Project description:Signal transduction from the extracellular matrix to the arterial wall plays a critical role during development of the vasculature. We now report the discovery of a Myocardin-like Protein (MKL)2/TGF-β signaling pathway that is required for maturation and stabilization of the vasculature. Mkl2-/- null embryos exhibit profound derangements in the tunica media leading to aneurismal dilation, dissection and hemorrhage. TGFβ expression, signaling and TGF-β-regulated genes are down-regulated in Mkl2-/- ES cells and in the vasculature of Mkl2-/- embryos. Transcription of Tgfβ2 is activated via binding of a MKL 2/SRF complex to a conserved CArG element in the Tgfβ2 promoter. In this data set we include expression data from wild type and Mkl2-/- ES cells A total of 5 samples with mRNA of sufficient quality were analyzed. Samples consisted of mRNA from independent cell culture of 2 wild-type and 3 Mkl2-/- undifferentiated Embryonic Stem Cells
Project description:Signal transduction from the extracellular matrix to the arterial wall plays a critical role during development of the vasculature. We now report the discovery of a Myocardin-like Protein (MKL)2/TGF-β signaling pathway that is required for maturation and stabilization of the vasculature. Mkl2-/- null embryos exhibit profound derangements in the tunica media leading to aneurismal dilation, dissection and hemorrhage. TGFβ expression, signaling and TGF-β-regulated genes are down-regulated in Mkl2-/- ES cells and in the vasculature of Mkl2-/- embryos. Transcription of Tgfβ2 is activated via binding of a MKL 2/SRF complex to a conserved CArG element in the Tgfβ2 promoter. In this data set we include expression data from wild type and Mkl2-/- ES cells
Project description:Prostate stroma-specific TGF-beta signaling induces morphological changes in LNCaP cells. We have previously shown that stromal TGF-beta signaling regulates prostate tumor growth. To further delineate the underlying mechanisms, we generated LNCaP cells overexpressing an HA-tagged constitutively activate TGF-beta1 ligand (LNCaP-HA-TGF-β1(a)) and control LNCaP cells (LNCaP-Ctrl), and performed in vitro co-cultures of LNCaP-HA-TGF-β1(a) and LNCaP-Ctrl cells on top of the confluent HPS-19I cells, a human prostate stromal cell line. Since LNCaP cells are defective in TGF-beta receptor I (TbetaRI / ALK-5) that is essential for mediating TGF-beta signaling, only HPS19I cells are able to respond to TGF-beta ligand in these co-cultures. This provides a unique opportunity to study how prostate stromal cell-specific TGF-beta signaling regulates PCa biology.
Project description:Prostate stroma-specific TGF-beta signaling induces morphological changes in LNCaP cells. We have previously shown that stromal TGF-beta signaling regulates prostate tumor growth. To further delineate the underlying mechanisms, we generated LNCaP cells overexpressing an HA-tagged constitutively activate TGF-beta1 ligand (LNCaP-HA-TGF-β1(a)) and control LNCaP cells (LNCaP-Ctrl), and performed in vitro co-cultures of LNCaP-HA-TGF-β1(a) and LNCaP-Ctrl cells on top of the confluent HPS-19I cells, a human prostate stromal cell line. Since LNCaP cells are defective in TGF-beta receptor I (TbetaRI / ALK-5) that is essential for mediating TGF-beta signaling, only HPS19I cells are able to respond to TGF-beta ligand in these co-cultures. This provides a unique opportunity to study how prostate stromal cell-specific TGF-beta signaling regulates PCa biology. To identify the prostate epithelia-specific gene that was regulated by prostate stromal TGF-beta signaling, we also treated HPS19I cells using conditioned media collected from LNCaP- HA-TGF-β1(a) cells and LNCaP-Ctrl cells cultured in RPMI1640 supplemented with 0.2% FBS. After 6 days of treatment, we extracted total RNA from these HPS19I cells and performed microarray.
Project description:Alternative splicing (AS) creates proteomic diversity from a limited size genome by generating numerous transcripts from a single protein-coding gene. Tissue-specific regulators of AS are essential components of the gene regulatory network, required for normal cellular function, tissue patterning, and embryonic development. However, their cell-autonomous function in neural crest development has not been explored. Here, we demonstrate that splicing factor Rbfox2 is expressed in the neural crest cells (NCCs) and deletion of Rbfox2 in NCCs leads to cleft palate and defects in craniofacial bone development. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that Rbfox2 regulates splicing and expression of numerous genes essential for neural crest/craniofacial development. We demonstrate that Rbfox2-TGF-β-Tak1 signaling axis is deregulated by Rbfox2 deletion. Furthermore, restoration of TGF-β signaling by Tak1 overexpression can rescue the proliferation defect seen in Rbfox2 mutants. We also identified a positive feedback loop in which TGF-β signaling promotes expression of Rbfox2 in NCCs.
Project description:The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) superfamily proteins are potent regulators of cellular development and differentiation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play widespread roles in spatial-temporal regulation of early development. However, the roles of lncRNAs regulated by nodal/TGF-β signaling is still elusive. Here, we showed a nodal-driven Smad induced lncRNA in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), lncRNA-Smad7, which is divergently transcribed to Smad7, regulates cell fate determination through repressing Bmp2. Depletion of lncRNA-Smad7 dramatically impairs cardiomyocyte differentiation in mESCs. Moreover, LncRNA-Smad7 represses Bmp2 expression and binds at the promoter region of Bmp2. Importantly, knock-down Bmp2 rescues the defect of cardiomyocyte differentiation. Hence, we showed that lncRNA-Smad7 is antagonistic to BMP signaling in mESCs. Furthermore, lncRNA-Smad7 regulates cell fate determination between osteocytes and myocytes formation in C2C12 cells by repressing Bmp2. Thus, we provide new insights regarding the antagonistic effects between nodal/TGF-β and BMP signaling via lncRNA-Smad7.
Project description:Pedro Vizán, Daniel S. J. Miller, Ilaria Gori, Debipriya Das, Bernhard Schmierer & Caroline S. Hill. Controlling long-term signaling: receptor dynamics determine attenuation and refractory behavior of the TGF-β pathway. Science Signaling 6, 305 (2013).
Understanding the complex dynamics of growth factor signaling requires both mechanistic and kinetic information. Although signaling dynamics have been studied for pathways downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases and G protein (heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein)-coupled receptors, they have not been investigated for the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily pathways. Using an integrative experimental and mathematical modeling approach, we dissected the dynamic behavior of the TGF-β to Smad pathway, which is mediated by type I and type II receptor serine/threonine kinases, in response to acute, chronic, and repeated ligand stimulations. TGF-β exposure produced a transient response that attenuated over time, resulting in desensitized cells that were refractory to further acute stimulation. This loss of signaling competence depended on ligand binding, but not on receptor activity, and was restored only after the ligand had been depleted. Furthermore, TGF-β binding triggered the rapid depletion of signaling-competent receptors from the cell surface, with the type I and type II receptors exhibiting different degradation and trafficking kinetics. A computational model of TGF-β signal transduction from the membrane to the nucleus that incorporates our experimental findings predicts that autocrine signaling, such as that associated with tumorigenesis, severely compromises the TGF-β response, which we confirmed experimentally. Thus, we have shown that the long-term signaling behavior of the TGF-β pathway is determined by receptor dynamics, does not require TGF-β-induced gene expression, and influences context-dependent responses in vivo.
Project description:Fish, JE, Santoro, MM, Morton, SU, Yu, S, Yeh, RF, Wythe, JD, Ivey, KI, Bruneau, BG, Stainier, DYR, and Srivastava, D. (2008). miR-126 Regulates Angiogenic Signaling and Vascular Integrity. Developmental Cell 15, 272-284. Precise regulation of the formation, maintenance, and remodeling of the vasculature is required for normal development, tissue response to injury, and tumor progression. How specific microRNAs intersect with and modulate angiogenic signaling cascades is unknown. Here, we identified microRNAs that were enriched in endothelial cells derived from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and in developing mouse embryos. We found that miR-126 regulated the response of endothelial cells to VEGF. Additionally, knockdown of miR-126 in zebrafish resulted in loss of vascular integrity and hemorrhage during embryonic development. miR-126 functioned in part by directly repressing negative regulators of the VEGF pathway, including the Sprouty-related protein SPRED1 and phosphoinositol-3 kinase regulatory subunit 2 (PIK3R2/p85-β). Increased expression of Spred1 or inhibition of VEGF signaling in zebrafish resulted in defects similar to miR-126 knockdown. These findings illustrate that a single miRNA can regulate vascular integrity and angiogenesis, providing a new target for modulating vascular formation and function.
Project description:Fish, JE, Santoro, MM, Morton, SU, Yu, S, Yeh, RF, Wythe, JD, Ivey, KI, Bruneau, BG, Stainier, DYR, and Srivastava, D. (2008). miR-126 Regulates Angiogenic Signaling and Vascular Integrity. Developmental Cell 15, 272-284. Precise regulation of the formation, maintenance, and remodeling of the vasculature is required for normal development, tissue response to injury, and tumor progression. How specific microRNAs intersect with and modulate angiogenic signaling cascades is unknown. Here, we identified microRNAs that were enriched in endothelial cells derived from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and in developing mouse embryos. We found that miR-126 regulated the response of endothelial cells to VEGF. Additionally, knockdown of miR-126 in zebrafish resulted in loss of vascular integrity and hemorrhage during embryonic development. miR-126 functioned in part by directly repressing negative regulators of the VEGF pathway, including the Sprouty-related protein SPRED1 and phosphoinositol-3 kinase regulatory subunit 2 (PIK3R2/p85-β). Increased expression of Spred1 or inhibition of VEGF signaling in zebrafish resulted in defects similar to miR-126 knockdown. These findings illustrate that a single miRNA can regulate vascular integrity and angiogenesis, providing a new target for modulating vascular formation and function.
Project description:To determine if EP400 knockdown would affect Max target genes in Merkel cell carcinoma cell line MKL-1, we performed RNA-seq analyses of MKL-1 cells inducibly expressing EP400 shRNA and compared to ChIP-seq data using BETA analyses.