Changes in nuclear Ca2+ homeostasis activate specific gene expression programs and are central to the acquisition and the plastic storage of memories. DREAM /KChIP proteins form heterotetramers that bind DNA and repress transcription in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Single ablation of one member of the DREAM/KChIP family may result in a mild or the absence of phenotype due to partial gene compensation. To study the function of DREAM/KChIP proteins in the brain, we used transgenic mice expressing a Ca2+-insensitive/CREB-independent dominant active mutant DREAM (daDREAM). We show that daDREAM controls the expression of several activity-dependent transcription factors including Npas4, Nr4a1, Mef2C, JunB and c-Fos, as well as the chromatin modifying enzyme Mbd4 and proteins related to actin polymerization like Arc and gelsolin. Thus, directly or through these targets, expression of daDREAM in the forebrain resulted in a complex phenotype characterized by i) impaired learning and memory, ii) loss of recurrent inhibition and enhanced LTP in the dentate gyrus without affecting Kv4-mediated potassium currents, and iii) modified spine density in DG granule neurons. Our results propose DREAM as a master-switch transcription factor regulating several activity-dependent gene expression programs to control synaptic plasticity, learning and memory.
DREAM controls the on/off switch of specific activity-dependent transcription pathways.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: Gq-coupled G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) mediate the actions of a variety of messengers that are key regulators of cardiovascular function. Enhanced Gaq-mediated signaling plays an important role in cardiac hypertrophy and in the transition to heart failure. We have recently described that Gaq acts as an adaptor protein that facilitates PKCz-mediated activation of ERK5 in epithelial cells. Since the ERK5 cascade is known to be involved in cardiac hypertrophy, we have investigated the potential relevance of this pathway in Gq-dependent signaling in cardiac cells.
Protein kinase C (PKC)ζ-mediated Gαq stimulation of ERK5 protein pathway in cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesAims: We investigate sex differences and the role of oestrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) in a mouse model of pressure overload-induced myocardial hypertrophy. Methods and results: We performed transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or sham surgery in male and female wild-type (WT) and ERbeta knockout (ERbeta-/-) C57Bl6 mice. All mice were characterised by echocardiography and haemodynamic measurements and were sacrificed nine weeks after surgery. Left ventricular (LV) samples were analysed by microarray profiling, real-time RT-PCR and histology. After nine weeks, WT males showed more hypertrophy and heart failure signs than WT females. Notably, WT females developed a concentric form of hypertrophy, while males developed eccentric hypertrophy. These sex differences were abolished in ERbeta-/- mice. ERbeta deletion augmented the TAC-induced increase in cardiomyocyte diameter in both sexes. Gene expression profiling revealed that male WT hearts had a stronger induction of matrix-related genes and a stronger repression of mitochondrial genes than female hearts. ERbeta-/- mice exhibited a different transcriptome. Induction of pro-apoptotic genes after TAC occurred in ERbeta-/- mice of both sexes with a stronger expression in ERbeta-/- males. Histological analysis revealed, that cardiac fibrosis was more pronounced in male WT TAC than in female mice. This was abolished in ERbeta-/- mice. Apoptosis was significantly induced in both sexes of ERbeta-/- TAC mice, but it was most prominent in males. Conclusion: Female sex offers protection against ventricular chamber dilation in the TAC model. Both the female sex and ERbeta attenuate the development of fibrosis and apoptosis; thus slowing the progression to heart failure.
Female sex and estrogen receptor-beta attenuate cardiac remodeling and apoptosis in pressure overload.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
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Expression of MALT1 oncogene in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells recapitulates the pathogenesis of human lymphoma in mice.
Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesHere, we show that functional loss of a single gene is sufficient to confer constitutive milk protein production and protection against mammary tumor formation. Caveolin-3 (Cav-3), a muscle-specific caveolin-related gene, is highly expressed in striated and smooth muscle cells. We demonstrate that Cav-3 is also expressed in myoepithelial cells within the mammary gland. To determine if genetic ablation of Cav-3 expression affects adult mammary gland development, we next studied the phenotype(s) of Cav-3 (-/-) null mice. Interestingly, detailed analysis of Cav-3 (-/-) virgin mammary glands shows dramatic increases in ductal thickness, side-branching, and the development of extensive lobulo-alveolar hyperplasia, akin to the changes normally observed during pregnancy and lactation. Analysis by genome-wide expression profiling reveals the upregulation of gene transcripts associated with pregnancy/lactation, mammary stem cells, and human breast cancers, consistent with a constitutive lactogenic phenotype. The expression levels of three key transcriptional regulators of lactation, namely Elf5, Stat5a, and c-Myc are also significantly elevated. Experiments with pregnant mice directly show that Cav-3 (-/-) mice undergo precocious lactation. Finally, using orthotopic implantation of a transformed mammary cell line (known as Met-1), we demonstrate that virgin Cav-3 (-/-) mice are dramatically protected against mammary tumor formation. Interestingly, Cav-3 (+/-) mice also show similar protection, indicating that even reductions in Cav-3 levels are sufficient to render these mice resistant to tumorigenesis. Thus, Cav-3 (-/-) mice are a novel preclinical model to study the protective effects of a constitutive lactogenic microenviroment on mammary tumor onset and progression. Our current studies have broad implications for using the lactogenic micro-environment as a paradigm to discover new therapies for the prevention and/or treatment of human breast cancers. Most importantly, a lactation-based therapeutic strategy would provide a more natural and nontoxic approach to the development of novel anti-cancer therapies.
Loss of caveolin-3 induces a lactogenic microenvironment that is protective against mammary tumor formation.
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