Characterization of Apoptosis Signaling Cascades During the Differentiation Process of Human Neural ReNcell VM Progenitor Cells In Vitro.

Apoptosis is an essential physiological process accompanying the development of the central nervous system and human neurogenesis. However, the time scale and the underlying molecular mechanisms are yet poorly understood. Due to this fact, we investigated the functionality and general inducibility of apoptosis in the human neural ReNcell VM progenitor cell line during differentiation and also after exposure to staurosporine (STS) and ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. Transmission light microscopy, flow cytometry, and Western-/Immunoblot analysis were performed to compare proliferating and differentiating, in addition to STS- and UVB-treated cells. In particular, from 24 to 72 h post-initiation of differentiation, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, increased loss of apoptotic cells, activation of pro-apoptotic BAX, Caspase-3, and cleavage of its substrate PARP were observed during cell differentiation and, to a higher extent, after treatment with STS and UVB. We conclude that redundant or defective cells are eliminated by apoptosis, while otherwise fully differentiated cells were less responsive to apoptosis induction by STS than proliferating cells, likely as a result of reduced APAF-1 expression, and increased levels of BCL-2. These data provide the evidence that apoptotic mechanisms in the neural ReNcell VM progenitor cell line are not only functional, but also inducible by external stimuli like growth factor withdrawal or treatment with STS and UVB, which marks this cell line as a suitable model to investigate apoptosis signaling pathways in respect to the differentiation processes of human neural progenitor cells in vitro.

Gene expression profiling of porcine mammary epithelial cells after challenge with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro.

Postpartum Dysgalactia Syndrome (PDS) represents a considerable health problem of postpartum sows, primarily indicated by mastitis and lactation failure. The poorly understood etiology of this multifactorial disease necessitates the use of the porcine mammary epithelial cell (PMEC) model to identify how and to what extent molecular pathogen defense mechanisms prevent bacterial infections at the first cellular barrier of the gland. PMEC were isolated from three lactating sows and challenged with heat-inactivated potential mastitis-causing pathogens Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) for 3 h and 24 h, in vitro. We focused on differential gene expression patterns of PMEC after pathogen challenge in comparison with the untreated control by performing microarray analysis. Our results show that a core innate immune response of PMEC is partly shared by E. coli and S. aureus. But E. coli infection induces much faster and stronger inflammatory response than S. aureus infection. An immediate and strong up-regulation of genes encoding cytokines (IL1A and IL8), chemokines (CCL2, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, and CXCL6) and cell adhesion molecules (VCAM1, ICAM1, and ITGB3) was explicitly obvious post-challenge with E. coli inducing a rapid recruitment and activation of cells of host defense mediated by IL1B and TNF signaling. In contrast, S. aureus infection rather induces the expression of genes encoding monooxygenases (CYP1A1, CYP3A4, and CYP1B1) initiating processes of detoxification and pathogen elimination. The results indicate that the course of PDS depends on the host recognition of different structural and pathogenic profiles first, which critically determines the extent and effectiveness of cellular immune defense after infection.

Differential Impacts of Sentence Length on Speech Rate in Two Groups of Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sentence length on speech rate and its characteristics, articulation rate, and pauses in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. METHOD: Nine children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) and seven children diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS) repeated sentences varying in length from two to seven words. Children were between the ages of 8 and 17 years. Dependent variables included speech rate, articulation rate, and proportion of time spent pausing. RESULTS: For children with CP, there was a significant effect of sentence length for speech rate and articulation rate but not for the proportion of time spent pausing. In general, the longest sentences were produced with a faster speech and articulation rate than the shortest sentences. For children with DS, there was a significant effect of sentence length for the proportion of time spent pausing but not for speech rate or articulation rate. In general, children with DS spent significantly more time pausing in the longest sentences, particularly seven-word sentences, than in any other sentence length. CONCLUSIONS: Primary findings include the following: (a) Articulation rate and pause time are differentially impacted by sentence length, and (b) children with CP and children with DS respond differently to increases in cognitive-linguistic load.

Inhibition of BCL-2 leads to increased apoptosis and delayed neuronal differentiation in human ReNcell VM cells in vitro.

BCL-2 is a multifunctional protein involved in the regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle progression and neural developmental processes. Its function in the latter process is not well understood and needs further elucidation. Therefore, we characterized the protein expression kinetics of BCL-2 and associated regulatory proteins of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway during the process of neuronal differentiation in ReNcell VM cells with and without functional inhibition of BCL-2 by its competitive ligand HA14-1. Inhibition of BCL-2 caused a diminished BCL-2 expression and higher levels of cleaved BAX, activated Caspase-3 and cleaved PARP, all pro-apoptotic markers, when compared with untreated differentiating cells. In parallel, flow cytometric analysis of HA14-1-treated cells revealed a delayed differentiation into HuC/D+ neuronal cells when compared to untreated differentiating cells. In conclusion, BCL-2 possess a protective function in fully differentiated ReNcell VM cells. We propose that the pro-survival signaling of BCL-2 is closely connected with its stimulatory effects on neurogenesis of human neural progenitor cells.

A naturally hypersensitive glucocorticoid receptor elicits a compensatory reduction of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity early in ontogeny.

We comprehensively characterized the effects of a unique natural gain-of-function mutation in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), GRAla610Val, in domestic pigs to expand current knowledge of the phenotypic consequences of GR hypersensitivity. Cortisol levels were consistently reduced in one-week-old piglets, at weaning and in peripubertal age, probably due to a reduced adrenal capacity to produce glucocorticoids (GC), which was indicated by an adrenocortical thinning in GRAla610Val carriers. Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) levels were significantly reduced in one-week-old piglets only. Expression analyses in peripubertal age revealed significant downregulation of hypothalamic expression of CRH and AVP, the latter only in females, and upregulation of hepatic expression of SERPINA6, by GRAla610Val Transcriptional repression of proinflammatory genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from GRAla610Val carriers was more sensitive to dexamethasone treatment ex vivo However, no significant effects on growth, body composition, blood chemistry or cell counts were observed under baseline conditions. These results suggest that GRAla610Val-induced GR hypersensitivity elicits a compensatory reduction in endogenous, bioactive glucocorticoid levels via readjustment of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis early in ontogeny to maintain an adequate response, but carriers are more sensitive to exogenous GC. Therefore, GRAla610Val pigs represent a valuable animal model to explore GR-mediated mechanisms of HPA axis regulation and responses to glucocorticoid-based drugs.

Identification and Functional Characterization of Cis-Regulatory Elements Controlling Expression of the Porcine ADRB2 Gene.

The beta-2 adrenergic receptor (beta-2 AR) modulates metabolic processes in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue in response to catecholamine stimulation. We showed previously that expression of the porcine beta-2 AR gene (ADRB2) is affected by cis-regulatory polymorphisms. These are most likely responsible for the association of ADRB2 with economically relevant muscle-related traits in pigs. The present study focused on characterization of promoter elements involved in basal transcriptional regulation of the porcine ADRB2 in different cell types to aid identification of its cis-regulatory polymorphisms. Based on in silico analysis, luciferase reporter gene assays and gel shift assays were performed using COS-7, HepG2, C2C12, and 3T3-L1 cells. Deletion mapping of the 5´ flanking region (-1324 to +33) of ADRB2 revealed the region between -307 and -269 to be the minimal promoter, including regulatory elements essential for the basal transcriptional activity in all four tested cell types. Directly upstream (-400 to -323) we identified an important enhancer element required for maximal promoter activity. In silico analysis and gel shift assays revealed that this GC-rich element harbors two evolutionarily conserved binding sites of Sp1, a constitutive transcriptional activator. Significant transcriptional activation of the porcine ADRB2 promoter was demonstrated by overexpression of Sp1. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, an important role of Sp1 and of the responsive enhancer element in the regulation of ADRB2 expression. Polymorphisms located in this domain of the porcine ADRB2 promoter represent candidate causal cis-regulatory variants.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta regulates differentiation-induced apoptosis of human neural progenitor cells.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta is a multifunctional key regulator enzyme in neural developmental processes and a main component of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. It is already known that the Wnt-driven differentiation of neural progenitor cells is accompanied by an increase of apoptosis at which the pro-apoptotic function of GSK-3beta is still discussed. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the phosphorylation level of GSK-3beta at serine 9 is the primary regulatory mechanism of differentiation-induced apoptosis. Differentiating human neural ReNcell VM progenitor cells were treated with the specific GSK-3beta inhibitor SB216763 (10 µM) and analyzed in respect to the intrinsic apoptosis pathway regulation using microscopy and protein expression analysis. Differentiation of ReNcell VM cells was accompanied by cell morphological changes, cytoskeleton rearrangement and apoptosis increase. Treatment of differentiating cells with SB216763 induced a significant dephosphorylation of GSK-3beta at serine 9 accompanied by a significant decrease of apoptosis of about 0.7±0.03% and reduced activation of caspase-3 as well as BAX and PARP cleavage during the first 12h of differentiation compared to untreated, differentiating cells. Dephosphorylation of GSK-3beta at serine 9 appears not solely to be responsible for its pro-apoptotic function, because we observed a decrease of intrinsic apoptosis after treatment of the cells with the specific GSK-3beta inhibitor SB216763. We assume that GSK-3beta drives neural progenitor cell apoptosis by direct interaction with pro-apoptotic BAX or by indirect influence on the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin target gene transcription.

Oxidative stress-induced cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of nano-sized titanium dioxide particles in human HaCaT keratinocytes.

Since nano-sized particles (NPs) are increasingly used in various fields of innovative biomedicine and industrial technologies, it is of importance to identify their potential human health risk. We investigated whether ROS-induced mitochondrial DNA damage is the mode of action of titanium dioxide-NPs (TiO2-NPs; ≤20 nm) to induce cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in human HaCaT keratinocytes in vitro. We showed that TiO2-NPs accumulate at the cell surface and are taken up by endocytosis. Micronucleus (MN) formation was found to be significantly maximal increased 24 h after treatment with 10 µg/ml and 48 h after treatment with 5 µg/ml TiO2-NPs about 1.8-fold respectively 2.2-fold of control. Mitochondrial DNA damage measured as "common deletion" was observed to be significantly 14-fold increased 72 h after treatment with 10 µg/ml TiO2-NPs when compared to control. Four hours after treatment with 5 and 50 µg/ml TiO2-NPs the level of ROS in HaCaT cells was found to be significantly increased about 7.5-fold respectively 16.7-fold of control. In conclusion, for the first time we demonstrate the induction of the mitochondrial "common deletion" in HaCaT cells following exposure to TiO2-NPs, which strongly suggests a ROS-mediated cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of NPs. However, the effects of the modification of TiO2-NPs, such as agglomeration, size distribution pattern and exposure time have to be further critically examined.