Apoptotic cells enhance sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 dependent macrophage migration.

The lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a chemokine for a variety of immune cells including lymphocytes and monocytes. Migration toward S1P is determined by the S1P receptor expression profile, with S1PR1/3 (where S1PR is S1P receptor) stimulating and S1PR2 attenuating migration. However, the impact and physiological significance of S1P-induced migration of macrophages is largely unclear. We observed that alternative activation of human macrophages, by IL-4 or apoptotic cells (ACs), enhanced S1PR1 expression. Moreover, ACs provoked macrophage migration toward S1P in an S1PR1-dependent manner as confirmed by pharmacological receptor inhibition and S1PR1-deficient murine macrophages. In a mouse model of resolving peritoneal inflammation, F4/80-driven deletion of S1PR1 reduced postinflammatory macrophage emigration from inflammatory sites. S1PR1 expression on macrophages might, therefore, be relevant for restoring tissue homeostasis during the resolution of inflammation.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate signalling induces the production of Lcn-2 by macrophages to promote kidney regeneration.

Inflammatory reactions are initiated to eliminate pathogens, but also to promote repair of damaged tissue after acute inflammation is terminated. In this regard, macrophages play a prominent role during induction as well as resolution of inflammation and injury in various organs including the kidney. The present study describes a mechanism for renal tissue regeneration after ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Following injury, apoptotic cell-derived sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) or exogenously administered sphingosine analogue FTY720 activates macrophages to support the proliferation and healing of renal epithelium, once inflammatory conditions are terminated. Both suppression of inflammation and renal regeneration might require S1P receptor 3 (S1P3) signalling and downstream release of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL/Lcn-2) from macrophages. Overall, our data point to a macrophage-dependent S1P-S1P3-Lcn-2 axis that might be beneficial for restoration of kidney function after an ischaemic insult.

Measurement of GPCR-G protein activity in living cells.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of cell surface receptors in eukaryotic genomes. They control a variety of cellular and physiological processes such as hormone secretion and heart rate, and therefore are associated with a majority of pathological conditions including cancer and heart diseases. Currently established assays to measure ligand-induced activation of GPCRs and G proteins possess limitations such as being time consuming, indirect, and expensive. Thus, an efficient method to measure GPCR-G protein activation is required to identify novel pharmacological modulators to control them and gain insights about molecular underpinnings of the associated pathways. Activation of GPCRs induces dissociation of G protein heterotrimers to form GαGTP and free Gßγ. Free Gßγ subunits have been shown to translocate reversibly from the plasma membrane to internal membranes. Gßγ translocation therefore represents the GPCR-G protein activation, and thus, imaging of this process can be used to quantify the kinetics and magnitude of the pathway activation-deactivation in real time in living cells. The objective of this chapter is to elaborate the protocols of (i) generation and optimization of the required sensor constructs; (ii) development of cell culture, transient transfection, imaging, and optogenetic procedures; (iii) imaging and data analysis methods; and (iv) stable cell line generation, pertaining to this assay to measure GPCR-G protein activation.

How Physician Assistant Programs Use the CASPA Personal Statement in Their Admissions Process.

PURPOSE: This research surveyed physician assistant (PA) program admissions personnel to determine how the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) personal statements are used, what influence the statements had on certain admissions processes, whether there was any concern about authorship of the statements, and how important certain previously identified content themes were to admissions committees and personnel. METHODS: The PA programs participating in CASPA were contacted and interviewed using a computer-assisted telephone interview system. Participants were asked a series of open-ended questions related to the usefulness of the personal statement and asked to score certain items using a Likert-type scale. RESULTS: The response rate for the telephone survey was 75%. Most of the programs (93%) used the personal statement in the applicant review process, and almost two-thirds (62%) indicated that the statement was useful or very useful. Three-fourths (76%) of respondents sometimes or always used the statement for the selection of candidates for interviews. Only 29% of respondents were very to extremely concerned that the statements were not written by the applicants. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the observation that the statements were relatively homogeneous in content, respondents ranked identified content themes as an important influence on decision-making. Almost all respondents used the personal statement in their admissions process, usually in the selection of interviewees. Although there was some concern that the statements were not the original work of the applicant, less than a third of respondents were very concerned about this possibility. The homogeneity of the statements was also a concern, but the importance placed on the identified theme content areas validates the applicants' inclusion of these themes in the statements.

Loss of the ceramide transfer protein augments EGF receptor signaling in breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are especially refractory to treatment due to their negative hormone receptor and ErbB2/HER2 status. Therefore, the identification of cancer-associated deregulated signaling pathways is necessary to develop improved targeted therapies. Here, we show that expression of the ceramide transfer protein CERT is reduced in TNBCs. CERT transfers ceramide from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex for conversion into sphingomyelin (SM). We provide evidence that by regulating cellular SM levels, CERT determines the signaling output of the EGF receptor (EGFR/ErbB1), which is upregulated in approximately 70% of TNBCs. CERT downregulation in breast cancer cells enhanced ErbB1 lateral mobility, ligand-induced autophosphorylation, internalization, and chemotaxis. Together, our findings provide a link between lipid metabolism at the Golgi with signaling at the plasma membrane, thereby implicating CERT loss in the progression of TNBCs.

Regulation of macrophage function by sphingosine-1-phosphate.

The bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) fulfils manifold tasks in the immune system acting in auto- and/or paracrine fashion. This includes regulation of apoptosis, migration and proliferation. Upon its generation by sphingosine kinases from plasma membrane sphingolipids, S1P can either act as a second messenger within cells or can be released from cells to occupy a family of specific G-protein-coupled receptors (S1P1-5). This diversity is reflected by the impact of S1P on macrophage biology and function. Over the last years it became apparent that the sphingosine kinase/S1P/S1P-receptor signalling axis in macrophages might play a central role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of the function of S1P in macrophage biology and discuss potential implications for pathology.

Heme oxygenase-1 contributes to an alternative macrophage activation profile induced by apoptotic cell supernatants.

Apoptotic cells (AC) are rapidly engulfed by professional phagocytes such as macrophages to avoid secondary necrosis and thus inflammation. Recognition of AC polarizes macrophages toward an anti-inflammatory phenotype, which shows homology to an alternatively activated M2 macrophage. However, mechanistic details provoking these phenotype alterations are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate a biphasic up-regulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a protein that bears an antiapoptotic as well as an anti-inflammatory potential, in primary human macrophages, which were exposed to the supernatant of AC. Although the first phase of HO-1 induction at 6 h was accomplished by AC-derived sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) acting via S1P receptor 1, the second wave of HO-1 induction at 24 h was attributed to autocrine signaling of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), whose expression and release were facilitated by S1P. Whereas VEGFA release from macrophages was signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1-dependent, vascular endothelial growth factor itself triggered STAT1/STAT3 heterodimer formation, which bound to and activated the HO-1 promoter. Knockdown of HO-1 proved its relevance in facilitating enhanced expression of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L), as well as the anti-inflammatory adenosine receptor A(2A). These findings suggest that HO-1, which is induced by AC-derived S1P, is critically involved in macrophage polarization toward an M2 phenotype.