Airway Epithelial KIF3A Regulates Th2 Responses to Aeroallergens.

KIF3A, the gene encoding kinesin family member 3A, is a susceptibility gene locus associated with asthma; however, mechanisms by which KIF3A might influence the pathogenesis of the disorder are unknown. In this study, we deleted the mouse Kif3a gene in airway epithelial cells. Both homozygous and heterozygous Kif3a gene-deleted mice were highly susceptible to aeroallergens from Aspergillus fumigatus and the house dust mite, resulting in an asthma-like pathology characterized by increased goblet cell metaplasia, airway hyperresponsiveness, and Th2-mediated inflammation. Deletion of the Kif3a gene increased the severity of pulmonary eosinophilic inflammation and expression of cytokines (Il-4, Il-13, and Il-17a) and chemokine (Ccl11) RNAs following pulmonary exposure to Aspergillus extract. Inhibition of Kif3a disrupted the structure of motile cilia and impaired mucociliary clearance, barrier function, and epithelial repair, demonstrating additional mechanisms by which deficiency of KIF3A in respiratory epithelial cells contributes to pulmonary pathology. Airway epithelial KIF3A suppresses Th2 pulmonary inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness following aeroallergen exposure, implicating epithelial microtubular functions in the pathogenesis of Th2-mediated lung pathology.

Differences in wound healing in mice with deficiency of IL-6 versus IL-6 receptor.

IL-6 modulates immune responses and is essential for timely wound healing. As the functions mediated by IL-6 require binding to its specific receptor, IL-6Ralpha, it was expected that mice lacking IL-6Ralpha would have the same phenotype as IL-6-deficient mice. However, although IL-6Ralpha-deficient mice share many of the inflammatory deficits seen in IL-6-deficient mice, they do not display the delay in wound healing. Surprisingly, mice with a combined deficit of IL-6 and IL-6Ralpha, or IL-6-deficient mice treated with an IL-6Ralpha-blocking Ab, showed improved wound healing relative to mice with IL-6 deficiency, indicating that the absence of the receptor contributed to the restoration of timely wound healing, rather than promiscuity of IL-6 with an alternate receptor. Wounds in mice lacking IL-6 showed delays in macrophage infiltration, fibrin clearance, and wound contraction that were not seen in mice lacking IL-6Ralpha alone and were greatly reduced in mice with a combined deficit of IL-6 and IL-6Ralpha. MAPK activation-loop phosphorylation was elevated in wounds of IL-6Ralpha-deficient mice, and treatment of wounds in these mice with the MEK inhibitor U0126 resulted in a delay in wound healing suggesting that aberrant ERK activation may contribute to improved healing. These findings underscore a deeper complexity for IL-6Ralpha function in inflammation than has been recognized previously.

Modulation of rotation-induced lift force for cell filtration in a low aspect ratio microchannel.

Cell filtration is a critical step in sample preparation in many bioapplications. Herein, we report on a simple, filter-free, microfluidic platform based on hydrodynamic inertial migration. Our approach builds on the concept of two-stage inertial migration which permits precise prediction of microparticle position within the microchannel. Our design manipulates equilibrium positions of larger microparticles by modulating rotation-induced lift force in a low aspect ratio microchannel. Here, we demonstrate filtration of microparticles with extreme efficiency (>99%). Using multiple prostate cell lines (LNCaP and human prostate epithelial tumor cells), we show filtration from spiked blood, with 3-fold concentration and >83% viability. Results of a proliferation assay show normal cell division and suggest no negative effects on intrinsic properties. Considering the planar low-aspect-ratio structure and predictable focusing, we envision promising applications and easy integration with existing lab-on-a-chip systems.

Modulation of aspect ratio for complete separation in an inertial microfluidic channel.

Inertial microfluidics has been attracting considerable interest in recent years due to immensely promising applications in cell separations and sorting. Despite the intense attention, the moderate efficiencies and low purity of the reported devices have hindered their widespread acceptance. In this work, we report on a simple inertial microfluidic system with high efficiency (>99%) and purity (>90%). Our system builds on the concept of two-stage inertial migration which permits precise prediction of particle or cell position within the microchannel. Our design manipulates the inertial equilibrium positions by modulating channel aspect ratio to achieve a complete separation. Here, we successfully demonstrate a complete separation of particles and isolation of rare cells in blood spiked with human prostate epithelial tumor (HPET) cells. Based on the planar structure, large separation spacing and predictable focusing, we envision promising applications and easy integration of our system with existing lab-on-a-chip systems for cell separations.

CD44 integrates signaling in normal stem cell, cancer stem cell and (pre)metastatic niches.

The stem cell niche provides a regulatory microenvironment for cells as diverse as totipotent embryonic stem cells to cancer stem cells (CSCs) which exhibit stem cell-like characteristics and have the capability of regenerating the bulk of tumor cells while maintaining self-renewal potential. The transmembrane glycoprotein CD44 is a common component of the stem cell niche and exists as a standard isoform (CD44s) and a range of variant isoforms (CD44v) generated though alternative splicing. CD44 modulates signal transduction through post-translational modifications as well as interactions with hyaluronan, extracellular matrix molecules and growth factors and their cognate receptor tyrosine kinases. While the function of CD44 in hematopoietic stem cells has been studied in considerable detail, our knowledge of CD44 function in tissue-derived stem cell niches remains limited. Here we review CD44s and CD44v in both hematopoietic and tissue-derived stem cell niches, focusing on their roles in regulating stem cell behavior including self-renewal and differentiation in addition to cell-matrix interactions and signal transduction during cell migration and tumor progression. Determining the role of CD44 and CD44v in normal stem cell, CSC and (pre)metastatic niches and elucidating their unique functions could provide tools and therapeutic strategies for treating diseases as diverse as fibrosis during injury repair to cancer progression.

Inhibition of stathmin1 accelerates the metastatic process.

The oncoprotein stathmin 1 (STMN1) is upregulated in most, if not all, cancers of epithelial cell origin; therefore STMN1 is considered a target for cancer therapy. However, its role during metastasis has not been investigated. Here, we report for the first time that STMN1 strongly inhibits metastatic behavior in both normal epithelial and cancerous epithelial cells. Initially, loss-of-STMN1 compromises cell-cell adhesion. This is followed by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased cell migration, and metastasis via cooperative activation of p38 and through TGF-ß-independent and -dependent mechanisms. In contrast, expressing STMN1 restores cell-cell adhesion and reverses the metastatic cascade. Primary prostate epithelial cell cultures from benign to undifferentiated adenocarcinoma (UA) clinical biopsies show that EMT-like cells arise while the cancer is still organ-confined and that their emergence is tumor-stage specific. Furthermore, primary EMT-like cells exhibit metastatic behavior both in vitro and in vivo as compared with their non-EMT counterpart. These observations predict that using STMN1 as a generic therapeutic target might accelerate metastasis. Instead, there may be a tumor stage-specific window-of-opportunity in which conserving STMN1 expression is required to inhibit emergence of metastatic disease.

Interleukin-6 receptor enhances early colonization of the murine omentum by upregulation of a mannose family receptor, LY75, in ovarian tumor cells.

One of the earliest metastatic events in human ovarian cancer, tumor spread to the omentum, may be influenced by expression of interleukin 6 (IL6) and its cognate receptor (IL6Rα). Previous reports have shown that IL6 and IL6Rα expression is elevated in the serum and ascites of patients with ovarian cancer and that this can influence in vitro processes such as cell survival, proliferation and migration. In this study, overexpression of IL6Rα, and to a lesser extent IL6, enhanced tumor growth on the omentum. Moreover, adherence to plastic and to peritoneal extracellular matrix components was enhanced in tumor cells overexpressing IL6 or IL6Rα. Host production of IL6 and IL6Rα was also sufficient to influence tumor adherence to the omentum. Expression of LY75/CD205/DEC205, a collagen-binding mannose family receptor, was directly influenced by IL6Rα expression. Blocking LY75 with antibody reduced the adherence of tumor cells overexpressing IL6Rα to matrices in vitro and to the omentum. The association between IL6Rα expression and LY75 expression has not been previously reported, and the promotion of cellular adherence is a novel role for LY75. These studies indicate that overexpression of LY75 may be an additional mechanism by which IL6 signaling influences the progression of ovarian cancer, and suggests that blocking LY75 could be a valuable clinical strategy for reducing the early metastasis of ovarian cancer.