Induction of astrocyte metallothioneins (MTs) by zinc confers resistance against the acute cytotoxic effects of methylmercury on cell swelling, Na+ uptake, and K+ release

The regulation of gene expression via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) is believed to be critical in the effects of peroxisome proliferators on lipid metabolism and possibly in hepatocarcinogenesis. The involvement of PPAR in the peroxisome proliferator-mediated induction of fatty acid metabolizing genes such as acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO), fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), and cytochrome P450IVA1 (CYP4A1) has been clearly demonstrated. However, the induction by peroxisome proliferators of important growth regulatory genes such as c-myc has not been investigated extensively. In these studies we examined the dose-response relationships for the induction of mRNA for the PPAR-regulated and lipid metabolizing genes ACO, FABP, and CYP4A1 and compared them to the immediate early gene c-myc. Liver mRNA from rats fed various amounts of the peroxisome proliferator Wy14,643 for 13 weeks was utilized. The lipid metabolism and growth regulatory genes were induced by subchronic administration of Wy14,643 but to varying degrees and with different sensitivities. The lowest dose that resulted in a significant change in ACO and FABP expression was 10 ppm. The mRNA for CYP4A1 and c-myc was significantly affected at the lowest dose examined (5 ppm). Also, the maximal induction ranged from 10(5)-fold (CYP4A1) to less than 10-fold (FABP) relative to vehicle-treated animals. The accumulation of mRNA for ACO, FABP, and CYP4A1, but not c-myc, showed typical receptor-mediated dose-response relationships. The effects on gene expression were compared to rates of hepatic cell proliferation, a pertinent marker of tumor promotion and hepatocarcinogenesis. Surprisingly, ACO mRNA showed an excellent correlation (r2 = 0.9) while c-myc mRNA exhibited a poor correlation (r2 = 0.3) with cell proliferation in rat liver. Although the differences between the dose-response relationships of ACO and c-myc mRNA accumulation may suggest immediate early genes are not controlled by PPAR, evidence from PPARalpha null mice support this receptor in both lipid metabolism and growth regulatory genes. This study shows the complexity of responses mediated by peroxisome proliferators, with ACO being a good marker of PPAR-mediated events as well as cell proliferation, while c-myc, a known growth regulatory gene, was induced by Wy14,643 partially via PPAR but did not correlate well with cell proliferation.     

Expression of rat homeobox gene, rHOX, in developing and adult tissues in mice and regulation of its mRNA expression in osteoblasts by bone morphogenetic protein 2 and parathyroid hormone-related protein

The rat homeobox gene, rHox, was cloned from a rat osteosarcoma cDNA library. Southwestern and gel mobility shift analyses showed that rHox binds to the promoter regions of collagen (alpha1)I and osteocalcin genes while transient transfection with rHox resulted in repression of their respective promoter activities. In situ hybridization studies showed that rHox mRNA was widely expressed in osteoblasts, chondrocytes, skeletal muscle, skin epidermis, and bronchial and intestinal epithelial cells, as well as cardiac muscle in embryonic and newborn mice. However in 3-month-old mice, rHox mRNA expression was restricted to osteoblasts, megakaryocytes, and myocardium. Bone morphogenetic protein 2, a growth factor that commits mesenchymal progenitor cells to differentiate into osteoblasts, down-regulated rHox mRNA expression by 40-50% in UMR 201, a rat preosteoblast cell line, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In contrast, PTH-related protein (PTHrP), recently shown to be a negative regulator of chondrocyte differentiation, significantly enhanced rHox mRNA expression in UMR 106-06 osteoblastic cells by 3-fold at 24 h while at the same time down-regulating expression of pro-alpha1(I) collagen mRNA by 60%. Expression of rHox mRNA in calvarial osteoblasts derived from PTHrP -/- mice was approximately 15% of that observed in similar cells obtained from normal mice. In conclusion, current evidence suggests that rHox acts as a negative regulator of osteoblast differentiation. Furthermore, down-regulation of rHox mRNA by bone morphogenetic protein 2 and its up-regulation by PTHrP support a role of the homeodomain protein, rHox, in osteoblast differentiation.     

Role of epidermal growth factor and its receptor in mechanical stress-induced differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells in vitro

The periodontal ligament (PDL) contains precursor cells for osteoblasts and cementoblasts. It has been shown that epidermal growth factor (EGF) inhibits dexamethasone-induced differentiation and up-regulates EGF-receptor (EGF-R) expression, whereas EGF-R is down-regulated in the course of differentiation. Thus it was suggested that EGF and its receptors act as a negative regulator of osteoblastic differentiation in PDL cells. In order to investigate further this hypothesis, human PDL cells were now used to elucidate the role of EGF and EGF-R in their proliferation and differentiation under mechanical stress-loaded conditions in vitro, as the PDL regularly receives mechanical stress from occlusal forces. As a model of mechanical stress, a cyclic stretch of 9 or 18% elongation was applied to the cells with a Flexercell cell-strain unit system. Alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin mRNA expression were significantly induced by loading cyclic stretch for more than 4 days, whereas stretch slightly inhibited cell proliferation. Visualization of the actin stress fibres of the cells by rhodamine phalloidin revealed that approx. 10% of the total number of cells had become aligned perpendicularly to the direction of the stretch. The effects of stretch on alkaline phosphatase activity and cell proliferation were totally abolished by the presence of 10 ng/ml EGF. Western blotting of EGF-R protein demonstrated that stretch-induced differentiation accompanied the decreased expression of EGF-R protein in the cells. However, the amount of tyrosine-phosphorylated EGF-R upon EGF stimulation was restored to the control level in stretched cells. These results suggest that the EGF/EGF-R system acts as a negative regulator of differentiation of PDL cells regardless of the type of differentiation stimuli. Also, interaction between mechanical stress and the EGF/EGF-R system may participate in the osteoblastic differentiation of PDL cells and thereby regulate the source of cementoblasts and osteoblasts.     

Differential immediate early gene expression in conditional hepatitis B virus pX-transforming versus nontransforming hepatocyte cell lines

We report construction and characterization of tetracycline-controlled hepatitis B virus pX-expressing hepatocyte (AML12) cell lines. These cell lines were constructed in AML12 clonal isolates (clones 3 and 4), which express constitutively the tetracycline-controlled transactivator. Since pX is implicated in HCC, this immortalized hepatocyte model system was used to investigate the mechanism of pX in transformation. Clonal isolates of 3pX and 4pX lineages display conditional synthesis of pX mRNA and protein and a 2-fold increase in growth saturation density following tetracycline removal, implicating pX in monolayer overgrowth. Interestingly, only 3pX clones display pX-dependent anchorage independence. Clone 3 lineages express hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha and hepatocyte-specific marker genes; clone 4 lineages express hepatocyte nuclear factor-1beta and reduced levels of hepatocyte-specific marker genes, suggesting the importance of the differentiated hepatocyte in pX-mediated oncogenic transformation. Importantly, 3pX and 4pX lineages display differential expression of immediate early genes c-fos and ATF3. The pX-transforming 3pX lineage displays early, pX-dependent induction of ATF3 and prolonged induction of c-fos. The nontransforming 4pX cells display an absence of pX-dependent ATF3 induction and transient induction of c-fos. Our results support the direct link of pX expression to oncogenic transformation in 3pX lineage clones and underscore the advantage of this conditional cellular model system for studying mechanisms of pX-mediated oncogenesis.