Project description:Bis-2-chloroethyl sulfide (sulfur mustard, SM) is a potent alkylating agent and vesicant. Exposure to SM results in activation of numerous signaling cascades, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. These pathways include the Erk, p38, and JNK pathways, which are involved in cell growth, inflammation, and stress signaling. However, the precise roles of these pathways in SM toxicity have not been fully elucidated. We used Western blotting and microarray analysis to examine the activation and role of each pathway following SM exposure in primary human epidermal keratinocytes. Western blotting revealed increased phosphorylation of p38 and JNK following SM exposure; however, phosphorylation of Erk was equivocal, suggesting that growth conditions may impact activation of Erk by SM. We used pharmacologic inhibitors to target each MAPK and then compared the gene expression profiles to identify SM-induced gene networks regulated by each MAPK. Cells were pretreated with 10 µM SB 203580 (p38 inhibitor), PD 98059 (Erk inhibitor), or SP 600125 (JNK inhibitor) 60 minutes before exposure to 200 µM SM. Cells were harvested at 1h, 4h, and 8h post-exposure, and RNA was extracted for synthesis of microarray probes. Probes were hybridized to Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 arrays for gene expression profiling. Analysis of variance was performed to identify genes significantly modulated due to pharmacologic inhibition in SM-exposed cells. Pathway mapping confirmed alterations in SM-induced Erk, JNK, and p38 MAPK signaling due to pharmacologic inhibition. SM-induced expression of IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-alpha was decreased by p38 MAPK inhibition, but not by inhibition of other MAPKs. Based on the number of significant pathways mapped to each MAPK in the presence and absence of inhibitors, the p38 MAPK pathway appeared to be the MAPK pathway most responsive to SM exposure. Interestingly, pathway mapping of the microarray data identified potential cross-talk between MAPK signaling pathways and other pathways involved in SM-induced signaling. Mining of these results will increase our understanding of the role of MAPK pathways in SM-induced signal transduction and may identify potential therapeutic targets for medical countermeasure development.

Project description:Astroglia, the star-shaped cells found throughout the central nervous system are the most numerous cell type in the brain. The astroglial response to injury, generically termed reactive astrogliosis, is classically defined by cellular hypertrophy and process extension, increased glial filament production, and some degree of proliferation. Astrogliosis and its functional outcomes, glial scar formation and neuroinflammation, are often viewed as detrimental to recovery. However, increasing evidence points to neuroprotective roles of reactive astroglia in the setting of brain injury. Therapeutic modulation of this double-edged sword will require detailed knowledge of mechanisms by which specific signals induce detrimental and beneficial phenotypes. This proposal is is a logical extension of a published, peer reviewed study (Heffron DS and Mandell JW, Opposing roles of ERK and p38 MAP kinases in FGF2-induced astroglial process extension. Mol Cell Neurosci 2005, 28:779-90). The downstream gene expression changes underlying these pathway-specific responses are largely unknown. The data generated from the proposed project will delineate pathway-specific gene expression responses of astroglia to fibroblast growth factors. This information will allow a rational approach to pharmacological approaches to modulate reactive astrogliosis in brain and spinal cord injury. Determine the astroglial gene expression program elicited by fibroblast growth factor-2, and dissect specific contributions of the ERK and p38 MAP kinase pathways using highly specific pharmacological inhibitors. FGF2, acting via two distinct intracellular signaling pathways, ERK- and p38 MAPK, leads to pathway-specific gene expression changes in astrocytes which promote the morphological plasticity (ERK-dependent) and pro-inflammatory properties (p38-dependent) of reactive astroglia. Cell culture; Neonatal primary astrocyte cultures are prepared exactly as previously described (Heffron and Mandell, 2005), using slight modifications of established protocols (McCarthy and de Vellis, 1980). Astrocytes prepared with these methods comprised greater than 95% of cell cultures as determined by GFAP staining. Microglia are present as a contaminating cell type at a percentage of 3.6 Â± 0.9% as determined by CD11B staining. For process induction experiments, cells are trypsinized and replated in DMEM with 1% fetal bovine serum. This low serum concentration is necessary for good adhesion of the cells. Pharmacological inhibitors are dissolved in DMSO and added 2 h later. P38 MAP kinase inhibitors SB202190 (Calbiochem) and the MEK inhibitor U0126 (Promega) are used at 20 ÂµM. We previously determined that the inactive analog of SB 202190, SB202474 (Calbiochem) had no effects on pathway activation or astrocyte morphology. Therefore, the inactive drug analog will not be used in the array experiments. Final DMSO concentration in the drug treatments and vehicle controls is 0.2%. Human recombinant FGF2 (obtained from the National Cancer Institute Preclinical Repository) is used at 25 ng/ml, based on extensive dose/response analyses in our published work.

Project description:Adult skeletal muscle contains resident Muscle Stem Cells (MuSC) with high myogenic and engraftment potentials, making them suitable for cell therapy and regenerative medicine approaches. However, purification process of MuSC remains a major hurdle to their use in the clinic. Indeed, muscle tissue enzymatic dissociation triggers a massive activation of stress signaling pathways, among which P38 and JNK MAPK, associated with a premature loss of MuSC quiescence. While the role of these pathways in the myogenic progression of MuSC is well established, the extent to which their dissociation-induced activation affects the functionality of these cells remains unexplored. We assessed the effect of P38 and JNK MAPK induction on stemness marker expression and MuSC activation state during isolation by pharmacological approaches. MuSC functionality was evaluated by in vitro assays and in vivo transplantation experiments. We performed a comparative analysis of the transcriptome of human MuSC purified with pharmacological inhibitors of P38 and JNK MAPK (SB202190 and SP600125, respectively) versus available RNAseq resources. We monitored PAX7 protein levels in murine MuSC during muscle dissociation and demonstrated a two-step decline partly dependent on P38 and JNK MAPK activities. We showed that simultaneous inhibition of these pathways throughout the MuSC isolation process preserves the expression of stemness markers and limits their premature activation, leading to improved survival and amplification in vitro as well as increased engraftment in vivo. Through a comparative RNAseq analysis of freshly isolated human MuSC, we provide evidence that our findings in murine MuSC could be relevant to human MuSC. Based on these findings, we implemented a purification strategy, significantly improving the recovery yields of human MuSC. Our study highlights the pharmacological limitation of P38 and JNK MAPK activities as a suitable strategy to qualitatively and quantitatively ameliorate human MuSC purification process, which could be of great interest for cell-based therapies.

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