Project description:Neuregulin (NRG) signaling through the receptor tyrosine kinase, ERBB3, is required for embryonic development, and dysregulated signaling has been associated with cancer progression. Here, we show that NRG1/ERBB3 signaling inhibits melanocyte (MC) maturation and promotes undifferentiated, migratory and proliferative cellular characteristics. Embryonic analyses demonstrated that initial MC specification and distribution were not dependent on ERBB3 signaling. However NRG1/ERBB3 signaling was both necessary and sufficient to inhibit differentiation of later stages of MC development in culture. Analysis of tissue arrays of human melanoma samples suggests that ERBB3 signaling may also contribute to metastatic progression of melanoma as ERBB3 was phosphorylated in primary tumors compared with nevi or metastatic lesions. Neuregulin 1-treated MCs demonstrated increased proliferation and invasion and altered morphology concomitant with decreased levels of differentiation genes, increased levels of proliferation genes and altered levels of melanoma progression and metastases genes. ERBB3 activation in primary melanomas suggests that NRG1/ERBB3 signaling may contribute to the progression of melanoma from benign nevi to malignancies. We propose that targeting ERBB3 activation and downstream genes identified in this study may provide novel therapeutic interventions for malignant melanoma. Gene expression changes are compared between Melan-Ink4a cells stimulated with NRG1-b1 (NRG1) for 21 days and NRG1 untreated Melan-INK4a cells in triplicate using Affymetrix Mouse GeneChip 1.0 ST chip .
Project description:Gene expression profiling of tissues derived from different genetic backgrounds can provide insight to potential phenotype-related changes in gene expression. We have compared wildtype C57BL/6 (melan-Ink4a) melanocyte cell gene expression to that of, âbrownâ Tyrp1b/ b (melan-Ink4a-b) and âchocolateâ Rab38 cht/cht (melan-cht) melanocyte derived lines. We observed alterations in gene expression consistent with a physiological response of melan-Ink4a-b cells to endoplasmic reticulum protein-folding impairment. Additionally, a set of loci was identified that are expressed in a similar manner to known melanocyte genes. Importantly, the collection of 254 genes is enriched for expression in the multiple melanocyte lines relative to control cell populations. This set contains Tyr, Tyrp1, Dct, Si, Melna, Slc24a5, Slc45a2, Slc24a4, Mitf, and Sox10, in addition to genes not previously attributed to pigmentation and genes with unknown function. Further evaluation of one gene in this cohort, Gpnmb, demonstrated an expression pattern similar to Dct, Si and Mitf. This expression is vastly reduced in MitfMi mutants embryos, indicating that it is dependent on Mitf for in vivo expression. Consistent with this notion, a highly-conserved MITF binding site resides directly upstream of human GPNMB, and deletion of this sequence dramatically reduces in vitro enhancer activity. Keywords: NIH embryo fibroblast cell line, melanocyte cell line, Ink4a, Tyrp1b, Rab38 A 32k expression arrays were generated by printing Oligo nucleotides from Operon Mouse oligo set (MV3) onto epoxy slides. Total RNA from immortalized melanocyte cell lines derived from C57BL/6J Ink4a-/- (melan-Ink4a-1), C57BL/6J Ink4a-/-; Tyrp1b/b (melan-Ink4a-b) and 2 separate C57BL/6J Ink4a-/-; RaB38cht/cht lines (melan-cht4), (melan-cht5) and NIH3T3 were labeled with Cy5/3 and co-hybridized with a total RNA universal reference (Stratagene, Inc) labeled with Cy3/5. Each comparison was done in Triplicate including one dye swap.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of tissues derived from different genetic backgrounds can provide insight to potential phenotype-related changes in gene expression. We have compared wildtype C57BL/6 (melan-Ink4a) melanocyte cell gene expression to that of, “brown“ Tyrp1b/ b (melan-Ink4a-b) and “chocolate” Rab38 cht/cht (melan-cht) melanocyte derived lines. We observed alterations in gene expression consistent with a physiological response of melan-Ink4a-b cells to endoplasmic reticulum protein-folding impairment. Additionally, a set of loci was identified that are expressed in a similar manner to known melanocyte genes. Importantly, the collection of 254 genes is enriched for expression in the multiple melanocyte lines relative to control cell populations. This set contains Tyr, Tyrp1, Dct, Si, Melna, Slc24a5, Slc45a2, Slc24a4, Mitf, and Sox10, in addition to genes not previously attributed to pigmentation and genes with unknown function. Further evaluation of one gene in this cohort, Gpnmb, demonstrated an expression pattern similar to Dct, Si and Mitf. This expression is vastly reduced in MitfMi mutants embryos, indicating that it is dependent on Mitf for in vivo expression. Consistent with this notion, a highly-conserved MITF binding site resides directly upstream of human GPNMB, and deletion of this sequence dramatically reduces in vitro enhancer activity. Keywords: NIH embryo fibroblast cell line, melanocyte cell line, Ink4a, Tyrp1b, Rab38
Project description:Neuregulin (NRG) signaling through the receptor tyrosine kinase, ERBB3, is required for embryonic development, and dysregulated signaling has been associated with cancer progression. Here, we show that NRG1/ERBB3 signaling inhibits melanocyte (MC) maturation and promotes undifferentiated, migratory and proliferative cellular characteristics. Embryonic analyses demonstrated that initial MC specification and distribution were not dependent on ERBB3 signaling. However NRG1/ERBB3 signaling was both necessary and sufficient to inhibit differentiation of later stages of MC development in culture. Analysis of tissue arrays of human melanoma samples suggests that ERBB3 signaling may also contribute to metastatic progression of melanoma as ERBB3 was phosphorylated in primary tumors compared with nevi or metastatic lesions. Neuregulin 1-treated MCs demonstrated increased proliferation and invasion and altered morphology concomitant with decreased levels of differentiation genes, increased levels of proliferation genes and altered levels of melanoma progression and metastases genes. ERBB3 activation in primary melanomas suggests that NRG1/ERBB3 signaling may contribute to the progression of melanoma from benign nevi to malignancies. We propose that targeting ERBB3 activation and downstream genes identified in this study may provide novel therapeutic interventions for malignant melanoma.
Project description:The four members of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ERBB) family form homo- and heterodimers which mediate ligand-specific regulation of many key cellular processes in normal and cancer tissues. While signaling through the EGFR has been extensively studied on the molecular level, signal transduction through ERBB3/ERBB4 heterodimers is less well understood. Here, we generated isogenic mouse Ba/F3 cells that express full-length and functional membrane-integrated ERBB3 and ERBB4 or ERBB4 alone, to serve as a defined cellular model for biological and phosphoproteomics analysis of ERBB3/ERBB4 signaling. ERBB3 co-expression significantly enhanced Ba/F3 cell proliferation upon neuregulin-1 (NRG1) treatment. For comprehensive signaling studies we performed quantitative mass spectrometry (MS) experiments to compare the basal ERBB3/ERBB4 cell phosphoproteome to NRG1 treatment of ERBB3/ERBB4 and ERBB4 cells. We employed a workflow comprising differential isotope labeling with mTRAQ reagents followed by chromatographic peptide separation and final phosphopeptide enrichment prior to MS analysis. Overall, we identified 9686 phosphorylation sites which could be confidently localized to specific residues. Statistical analysis of three replicate experiments revealed 492 phosphorylation sites which were significantly changed in NRG1-treated ERBB3/ERBB4 cells. Bioinformatics data analysis recapitulated regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt pathways, but also indicated signaling links to cytoskeletal functions and nuclear biology. Comparative assessment of NRG1-stimulated ERBB4 Ba/F3 cells indicated that ERBB3 did not trigger defined signaling pathways but more broadly enhanced phosphoproteome regulation in cells expressing both receptors. In conclusion, our data provide the first global picture of ERBB3/ERBB4 signaling and provide numerous potential starting points for further mechanistic studies
Project description:We performed ChIP-Seq analysis of SOX10, histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) in melanocytes to profile the genomic binding sites of SOX10 and the chromatin landscape. In parallel, we generated Sox10 haploinsufficient cell lines using gene knockout approaches and conducted microarray gene expression analysis to identify functional gene targets of SOX10 transcriptional regulation in melanocytes. We demonstrate that SOX10 predominantly engages “open” chromatin, binds to melanocyte enhancer elements and plays a central role in transcriptional activation and repression of functionally distinct classes of genes. Furthermore, we identified cis-regulatory sequence motifs of putative co-regulatory transcription factors that define SOX10-activated and SOX10-repressed target genes. Our results uncover novel mechanisms and roles of SOX10 in global transcriptional regulation of diverse regulatory pathways in the melanocyte lineage. ChIP-seq profiling of SOX10, H3K27ac, and H3K27me3 in the mouse melanocyte cell line melan-Ink4a-Arf-1 (melan-a).
Project description:Acinar cells are the principal secretory unit of multiple exocrine organs. A single cell layered, lumenized acinus forms from a large cohort of epithelial progenitors that must initiate and coordinate three cellular programs of acinar specification, namely, lineage progression, secretion, and polarization. Despite this well-known outcome, the mechanism(s) regulating these complex programs are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that neuronal-epithelial cross-talk drives acinar specification through neuregulin (NRG1)-ERBB3-mTORC2 signaling. Using single-cell and global RNA-sequencing of developing salivary glands, we identified NRG1-ERBB3 to precisely overlap with acinar specification during gland development. Genetic deletion of Erbb3 prevented cell lineage progression and the establishment of lumenized, secretory acini. Conversely, NRG1 treatment of isolated epithelia was sufficient to recapitulate the development of secretory acini. Mechanistically, we found NRG1-ERBB3 regulates each developmental program through an mTORC2 signaling pathway. Thus, we reveal a novel neuronal-epithelial (NRG1/ERBB3/mTORC2) mechanism to orchestrate the creation of functional acini.
Project description:To investigate the molecular mechanism of the hypopigmentation observed in Dicer KO mice, Dicer knockdown was realised in vitro in normal C57BL/6 mouse melanocyte Melan-a cells. Transient transfection of Melan-a cells with siRNA directed against Dicer reduced Dicer protein levels to approximately 40% of that of siScr Melan-a cells 24 hours after transfection. We analyzed the miRnome of Melan-a cells 24 and 48 hours after transfection with siDicer or siScr to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in Dicer-dependent melanocyte migration.
Project description:We performed ChIP-Seq analysis of SOX10, histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) in melanocytes to profile the genomic binding sites of SOX10 and the chromatin landscape. In parallel, we generated Sox10 haploinsufficient cell lines using gene knockout approaches and conducted microarray gene expression analysis to identify functional gene targets of SOX10 transcriptional regulation in melanocytes. We demonstrate that SOX10 predominantly engages “open” chromatin, binds to melanocyte enhancer elements and plays a central role in transcriptional activation and repression of functionally distinct classes of genes. Furthermore, we identified cis-regulatory sequence motifs of putative co-regulatory transcription factors that define SOX10-activated and SOX10-repressed target genes. Our results uncover novel mechanisms and roles of SOX10 in global transcriptional regulation of diverse regulatory pathways in the melanocyte lineage. These results indicated that SOX10 plays a role in activation and repression of distinct classes of genes. Microarray gene expression analysis in Sox10 haploinsufficient immortal melanocyte cell lines derived from 3-day-old Sox10LacZ/+; Ink4a-Arf null mice. Syngeneic control cells were melan-Ink4a-Arf-1.