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Research Newsletter - November 2007

Spotlight Article

The cdx Genes and Retinoic Acid Control the Positioning and Segmentation of the Zebrafish Pronephros

This month's spotlighted article is by HSCI Principal Faculty Member Alan Davidson of Massachusetts General Hospital, and HSCI Executive Committee Member Andrew McMahon of Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biolgy.

Using zebrafish, a versatile model for studying organ formation during embryonic development, Wingert et al. have made two important discoveries: firstly, they demonstrate that the embryonic zebrafish kidney is far more complex than previously thought and in fact shares many attributes with the human kidney. Secondly, they reveal that the vitamin A derivative, retinoic acid (RA), plays a critical role in determining the identities of renal cell progenitors-- too much or too little RA results in a loss or expansion of certain kidney cell types at the expense of others. This study provides valuable insights into how the kidney forms during embryonic development and is pivotal to our understanding of how it undergoes repair and regeneration following injury or disease. In addition, this knowledge will be useful for approaches that aim to convert embryonic stem cells into therapeutically useful renal cell types.

Wingert RA, Selleck R, Yu J, Song HD, Chen Z, Song A, Zhou Y, Thisse B, Thisse C, McMahon AP, Davidson AJ. The cdx genes and retinoic acid control the positioning and segmentation of the zebrafish pronephros. PLoS Genet. 2007 Oct 19;3(10):1922-38. Read Article.

Scientific Papers

Review and Commentary

  • Adams GB, Scadden DT. A niche opportunity for stem cell therapeutics. Gene Ther. 2007 Nov 15. Read Abstract.
  • Ceol CJ, Pellman D, Zon LI. APC and colon cancer: two hits for one. Nat Med. 2007 Nov;13(11):1286-7. Read Abstract.
  • Fiegel HC, Kaufmann PM, Bruns H, Kluth D, Horch RE, Vacanti JP, Kneser U. Review: Hepatic Tissue Engineering. J Cell Mol Med. 2007 Nov 16. Read Abstract.
  • Liao R, Force T. Not all hypertrophy is created equal. Circ Res. 2007 Nov 26;101(11):1069-72. Read Abstract.

Blood

  • Au P, Daheron LM, Duda DG, Cohen KS, Tyrrell JA, Lanning RM, Fukumura D, Scadden DT, Jain RK. Differential in vivo potential of endothelial progenitor cells from human umbilical cord blood and adult peripheral blood to form functional long-lasting vessels. Blood. 2007 Nov 9. Read Abstract.
  • Huang G, Zhang P, Hirai H, Elf S, Yan X, Chen Z, Koschmieder S, Okuno Y, Dayaram T, Growney JD, Shivdasani RA, Gilliland DG, Speck NA, Nimer SD, Tenen DG. PU.1 is a major downstream target of AML1 (RUNX1) in adult mouse hematopoiesis. Nat Genet. 2007 Nov 11. Read Abstract.
  • Huang G, Zhang P, Hirai H, Elf S, Yan X, Chen Z, Koschmieder S, Okuno Y, Dayaram T, Growney JD, Shivdasani RA, Gilliland DG, Speck NA, Nimer SD, Tenen DG. PU.1 is a major downstream target of AML1 (RUNX1) in adult mouse hematopoiesis. Nat Genet. 2007 Nov 11. Read Abstract.
  • Massberg S, Schaerli P, Knezevic-Maramica I, Kollnberger M, Tubo N, Moseman EA, Huff IV, Junt T, Wagers AJ, Mazo IB, von Andrian UH. Immunosurveillance by Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Trafficking through Blood, Lymph, and Peripheral Tissues. Cell. 2007 Nov 30;131(5):994-1008. Read Abstract.
  • Pardanani A, Fridley BL, Lasho TL, Gilliland DG, Tefferi A. Host genetic variation contributes to phenotypic diversity in myeloproliferative disorders. Blood. 2007 Nov 15. Read Abstract.
  • Wu CJ, Gladwin M, Tisdale J, Hsieh M, Law T, Biernacki M, Rogers S, Wang X, Walters M, Zahrieh D, Antin JH, Ritz J, Krishnamurti L. Mixed haematopoietic chimerism for sickle cell disease prevents intravascular haemolysis. Br J Haematol. 2007 Nov;139(3):504-7. Read Abstract.

Cancer

  • Krivtsov AV, Armstrong SA. MLL translocations, histone modifications and leukaemia stem-cell development. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007 Nov;7(11):823-33. Review. Read Abstract.
  • Kurozumi K, Hardcastle J, Thakur R, Yang M, Christoforidis G, Fulci G, Hochberg FH, Weissleder R, Carson W, Chiocca EA, Kaur B. Effect of Tumor Microenvironment Modulation on the Efficacy of Oncolytic Virus Therapy. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Nov 27. Read Abstract.
  • Yu Z, Boggon TJ, Kobayashi S, Jin C, Ma PC, Dowlati A, Kern JA, Tenen DG, Halmos B. Resistance to an irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor in EGFR-mutant lung cancer reveals novel treatment strategies. Cancer Res. 2007 Nov 1;67(21):10417-27. Read Abstract.

Cardiovascular System

  • Aikawa E, Nahrendorf M, Figueiredo JL, Swirski FK, Shtatland T, Kohler RH, Jaffer FA, Aikawa M, Weissleder R. Osteogenesis Associates With Inflammation in Early-Stage Atherosclerosis Evaluated by Molecular Imaging In Vivo. Circulation. 2007 Nov 26. Read Abstract.
  • Nahrendorf M, Swirski FK, Aikawa E, Stangenberg L, Wurdinger T, Figueiredo JL, Libby P, Weissleder R, Pittet MJ. The healing myocardium sequentially mobilizes two monocyte subsets with divergent and complementary functions. J Exp Med. 2007 Nov 26;204(12):3037-47. Read Abstract.

Developmental Biology

  • Bennett JT, Stickney HL, Choi WY, Ciruna B, Talbot WS, Schier AF. Maternal nodal and zebrafish embryogenesis. Nature. 2007 Nov 8;450(7167):E1-2. Read Abstract.
  • Lengner CJ, Camargo FD, Hochedlinger K, Welstead GG, Zaidi S, Gokhale S, Scholer HR,Tomilin A, Jaenisch R. Oct4 Expression Is Not Required for Mouse Somatic Stem Cell Self-Renewal. Cell Stem Cell, Vol 1, 403-415, 11 October 2007. Read Abstract.

Diabetes

  • Feuerer M, Jiang W, Holler PD, Satpathy A, Campbell C, Bogue M, Mathis D, Benoist C. Enhanced thymic selection of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in the NOD mouse model of autoimmune diabetes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2007 Nov 13;104(46):18181-6. Read Abstract.

Gastrointestinal System

  • Yamamoto-Furusho JK, Podolsky DK. Innate immunity in inflammatory bowel disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2007 Nov 14;13(42):5577-80. Read Abstract.

Imaging

  • Barnes KR, Blois J, Smith A, Yuan H, Reynolds F, Weissleder R, Cantley LC, Josephson L. Fate of a Bioactive Fluorescent Wortmannin Derivative in Cells. Bioconjug Chem. 2007 Nov 8. Read Abstract.
  • Shepherd J, Hilderbrand SA, Waterman P, Heinecke JW, Weissleder R, Libby P. A fluorescent probe for the detection of myeloperoxidase activity in atherosclerosis-associated macrophages. Chem Biol. 2007 Nov;14(11):1221-31. Read Abstract.
  • Taktak S, Sosnovik D, Cima MJ, Weissleder R, Josephson L. Multiparameter Magnetic Relaxation Switch Assays. Anal Chem. 2007 Dec 1;79(23):8863-8869. Read Abstract.
  • Upadhyay R, Sheth RA, Weissleder R, Mahmood U. Quantitative real-time catheter-based fluorescence molecular imaging in mice. Radiology. 2007 Nov;245(2):523-31. Read Abstract.

Immunology

  • Gray DH, Gavanescu I, Benoist C, Mathis D. Danger-free autoimmune disease in Aire-deficient mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2007 Nov 13;104(46):18193-8. Read Abstract.
  • Hill JA, Feuerer M, Tash K, Haxhinasto S, Perez J, Melamed R, Mathis D, Benoist C. Foxp3 transcription-factor-dependent and -independent regulation of the regulatory T cell transcriptional signature. Immunity. 2007 Nov;27(5):786-800. Read Abstract.
  • Le Y, Zhu BM, Harley B, Park SY, Kobayashi T, Manis JP, Luo HR, Yoshimura A, Hennighausen L, Silberstein LE. SOCS3 Protein Developmentally Regulates the Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-FAK Signaling Pathway during B Lymphopoiesis. Immunity. 2007 Nov;27(5):811-23. Read Abstract.
  • Venanzi ES, Gray DH, Benoist C, Mathis D. Lymphotoxin pathway and Aire influences on thymic medullary epithelial cells are unconnected. J Immunol. 2007 Nov 1;179(9):5693-700. Read Abstract.

Muscular System

  • Kang PB, Feener CA, Estrella E, Thorne M, White AJ, Darras BT, Amato AA, Kunkel LM. LGMD2I in a North American population. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2007 Nov 24;8(1):115. Read Abstract.
  • van Wageningen S, Breems-de Ridder MC, Nigten J, Nikoloski G, Erpelinck-Verschueren CA, Lowenberg B, de Witte T, Tenen DG, van der Reijden BA, Jansen JH. Gene transactivation without direct DNA-binding defines a novel gain-of-function for PML-RAR{alpha} Blood. 2007 Nov 19. Read Abstract.

Nervous System

  • Cubelos B, Sebasti√ɬ°n-Serrano A, Kim S, Moreno-Ortiz C, Redondo JM, Walsh CA, Nieto M. Cux-2 Controls the Proliferation of Neuronal Intermediate Precursors of the Cortical Subventricular Zone. Cereb Cortex. 2007 Nov 21. Read Abstract.
  • Rajab A, Manzini MC, Mochida GH, Walsh CA, Ross ME. A novel form of lethal microcephaly with simplified gyral pattern and brain stem hypoplasia. Am J Med Genet A. 2007 Nov 1;143A(23):2761-2767. Read Abstract.

Renal System

  • Bonventre JV. Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a marker of acute kidney injury in critically ill children. Nat Clin Pract Nephrol. 2007 Nov 27.. Read Abstract.