Lamin A/C Is Required For ChAT-Dependent Neuroblastoma Differentiation: a microarray gene expression study

ABSTRACT: The mouse neuroblastoma N18TG2 clone is unable to differentiate and defective for the enzymes of the biosynthesis of neurotransmitters. The forced expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in these cells results in the synthesis and release of acetylcholine (Ach) and hence in the expression of neurospecific features and markers. To understand how the expression of ChAT triggered neuronal differentiation, we studied the differences in genome-wide transcription profiles between the N18TG2 parental cells and its ChAT-expressing 2/4 derived clone. The engagement of the 2/4 cells in the neuronal developmental programme was confirmed by the increase of the expression level of several differentiation-related genes and by the reduction of the amount of transcripts of cell-cycle genes. At the same time, we observed a massive reorganisation of cytoskeletal proteins in terms of gene expression, with the accumulation of the nucleoskeletal lamina component Lamin A/C in differentiating cells. The increase of the Lmna transcripts induced by ChAT-espression in 2/4 cells was mimicked treating the parental N18TG2 cells with the acetylcholine-receptor agonist carbachol, thus demonstrating the direct role played by this receptor in neuron nuclei maturation. Conversely, a treatment of 2/4 cells with the muscarinic-receptor antagonist atropine resulted in the reduction of the amount of Lmna RNA. Finally, the hypothesis that Lmna gene product might play a crucial role in the ChAT-dependent molecular differentiation cascade was strongly supported by Lmna knock-down in 2/4 cells leading to the down-regulation of genes involved in differentiation and cytoskeleton formation and to the up-regulation of genes known to regulate self-renewal and stemness. The gene expression profile of the ChAT-expressing 2/4 clone was compared to that of the N18TG2 parental cells, with and without retinoic acid (RA) stimulation using Agilent microarray analysis.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

SUBMITTER: Ivan Arisi 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-73591 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress