Mortalin is a novel mediator of erythropoietin signaling

Identification of Candidate Signature Genes and Key Regulators Associated With Trypanotolerance in the Sheko Breed

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) is caused by a protozoan parasite that affects the health of livestock. Livestock production in Ethiopia is severely hampered by AAT and various controlling measures were not successful to eradicate the disease. AAT affects the indigenous breeds in varying degrees. However, the Sheko breed shows better trypanotolerance than other breeds. The tolerance attributes of Sheko are believed to be associated with its taurine genetic background but the genetic controls of these tolerance attributes of Sheko are not well understood. In order to investigate the level of taurine background in the genome, we compare the genome of Sheko with that of 11 other African breeds. We find that Sheko has an admixed genome composed of taurine and indicine ancestries. We apply three methods: (i) The integrated haplotype score (iHS), (ii) the standardized log ratio of integrated site specific extended haplotype homozygosity between populations (Rsb), and (iii) the composite likelihood ratio (CLR) method to discover selective sweeps in the Sheko genome. We identify 99 genomic regions harboring 364 signature genes in Sheko. Out of the signature genes, 15 genes are selected based on their biological importance described in the literature. We also identify 13 overrepresented pathways and 10 master regulators in Sheko using the TRANSPATH database in the geneXplain platform. Most of the pathways are related with oxidative stress responses indicating a possible selection response against the induction of oxidative stress following trypanosomiasis infection in Sheko. Furthermore, we present for the first time the importance of master regulators involved in trypanotolerance not only for the Sheko breed but also in the context of cattle genomics. Our finding shows that the master regulator Caspase is a key protease which plays a major role for the emergence of adaptive immunity in harmony with the other master regulators. These results suggest that designing and implementing genetic intervention strategies is necessary to improve the performance of susceptible animals. Moreover, the master regulatory analysis suggests potential candidate therapeutic targets for the development of new drugs for trypanosomiasis treatment.

Reduced levels of Hspa9 attenuate Stat5 activation in mouse B cells

HSPA9 is located on chromosome 5q31.2 in humans, a region that is commonly deleted in patients with myeloid malignancies [del(5q)], including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). HSPA9 expression is reduced by 50% in patients with del(5q)-associated MDS, consistent with haploinsufficient levels. Zebrafish mutants and knockdown studies in human and mouse cells have implicated a role for HSPA9 in hematopoiesis. To comprehensively evaluate the effects of Hspa9 haploinsufficiency on hematopoiesis, we generated an Hspa9 knockout mouse model. Although homozygous knockout of Hspa9 is embryonically lethal, mice with heterozygous deletion of Hspa9 (Hspa9(+/-)) are viable and have a 50% reduction in Hspa9 expression. Hspa9(+/-) mice have normal basal hematopoiesis and do not develop MDS. However, Hspa9(+/-) mice have a cell-intrinsic reduction in bone marrow colony-forming unit-PreB colony formation without alterations in the number of B-cell progenitors in vivo, consistent with a functional defect in Hspa9(+/-) B-cell progenitors. We further reduced Hspa9 expression (<50%) using RNA interference and observed reduced B-cell progenitors in vivo, indicating that appropriate levels (≥50%) of Hspa9 are required for normal B lymphopoiesis in vivo. Knockdown of Hspa9 in an interleukin 7 (IL-7)-dependent mouse B-cell line reduced signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (Stat5) phosphorylation following IL-7 receptor stimulation, supporting a role for Hspa9 in Stat5 signaling in B cells. Collectively, these data imply a role for Hspa9 in B lymphopoiesis and Stat5 activation downstream of IL-7 signaling.

HSPA9 overexpression inhibits apoptin-induced apoptosis in the HepG2 cell line

Apoptin, a small protein derived from chicken anemia virus, possesses the capacity to specifically kill tumor cells while leaving normal cells intact. Previous studies have indicated that the subcellular localization of apoptin appears to be crucial for this tumor-selective activity. Apoptin resides in the cytoplasm of normal cells; however, in cancer cells it translocates into the nucleus. In the present study, purified prokaryotic native His-apoptin served as a bait for capturing apoptin-associated proteins in both a hepatoma carcinoma cell line (HepG2) and a human fetal liver cell line (L-02). The captured proteins obtained from a pull-down assay were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Mass spectrometry was employed to detect the effect of HSPA9 overexpression (one of the interacting proteins with apoptin in vitro) and downregulation of HSPA9 on HepG2 cells. The data revealed that HSPA9 overexpression resulted in partial distribution of apoptin in the cytoplasm. Notably, HSPA9 overexpression markedly decreased the apoptosis rate of HepG2 cells from 41.2 to 31.7%, while the downregulation of HSPA9 using small interfering RNA significantly enhanced the apoptosis of HepG2 cells. Our results suggest new insights into the localization mechanism of apoptin which is tightly associated with HSPA9 overexpression and its crucial role in cellular apoptosis both in a tumor cell line (HepG2) and a normal cell line (L-02). These findings shed new light on the elucidation of the underlying mechanism of anticancer action of apoptin.

Differential proteomic analysis of human erythroblasts undergoing apoptosis induced by epo-withdrawal

The availability of Erythropoietin (Epo) is essential for the survival of erythroid progenitors. Here we study the effects of Epo removal on primary human erythroblasts grown from peripheral blood CD34(+) cells. The erythroblasts died rapidly from apoptosis, even in the presence of SCF, and within 24 hours of Epo withdrawal 60% of the cells were Annexin V positive. Other classical hallmarks of apoptosis were also observed, including cytochrome c release into the cytosol, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, Bax translocation to the mitochondria and caspase activation. We adopted a 2D DIGE approach to compare the proteomes of erythroblasts maintained for 12 hours in the presence or absence of Epo. Proteomic comparisons demonstrated significant and reproducible alterations in the abundance of proteins between the two growth conditions, with 18 and 31 proteins exhibiting altered abundance in presence or absence of Epo, respectively. We observed that Epo withdrawal induced the proteolysis of the multi-functional proteins Hsp90 alpha, Hsp90 beta, SET, 14-3-3 beta, 14-3-3 gamma, 14-3-3 epsilon, and RPSA, thereby targeting multiple signaling pathways and cellular processes simultaneously. We also observed that 14 proteins were differentially phosphorylated and confirmed the phosphorylation of the Hsp90 alpha and Hsp90 beta proteolytic fragments in apoptotic cells using Nano LC mass spectrometry. Our analysis of the global changes occurring in the proteome of primary human erythroblasts in response to Epo removal has increased the repertoire of proteins affected by Epo withdrawal and identified proteins whose aberrant regulation may contribute to ineffective erythropoiesis.

Vitamin K2 modulates differentiation and apoptosis of both myeloid and erythroid lineages

Vitamin K2 (VK2) can improve cytopenia in some patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Although it is well known that VK2 induces differentiation and apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines, little is known about its effect on normal hematopoietic progenitors. The effects of VK2 on primary myeloid and erythroid progenitors were examined. Mobilized CD34-positive cells from peripheral blood were used for the examination of myeloid lineage cells, and erythroid progenitors purified from peripheral blood were used for erythroid lineage cells. VK2 upregulated the expressions of myeloid markers CD11b and CD14, and increased the mRNA expression levels of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα) and PU.1 in myeloid progenitors. In erythroid progenitors, VK2 did not show a significant effect on differentiation. However, VK2 exhibited an anti-apoptotic effect on erythroid progenitors under erythropoietin depletion. This anti-apoptotic effect was restricted to normal erythroid progenitors and was not shown in erythroleukemic cell line AS-E2. Steroid and xenobiotic receptor (SXR), which was recently identified as a receptor of VK2, was expressed on myeloid progenitors, and the SXR agonist rifampicin (RIF) also upregulated CD11b and CD14 expressions on myeloid progenitors. These results indicate that SXR is involved in the effect of VK2 on myeloid progenitors. The major effect of VK2 on myeloid progenitors was promoting differentiation, whereas its anti-apoptotic effect seemed to be dominant in erythroid progenitors. Although the detailed mechanism of VK2's effect on differentiation or apoptosis of hematopoietic progenitors remains unknown, the effect of VK2 therapy in patients with MDS could be partly explained by these mechanisms.

Knockdown of Hspa9, a del(5q31.2) gene, results in a decrease in hematopoietic progenitors in mice

Heterozygous deletions spanning chromosome 5q31.2 occur frequently in the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and are highly associated with progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when p53 is mutated. Mutagenesis screens in zebrafish and mice identified Hspa9 as a del(5q31.2) candidate gene that may contribute to MDS and AML pathogenesis, respectively. To test whether HSPA9 haploinsufficiency recapitulates the features of ineffective hematopoiesis observed in MDS, we knocked down the expression of HSPA9 in primary human hematopoietic cells and in a murine bone marrow-transplantation model using lentivirally mediated gene silencing. Knockdown of HSPA9 in human cells significantly delayed the maturation of erythroid precursors, but not myeloid or megakaryocytic precursors, and suppressed cell growth by 6-fold secondary to an increase in apoptosis and a decrease in the cycling of cells compared with control cells. Erythroid precursors, B lymphocytes, and the bone marrow progenitors c-kit(+)/lineage(-)/Sca-1(+) (KLS) and megakaryocyte/erythrocyte progenitor (MEP) were significantly reduced in a murine Hspa9-knockdown model. These abnormalities suggest that cooperating gene mutations are necessary for del(5q31.2) MDS cells to gain clonal dominance in the bone marrow. Our results demonstrate that Hspa9 haploinsufficiency alters the hematopoietic progenitor pool in mice and contributes to abnormal hematopoiesis.

Gene expression profiling of erythroblasts from refractory anaemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS) and effects of G-CSF

Refractory anaemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS) is characterized by anaemia, erythroid apoptosis, cytochrome c release and mitochondrial ferritin accumulation. Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) inhibits the first three of these features in vitro and in vivo. To dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the RARS phenotype and anti-apoptotic effects of G-CSF, erythroblasts generated from normal (NBM) and RARS marrow CD34(+) cells were cultured +/-G-CSF and subjected to gene expression analysis (GEP). Several erythropoiesis-associated genes that were deregulated in RARS CD34(+) cells showed normal expression in erythroblasts, underscoring the importance of differentiation-specific GEP. RARS erythroblasts showed a marked deregulation of several pathways including apoptosis, DNA damage repair, mitochondrial function and the JAK/Stat pathway. ABCB7, transporting iron from mitochondria to cytosol and associated with inherited ring sideroblast formation was severely suppressed and expression decreased with differentiation, while increasing in NBM cultures. The same pattern was observed for the mitochondrial integrity gene MFN2. Other downregulated key genes included STAT5B, HSPA5, FANCC and the negative apoptosis regulator MAP3K7. Methylation status of key downregulated genes was normal. The mitochondrial pathway including MFN2 was significantly modified by G-CSF, and several heat shock protein genes were upregulated, as evidence of anti-apoptotic protection of erythropoiesis. By contrast, G-CSF had no effect on iron-transport or erythropoiesis-associated genes.

Effect of the alcoholic extract of Ashwagandha leaves and its components on proliferation, migration, and differentiation of glioblastoma cells: combinational approach for enhanced differentiation

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is widely used in the Indian traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda. Although it is claimed to have a large variety of health-promoting effects, including therapeutic effects on stress and disease, the mechanisms of action have not yet been determined. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the growth inhibition and differentiation potential of the alcoholic extract of Ashwagandha leaves (i-Extract), its different constituents (Withaferin A, Withanone, Withanolide A) and their combinations on glioma (C6 and YKG1) cell lines. Withaferin A, Withanone, Withanolide A and i-Extract markedly inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells in a dose-dependent manner and changed their morphology toward the astrocytic type. Molecular analysis revealed that the i-Extract and some of its components caused enhanced expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, change in the immunostaining pattern of mortalin from perinuclear to pancytoplasmic, delay in cell migration, and increased expression of neuronal cell adhesion molecules. The data suggest that the i-Extract and its components have the potential to induce senescence-like growth arrest and differentiation in glioma cells. These assays led us to formulate a unique combination formula of i-Extract components that caused enhanced differentiation of glial cells.

Chaperoning erythropoiesis

Multisubunit complexes containing molecular chaperones regulate protein production, stability, and degradation in virtually every cell type. We are beginning to recognize how generalized and tissue-specific chaperones regulate specialized aspects of erythropoiesis. For example, chaperones intersect with erythropoietin signaling pathways to protect erythroid precursors against apoptosis. Molecular chaperones also participate in hemoglobin synthesis, both directly and indirectly. Current knowledge in these areas only scratches the surface of what is to be learned. Improved understanding of how molecular chaperones regulate erythropoietic development and hemoglobin homeostasis should identify biochemical pathways amenable to pharmacologic manipulation in a variety of red blood cell disorders including thalassemia and other anemias associated with hemoglobin instability.