Project description:Vascular pericytes, an important cellular component, in the tumor microenvironment, are often associated with tumor vasculatures and their functions in cancer invasion and metastasis are poorly understood. Here we show that PDGF-BB induces pericyte fibroblast transition (designated as PFT), which significantly contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments demonstrate that the PDGF-BB-PDGFRβ signaling promotes PFT in vitro and in in vivo tumors. Genome-wide expression analysis indicates that PDGF-BB-activated pericytes acquire mesenchymal progenitor features. Pharmacological inhibition and genetic deletion of PDGFRβ ablate the PDGF-BB-induced PFT. Genetic tracing of pericytes with two independent mouse strains, i.e., TN-AP-CreERT2:R26R-tdTomato and NG2:R26R-tdTomato, shows that PFT cells gains stromal fibroblast and myofibroblast markers in tumors. Importantly, co-implantation of PFT cells with less-invasive tumor cells in mice markedly promotes tumor dissemination and invasion, leading to an increased number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and metastasis. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of vascular pericytes in PDGF-BB-promoted cancer invasion and metastasis by inducing PFT and thus targeting PFT may offer a new treatment option of cancer metastasis. Pericytes were isolated and treated with PDGF-BB or control for 1 or 5 days
Project description:Vascular pericytes, an important cellular component, in the tumor microenvironment, are often associated with tumor vasculatures and their functions in cancer invasion and metastasis are poorly understood. Here we show that PDGF-BB induces pericyte fibroblast transition (designated as PFT), which significantly contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments demonstrate that the PDGF-BB-PDGFRβ signaling promotes PFT in vitro and in in vivo tumors. Genome-wide expression analysis indicates that PDGF-BB-activated pericytes acquire mesenchymal progenitor features. Pharmacological inhibition and genetic deletion of PDGFRβ ablate the PDGF-BB-induced PFT. Genetic tracing of pericytes with two independent mouse strains, i.e., TN-AP-CreERT2:R26R-tdTomato and NG2:R26R-tdTomato, shows that PFT cells gains stromal fibroblast and myofibroblast markers in tumors. Importantly, co-implantation of PFT cells with less-invasive tumor cells in mice markedly promotes tumor dissemination and invasion, leading to an increased number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and metastasis. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of vascular pericytes in PDGF-BB-promoted cancer invasion and metastasis by inducing PFT and thus targeting PFT may offer a new treatment option of cancer metastasis.
Project description:We demonstrate for the first time that the extracellular matrix glycoprotein Tenascin-C regulates the expression of key patterning genes during late embryonic spinal cord development, leading to a timely maturation of gliogenic neural precursor cells. We first show that Tenascin-C is expressed by gliogenic neural precursor cells during late embryonic development. The loss of Tenascin-C leads to a sustained generation and delayed migration of Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 expressing immature astrocytes in vivo. Furthermore, we could demonstrate an upregulation of Nk2 transcription factor related locus 2 (Nkx2.2) and its downstream target Sulfatase 1 in vivo. A dorsal expansion of Nkx2.2-positive cells within the ventral spinal cord indicates a potential progenitor cell domain shift. Moreover, Sulfatase 1 is known to regulate growth factor signalling by cleaving sulphate residues from heparan sulphate proteoglycans. Consistent with this possibility we observed changes in both Fibroblast growth factor 2 and Epidermal growth factor responsiveness of spinal cord neural precursor cells. Taken together our data clearly show that Tenascin-C promotes the astroglial lineage progression during spinal cord development.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:We demonstrate for the first time that the extracellular matrix glycoprotein Tenascin-C regulates the expression of key patterning genes during late embryonic spinal cord development, leading to a timely maturation of gliogenic neural precursor cells. We first show that Tenascin-C is expressed by gliogenic neural precursor cells during late embryonic development. The loss of Tenascin-C leads to a sustained generation and delayed migration of Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 expressing immature astrocytes in vivo. Furthermore, we could demonstrate an upregulation of Nk2 transcription factor related locus 2 (Nkx2.2) and its downstream target Sulfatase 1 in vivo. A dorsal expansion of Nkx2.2-positive cells within the ventral spinal cord indicates a potential progenitor cell domain shift. Moreover, Sulfatase 1 is known to regulate growth factor signalling by cleaving sulphate residues from heparan sulphate proteoglycans. Consistent with this possibility we observed changes in both Fibroblast growth factor 2 and Epidermal growth factor responsiveness of spinal cord neural precursor cells. Taken together our data clearly show that Tenascin-C promotes the astroglial lineage progression during spinal cord development. in total 6 probes: 3 replica of TNC_wt and 3 replica of TNC_ko
Project description:Translational research is commonly performed in the C57B6/J mouse strain, chosen for its genetic homogeneity and phenotypic uniformity. Here, we evaluate the suitability of the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as a model organism for aging research, offering a comparative analysis against C57B6/J and diversity outbred (DO) Mus musculus strains. Our study includes comparisons of body composition, skeletal muscle function, and cardiovascular parameters, shedding light on potential applications and limitations of P. leucopus in aging studies. Notably, P. leucopus exhibits distinct body composition characteristics, emphasizing reduced muscle force exertion and a unique metabolism, particularly in fat mass. Cardiovascular assessments showed changes in arterial stiffness, challenging conventional assumptions and highlighting the need for a nuanced interpretation of aging-related phenotypes. Our study also highlights inherent challenges associated with maintaining and phenotyping P. leucopus cohorts. Behavioral considerations, including anxiety-induced responses during handling and phenotyping assessment, pose obstacles in acquiring meaningful data. Moreover, the unique anatomy of P. leucopus necessitates careful adaptation of protocols designed for Mus musculus. While showcasing potential benefits, further extensive analyses across broader age ranges and larger cohorts are necessary to establish the reliability of P. leucopus as a robust and translatable model for aging studies.