Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan.

Wnt ligands are a family of highly conserved glycoproteins that act as morphogens to regulate development in many organisms. Drosophila Wnt-1 (Wingless) is involved in directing cell fate decisions and pattern formation during differentiation. Wnt signaling are of high interest of many developmental biologists due to their important functions, yet little is known about how these ligands function on a biochemical level. Previously it was found that Porcupine, an ER-membrane-bound acyltransferase is required for Wingless secretion. But it is unclear how a secreted morphogen requires an acyltransferase to function. Studies reported here demonstrated that Wingless undergoes a hydrophobic modification, in which a lipid moiety containing a palmitate group is covalently attached to the polypeptide through an ester linkage. And it partitions with the specialized detergent insoluble lipid raft microdomains in the plasma membrane. Porcupine is required for the modification and the raft targeting of Wingless. Blocking Wingless modification with a specific inhibitor results in the loss of rafts-association as well as loss of protein secretion. Disrupting raft microstructures by cholesterol depletion reagents also impaired Wingless secretion, indicating that the ligand secretion is dependent on its specific association with the plasma membrane. This work provided the first insight on the function of Porcupine and the important biochemical evidence on the role of specialized membrane microdomains in Wnt signaling.

The generation of site-directed mutants within the actin binding domain of the EGF receptor modulates receptor function in internalization and ligand binding. In addition, truncation of the EGFr at residue 996 results in a loss of high affinity ligand binding, inhibited internalization and reduced signaling capacity. Mutation of tyrosine 992 to phenylalanine (Y992F) and glutamate 991 to glutamine (E991Q) increases the rate at which receptors are internalized. The presence of a phenylalanine residue eliminates EGFr-mediated phosphorylation at Tyr992 while the E991Q mutation might also eliminate phosphorylation at this position due to a disruption of the kinase recognition motif. Thus, phosphorylation of Tyr992 appears to function in the regulation of receptor internalization. The mutation of tyrosine 992 to a glutamate residue (Y992E) causes a three-fold increase in receptor affinity for its ligand and demonstrates the existence of novel third and potentially fourth affinity states for the EGFr. A very high affinity EGFr state with a K$\sb{\rm d}$ of approximately 10 pM has been identified as has an intermediate state of 1.5 nM. The deletion of the C-terminal 190 amino acids of the EGFr causes a complete abolition of the previously observed high affinity state of the EGFr and also causes a significant reduction in the affinity of the low affinity state of the EGFr. Phorbol ester treatment of wild type and mutant EGFr causes a loss of the high affinity receptors, and also a decrease in the overall affinity of the receptor for its ligand which is similar to the loss seen in the deletion mutant. This suggests that control of the affinity state of the EGFr is mediated through the C-terminal 190 amino acids of the receptor. In addition, the C-terminal 190 amino acids of the receptor have been identified as containing a domain which regulates the phorbol ester induced conversion of receptor affinity. The amino acid composition in the vicinity of tyrosine 992 has been shown to play a role in the internalization of the EGF receptor and in the regulation of receptor affinity for its ligand.

Autoreactive, immature T cells (thymocytes) are deleted from the thymus during development by the process of negative selection. This mechanism occurs when the thymocyte, T cell receptor (TCR) recognizes self-antigen, causing the cell to die by an apoptotic pathway. This mechanism results in the deletion of autoreactive T cells. Thymocyte development proceeds through several stages, determined by the differential expression of the T cell co-receptor molecules CD4 and CD8. The developmental stage where negative selection occurs is one in which thymocytes are expressing a functional TCR on the cell surface along with both CD4 and CD8, termed the double positive stage. These thymocytes are in a quiescent, G0 state and make up greater than 80% of the total population. The demonstration that cell cycle progression plays a role in the apoptotic process of several quiescent cell types, as well as the requirement for mature T cells to be in the late G1 phase during activation induced cell death, suggested that thymocytes may also advance to the G1 stage of the cell cycle prior to apoptosis. It has been established that the early cell cycle genes c-fos, c-jun, and c-myc are induced in thymocytes after stimulation, indicating possible entry into the cell cycle. The hypothesis that thymocytes enter the cell cycle before undergoing apoptosis was tested by examining expression levels of the various G1 cyclins and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors at the mRNA and protein levels. Several indications of an early G1 cell cycle transition occurring during thymocyte apoptosis were observed, such as the downregulation of p27KIP1 and p130, the upregulation of cyclin D3, and the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein. Finally, the requirement for the activation of the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) in negative selection was examined. It was shown that the phosphorylation and expression of the TCR-mediated apoptosis-related transcription factors Nur77 and Egr1 are downstream of CDK2 activation. In addition, a protein associated with the transcription factor Egr-1 was identified as a possible target of CDK2 kinase activity.

Programmed cell death is essential for normal development and adult tissue homeostasis in almost all multicelluar organisms. Acheron gene was first isolated from the intersegmental muscles (ISMs) in Manduca sexta as a death-associated gene. Subsequently, we cloned human and mouse homolog of Acheron. Acheron encodes a novel protein that has not been previously characterized. Protein structure analysis revealed that Acheron proteins are structurally related to La proteins, but define a novel subfamily. Tissue expression analysis showed that mAcheron is widely expressed in most tissues at both the RNA and protein levels, with brain and heart displaying the highest levels. In mouse C2C12 cells, endogenous Acheron is constitutively expressed in cycling myoblasts and myotubes. Despite the presence of a putative nuclear localization site, the protein is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. Analyses of the different Acheron transfected C2C12 cells suggested that Acheron is implicated in mediating differentiation and apoptosis in C2C12 cells by differentially regulating the expression of MyoD, Myf5 and Bcl-2. Acheron expression allows C2 C12 cells to up-regulate MyoD and differentiate into myotubes when the cells are induced to undergo differentiation. However, it does not support the myoblast self-renewal by specifically inhibiting the expression of Bcl-2, a key survival factor for ‘reserve’ cells in DM. Inhibition of Acheron activity by tAch (a putative dominant negative regulatory factor of Acheron) or antisense Acheron results in greatly increased ‘reserve’ cell population and decreased differentiation under differentiation condition. The mediation of differentiation and survival by Acheron may be achieved through its regulation on integrin—FAK signaling. To help determine how Acheron functions, we performed a yeast 2-hybrid screen with Acheron as the bait. A clone that contains partial cDNA of Ariadne was isolated from the screen. Ariadne contains RING finger domain and is known to bind to ubiquitin E2 conjugase. In vitro ubiquitination assay revealed that Ariadne has ubiquitin E3 ligase activity. We speculate that Ariadne may function as an E3 to target Acheron for ubiquitination and subsequent proteasome-dependent degradation.

During muscle differentiation in vertebrates, myoblasts initially form in somites and then migrate to proper locations in the trunk and limbs. Once there, these cells are faced with one of three choices: differentiate into myotubes, arrest as satellite cells, or initiate apoptosis and die. The molecular mechanisms that regulate the decision of myoblasts to die are poorly understood. To gain insight into this process, we have cloned death-associated genes from the intersegmental muscles of the moth Manduca sexta, a model system for developmentally regulated muscle cell death. One of the genes isolated in this screen was DALP (Death Associated LIM Only Protein), a protein that shares 52% similarity at the protein level with mammalian Hic-5. Ectopic expression of DALP in the skeletal muscles of the fruit fly Drosophila caused atrophy and disorganization of the contractile apparatus. To determine the role of DALP/Hic-5 in mammalian myogenesis, we took advantage of the mouse myoblast cell line C2C12. Ectopic expression of either DALP or Hic-5 blocked the ability of myoblasts to differentiate following serum withdrawal. These cells failed to express muscle differentiation markers such as MyoD or myosin heavy chain. In addition, these cultures displayed greatly enhanced rates of cell death. Hic-5 expression is restricted to mononucleated and apoptotic C2C12 cells in serum-depleted medium. The effects of ectopic DALP or Hic-5 expression could be prevented by contact with wild type C2C12 cells or by ectopic expression of MyoD. Gene profiling experiment demonstrated that the ectopic expression of Hic-5 results in enhanced expression of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members and of polyubiquitin. Taken together, these data suggest that Hic-5 acts upstream of MyoD and functions as a negative-regulator of myoblast differentiation and may facilitate the initiation of apoptosis. In separate studies, the functional roles of another death-associated molecule, m56, were studied in Ratl fibroblasts. Our data strongly support the hypothesis that m56 is a proteasome subunit and misexpressing m56 can sensitize Ratl cells to apoptotic stimuli.

Microtubule-disrupting agents have been studied for decades for their potential anticancer activity and resulted in discovery of an endogenous 17β-estradiol derivative, 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2). Since 2ME2 possesses low bioavailability, several analogues with improved efficacy was in silico-designed to target tumourigenic cells. This study investigated the influence of an 17β-estradiol analogue, (8R, 13S, 14S, 17S)-2-ethyl-13-methyl-7, 8, 9, 11, 12,13, 14, 15, 16, 17-decahydro-6H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrane-3, 17-diyl bis(sulphamate) (EMBS) on cell growth, cytotoxicity, metabolism, morphology, cell cycle progression, reactive oxygen species generation and induction of cell death via apoptosis in two adenocarcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and the non-tumourigenic epithelial breast cell line (MCF-12A). Crystal violet staining and the real-time xCELLigence approach indicated statistically significant antiproliferative activity in an estrogen-independent manner (0.4 μM; 24 h) in all three cell lines. Influence on morphological demonstrated several apoptotic hallmarks including compromised cell density, apoptotic bodies, shrunken cells, hypercondensed chromatin and several cells trapped in metaphase culminating in apoptosis. Cell cycle progression studies revealed apoptosis induction and cells blocked in the G2M phase. Apoptosis induction was verified by means of Annexin V-FITC.EMBS-treated cells demonstrated a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, autophagy characteristics were observed including vacuoles and autophagosomes. Mitotic indices demonstrated an increase in cells possessing abnormal morphology associated with apoptosis and the number of cells trapped in metaphase culminating in apoptosis. This was confirmed by cell cycle progression studies that revealed apoptosis induction and a G2M block. Apoptosis induction was verified by means of Annexin V-FITC and additional flow cytometry studies indicated EMBS-treated cells demonstrated a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. Fluorescent microscopy exhibited increased lysosomal staining suggesting autophagy induction which was verified by conducting flow cytometry employing LC3B conjugated to DyLight 488. Flow cytometry studies also demonstrated that EMBS exposure resulted in statistically significant increased hydrogen peroxide and superoxide production. EMBS exposure resulted in a statistically significant increase in p53 protein expression, decreased Bcl-2 expression and a decrease in pBcl-2(s70) phosphorylation supporting the notion that EMBS utilises crosstalk pathways to induce both autophagy and apoptosis. These results were observed in all three cell lines with caspase 6 and 8 activation being more prominent in the tumourigenic cell lines and cell growth recovering after 24 h exposure in the non-tumourigenic MCF-12A cell line. Further research will focus on the molecular signal transduction utilized by EMBS and an in-depth analysis of specific anticancer targets identified in vitro and subsequent in vivo investigation. Thus this study contributes to the discovery of targets for cancer therapies that will aid in the design of microtubule disrupting agents. / Thesis(PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Physiology / PhD / unrestricted

Loss of regulation of cell cycle events mediated by changes in cytosolic Ca$\sp{2+}$ ion activity has been implicated in the progression of normal cells to neoplasia. In this study, the Ca$\sp{2+}$ buffer 5,5$\sp\prime$-difluoro 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N$\sp\prime N\sp\prime$-tetra-acetic acid (5,5$\sp\prime$-dfBAPTA, abbreviated "dfB") has been used to modulate cell division in transformed and primary mouse keratinocytes. Exogenous application, via the tetra(acetoxymethyl) ester ("AM"), of 18-20 $\mu$M dfB/AM to the growth media of transformed cells inhibits cell division and DNA synthesis, without compromising the cells' viability, as shown by $\sp3$H-thymidine incorporation and flow cytometry. Bulk fluorimetry shows that cells treated with dfB/AM are able to buffer Ca$\sp{2+}$ in proportion to the concentration of dfB/AM applied. Primary cultured cells treated with 18-20 $\mu$M dfB/AM die within 3 hours of treatment. Viable dfB/AM treated cultures of transformed cells have a higher proportion of cells in the G$\sb2$ phase of the cell cycle than do controls, as shown by flow cytometry. This result, in combination with that showing reduced $\sp3$H-thymidine incorporation, suggests that 18-20 $\mu$M dfB/AM inhibits a pre- or mid-mitotic step. Light, electron, and confocal microscopies show 18-20 $\mu$M dfB/AM-treated cells to have prominent, thickened nuclear envelopes along with actin cytoskeletons that are distinguishable from controls. Upon return to medium that does not contain dfB/AM, treated transformed cells gradually resume their pre-treatment growth and division patterns.

A comparison of the structure of isolated and in situ chromatin fibers was performed using starfish (Patiria miniata) sperm nuclei. The simple protein content consisting of five major histones was found. A DNA repeat length of 222bp was calculated. Compact chromatin fibers solubilized from detergent isolated nuclei showed diameters of 38 to 44nm by electron microscopy. Chromatin fibers observed in whole cells and in mildly treated nuclear preparations revealed fiber diameters of approximately 24nm when embedded in epoxy resin. Investigation of the chromatin isolation process uncovered a mechanism where fiber integrity was lost during nuclear isolation. Following nuclease digestion and chromatin release, fiber-like structures reformed in solution. The relationship of the isolated "fibers" to the native structures is not known. Nuclear permeability has been found to be a factor in both release of cleaved chromatin from nuclei and inward diffusion of nuclease. Permeability to various sized dextrans was consistent with a mechanism where cut chromatin exits nuclei as nucleosomal chains and aggregates in solution to form the isolated chromatin state. Attempts to isolate detergent free nuclei revealed that completely isolated nuclei were susceptible to the loss of chromatin fiber integrity suggesting that the medium was incapable of maintaining fiber structure. Other buffer compositions did not improve stability of in situ fibers underscoring a general lack of understanding of the nuclear environment.