Project description:The Hippo Pathway has been found to play an important role in adrenal gland development and maintenance in mice. In this study, we further explored the role of the Hippo pathway in the adrenal gland using a transgenic mouse model where we knocked out the upstream kinases of the pathway, Mst1 and Mst2.
Project description:ShhCre;Mst1/2flx/flx (Mst1/2 D/D) mice were generated to conditionally delete Mst1 and Mst2 from epithelial progenitors during lung morphogenesis. Lungs from E18.5 control and Mst1/2 D/D mice were mechanically and enzymatically dissociated to generate single cell suspension. Epcam(+) cells were isolated using magnetic microbeads. Microarray analysis of mRNAs isolated from Epcam(+) epithelial cells from E18.5 control and Mst1/2 D/D mice was performed to identify transcriptional changes following deletion of the mammalian Hippo kinases (Mst1 and Mst2) from the embryonic lung. The mammalian Hippo kinases, Mst1 and Mst2, were conditionally deleted in epithelial progenitors of the developing lung using ShhCre. Epcam(+) epithelial cells were isolated from the lungs of E18.5 control and Mst1/2 deleted mice. mRNA isolated from Epcam(+) epithelial cells was analyzed by microarray.
Project description:Mst1 and Mst2 were conditionally deleted from non-ciliated bronchiolar epithelial cells in the mature lung. Bronchiolar epithelial cells from control and Mst1/2 deleted mice were isolated by cell sorting and used for RNA-seq analysis. Scgb1a1-rtTA/tetO-Cre/Mst1;2-flx/flx (Mst1/2 D/D) mice were generated to conditionally delete Mst1 and Mst2 from non-ciliated, secretory bronchiolar epithelial cells. Adult mice were maintained on doxycycline food for 16 days to induce deletion of Mst1/2. Lin-/CD326+/CD24-intermediate cells were isolated by fluorescence cell sorting to enrich for the targeted airway epithelial cells. mRNA isolated from Lin-/CD326+/CD24-intermediate cells from control and Mst1/2 D/D mice was pooled and analyzed by RNA-seq to identify transcriptional changes following deletion of Mst1 and Mst2 from mature lung bronchiolar epithelial cells.
Project description:ShhCre;Mst1/2flx/flx (Mst1/2 D/D) mice were generated to conditionally delete Mst1 and Mst2 from epithelial progenitors during lung morphogenesis. Lungs from E18.5 control and Mst1/2 D/D mice were mechanically and enzymatically dissociated to generate single cell suspension. Epcam(+) cells were isolated using magnetic microbeads. Microarray analysis of mRNAs isolated from Epcam(+) epithelial cells from E18.5 control and Mst1/2 D/D mice was performed to identify transcriptional changes following deletion of the mammalian Hippo kinases (Mst1 and Mst2) from the embryonic lung.
Project description:Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and downstream transcription factor STAT5 are important for maintaining regulatory T (Treg) cell homeostasis and function. Tregs can respond to low levels of IL-2, but the mechanisms by which STAT5 is activated during partial IL-2 deficiency remain uncertain. We identified the serine-threonine kinase Mst1 as a signal-dependent amplifier of IL-2−STAT5 activity in Tregs. Tregs had high Mst1 and Mst2 (Mst1−Mst2) activity that was crucial to prevent tumor resistance and autoimmunity. Mechanistically, Mst1−Mst2 sensed IL-2 signals to promote the STAT5 activation necessary for Treg cell homeostasis and lineage stability, and maintain the highly suppressive phophorylated-STAT5+ Treg cell subpopulation. Unbiased quantitative proteomics revealed an association of Mst1 with the cytoskeletal DOCK8−LRCHs module that shaped activity Rho-family GTPase Rac activity, which in turn mediated STAT5 activation in Tregs. Collectively, IL-2−STAT5 signaling critically depends upon Mst1−Mst2 functions to maintain a stable Treg cell pool and immune tolerance. We used microarrays to compare the global transcription profiles of WT and Mst1/Mst2-null Treg cell populations
Project description:Hippo signaling regulates the homeostasis of multiple organs. Mst1 and Mst2 (Mst1/2) are critical components of the Hippo signaling pathway. Here, we utilized RNA sequencing to determine the transcriptional change in the esophageal epithelium upon Mst1/2 deletion. The analysis of gene expression profiles allows us to understand the role of Mst1/2 in the regulation of various biological processes in the esophageal epithelium.
Project description:Mst1 and Mst2 were conditionally deleted from non-ciliated bronchiolar epithelial cells in the mature lung. Bronchiolar epithelial cells from control and Mst1/2 deleted mice were isolated by cell sorting and used for RNA-seq analysis.
Project description:The aim was to investigate LPS-induced chages in cell metabolic pathways in the adrenal cortex. Bulk RNASeq was performed in microdissected adrenal cortices, followed by gene expression profiling analysis.
Project description:Recent conditional knockout of core components of the Hippo signaling pathway in the adrenal gland of mice has demonstrated that this pathway must be tightly regulated to ensure proper development and maintenance of the adrenal cortex. We report herein that the most upstream kinases of the pathway, the mammalian STE20-like protein kinases 1 and 2 (MST1and MST2, respectively), are expressed in the mouse adrenal cortex with MST2 expression being restricted to the zona glomerulosa (zG). To further explore the role of Hippo signaling in adrenocortical cells, we conditionally deleted Mst1/2 in steroidogenic cells using an Nr5a1-cre strain (Mst1 flox/flox ; Mst2 flox/flox ; Nr5a1-cre). Our results show that the loss of MST1/2 leads to the premature and progressive accumulation of subcapsular GATA4+, WT1+ adrenal gonadal primordium (AGP)-like progenitor cells starting at 2 months of age without affecting aldosterone and corticosterone secretion. To help us understand this phenotype, microarray analyses were performed on adrenal glands from 2-month-old mutant and control mice. Gene expression analyses revealed that loss of Mst1/2 leads to the overexpression of known downstream target genes (Ajuba, Aqp1, Fn1, Ibsp, Igf1, Igfbp2, Mmp2, Thbs1) of the main effector of Hippo signaling, YAP; and underexpression of genes (Agtr1b, Ecgr4, Hsd3b6, Nr0b1, Tesc, Vsnl1) that are normally specifically expressed in the zG or overexpressed in the zG compared to the zona fasciculata (zF). Together, these results suggest that MST1/2 regulates Hippo signaling activity in the adrenal cortex and that these two kinases are also involved in the fine tuning of zG cell function or differentiation.