile manipulation of its composition, and in recent years extract approaches have illuminated mechanisms of organelle size regulation. This review largely focuses on in vitro Xenopus studies that have identified regulators of nuclear and spindle size. We also discuss potential relationships between size scaling of the nucleus and spindle, size regulation of other subcellular structures, and extract experiments that have clarified developmental timing mechanisms. We conclude by offering some future prospects, notably the integration of Xenopus extract with microfluidic technology.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"23 1","pages":"277-288"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78643666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Live imaging reveals spatial separation of parental chromatin until the four-cell stage in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos.","authors":"Jitka Bolková, C. Lanctôt","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150222cl","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150222cl","url":null,"abstract":"The parental genomes are initially spatially separated in each pronucleus after fertilization. Here we have used green-to-red photoconversion of Dendra2-H2B-labeled pronuclei to distinguish maternal and paternal chromatin domains and to track their spatial distribution in living Caenorhabditis elegans embryos starting shortly after fertilization. Intermingling of the parental chromatin did not occur until after the division of the AB and P1 blastomeres, at the 4-cell stage. Unexpectedly, we observed that the intermingling of chromatin did not take place during mitosis or during chromatin decondensation, but rather ∼ 3-5 minutes into the cell cycle. Furthermore, unlike what has been observed in mammalian cells, the relative spatial positioning of chromatin domains remained largely unchanged during prometaphase in the early C. elegans embryo. Live imaging of photoconverted chromatin also allowed us to detect a reproducible 180° rotation of the nuclei during cytokinesis of the one-cell embryo. Imaging of fluorescently-labeled P granules and polar bodies showed that the entire embryo rotates during the first cell division. To our knowledge, we report here the first live observation of the initial separation and subsequent mixing of parental chromatin domains during embryogenesis.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"98 1","pages":"5-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84125744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Debant, P. Hémon, C. Brigaudeau, Yves Renaudineau, O. Mignen
{"title":"Calcium signaling and cell fate: how can Ca2+ signals contribute to wrong decisions for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemic B lymphocyte outcome?","authors":"M. Debant, P. Hémon, C. Brigaudeau, Yves Renaudineau, O. Mignen","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150204om","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150204om","url":null,"abstract":"Ca(2+) signaling is a key regulator of B lymphocyte cell fate and defects in this signaling pathway have been reported in numerous diseases such as Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CLL is a B cell clonal disorder characterized by the accumulation of mature monoclonal CD5(+) B cells. Although CLL could be considered to be a proliferative disease, most circulating CLL B cells are arrested in the G0 phase of the cell cycle and present both defects in calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis and signaling. The Ca(2+) response to antigen ligation is heterogeneous and related, in part, to defects arising from the incapacity to respond to B cell receptor (BCR) engagement (anergy), to the expression of T cell kinases (e.g. Zap70), and to the presence of negative feedback regulation by phosphatases (e.g. SHP-1). Anergic CD5(+) CLL B cells are characterized by an elevated basal Ca(2+) level, IgM/CD79 downregulation, a constitutive activation of BCR pathway kinases, and an activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT). Based on the Ca(2+) response, patients are classified into three groups: unresponders, responders with apoptosis, and responders with entry in the cell cycle. Moreover, internal and direct interaction between leukemic BCR-HCDR3 epitopes at the plasma membrane and interaction between Bcl-2 and the IP3-receptor at the endoplasmic reticulum are also suspected to interfere with the intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis in CLL-B cells. As a whole, the Ca(2+) pathway is emerging to play a key role in malignant CLL-B survival, disease progression, and last but not least, in the therapeutic response.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"9 1","pages":"379-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80443761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Calcium signals and oocyte maturation in marine invertebrates.","authors":"R. Deguchi, N. Takeda, S. A. Stricker","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150239ss","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150239ss","url":null,"abstract":"In various oocytes and eggs of animals, transient elevations in cytoplasmic calcium ion concentrations are known to regulate key processes during fertilization and the completion of meiosis. However, whether or not calcium transients also help to reinitiate meiotic progression at the onset of oocyte maturation remains controversial. This article summarizes reports of calcium signals playing essential roles during maturation onset (=germinal vesicle breakdown, GVBD) in several kinds of marine invertebrate oocytes. Conversely, other data from the literature, as well as previously unpublished findings for jellyfish oocytes, fail to support the view that calcium signals are required for GVBD. In addition to assessing the effects of calcium transients on GVBD in marine invertebrate oocytes, the ability of maturing oocytes to enhance their calcium-releasing capabilities after GVBD is also reviewed. Furthermore, possible explanations are proposed for the contradictory results that have been obtained regarding calcium signals during oocyte maturation in marine invertebrates.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"52 1","pages":"271-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85330134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Calcium signals regulated by NAADP and two-pore channels--their role in development, differentiation and cancer.","authors":"J. Parrington, P. Lear, A. Hachem","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150211jp","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150211jp","url":null,"abstract":"Ca(2+) signals regulate a wide range of physiological processes. Intracellular Ca(2+) stores can be mobilized in response to extracellular stimuli via a range of signal transduction mechanisms, often involving recruitment of diffusible second messenger molecules. The Ca(2+) mobilizing messengers InsP 3 and cADPR release Ca(2+) from the endoplasmic reticulum via InsP 3 and ryanodine receptors, respectively, while a third messenger, NAADP, releases Ca(2+) from acidic endosomes and lysosomes. Bidirectional communication between the ER and acidic organelles has functional relevance for endolysosomal function as well as for the generation of Ca(2+) signals. The two-pore channels (TPCs) are currently strong candidates for being key components of NAADP-regulated Ca(2+) channels. Ca(2+) signals have been shown to play important roles in embryonic development and cell differentiation; however, much remains to be established about the exact signalling mechanisms involved. Investigation of the role of NAADP and TPCs in development and differentiation is still at an early stage, but recent studies have suggested that they play important roles at key developmental stages in vivo and are important mediators of differentiation of neurons, skeletal muscle cells and osteoclasts in vitro. NAADP signals and TPCs have also been implicated in autophagy, an important process in differentiation. Moreover, potential links between TPC2 and cancer have been recently identified. Further studies will be required to identify the precise mechanisms of action of TPCs and their link with NAADP signalling, and to relate these to their roles in differentiation and other key developmental processes in the cell and organism.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"73 1","pages":"341-55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78796953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Glioblastoma and calcium signaling--analysis of calcium toolbox expression.","authors":"N. Robil, F. Petel, M. Kilhoffer, J. Haiech","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.150200jh","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.150200jh","url":null,"abstract":"The characteristics of a cellular calcium signal (calcium signature) are determined, at least partly, by the expression of a subset of genes encoding proteins involved in calcium entry, calcium uptake and calcium modulation. Our aim in the present work was to characterize the set of genes involved in calcium signal generation that are differentially expressed in normal brain tissues versus brain tumor and/or glioma stem cells. Public datasets were analyzed according to a four step methodology consisting of: 1. detecting the outliers by using principal component analysis of the whole transcriptome; 2. building a calcium toolbox composed of 260 genes involved in the generation and modulation of the calcium signal; 3. analyzing the calcium toolbox transcriptome of different human brain areas and 4. detecting genes from the calcium toolbox preferentially expressed in tumor tissues or tumor cells compared to normal brain tissues. Our approach was validated on normal brain tissue. Tumor sample analysis allowed us to disclose a set of eighteen genes characteristic of glioblastoma tissues or glioma stem cells. Interpreting the set of genes highlighted in the study led us to propose that i) the mechanism of store operated calcium entry is strongly perturbed in cancer cells and tissues, ii) the process of calcium reuptake into mitochondria is more important in cancer cells and tissues than in their normal counterparts and iii) these two mechanisms may be coupled in at least one subgroup of the glioblastoma stem cells.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"71 1","pages":"407-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86602428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Na (+)/H (+)exchange in the tumour microenvironment: does NHE1 drive breast cancer carcinogenesis?","authors":"S. R. Amith, Sunny Fong, S. Baksh, L. Fliegel","doi":"10.1387/ijdb.140336lf","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.140336lf","url":null,"abstract":"Ionic messengers signal several critical events in carcinogenesis, including metastasis, the leading cause of patient mortality. The aberrant metabolic, proliferative and anti-apoptotic nature of neoplastic cells can be traced to the abnormal expression of their ion transporters and related signalling networks. In this manuscript, we discuss Na(+)/H(+)flux, as mediated by the sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), a major ion transporter involved in tumourigenesis. Allosteric activation of NHE1 by external stimuli is controlled by phosphorylation of key amino acids on its cytosolic C-terminal tail, which also acts as a signal scaffold for its regulation by intracellular protein and lipid binding partners. In breast cancer cells, pH homeostasis and proton dynamics are disrupted early in transformation. This constitutively activates NHE1, causing a reversal of the plasma membrane pH gradient, resulting in a more alkaline intracellular pH and a more acidic extracellular pH. NHE1-mediated cellular alkalinization potentiates cytoskeletal remodelling, mobilizing cells for directed migration. Concomitant redistribution of NHE1 to invadopodia, where increased proton extrusion promotes proteolytic digestion of the extracellular matrix, primes cells for invasion into the bloodstream. NHE1 hyperactivity therefore heralds an important stage in cancer cell development, critically facilitating the acquisition of the invasive phenotype necessary for metastasis to occur. The potential for targeting NHE1 in the development of novel chemotherapeutic applications is explored.","PeriodicalId":94228,"journal":{"name":"The International journal of developmental biology","volume":"100 1","pages":"367-77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81415099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}