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No rim, a maior parte da carga de glicose filtrada é reabsorvida na porção inicial do túbulo proximal, no qual são co-expressos os transportadores: SGLT2 e GLUT2. No diabetes mellitus ocorre aumento no fluxo transepitelial de glicose, o que decorre de aumento na expressão desses transportadores, e pode ser revertido pelo tratamento com insulina. Os fatores transcricionais HNF1A, HNF4A e FOXA2 são descritos como potenciais reguladores do gene Slc2a2. A proteína AKT medeia efeitos da insulina, e é capaz de ativar fatores transcricionais. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar em linhagem celular IRPTC, o efeito da alta concentração de glicose e da insulina sobre a expressão de Slc2a2/GLUT2 e Slc5a2/SGLT2, assim como a participação da AKT e dos fatores transcricionais. Observamos que a alta concentração de glicose aumentou a expressão do Slc2a2/GLUT2 e a atividade de ligação dos fatores transcricionais HNF4A e FOXA2 na região promotora do gene Slc2a2, por mecanismo mediado pela AKT. A insulina reverteu o efeito sobre o Slc2a2, porém não alterou o conteúdo de GLUT2. / Glucose filtrated load is reabsorbed in renal proximal tubule by the coordinate action of the glucose transporters SGLT2 and GLUT2. In diabetes, renal glucose reabsorption increases; that involves overexpression of the glucose transporters, and is reversed by insulin therapy. The transcription factors HNF1A, HNF4A and FOXA2 have been proposed as modulators of Slc2a2 gene expression. The AKT protein is an important mediator of insulin action, and has been able to activate transcription factors. The present study investigates in immortalized rat proximal tubule cells the effects of high glucose and insulin concentrations upon the Slc2a2/GLUT2 and Slc5a2/SGLT2 expression, as well as the participation of AKT, HNF1A, HNF4A and FOXA2. On the other hand, 25 mM glucose increased the expression of Slc2a2GLUT2, which was accompanied by increased HNF4A and FOXA2 binding in the Slc2a2 promoter, in an AKT-mediated way. Insulin reversed the Slc2a2 mRNA regulation, but did not alter GLUT2 content.

No rim, a maior parte da carga de glicose filtrada é reabsorvida na porção inicial do túbulo proximal, no qual são co-expressos os transportadores: SGLT2 e GLUT2. No diabetes mellitus ocorre aumento no fluxo transepitelial de glicose, o que decorre de aumento na expressão desses transportadores, e pode ser revertido pelo tratamento com insulina. Os fatores transcricionais HNF1A, HNF4A e FOXA2 são descritos como potenciais reguladores do gene Slc2a2. A proteína AKT medeia efeitos da insulina, e é capaz de ativar fatores transcricionais. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar em linhagem celular IRPTC, o efeito da alta concentração de glicose e da insulina sobre a expressão de Slc2a2/GLUT2 e Slc5a2/SGLT2, assim como a participação da AKT e dos fatores transcricionais. Observamos que a alta concentração de glicose aumentou a expressão do Slc2a2/GLUT2 e a atividade de ligação dos fatores transcricionais HNF4A e FOXA2 na região promotora do gene Slc2a2, por mecanismo mediado pela AKT. A insulina reverteu o efeito sobre o Slc2a2, porém não alterou o conteúdo de GLUT2. / Glucose filtrated load is reabsorbed in renal proximal tubule by the coordinate action of the glucose transporters SGLT2 and GLUT2. In diabetes, renal glucose reabsorption increases; that involves overexpression of the glucose transporters, and is reversed by insulin therapy. The transcription factors HNF1A, HNF4A and FOXA2 have been proposed as modulators of Slc2a2 gene expression. The AKT protein is an important mediator of insulin action, and has been able to activate transcription factors. The present study investigates in immortalized rat proximal tubule cells the effects of high glucose and insulin concentrations upon the Slc2a2/GLUT2 and Slc5a2/SGLT2 expression, as well as the participation of AKT, HNF1A, HNF4A and FOXA2. On the other hand, 25 mM glucose increased the expression of Slc2a2GLUT2, which was accompanied by increased HNF4A and FOXA2 binding in the Slc2a2 promoter, in an AKT-mediated way. Insulin reversed the Slc2a2 mRNA regulation, but did not alter GLUT2 content.

Primary human hepatocytes are a scarce resource with variable function, which diminishes with time in culture. As a consequence their use in tissue modelling and therapy is restricted. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) could provide a stable source of human tissue due to their properties of self-renewal and their ability to give rise to all three germ layers. hESCs have the potential to provide an unlimited supply of hepatic endoderm (HE) which could offer efficient tools for drug discovery, disease modelling and therapeutic applications. In order to create a suitable environment to enhance HE formation, hESC culture needed to be standardised. As such, a media trail was carried out to define serum free media capable of maintaining hESC in a pluripotent undifferentiated state. We also ensured hESC cultured in the various media could be directly differentiated to HE in a reproducible and efficient manner. The project then focused on the effect of post-translational modifications (PTMs), specifically SUMOylation, in hepatocyte differentiation and its subsequent manipulation to enhance HE viability. SUMOylation is a PTM known to modify a large number of proteins that play a role in various cellular processes including: cell cycle regulation, gene transcription, differentiation and cellular localisation. We hypothesised that SUMO modification may not only regulate hESC self renewal, but also maybe required for efficient hESC differentiation. We therefore interrogated the role of SUMOylation in hESC differentiation to hepatic endoderm (HE). hESC were differentiated and the cellular lysates were analysed by Western blotting for key proteins which modulate the conjugation and de conjugation of SUMO. We demonstrate that peak levels of SUMOylation were detectable in hESC populations and during cellular differentiation to definitive endoderm (DE), day 5. Following commitment to DE we observed a decrease in the level of SUMO modified proteins during cellular specialisation to a hepatic fate, corresponding with an increase in SENP 1, a SUMO deconjugation enzyme. We also detected reduced levels of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 α (HNF4α), a critical regulator of hepatic status and metabolic function, as SUMOylation decreased. As a result, we investigated if HNF4α was SUMOylated and if this process was involved in modulating HNF4α’s critical role in HE. HNF4α is an important transcription factor involved in liver organogenesis during development and is a key regulator for efficient adult liver metabolic functions. We observed a decreasing pattern of HNF4α expression at day 17 of our differentiation protocol in conjunction with a decrease in SUMO modified proteins. In order to further investigate and validate a role of SUMOylation on HNF4α stability Immunoprecipitation (IP) was employed. HNF4α protein was pulled down and probed for SUMO 2. Results show an increase in the levels of SUMO2 modification as the levels of HNF4α decrease. Through deletion and mutation analysis we demonstrated that SUMO modification of HNF4α was restricted to the C-terminus on lysine 365. Protein degradation via the proteasome was responsible for the decrease in HNF4α, demonstrated by the use of a proteasome 26S inhibitor MG132. Additionally, a group at the University of Dundee has shown that polySUMOylation of promyelocytic leukaemia protein (PML) leads to its subsequent ubiquitination via RNF4, an ubiquitin E3 ligase, driving its degradation. Using an in vitro ubiquitination assay, we show that polySUMOylated HNF4α is preferentially ubiquitinated in the presence of RNF4. Overall polySUMOylation of HNF4α may reduce its stability by driving its degradation, hence regulating protein activity. In conclusion, polySUMOylation of HNF4α is associated with its stability. HNF4α is subsequently important for HE differentiation both driving the formation of the hepatocytes and in maintaining a mature phenotype, in agreement with a number of different laboratories. Creating the ideal environment for sustaining mature functional hepatocytes, primary and those derived from hESCs and iPSCs, is essential for further use in applications such as drug screening, disease modelling and extracorporeal devices.

It is not known whether pancreatic cancers evolve from a single or multiple cells, or from a particular pancreatic lineage. However, in the Pdx1-Cre; LSL-KrasG12D; LSLTp53R172H mouse model of pancreatic cancer, all pancreatic lineages are susceptible to express mutant KRas and p53. Hence, such mouse model implies a scenario of maximal heterogeneity of cancer cell origins. On this basis, I isolated seven subclones of heterogeneous mouse pancreatic cancer cells from a single tumour; each of them had a distinct morphology and gene expression profile. Notably, they possessed different intrinsic phospho-SMADs downstream of the TGFβ receptor (phospho-SMAD2/3) or the BMP receptor (Phospho-SMAD1/5/8). I discovered that SMAD4, a co-SMAD which is frequently found to be lost in pancreatic caner tissues, upregulated HNF4α via the classical BMP-SMAD1 pathway, when cells were experiencing metabolic stress upon deprivation of serum, or in the presence of excess thymidine. Under serum starvation at a hypoglycemic-like glucose concentration, the HNF4α-expressing sub-clones appeared to be more able to sustain an unstressed morphology than other non-HNF4α-expressing sub-clones. Immunohistochemical staining on pancreatic cancer sections revealed nuclear co-localization of SMAD4 and HNF4α in human (half of the cases) and in mouse samples. As a secondary project conducted during characterization of cells, I also found that three of the subclones more robustly proliferated under anchorage independent conditions, and they relied on the MEK-ERK pathway and the canonical Wnt pathway, to a different degree. Both studies demonstrate for the first time in primary cell culture that pancreatic cancer cells within a tumour could be highly heterogeneous in terms of both morphology and signaling pathways.