Project description:In males, Leydig cells are the main producers of testosterone and insulin-like 3, hormones which are both essential for sex differentiation and reproductive functions. Nuclear receptor chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factors II (COUP-TFII) is expressed in the cells committed to give rise to the fully functional steroidogenic adult Leydig cells and has a major role in their function and differentiation. Up to date, only handful of COUP-TFII gene targets have been reported. A transcriptomic approach was used to identify additional genes affected by depletion of COUP-TFII in mouse MA-10 Leydig cell line.
Project description:COUP-TFII (NR2F2) is expressed in somatic cells in fetal ovary. To investigate the function of COUP-TFII , we used Cre-flox model to ablate Coup-tfII in the fetal ovaries We performed microarray to compare gene expression profile between control and knockout ovaries.
Project description:Testicular fetal Leydig cells are specialized for androgen production during embryogenesis. Testosterone is essential for regulating sex differentiation, spermatogenesis, and fertility. Deficiencies in Leydig cell differentiation can lead to various disorders of sex development and male reproductive conditions, such as ambiguous genitalia, hypospadias, cryptorchidism, and infertility. Understanding the differentiation of fetal Leydig cells is essential for comprehending male sexual differentiation, reproductive health, and fertility. Fetal Leydig cells originate from proliferating progenitor cells in the gonadal interstitium, marked by genes like Arx, Pdgfra, Tcf21, Wnt5a, and Nr2f2 (COUP-TFII). However, the precise mechanisms governing the transition from interstitial cells to Leydig cells remain elusive. Through integrated approaches involving animal models and multiomics, we have demonstrated that fetal Leydig cells originate from a COUP-TFII positive non-steroidogenic interstitial cell population. COUP-TFII promotes progenitor cell fate while suppressing Leydig cell differentiation. Moreover, embryonic deletion of COUP-TFII in mouse testes resulted in disorders of sex development, including reduced testicular size, Leydig cell hypoplasia, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias. Collectively, our findings highlight the critical role of COUP-TFII in orchestrating the transition from interstitial cells to Leydig cells during testicular development.
Project description:ChickenM-BM- ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II (COUP-TFII; NR2F2) is an orphan nuclear receptor involved in cell-fate specification, organogenesis, angiogenesis and metabolism. Ablation of COUP-TFII in the mouse uterus causes infertility due to defects in embryo attachment and impaired uterine stromal cell decidualization. Although the function of COUP-TFII in uterine decidualization has been described in mice, its role in the human uterus remains unknown. To better elucidate the mechanisms with which COUP-TFII regulates target gene transcription, genome-wide COUP-TFII binding sites in human endometrial stromal cells (HESC) treated with deciduogenic hormones were identified using ChIP-seq. A total of 16,298 intervals (binding regions) for COUP-TFII were identified compared with the input in HESC chromatin with a very low false discovery rate (0.17%) using a stringent cutoff of p =1x10-10. Distribution of intervals showed that more than half (58.6%) of the COUP-TFII binding sites are located within 10 kb of gene boundaries. 7.5% of total intervals reside within the 10 kb promoter region. A total of 6,077 unique genes were identified to have COUP-TFII binding sites within 10 kb of their gene boundaries. Examination of NR2F2 binding in pooled primary human endometrial stromal cells from 6 healthy women upon decidualization with a hormone cocktail of cAMP, E2 and medroxyprogesterone acetate.
Project description:Recent studies demonstrated that metabolic disturbance, such as augmented glycolysis, contributes to fibrosis. The molecular regulation of this metabolic perturbation in fibrosis, however, has been elusive. COUP-TFII (also known as NR2F2) is an important regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism. Its contribution to organ fibrosis is undefined. Here, we found increased COUP-TFII expression in myofibroblasts in human fibrotic kidneys, lungs, kidney organoids, and mouse kidneys after injury. Genetic ablation of COUP-TFII in mice resulted in attenuation of injury-induced kidney fibrosis. A non-biased proteomic study revealed the suppression of fatty acid oxidation and the enhancement of glycolysis pathways in COUP-TFII overexpressing fibroblasts. Overexpression of COUP-TFII in fibroblasts induced augmented glycolysis and production of alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and collagen1. Knockout of COUP-TFII decreased glycolysis and collagen1 levels in fibroblasts. Chip-qPCR revealed the binding of COUP-TFII on the promoter of PGC1α. Overexpression of COUP-TFII reduced the cellular level of PGC1α. Targeting COUP-TFII serves as a novel treatment approach for mitigating fibrosis in chronic kidney disease and potentially fibrosis in other organs.
Project description:Chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II (COUP-TFII; NR2F2) is an orphan nuclear receptor involved in cell-fate specification, organogenesis, angiogenesis and metabolism. Ablation of COUP-TFII in the mouse uterus causes infertility due to defects in embryo attachment and impaired uterine stromal cell decidualization. Although the function of COUP-TFII in uterine decidualization has been described in mice, its role in the human uterus remains unknown. To better elucidate the mechanisms with which COUP-TFII regulates target gene transcription, genome-wide COUP-TFII binding sites in human endometrial stromal cells (HESC) treated with deciduogenic hormones were identified using ChIP-seq. A total of 16,298 intervals (binding regions) for COUP-TFII were identified compared with the input in HESC chromatin with a very low false discovery rate (0.17%) using a stringent cutoff of p =1x10-10. Distribution of intervals showed that more than half (58.6%) of the COUP-TFII binding sites are located within 10 kb of gene boundaries. 7.5% of total intervals reside within the 10 kb promoter region. A total of 6,077 unique genes were identified to have COUP-TFII binding sites within 10 kb of their gene boundaries.
Project description:To explore the roles of COUP-TFII during the pathogenesis of endometriosis, the human eutopic stromal cells were transfected with siRNA oligonucleotide against COUP-TFII, and total RNA were harvested and proceeded to microarray analysis.
Project description:Embryonic cardiomyocytes possess the plasticity to choose between atrial and ventricular fates. For a limited window of time, the transcription factor COUP-TFII (Nr2f2) sufficiently and essentially confers the atrial identity through direct and indirect regulation of nearly half of chamber specific genes. Examination of COUP-TFII binding sites in embryonic artia
Project description:The orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII is expressed at a low level in adult tissues, but its expression is increased and shown to promote progression of multiple diseases including prostate cancer, heart failure and muscular dystrophy. Suppression of COUP-TFII slows disease progression, making it an intriguing therapeutic target. Here, we identified a potent and specific COUP-TFII inhibitor through high-throughput screening. The inhibitor specifically suppressed COUP-TFII activity to regulate its target genes.
Project description:Increased COUP-TFII levels are found in human dilated cardiomyopathy as well as in mouse models that develop cardiomyopathy. COUP-TFII overexpression in adult mouse hearts caused ventricular dilation and compromised cardiac functions. To gain insights on COUP-TFII’s effect in hearts, we identified the molecular profile of COUP-TFII overexpressing hearts through microarray analysis. The result may shred light on molecular mechanisms that mediate development of dilated cardiomyopathy.