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Maniou E, Farah F, Marshall AR, Crane-Smith Z, Krstevski A, Stathopoulou A, Greene NDE, Copp AJ, Galea GL. Caudal Fgfr1 disruption produces localised spinal mis-patterning and a terminal myelocystocele-like phenotype in mice. Development 2023; 150:dev202139. [PMID: 37756583 PMCID: PMC10617625 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Closed spinal dysraphisms are poorly understood malformations classified as neural tube (NT) defects. Several, including terminal myelocystocele, affect the distal spine. We have previously identified a NT closure-initiating point, Closure 5, in the distal spine of mice. Here, we document equivalent morphology of the caudal-most closing posterior neuropore (PNP) in mice and humans. Closure 5 forms in a region of active FGF signalling, and pharmacological FGF receptor blockade impairs its formation in cultured mouse embryos. Conditional genetic deletion of Fgfr1 in caudal embryonic tissues with Cdx2Cre diminishes neuroepithelial proliferation, impairs Closure 5 formation and delays PNP closure. After closure, the distal NT of Fgfr1-disrupted embryos dilates to form a fluid-filled sac overlying ventrally flattened spinal cord. This phenotype resembles terminal myelocystocele. Histological analysis reveals regional and progressive loss of SHH- and FOXA2-positive ventral NT domains, resulting in OLIG2 labelling of the ventral-most NT. The OLIG2 domain is also subsequently lost, eventually producing a NT that is entirely positive for the dorsal marker PAX3. Thus, a terminal myelocystocele-like phenotype can arise after completion of NT closure with localised spinal mis-patterning caused by disruption of FGFR1 signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eirini Maniou
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Faduma Farah
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Abigail R. Marshall
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Zoe Crane-Smith
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Andrea Krstevski
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Athanasia Stathopoulou
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Nicholas D. E. Greene
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Andrew J. Copp
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Gabriel L. Galea
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Crane-Smith Z, De Castro SCP, Nikolopoulou E, Wolujewicz P, Smedley D, Lei Y, Mather E, Santos C, Hopkinson M, Pitsillides AA, Finnell RH, Ross ME, Copp AJ, Greene NDE. A non-coding insertional mutation of Grhl2 causes gene over-expression and multiple structural anomalies including cleft palate, spina bifida and encephalocele. Hum Mol Genet 2023; 32:2681-2692. [PMID: 37364051 PMCID: PMC10460492 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddad094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Orofacial clefts, including cleft lip and palate (CL/P) and neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most common congenital anomalies, but knowledge of the genetic basis of these conditions remains incomplete. The extent to which genetic risk factors are shared between CL/P, NTDs and related anomalies is also unclear. While identification of causative genes has largely focused on coding and loss of function mutations, it is hypothesized that regulatory mutations account for a portion of the unidentified heritability. We found that excess expression of Grainyhead-like 2 (Grhl2) causes not only spinal NTDs in Axial defects (Axd) mice but also multiple additional defects affecting the cranial region. These include orofacial clefts comprising midline cleft lip and palate and abnormalities of the craniofacial bones and frontal and/or basal encephalocele, in which brain tissue herniates through the cranium or into the nasal cavity. To investigate the causative mutation in the Grhl2Axd strain, whole genome sequencing identified an approximately 4 kb LTR retrotransposon insertion that disrupts the non-coding regulatory region, lying approximately 300 base pairs upstream of the 5' UTR. This insertion also lies within a predicted long non-coding RNA, oriented on the reverse strand, which like Grhl2 is over-expressed in Axd (Grhl2Axd) homozygous mutant embryos. Initial analysis of the GRHL2 upstream region in individuals with NTDs or cleft palate revealed rare or novel variants in a small number of cases. We hypothesize that mutations affecting the regulation of GRHL2 may contribute to craniofacial anomalies and NTDs in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Crane-Smith
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Sandra C P De Castro
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Evanthia Nikolopoulou
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Paul Wolujewicz
- Center for Neurogenetics, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Damian Smedley
- William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Yunping Lei
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Emma Mather
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Chloe Santos
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Mark Hopkinson
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU, UK
| | - Andrew A Pitsillides
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU, UK
| | | | - Richard H Finnell
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - M Elisabeth Ross
- Center for Neurogenetics, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Andrew J Copp
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Nicholas D E Greene
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Crane-Smith Z, Schoenebeck J, Graham KA, Devenney PS, Rose L, Ditzell M, Anderson E, Thomson JI, Klenin N, Kurrasch DM, Lettice LA, Hill RE. A Highly Conserved Shh Enhancer Coordinates Hypothalamic and Craniofacial Development. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:595744. [PMID: 33869166 PMCID: PMC8047142 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.595744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhancers that are conserved deep in evolutionary time regulate characteristics held in common across taxonomic classes. Here, deletion of the highly conserved Shh enhancer SBE2 (Shh brain enhancer 2) in mouse markedly reduced Shh expression within the embryonic brain specifically in the rostral diencephalon; however, no abnormal anatomical phenotype was observed. Secondary enhancer activity was subsequently identified which likely mediates low levels of expression. In contrast, when crossing the SBE2 deletion with the Shh null allele, brain and craniofacial development were disrupted; thus, linking SBE2 regulated Shh expression to multiple defects and further enabling the study of the effects of differing levels of Shh on embryogenesis. Development of the hypothalamus, derived from the rostral diencephalon, was disrupted along both the anterior-posterior (AP) and the dorsal-ventral (DV) axes. Expression of DV patterning genes and subsequent neuronal population induction were particularly sensitive to Shh expression levels, demonstrating a novel morphogenic context for Shh. The role of SBE2, which is highlighted by DV gene expression, is to step-up expression of Shh above the minimal activity of the second enhancer, ensuring the necessary levels of Shh in a regional-specific manner. We also show that low Shh levels in the diencephalon disrupted neighbouring craniofacial development, including mediolateral patterning of the bones along the cranial floor and viscerocranium. Thus, SBE2 contributes to hypothalamic morphogenesis and ensures there is coordination with the formation of the adjacent midline cranial bones that subsequently protect the neural tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Crane-Smith
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jeffrey Schoenebeck
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School for Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Katy A Graham
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Paul S Devenney
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Lorraine Rose
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Ditzell
- Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Eve Anderson
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph I Thomson
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Natasha Klenin
- Department of Medical Genetics, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Deborah M Kurrasch
- Department of Medical Genetics, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Laura A Lettice
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Robert E Hill
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Neill T, Jones HR, Crane-Smith Z, Owens RT, Schaefer L, Iozzo RV. Decorin induces rapid secretion of thrombospondin-1 in basal breast carcinoma cells via inhibition of Ras homolog gene family, member A/Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1. FEBS J 2013; 280:2353-68. [PMID: 23350987 DOI: 10.1111/febs.12148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2012] [Revised: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Pathological neovascularization relies on an imbalance between potent proangiogenic agents and equally effective antiangiogenic cues. Collectively, these factors contribute to an angiogenic niche within the tumor microenvironment. Oncogenic events and hypoxia contribute to augmented levels of angiokines, and thereby activate the so-called angiogenic switch to promote aggressive tumorigenic and metastatic growth. Soluble decorin functions as a paracrine pan-inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases, such as Met and epidermal growth factor receptor, and thus is capable of suppressing angiogenesis under normoxia. This leads to noncanonical repression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), and concurrent induction of thrombospondin-1. The substantial induction of endogenous tumor cell-derived thrombospondin-1, a potent antiangiogenic effector, led us to the discovery of an unexpected secretory phenotype occurring very rapidly (within 5 min) after decorin treatment of the triple-negative basal breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-231. Surprisingly, the effect was not mediated by Met receptor antagonism, as initially hypothesized, but required epidermal growth factor receptor signaling to achieve swift and robust thrombospondin-1 release. Furthermore, this effect was ultimately dependent on the prompt degradation of Ras homolog gene family member A, via the 26S proteasome, leading to direct inactivation of Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1. The latter led to derepression of thrombospondin-1 secretion. Collectively, these data provide a novel mechanistic role for Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1, in addition to providing the first conclusive evidence of decorin exclusively targeting a receptor tyrosine kinase to achieve a specific effect. The overall effects of soluble decorin on the tumor microenvironment would cause an immediately-early as well as a sustained antiangiogenic response in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Neill
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, and the Cancer Cell Biology and Signaling Program, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
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