Sostdc1 Regulates NK Cell Maturation and Cytotoxicity.

NK cells are innate-like lymphocytes that eliminate virally infected and cancerous cells, but the mechanisms that control NK cell development and cytotoxicity are incompletely understood. We identified roles for sclerostin domain-containing-1 (Sostdc1) in NK cell development and function. Sostdc1-knockout (Sostdc1 -/-) mice display a progressive accumulation of transitional NK cells (tNKs) (CD27+CD11b+) with age, indicating a partial developmental block. The NK cell Ly49 repertoire in Sostdc1 -/- mice is also changed. Lower frequencies of Sostdc1 -/- splenic tNKs express inhibitory Ly49G2 receptors, but higher frequencies express activating Ly49H and Ly49D receptors. However, the frequencies of Ly49I+, G2+, H+, and D+ populations were universally decreased at the most mature (CD27-CD11b+) stage. We hypothesized that the Ly49 repertoire in Sostdc1 -/- mice would correlate with NK killing ability and observed that Sostdc1-/- NK cells are hyporesponsive against MHC class I-deficient cell targets in vitro and in vivo, despite higher CD107a surface levels and similar IFN-γ expression to controls. Consistent with Sostdc1's known role in Wnt signaling regulation, Tcf7 and Lef1 levels were higher in Sostdc1 -/- NK cells. Expression of the NK development gene Id2 was decreased in Sostdc1-/- immature NK and tNK cells, but Eomes and Tbx21 expression was unaffected. Reciprocal bone marrow transplant experiments showed that Sostdc1 regulates NK cell maturation and expression of Ly49 receptors in a cell-extrinsic fashion from both nonhematopoietic and hematopoietic sources. Taken together, these data support a role for Sostdc1 in the regulation of NK cell maturation and cytotoxicity, and identify potential NK cell niches.

Functional constraints on SoxE proteins in neural crest development: The importance of differential expression for evolution of protein activity.

Vertebrate SoxE genes (Sox8, 9, and 10) are key regulators of neural crest cell (NCC) development. These genes arose by duplication from a single SoxE gene in the vertebrate ancestor. Although SoxE paralogs are coexpressed early in NCC development, later, Sox9 is restricted to skeletogenic lineages in the head, and Sox10 to non-skeletogenic NCC in the trunk and head. When this subfunctionalization evolved and its possible role in the evolution of the neural crest are unknown. Sea lampreys are basal vertebrates that also possess three SoxE genes, while only a single SoxE is present in the cephalochordate amphioxus. In order to address the functional divergence of SoxE genes, and to determine if differences in their biochemical functions may be linked to changes in neural crest developmental potential, we examined the ability of lamprey and amphioxus SoxE genes to regulate differentiation of NCC derivatives in zebrafish colourless (cls) mutants lacking expression of sox10. Our findings suggest that the proto-vertebrate SoxE gene possessed both melanogenic and neurogenic capabilities prior to SoxE gene duplication. Following the agnathan-gnathostome split, lamprey SoxE1 and SoxE3 largely lost their melanogenic and/or enteric neurogenic properties, while gnathostome SoxE paralogs have retained functional conservation. We posit that this difference in protein subfunctionalization is a direct consequence of the independent regulation of SoxE paralog expression between the two lineages. Specifically, we propose that the overlapping expression of gnathostome SoxE paralogs in early neural crest largely constrained the function of gnathostome SoxE proteins. In contrast, the largely non-overlapping expression of lamprey SoxE paralogs allowed them to specialize with regard to their DNA-binding and/or protein interaction properties. Restriction of developmental potential among cranial and trunk neural crest in lampreys may be related to constraints on SoxE activity among duplicates, but such specialization does not appear to have occurred in gnathostomes. This highlights an important difference in the evolution of SoxE activity between these two divergent vertebrate lineages and provides insights for understanding how cell fate restriction in different NCC populations may be dependent on subfunctionalization among SoxE duplicates.

Comparison of weight changes following unilateral and staged bilateral STN DBS for advanced PD.

Unilateral and bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) result in weight gain in the initial postoperative months, but little is known about the changes in weight following unilateral and staged bilateral STN DBS over longer time intervals. A case-control comparison evaluated weight changes over 2 years in 43 consecutive unilateral STN DBS patients, among whom 25 elected to undergo staged bilateral STN DBS, and 21 age-matched and disease severity matched PD controls without DBS. Regression analyses incorporating age, gender, and baseline weight in case or control were conducted to assess weight changes 2 years after the initial unilateral surgery. Unilateral STN DBS and staged bilateral STN DBS patients gained 3.9 ± 2.0 kg and 5.6 ± 2.1 kg versus their preoperative baseline weight (P < 0.001, respectively) while PD controls without DBS lost 0.8 ± 1.1 kg. Although bilateral STN DBS patients gained 1.7 kg more than unilateral STN DBS patients at 2 years, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.885). Although there was a trend toward greater weight gain in staged bilateral STN DBS patients versus unilateral patients, we found no evidence for an equivalent or synergistic increase in body weight following placement of the second DBS electrode.