| 1. |
- Nilsson, Gisela M A, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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White matter injury but not germinal matrix hemorrhage induces elevated osteopontin expression in human preterm brains
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta Neuropathologica Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2051-5960. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Osteopontin (OPN) is a matricellular protein that mediates various physiological functions and is implicated in neuroinflammation, myelination, and perinatal brain injury. However, its expression in association with brain injury in preterm infants is unexplored. Here we examined the expression of OPN in postmortem brains of preterm infants and explored how this expression is affected in brain injury. We analyzed brain sections from cases with white matter injury (WMI) and cases with germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) and compared them to control cases having no brain injury. WMI cases displayed moderate to severe tissue injury in the periventricular and deep white matter that was accompanied by an increase of microglia with amoeboid morphology. Apart from visible hemorrhage in the germinal matrix, GMH cases displayed diffuse white matter injury in the periventricular and deep white matter. In non-injured preterm brains, OPN was expressed at low levels in microglia, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. OPN expression was significantly increased in regions with white matter injury in both WMI cases and GMH cases. The main cellular source of OPN in white matter injury areas was amoeboid microglia, although a significant increase was also observed in astrocytes in WMI cases. OPN was not expressed in the germinal matrix of any case, regardless of whether there was hemorrhage. In conclusion, preterm brain injury induces elevated OPN expression in microglia and astrocytes, and this increase is found in sites closely related to injury in the white matter regions but not with the hemorrhage site in the germinal matrix. Thus, it appears that OPN takes part in the inflammatory process in white matter injury in preterm infants, and these findings facilitate our understanding of OPN's role under both physiological and pathological conditions in the human brain that may lead to greater elucidation of disease mechanisms and potentially better treatment strategies.
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| 2. |
- Nilsson, Gisela M A, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Two different isoforms of osteopontin modulate myelination and axonal integrity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Faseb Bioadvances. - 2573-9832. ; 5:8, s. 336-353
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abnormal myelination underlies the pathology of white matter diseases such as preterm white matter injury and multiple sclerosis. Osteopontin (OPN) has been suggested to play a role in myelination. Murine OPN mRNA is translated into a secreted isoform (sOPN) or an intracellular isoform (iOPN). Whether there is an isoform-specific involvement of OPN in myelination is unknown. Here we generated mouse models that either lacked both OPN isoforms in all cells (OPN-KO) or lacked sOPN systemically but expressed iOPN specifically in oligodendrocytes (OLs-iOPN-KI). Transcriptome analysis of isolated oligodendrocytes from the neonatal brain showed that genes and pathways related to increase of myelination and altered cell cycle control were enriched in the absence of the two OPN isoforms in OPN-KO mice compared to control mice. Accordingly, adult OPN-KO mice showed an increased axonal myelination, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy imaging, and increased expression of myelin-related proteins. In contrast, neonatal oligodendrocytes from OLs-iOPN-KI mice compared to control mice showed differential regulation of genes and pathways related to the increase of cell adhesion, motility, and vasculature development, and the decrease of axonal/neuronal development. OLs-iOPN-KI mice showed abnormal myelin formation in the early phase of myelination in young mice and signs of axonal degeneration in adulthood. These results suggest an OPN isoform-specific involvement, and a possible interplay between the isoforms, in myelination, and axonal integrity. Thus, the two isoforms of OPN need to be separately considered in therapeutic strategies targeting OPN in white matter injury and diseases.
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| 3. |
- Zelco, Aura, et al.
(författare)
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Single-cell atlas reveals meningeal leukocyte heterogeneity in the developing mouse brain.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Genes & development. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1549-5477 .- 0890-9369. ; 35:15-16, s. 1190-1207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The meninges are important for brain development and pathology. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we have generated the first comprehensive transcriptional atlas of neonatal mouse meningeal leukocytes under normal conditions and after perinatal brain injury. We identified almost all known leukocyte subtypes and found differences between neonatal and adult border-associated macrophages, thus highlighting that neonatal border-associated macrophages are functionally immature with regards to immune responses compared with their adult counterparts. We also identified novel meningeal microglia-like cell populations that may participate in white matter development. Early after the hypoxic-ischemic insult, neutrophil numbers increased and they exhibited increased granulopoiesis, suggesting that the meninges are an important site of immune cell expansion with implications for the initiation of inflammatory cascades after neonatal brain injury. Our study provides a single-cell resolution view of the importance of meningeal leukocytes at the early stage of development in health and disease.
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| 4. |
- Zhou, Xianghua, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Filamin A mediates HGF/c-MET signaling in tumor cell migration
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 128:4, s. 839-846
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Deregulated hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-MET axis has been correlated with poor clinical outcome and drug resistance in may human cancers. Identification of novel regulatory mechanisms influencing HGF/c-MET signaling may therefore be necessary to develop more effective cancer therapies. In our study, we show that multiple human cancer tissues and cells express filamin A (FLNA), a large cytoskeletal actin-binding protein, and expression of c-MET is significantly reduced in human tumor cells deficient for FLNA. The FLNA-deficient tumor cells exhibited poor migrative and invasive ability in response to Kg. On the other hand, the anchorage-dependent and independent tumor cell proliferation was not altered by HGF. The FLNA-deficiency specifically attenuated the activation of the c-MET downstream signaling molecule AKT in response to HGF stimulation. Furthermore, FLNA enhanced c-MET promoter activity by its binding to SMAD2. The impact of FLNA deficiency on c-NET expression and HGF-mediated cell migration in human tumor cells was confirmed in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts deficient for Flna. These data suggest that FLNA is one of the important regulators of c-MET signaling and HGF-induced tumor cell migration.
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| 5. |
- Nazmi, Arshed, et al.
(författare)
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Lymphocytes Contribute to the Pathophysiology of Neonatal Brain Injury
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Neurology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-2295. ; 9, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is the most common form of preterm brain injury affecting the cerebral white matter. This type of injury involves a multiphase process and is induced by many factors, including hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and infection. Previous studies have suggested that lymphocytes play a significant role in the pathogenesis of brain injury, and the aim of this study was to determine the contribution of lymphocyte subsets to preterm brain injury.Immunohistochemistry on brain sections from neonatal mice was performed to evaluate the extent of brain injury in wild-type and T cell and B cell-deficient neonatal mice (Rag1-/- mice) using a mouse model of HI-induced preterm brain injury. Flow cytometry was performed to determine the presence of different types of immune cells in mouse brains following HI. In addition, immunostaining for CD3 T cells and CD20 B cells was performed on postmortem preterm human infant brains with PVL.Mature lymphocyte-deficient Rag1- / - mice showed protection from white matter loss compared to wild type mice as indicated by myelin basic protein immunostaining of mouse brains. CD3+ T cells and CD20+ B cells were observed in the postmortem preterm infant brains with PVL. Flow cytometry analysis of mouse brains after HI-induced injury showed increased frequency of CD3+ T, αβT and B cells at 7days after HI in the ipsilateral (injured) hemisphere compared to the contralateral (control, uninjured) hemisphere.Lymphocytes were found in the injured brain after injury in both mice and humans, and lack of mature lymphocytes protected neonatal mice from HI-induced brain white matter injury. This finding provides insight into the pathology of perinatal brain injury and suggests new avenues for the development of therapeutic strategies.
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| 6. |
- Nilsson, Gisela M A, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Forkhead Box F1 promotes breast cancer cell migration by upregulating lysyl oxidase and suppressing Smad2/3 signaling
- 2016
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Ingår i: Bmc Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) increases cell migration and is implicated in cancer cell invasion and metastasis. We have previously described the involvement of the transcription factors, nuclear factor I-C2 (NFI-C2) and Forkhead box F1 (FoxF1), in the regulation of EMT and invasion during breast tumor progression. NFI-C2 counteracts these processes and FoxF1 is a directly repressed target of NFI-C2. FoxF1 induces EMT and invasiveness and enhances xenograft tumorigenicity in nude mice. Here we identify oppositely regulated targets of NFI-C2 and FoxF1 involved in these processes and further study a possible role for FoxF1 in tumorigenesis. Methods: We used Affymetrix microarray to detect changes in the transcriptome of a mouse mammary epithelial cell line upon overexpression of NFI-C2 or FoxF1. To elucidate the effects and signaling events following FoxF1 overexpression we investigated in vitro invasion capacity and changes in transcription and protein expression resulting from RNAi and inhibitor treatment. Results: The extracellular matrix enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) was negatively regulated by NFI-C2 and positively regulated by FoxF1, and upregulation of LOX following FoxF1 overexpression in mouse mammary epithelial cells increased in vitro cell invasion. In the nuclei of FoxF1-overexpressing cells, the phosphorylation of Smad2 decreased, while that of p38 increased. Depletion of LOX by RNAi enhanced phosphorylation of Smad2 by a focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-dependent mechanism. In addition, induced expression of FoxF1 in a non-malignant human mammary epithelial cell line showed that the increase in LOX transcription and the suppression of Smad2 activity are early effects of FoxF1. Conclusion: These data show that FoxF1 enhances invasion in a LOX-dependent manner, is involved in the regulation of Smad2 signaling, and that FoxF1 overexpression ultimately leads to activation of p38 MAPK signaling. These findings provide new insights into the regulation of signaling pathways known to be important during breast tumor progression.
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| 7. |
- Nilsson, Gisela M A, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Loss of E-cadherin expression is not a prerequisite for c-erbB2-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
- 2014
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Ingår i: International journal of oncology. - : Spandidos Publications. - 1791-2423 .- 1019-6439. ; 45:1, s. 82-94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent research into the mechanisms of tumour cell invasiveness has highlighted the parallels between carcinogenesis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), originally described as a developmental transdifferentiation program but also implicated in fibrosis and cancer. In a model system for mammary carcinogenesis, we previously observed that induced signalling from a homodimer of the c-erbB2 (HER2) receptor tyrosine kinase in an initially non-malignant mammary cell line caused EMT where i)cell scattering occurred before downregulation of the cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin and ii)the progress of EMT was dramatically delayed when cells were grown at high density. Here, we have further analysed these phenomena. Ectopic expression of E-cadherin concomitant with c-erbB2 signalling was unable to impede the progression of EMT, suggesting that E-cadherin downregulation is not required for EMT. Furthermore, fibroblast-like cells isolated after EMT induced in the presence or absence of ectopic E-cadherin expression showed highly similar morphology and vimentin expression. E-cadherin expressed in these fibroblastic cells had a subcellular localisation similar to that found in epithelial cells, but it exhibited a much weaker attachment to the cytoskeleton, suggesting cytoskeletal rearrangements as an important mechanism in EMT-associated cell scattering. We also investigated whether density-dependent inhibition of EMT is mediated by E-cadherin as a sensor for cell-cell contact, by expressing dominant-negative E-cadherin. While expression of this mutant weakened cell-cell adhesion, it failed to facilitate EMT at high cell densities. These results indicate that loss of E-cadherin expression is a consequence rather than a cause of c-erbB2-induced EMT and that density‑dependent inhibition of EMT is not mediated by E-cadherin signalling.
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| 8. |
- Nilsson, Gisela M A, 1973
(författare)
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Molecular factors influencing epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a developmental process defined by loss of epithelial characteristics and acquisition of mesenchymal phenotype. EMT or similar processes are also implicated in carcinoma cell invasion and the progression of breast carcinoma to metastasis. In a cell model system for mammary carcinogenesis it has previously been shown that signaling from the oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase c-erbB2 (HER2), frequently overexpressed in mammary cancers, induces EMT. In this system, c-erbB2-induced EMT was significantly delayed by high cell-density and cell-cell-dissociation occurred before downregulation of the epithelial adhesion molecule E-cadherin. Loss of E-cadherin expression is generally viewed as a fundamental event in EMT. This thesis shows that ectopic expression of E-cadherin concomitant with c-erbB2 signaling did not hinder the progression of EMT. E-cadherin expressed in mesenchymal cells had a weaker attachment to the cytoskeleton, implicating that rearrangement of the cytoskeleton is an important mechanism in EMT-associated cell-cell-dissociation. Expression of dominant negative E-cadherin weakened cell-cell adhesion but did not enable EMT at high cell-density. These finding indicate that loss of E-cadherin is a consequence rather than a cause of EMT and that density-dependent inhibition of EMT is not mediated by E-cadherin. The expression of the transcription factor nuclear factor I-C2 (NFI-C2) is lost during mammary tumor progression and NFI-C2 has been shown to counteract EMT by repressing the transcription factor Forkhead box F1 (FoxF1). FoxF1 induces EMT and invasiveness in breast cancer cells. In this thesis, Affymetrix microarray was used to find oppositely regulated targets of NFI-C2 and FoxF1. The extracellular matrix enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) was found to be negatively regulated by NFI-C2 and positively regulated by FoxF1 and responsible for the increased invasiveness caused by FoxF1 overexpression. A signaling pathway was identified where FoxF1-induced upregulation of LOX activated focal adhesion kinase, subsequently suppressing Smad2 activity. In parallel, overexpression of FoxF1 activated the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. These findings give new insights into the regulation of signaling pathways known to be important during breast tumor progression. Based on the findings that NFI-C2 is lost during breast tumor progression and suppresses EMT, the prognostic value of NFI-C2 in a mixed cohort of breast cancer patients was investigated. NFI-C2 was found to be a powerful prognostic marker associated with good prognosis in breast cancer.
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| 9. |
- Song, Juan, et al.
(författare)
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Temporal brain transcriptome analysis reveals key pathological events after germinal matrix hemorrhage in neonatal rats
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. - : SAGE Publications. - 0271-678X .- 1559-7016. ; 42:9, s. 1632-1649
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) is a common complication in preterm infants and is associated with high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. We used a rat GMH model and performed RNA sequencing to investigate the signaling pathways and biological processes following hemorrhage. GMH induced brain injury characterized by early hematoma and subsequent tissue loss. At 6 hours after GMH, gene expression indicated an increase in mitochondrial activity such as ATP metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation along with upregulation of cytoprotective pathways and heme metabolism. At 24 hours after GMH, the expression pattern suggested an increase in cell cycle progression and downregulation of neurodevelopmental-related pathways. At 72 hours after GMH, there was an increase in genes related to inflammation and an upregulation of ferroptosis. Hemoglobin components and genes related to heme metabolism and ferroptosis such as Hmox1, Alox15, and Alas2 were among the most upregulated genes. We observed dysregulation of processes involved in development, mitochondrial function, cholesterol biosynthesis, and inflammation, all of which contribute to neurodevelopmental deterioration following GMH. This study is the first temporal transcriptome profile providing a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying brain injury following GMH, and it provides useful guidance in the search for therapeutic interventions.
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| 10. |
- Zelco, Aura, et al.
(författare)
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Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Accumulate in the Brain After Hypoxia-Ischemia but Do Not Contribute to the Development of Preterm Brain Injury.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in cellular neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1662-5102. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The immune system of human and mouse neonates is relatively immature. However, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), commonly divided into the subsets ILC1, ILC2, and ILC3, are already present in the placenta and other fetal compartments and exhibit higher activity than what is seen in adulthood. Recent reports have suggested the potential role of ILCs, especially ILC2s, in spontaneous preterm labor, which is associated with brain damage and subsequent long-term neurodevelopmental deficits. Therefore, we hypothesized that ILCs, and especially ILC2s, play a role in preterm brain injury.C57Bl/6J mice at postnatal day 6 were subjected to hypoxia-ischemia (HI) insult induced by left carotid artery ligation and subsequent exposure to 10% oxygen in nitrogen. The presence of ILCs and ILC2s in the brain was examined at different time points after HI. The contribution of ILC2s to HI-induced preterm brain damage was explored using a conditionally targeted ILC2-deficient mouse strain (Rorα fl/fl IL7r Cre ), and gray and white-matter injury were evaluated at 7 days post-HI. The inflammatory response in the injured brain was assessed using immunoassays and immunochemistry staining.Significant increases in ILCs and ILC2s were observed at 24 h, 3 days, and 7 days post-HI in the injured brain hemisphere compared with the uninjured hemisphere in wild-type mice. ILC2s in the brain were predominantly located in the meninges of the injured ipsilateral hemispheres after HI but not in the brain parenchyma. Overall, we did not observe changes in cytokine/chemokine levels in the brains of Rorα fl/fl IL7r Cre mice compared with wild type animals apart from IL-13. Gray and white-matter tissue loss in the brain was not affected after HI in Rorα fl/fl IL7r Cre mice. Correspondingly, we did not find any differences in reactive microglia and astrocyte numbers in the brain in Rorα fl/fl IL7r Cre mice compared with wild-type mice following HI insult.After HI, ILCs and ILC2s accumulate in the injured brain hemisphere. However, ILC2s do not contribute to the development of brain damage in this mouse model of preterm brain injury.
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