Project description:Signaling through the AKT and ERK pathways controls cell proliferation. However, the integrated regulation of this multistep process, involving signal processing, cell growth and cell-cycle progression, is poorly understood. Here we study different murine hematopoietic cell types, in which AKT and ERK signaling is triggered by erythropoietin (Epo). Although these cell types share the molecular network topology for pro-proliferative Epo signaling, they exhibit distinct proliferative responses. Iterating quantitative experiments and mathematical modeling, we identify two molecular sources for cell-type-specific proliferation. First, cell-type-specific protein abundance patterns cause differential signal flow along the AKT and ERK pathways. Second, downstream regulators of both pathways have differential effects on proliferation, suggesting that protein synthesis is rate-limiting for faster-cycling cells while slower cell-cycles are controlled at the G1-S progression. The integrated mathematical model of Epo-driven proliferation explains cell-type-specific effects of targeted AKT and ERK inhibitors and faithfully predicts based on the protein abundance anti-proliferative effects of inhibitors in primary human erythroid progenitor cells. Our findings suggest that the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapy might become predictable from protein abundance patterns.
Project description:Signaling through the AKT and ERK pathways controls cell proliferation. However, the integrated regulation of this multistep process, involving signal processing, cell growth and cell-cycle progression, is poorly understood. Here we study different murine hematopoietic cell types, in which AKT and ERK signaling is triggered by erythropoietin (Epo). Although these cell types share the molecular network topology for pro-proliferative Epo signaling, they exhibit distinct proliferative responses. Iterating quantitative experiments and mathematical modeling, we identify two molecular sources for cell-type-specific proliferation. First, cell-type-specific protein abundance patterns cause differential signal flow along the AKT and ERK pathways. Second, downstream regulators of both pathways have differential effects on proliferation, suggesting that protein synthesis is rate-limiting for faster-cycling cells while slower cell-cycles are controlled at the G1-S progression. The integrated mathematical model of Epo-driven proliferation explains cell-type-specific effects of targeted AKT and ERK inhibitors and faithfully predicts based on the protein abundance anti-proliferative effects of inhibitors in primary human erythroid progenitor cells. Our findings suggest that the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapy might become predictable from protein abundance patterns.
Project description:Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. Lesion progression is primarily mediated by cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. Interleukin-17A is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, which modulates immune cell trafficking and is involved inflammation in (auto)immune and infectious diseases. But the role of IL-17A still remains controversial. In the current study we investigated effects of IL-17A on advanced murine and human atherosclerosis, the common disease phenotype in clinical care. 26-weeks old apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe-/-) mice were fed a standard chow diet and treated either with IL-17A mAb (n=15) or irrelevant immunoglobulin (n=10) for 16 weeks. Furthermore, essential mechanisms of IL-17A in atherogenesis were studied in vitro. Inhibition of IL-17A markedly prevented atherosclerotic lesion progression (P=0.001) by reducing inflammatory burden and cellular infiltration (P=0.01) and improved lesion stability (P=0.01). In vitro experiments showed that IL-17A plays a role in chemoattractance, monocyte adhesion, sensitization of antigen-presenting cells toward pathogen-derived TLR4 ligands. Also, IL-17A induced a unique transcriptome pattern in monocyte-derived macrophages distinct from known macrophage types. Stimulation of human carotid plaque tissue ex vivo with IL-17A induced a pro-inflammatory milieu and up-regulation of molecules expressed by the IL-17A-induced macrophage subtype. We here show for the first time that functional blockade of IL-17A prevents atherosclerotic lesion progression and induces plaque stabilization in advanced lesions in Apoe-/- mice. The underlying mechanisms involve reduced inflammation and distinct effects of IL-17A on monocyte / macrophage lineage. In addition, translational experiments underline the relevance for the human system. Effects of IL-17A on human monocyte-derived macrophages were assessed (n=2 per group).
Project description:Macrophage activation is associated with profound transcriptional reprogramming. Although much progress has been made in the understanding of macrophage activation, polarization and function, the transcriptional programs regulating these processes remain poorly characterized. We stimulated human macrophages with diverse activation signals, acquiring a dataset of 299 macrophage transcriptomes. Analysis of this dataset revealed a spectrum of macrophage activation states extending the current M1 versus M2-polarization model. Network analyses identified central transcriptional regulators associated with all macrophage activation complemented by regulators related to stimulus-specific programs. Applying these transcriptional programs to human alveolar macrophages from smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) revealed an unexpected loss of inflammatory signatures in COPD patients. Finally, by integrating murine data from the ImmGen project we propose a refined, activation-independent core signature for human and murine macrophages. This resource serves as a framework for future research into regulation of macrophage activation in health and disease. To better understand active gene regulation in human macrophages during activation and differentiation in vitro with different stimuli ChIP-sequencing experiments were performed. Enrichment patterns of the permissive histone modification mark trimetylation of histone protein 3 (H3K4me3) and macrophage lineage-specific transcription factor PU.1 were analyzed.