ABSTRACT: Whole esophagi of WT, Nrf2-/- and Keap1-/- mice on C57BL background at E11.5, E15.5, P0 and P7, and esophageal epithelium of adult (8 weeks old) mice
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of mouse esophageal development. Goal was to globally profile critical genes and signaling pathways during the development of mouse esophagus and determine how Nrf2/Keap1 pathway regulates the morphogenesis of the esophageal epithelium. Mutiple-comparison. WT-E11.5 vs. WT-E15.5 vs. WT-P0 vs. WT-P7; WT-P7 vs. WT-adult; WT-adult vs. Nrf2-/--adult; WT-P7 vs. Nrf2-/--P7 vs. Keap1-/--P7 vs. Nrf2-/-Keap1-/--P7. Biological replicates: 3 replicates for each group.
Project description:NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) regulates the cellular response to oxidative/electrophilic stresses, and loss of Keap1 increases the Nrf2 protein level. As Keap1-null mice die of esophageal hyperkeratosis, whole-body phenotypes of Nrf2 hyperactivation in adult animals remain to be delineated. Here we show that deleting esophageal Nrf2 in Keap1-null mice the mice survive until adulthood, but develop polyuria with low osmolality and bilateral hydronephrosis. This novel phenotype is to be attributable to defects in water reabsorption caused by a reduction in the level of the aquaporin 2 (AQP2) channel in the kidney. In line, renal tubular deletion of Keap1 generates symptoms of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, demonstrating that Nrf2 activation in developing tubular cells causes a water reabsorption defect. The rescue of mice from the lethal first hit of Keap1 ablation serves as a useful tool to study novel functions of Nrf2.
Project description:Clinical evidence has revealed that high-level activation of NRF2 caused by somatic mutations in NRF2 is frequently detected in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), whereas that by somatic mutations in KEAP1, a negative regulator of NRF2, is not. Here, we challenged to generate a mouse model of NRF2-activated ESCC using the cancer-derived NRF2L30F mutation and cancer-driver mutant Trp53R172H. Concomitant expression of NRF2L30F and Trp53R172H induced proliferation of squamous cell epithelia and resulted in NRF2-activated ESCC-like lesions. In contrast, while squamous cell-specific deletion of KEAP1 induced similar NRF2 hyper-activation, the loss-of-KEAP1 combined with Trp53R172H did not elicit the proliferation and formation of ESCC-like lesions. Instead, KEAP1-deleted cells disappeared from the esophageal epithelium over time by cell competition. These findings provide insights into the observation that somatic mutations are more frequently observed in NRF2 than in KEAP1, and the mouse model developed here will be instrumental in elucidating the mechanistic basis leading to NRF2-activated ESCC.
Project description:The transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) induces cytoprotective genes, but has also been linked to the regulation of hepatic energy metabolism. In order to assess the pharmacological potential of hepatic Nrf2 activation in metabolic disease, Nrf2 was activated over 8 weeks in mice on Western diet using two different siRNAs against kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), the inhibitory protein of Nrf2. Whole genome expression analysis followed by pathway analysis demonstrated that the suppression of Keap1 expression induced genes that are involved in anti-oxidative stress defense and biotransformation, pathways proving the activation of Nrf2 by the siRNAs against Keap1. The expression of neither fatty acid- nor carbohydrate-handling proteins was regulated by the suppression of Keap1. Metabolic profiling of the animals did also not show effects on plasma and hepatic lipids, energy expenditure or glucose tolerance by the activation of Nrf2. The data indicate that hepatic Nrf2 is not a major regulator of intermediary metabolism in mice. Gene expression profile of mouse liver samples from 8-week-old male C57BL6/J mice (N=24) treated with liver-selective Keap1-specific siRNA (group 1: siKeap1-1, N=8; group 2: siKeap1-2, N=8) or unspecific scrambled control siRNA (group 3: siControl, N=8)
Project description:To compare hepatic gene expression in conditional Keap1 knockout (Alb-Cre:Keap1(flox/-)) and genetic control mice. Disruption of Keap1-mediated repression of Nrf2 signaling was expected to result in increased expression of Nrf2-regulated genes. Experiment Overall Design: Hepatic gene expression was compared in conditional Keap1 knockout and genetic control mice (Alb-Cre:Keap1(flox/+)) mice. Male 9 week old mice were used, n=3/group.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of mouse esophageal development. Goal was to globally profile critical genes and signaling pathways during the development of mouse esophagus and determine how Nrf2/Keap1 pathway regulates the morphogenesis of the esophageal epithelium.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of adult esophageal epithelium comparing wild-type mice with Nrf2-/- mice with or without gastroesophageal reflux for 4 weeks. Goal was to determine the role of Nrf2 on the barrier function of mouse esophageal epithelium.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of adult esophageal epithelium comparing wild-type mice with Nrf2-/- mice with or without gastroesophageal reflux for 4 weeks. Goal was to determine the role of Nrf2 on the barrier function of mouse esophageal epithelium. Two-class comparisons. Wild-type/without reflux vs. Nrf2-/-/without reflux; Wild-type/gastric reflux vs. Nrf2-/-/gastric reflux; Wild-type/duodenal reflux vs. Nrf2-/-/duodenal reflux; Wild-type/mixed reflux vs. Nrf2-/-/mixed reflux. Biological replicates: 3 replicates for each group.
Project description:The transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) induces cytoprotective genes, but has also been linked to the regulation of hepatic energy metabolism. In order to assess the pharmacological potential of hepatic Nrf2 activation in metabolic disease, Nrf2 was activated over 8 weeks in mice on Western diet using two different siRNAs against kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), the inhibitory protein of Nrf2. Whole genome expression analysis followed by pathway analysis demonstrated that the suppression of Keap1 expression induced genes that are involved in anti-oxidative stress defense and biotransformation, pathways proving the activation of Nrf2 by the siRNAs against Keap1. The expression of neither fatty acid- nor carbohydrate-handling proteins was regulated by the suppression of Keap1. Metabolic profiling of the animals did also not show effects on plasma and hepatic lipids, energy expenditure or glucose tolerance by the activation of Nrf2. The data indicate that hepatic Nrf2 is not a major regulator of intermediary metabolism in mice.
Project description:Autophagy deficiency caused by conditional knockout of Atg7 results in severe hepatitis accompanied by abundant accumulation of p62. p62 stablizes Nrf2 by disrupting the association between Keap1 and Nrf2. To understand the pathogenesis of hepatitis under the autophagy deficiency, we examined gene expression profiles of livers from Atg7-null, Nrf2-null and Atg7-Nrf2 double mutant mice. Eight week old Atg7F/F:Mx1-Cre mice and Atg7F/F:Mx1-Cre:Nrf2-/- together with control mice were injected with pIpC. At 4 weeks after pIpC injection, total RNAs were purified from each mouse liver.
