Regulation of inflammatory responses and fibroblast-like synoviocyte apoptosis by calcineurin-binding protein 1 in mice with collagen-induced arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Calcineurin-binding protein 1 (CABIN-1) regulates calcineurin phosphatase activity as well as the activation, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), which actively participate in the chronic inflammatory responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the mechanism of action of CABIN-1 in FLS apoptosis is not clear. This study was undertaken to define the regulatory role of CABIN-1 in FLS from mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). METHODS: Transgenic mice overexpressing human CABIN-1 in joint tissue under the control of a type II collagen promoter were generated. Expression of human CABIN-1 (hCABIN-1) in joints and FLS was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis. The expression of cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and apoptosis-related genes in FLS was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, gelatin zymography, and RT-PCR, respectively. Joints were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and with tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase for histologic analysis. RESULTS: Human CABIN-1-transgenic mice with CIA had less severe arthritis than wild-type mice with CIA, as assessed according to hind paw thickness and histologic features. The milder arthritis was accompanied by significantly enhanced apoptosis in transgenic mice, evidenced by a significantly greater number of TUNEL-positive cells in synovial tissue. Expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMPs in the transgenic mice with CIA was reduced, and they exhibited decreased Akt activation and increased expression of p53, caspase 3, caspase 9, and Bax. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that hCABIN-1 plays a critical role in promoting apoptosis of FLS and in attenuating inflammation and cartilage and bone destruction in RA. These results help elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of RA and suggest that CABIN-1 is a potential target for treatment of this disease.

The role of Roquin overexpression in the modulation of signaling during in vitro and ex vivo T-cell activation.

The T-cell receptor (TCR) engages with an antigen and initiates a signaling cascade that leads to the activation of transcription factors. Roquin, a protein encoded by the RC3H1 gene and characterized as an immune regulator, was recently identified as a novel RING-type ubiquitin ligase family member, but the mechanisms by which Roquin regulates T-cell responses are unclear. We used the EL-4 murine lymphoma cell line to elucidate the role of Roquin in vitro. Roquin-overexpressing EL-4 cells became hyper-responsive after anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation in vitro and were a major source of the cytokines IL-2 and TNF-α. Upon activation, these cells showed particularly enhanced production of IL-2 and TNF-α. To clarify the important role played by Roquin in T-cell responses ex vivo, we generated T-cell-specific Roquin transgenic (Tg) mice. Roquin-Tg CD4(+) T-cells showed enhanced production of IL-2 and TNF-α in response to TCR stimulation with anti-CD28 co-stimulation. Further studies are necessary to investigate the role of Roquin in the regulation of primary T-cell activation, survival, and differentiation.

A single nucleotide polymorphism in CAPN1 associated with marbling score in Korean cattle.

BACKGROUND: Marbling score (MS) is the major quantitative trait that affects carcass quality in beef cattle. In this study, we examined the association between genetic polymorphisms of the micromolar calcium-activated neutral protease gene (micro-calpain, CAPN1) and carcass traits in Korean cattle (also known as Hanwoo). RESULTS: By direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean cattle, we identified 39 sequence variants within exons and their flanking regions in CAPN1. Among them, 12 common polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in the beef cattle (n = 421). Statistical analysis revealed that a polymorphism in the 3'UTR (c.2151*479C>T) showed significant association with MS (Pcor. = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that polymorphisms in CAPN1 might be one of the important genetic factors involved in carcass quality in beef cattle, although it could be false positive association.

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) polymorphisms associated with carcass traits of meat in Korean cattle.

BACKGROUND: Cold carcass weight (CW) and longissimus muscle area (EMA) are the major quantitative traits in beef cattle. In this study, we found several polymorphisms of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) gene and examined the association of polymorphisms with carcass traits (CW and EMA) in Korean native cattle (Hanwoo). RESULTS: By direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean cattle, we identified 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms within the 9 kb full gene region, including the 1.5 kb promoter region. Among them, six polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in our beef cattle (n = 428) and five marker haplotypes (frequency > 0.1) were identified. Statistical analysis revealed that -4241A>T showed significant associations with CW and EMA. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that polymorphisms in GHRH might be one of the important genetic factors that influence carcass yield in beef cattle. Sequence variation/haplotype information identified in this study would provide valuable information for the production of a commercial line of beef cattle.

Confirming single nucleotide polymorphisms from expressed sequence tag datasets derived from three cattle cDNA libraries.

Using the Phred/Phrap/Polyphred/Consed pipeline established in the National Livestock Research Institute of Korea, we predicted candidate coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (cSNPs) from 7,600 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived from three cDNA libraries (liver, M. longissimus dorsi, and intermuscular fat) of Hanwoo (Korean native cattle) steers. From the 7,600 ESTs, 829 contigs comprising more than two EST reads were assembled using the Phrap assembler. Based on the contig analysis, 201 candidate cSNPs were identified in 129 contigs, in which transitions (69%) outnumbered transversions (31%). To verify whether the predicted cSNPs are real, 17 SNPs involved in lipid and energy metabolism were selected from the ESTs. Twelve of these were confirmed to be real while five were identified as artifacts, possibly due to expressed sequence tag sequence error. Further analysis of the 12 verified cSNPs was performed using the program BLASTX. Five were identified as nonsynonymous cSNPs, five were synonymous cSNPs, and two SNPs were located in 3'-UTRs. Our data indicated that a relatively high SNP prediction rate (71%) from a large EST database could produce abundant cSNPs rapidly, which can be used as valuable genetic markers in cattle.

Cellular characteristics of primary and immortal canine embryonic fibroblast cells.

Using normal canine embryonic fibroblasts (CaEF) that were shown to be senescent at passages 7th-9th, we established two spontaneously immortalized CaEF cell lines (designated CGFR-Ca-1 and -2) from normal senescent CaEF cells, and an immortal CaEF cell line by exogenous introduction of a catalytic telomerase subunit (designated CGFR-Ca-3). Immortal CGFR- Ca-1, -2 and -3 cell lines grew faster than primary CaEF counterpart in the presence of either 0.1% or 10% FBS. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that all three immortal CaEF cell lines contained a significantly high proportion of S-phase cells compared to primary CaEF cells. CGFR-Ca-1 and -3 cell lines showed a loss of p53 mRNA and protein expression leading to inactivation of p53 regulatory function, while the CGFR-Ca-2 cell line was found to have the inactive mutant p53. Unlike the CGFR-Ca-3 cell line that down-regulated p16INK4a mRNA due to its promoter methylation but had an intact p16INK4a regulatory function, CGFR-Ca-1 and -2 cell lines expressed p16INK4a mRNA but had a functionally inactive p16INK4a regulatory pathway as judged by the lack of obvious differences in cell growth and phenotype when reconstituted with wild-type p16INK4a. All CGFR-Ca-1, -2 and -3 cell lines were shown to be untransformed but immortal as determined by anchorage-dependent assay, while these cell lines were fully transformed when overexpressed oncogenic H-rasG12V. Taken together, similar to the nature of murine embryo fibroblasts, the present study suggests that normal primary CaEF cells have relatively short in vitro lifespans and should be spontaneously immortalized at high frequency.

Establishment of life-span extended bovine fibroblast cells carrying the characterization of primary cells.

Although primary bovine embryonic fibroblast (BEF) cells have previously been used as nucleus-donors for nuclear transfer (NT), it has now been proposed to use BEF cells to generate cloned cows that were genetically modified by transgenic or a knock-out system. A major limitation to gene targeting somatic cells, however, is the overall life-span of the cell. In this study, we first examined in vitro life-span of primary BEF cells. Primary BEF cells were found to be replicative senescent at passage 10th-12th, similar to primary murine embryonic fibroblast cells. To overcome this short in vitro life-span, we have optimized culture conditions to extend the life-span and determined growth characteristics of BEF cell lines. Two life-span extended BEF cell lines (designated CGFR -BO-1 and CGFR-BO-2) were shown to grow much faster than their parental primary counterparts. Both cell lines did not display any potential for abnormal growth such as foci formations in either soft-agar or confluent culture condition. In cloning experiments using these cell lines as a nuclear donor, the reconstructed karyoblasts underwent apoptosis, reprogramming and development in the blastocyst stage, at a similar frequency to those observed with parental as well as adult primary fibroblasts. Furthermore, these cell lines targeted with green fluorescence protein (GFP) were successfully transduced, selected and reprogrammed by NT to develop into a blastocyst stage with GFP expression. Our results suggested methods to extend life-span of donor cells with tremendous implications for the genetic engineering of bovine fibroblast cells.

Functional study of Villin 2 protein expressed in longissimus dorsi muscle of Korean native cattle in different growth stages.

The aim of this study was to investigate protein profiles related to the induction of adipogenesis within the bovine longissimus dorsi muscle (BLDM) by proteomic analysis. We analyzed BLDM proteins at different growth stages to clarify the physiological mechanisms of marbled muscle development in 20 head of Korean native cattle (11 month: 10 head, 17 month: 10 head). BLDM proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and image analysis. Villin 2 was specifically identified by mass spectrometry and a protein search engine. Villin 2 protein expression in BLDM decreased during the fat development stage in test steers. In a Western blot cell culture study of spontaneously immortal bovine muscle fibroblasts, the abundance of Villin 2 was shown to be down-regulated during differentiation into muscle. In 3T3-L1 mouse embryonic fibroblasts, Villin 2 was decreased during differentiation into adipocytes. The results suggest that Villin 2 may be related to the induction of transdifferentiation and adipogenesis in bovine longissimus dorsi muscle.

Tissue-specific expression of human calcineurin-binding protein 1 in mouse synovial tissue can suppress inflammatory arthritis.

Calcineurin (CN) is a calcium- and calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine phosphatase. In immune cells, CN controls the activity of a wide range of transcription factors, including nuclear factor of activated T, nuclear factor-kappa B, c-fos, and Elk-1. CN plays an important role in synoviocyte activation and arthritis progression in vivo and this function is tightly linked to dysregulated intracellular Ca(2+) store and Ca(2+) response triggered by proinflammatory cytokines. In the present study, transgenic mice expressing human calcineurin-binding protein 1 (hCabin1) were generated, driven by type II collagen promoter, and the efficiency of these mice was investigated by experimental arthritis. These transgenic mice successfully expressed hCabin1 in joint tissue as well as other organs such as liver, heart, and brain. The overexpression of hCabin1 reduced the disease severity during collagen-induced arthritis. In fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) from hCabin1 transgenic mice, the productions of these cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ, were decreased and matrix metalloproteinases were also depressed in transgenic mice FLS. In addition, these effects were only found in the joint tissue, which is a major inflammation site. These findings will provide a better knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms of rheumatoid arthritis and a potential animal model of the chronic inflammatory conditions, including atherosclerosis and transplantation.

ADFP promoter polymorphism associated with marbling score in Korean cattle.

Marbling score (MS) is the major trait that affects carcass quality in beef cattle. In this study, we investigated the association between genetic polymorphisms of the adipose differentiation-related protein gene (ADFP) and carcass traits in Korean cattle (also known as Hanwoo). Using direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean cattle, 25 novel polymorphisms were identified within all exons and their flanking regions of ADFP, including the promoter region (1.5 kb). Among them, 21 polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in the beef cattle (n = 425). Statistical analyses revealed that one promoter polymorphism (c.-56-18A > G) was associated with MS (P = 0.009). The "A" allele of c.-56-18A > G exerted a lowering effect on MS, e.g., the lowest MS was found in "A/A" (MS = 2.09 +/- 1.23), intermediate in "A/G" (MS = 2.11 +/- 1.31), and the highest in "G/G" (MS = 2.47 +/- 1.47). Our findings suggest that these polymorphisms in ADFP might be important genetic factors involved in carcass quality in beef cattle.

Identification of genetic polymorphisms in FABP3 and FABP4 and putative association with back fat thickness in Korean native cattle.

The aim of this study was to determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the beef cattle adipocyte fatty-acid binding protein 3 and 4 (FABP3 and FABP4) genes are associated with carcass weight (CW) and back fat thickness (BF) of beef cattle. By direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean native cattle, we identified 20 SNPs in FABP3 and FABP4. Among them, 10 polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in our beef cattle. We performed SNP, haplotype and linkage disequilibrium studies on 419 Korean native cattle with the 10 SNPs in the FABP genes. Statistical analysis revealed that 220AG (I74V) and 348+303TC polymorphisms in FABP4 showed putative associations with BF traits (P=0.02 and 0.01, respectively). Our findings suggest that the polymorphisms in FABP4 may play a role in determining one of the important genetic factors that influence BF in beef cattle.