Induction of chondro-, osteo- and adipogenesis in embryonic stem cells by bone morphogenetic protein-2: effect of cofactors on differentiating lineages.
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BACKGROUND: Recently, tissue engineering has merged with stem cell technology with interest to develop new sources of transplantable material for injury or disease treatment. Eminently interesting, are bone and joint injuries/disorders because of the low self-regenerating capacity of the matrix secreting cells, particularly chondrocytes. ES cells have the unlimited capacity to self-renew and maintain their pluripotency in culture. Upon induction of various signals they will then differentiate into distinctive cell types such as neurons, cardiomyocytes and osteoblasts. RESULTS: We present here that BMP-2 can drive ES cells to the cartilage, osteoblast or adipogenic fate depending on supplementary co-factors. TGFbeta1, insulin and ascorbic acid were identified as signals that together with BMP-2 induce a chondrocytic phenotype that is characterized by increased expression of cartilage marker genes in a timely co-ordinated fashion. Expression of collagen type IIB and aggrecan, indicative of a fully mature state, continuously ascend until reaching a peak at day 32 of culture to approximately 80-fold over control values. Sox9 and scleraxis, cartilage specific transcription factors, are highly expressed at very early stages and show decreased expression over the time course of EB differentiation. Some smaller proteoglycans, such as decorin and biglycan, are expressed at earlier stages. Overall, proteoglycan biosynthesis is up-regulated 7-fold in response to the supplements added. BMP-2 induced chondrocytes undergo hypertrophy and begin to alter their expression profile towards osteoblasts. Supplying mineralization factors such as beta-glycerophosphate and vitamin D3 with the culture medium can facilitate this process. Moreover, gene expression studies show that adipocytes can also differentiate from BMP-2 treated ES cells. CONCLUSIONS: Ultimately, we have found that ES cells can be successfully triggered to differentiate into chondrocyte-like cells, which can further alter their fate to become hypertrophic, and adipocytes. Compared with previous reports using a brief BMP-2 supplementation early in differentiation, prolonged exposure increased chondrogenic output, while supplementation with insulin and ascorbic acid prevented dedifferentiation. These results provide a foundation for the use of ES cells as a potential therapy in joint injury and disease. (+info)
Role of Gas-6 in adipogenesis and nutritionally induced adipose tissue development in mice.
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OBJECTIVE: A potential role of growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas-6) in energy storage in adipose tissue was investigated in murine models of obesity. Gas-6 is a ligand for the Axl, C-Mer, and Sky family of tyrosine kinase receptors. METHODS AND RESULTS: Whereas Gas-6, C-Mer, and Sky were expressed in mature murine adipocytes, the expression of Axl was restricted to the stromal-vascular fraction, which includes pre-adipocytes. During the in vitro conversion of adipogenic 3T3-F442A cells into mature adipocytes, the expression of Gas-6 increased in undifferentiated confluent pre-adipocytes during a transient phase of growth arrest. On treatment of these cells with an adipogenic medium, Gas-6 expression decreased sharply, coinciding with expression of early adipocytes markers. This modulation was not observed in the nonadipogenic 3T3-C2 cells. The Gas-6 mRNA level was transiently downregulated during nutritionally induced expansion of adipose tissues in vivo. When kept on a standard diet, no significant difference in either total body weight or weight of gonadal or subcutaneous fat pads was observed between Gas-6 deficient and wild-type mice. On exposure to a high-fat diet, however, Gas-6-deficient mice had significantly less fat mass than their wild-type counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Gas-6 enhances the accumulation of adipose tissue in diet-induced obese mice. (+info)
Mesenchymal stem cells from the outer ear: a novel adult stem cell model system for the study of adipogenesis.
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Adipocytes arise from multipotent stem cells of mesodermal origin, which also give rise to the muscle, bone, and cartilage lineages. However, signals and early molecular events that commit multipotent stem cells into the adipocyte lineage are not well established mainly due to lack of an adequate model system. We have identified a novel source of adult stem cells from the external murine ears referred to here as an ear mesenchymal stem cells (EMSC). EMSC have been isolated from several standard and mutant strains of mice. They are self-renewing, clonogenic, and multipotent, since they give rise to osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. The in vitro characterization of EMSC indicates very facile adipogenic differentiation. Morphological, histochemical, and molecular analysis after the induction of differentiation showed that EMSC maintain adipogenic potentials up to fifth passage. A comparison of EMSC to the stromal-vascular (S-V) fraction of fat depots, under identical culture conditions (isobutyl-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin), revealed much more robust and consistent adipogenesis in EMSC than in the S-V fraction. In summary, we show that EMSC can provide a novel, easily obtainable, primary culture model for the study of adipogenesis. (+info)
Generation of a vascularized organoid using skeletal muscle as the inductive source.
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The technology required for creating an in vivo microenvironment and a neovasculature that can grow with and service new tissue is lacking, precluding the possibility of engineering complex three-dimensional organs. We have shown that when an arterio-venous (AV) loop is constructed in vivo in the rat groin, and placed inside a semisealed chamber, an extensive functional vasculature is generated. To test whether this unusually angiogenic environment supports the survival and growth of implanted tissue or cells, we inserted various preparations of rat and human skeletal muscle. We show that after 6 weeks incubation of muscle tissue, the chamber filled with predominantly well-vascularized recipient-derived adipose tissue, but some new donor-derived skeletal muscle and connective tissue were also evident. When primary cultured myoblasts were inserted into the chamber with the AV loop, they converted to mature striated muscle fibers. Furthermore, we identify novel adipogenesis-inducing properties of skeletal muscle. This represents the first report of a specific three-dimensional tissue grown on its own vascular supply. (+info)
The transcription factor GATA2 regulates differentiation of brown adipocytes.
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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a specialized mammalian tissue and a site of adaptive thermogenesis. Although the metabolic functions of brown and white adipocytes are distinct, terminal differentiation of both adipocyte lineages is regulated by well-characterized common transcription factors. However, the early stages of adipocyte differentiation and regulation of precursor cells are not well understood. We report here that GATA2 is expressed in brown adipocyte precursors, and its expression is downregulated in a differentiation-dependent manner. Constitutive expression of GATA2 suppressed expression of BAT-specific genes in brown adipocytes, whereas disruption of a GATA2 allele in brown preadipocytes resulted in significantly elevated differentiation and expression of several markers of brown adipogenesis. Collectively, these results show that GATA2 functions to suppress brown adipocyte differentiation, whereas reduction of GATA2 promotes brown adipogenesis. (+info)
The G0/G1 switch gene 2 is a novel PPAR target gene.
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PPARs (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors) alpha, beta/delta and gamma are a group of transcription factors that are involved in numerous processes, including lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. By comparing liver mRNAs of wild-type and PPARalpha-null mice using microarrays, a novel putative target gene of PPARalpha, G0S2 (G0/G1 switch gene 2), was identified. Hepatic expression of G0S2 was up-regulated by fasting and by the PPARalpha agonist Wy14643 in a PPARalpha-dependent manner. Surprisingly, the G0S2 mRNA level was highest in brown and white adipose tissue and was greatly up-regulated during mouse 3T3-L1 and human SGBS (Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome) adipogenesis. Transactivation, gel shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicated that G0S2 is a direct PPARgamma and probable PPARalpha target gene with a functional PPRE (PPAR-responsive element) in its promoter. Up-regulation of G0S2 mRNA seemed to be specific for adipogenesis, and was not observed during osteogenesis or myogenesis. In 3T3-L1 fibroblasts, expression of G0S2 was associated with growth arrest, which is required for 3T3-L1 adipogenesis. Together, these data indicate that G0S2 is a novel target gene of PPARs that may be involved in adipocyte differentiation. (+info)
Brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1 (BMAL1), a component of the molecular clock, regulates adipogenesis.
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Brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1 (BMAL1; also known as MOP3 or Arnt3) is a transcription factor known to regulate circadian rhythm. Here, we established its involvement in the control of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism activity in mature adipocytes. During adipose differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells, the level of BMAL1 mRNA began to increase 4 days after induction and was highly expressed in differentiated cells. In white adipose tissues isolated from C57BL/6J mice, BMAL1 was predominantly expressed in a fraction containing adipocytes, as compared with the stromal-vascular fraction. BMAL1 knockout mice embryonic fibroblast cells failed to be differentiated into adipocytes. Importantly, adding BMAL1 back by adenovirus gene transfer restored the ability of BMAL1 knockout mice embryonic fibroblast cells to differentiate. Knock-down of BMAL1 expression in 3T3-L1 cells by an RNA interference technique allowed the cells to accumulate only minimum amounts of lipid droplets in the cells. Adenovirus-mediated expression of BMAL1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes resulted in induction of several factors involved in lipogenesis. The promoter activity of these genes was stimulated in a BMAL1-dependent manner. Interestingly, expression of these factors showed clear circadian rhythm in mice adipose tissue. Furthermore, overexpression of BMAL1 in adipocytes increased lipid synthesis activity. These results indicate that BMAL1, a master regulator of circadian rhythm, also plays important roles in the regulation of adipose differentiation and lipogenesis in mature adipocytes. (+info)
Gene expression analysis suggests that EBF-1 and PPARgamma2 induce adipogenesis of NIH-3T3 cells with similar efficiency and kinetics.
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Differentiation of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells into lipid-accumulating adipocytes is a physiological process induced by transcription factors in combination with hormonal stimulation. We have used Affymetrix microarrays to compare the adipogenic differentiation pathways of NIH-3T3 fibroblasts induced to undergo in vitro differentiation by ectopic expression of early B cell factor (EBF)-1 or peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma2. These experiments revealed that commitment to the adipogenic pathway in the NIH-3T3 cells was not reflected in gene expression until 4 days after induction of differentiation. Furthermore, gene expression patterns at the earlier time points after stimulation indicated that EBF-1 and PPARgamma2 induced different sets of genes, while the similarities increased upon differentiation, and that several genes linked to adipocyte differentiation were also transiently induced in the vector-transduced cells. These data suggest that the initial activation of genes associated with adipocyte development is independent of commitment to the adipogenic pathway and that EBF-1 and PPARgamma2 induce adipocyte differentiation with comparable kinetics and efficiency. (+info)