Notch signaling and the emergence of hematopoietic stem cells

The hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is able to give rise to all blood cell lineages in vertebrates. HSCs are generated in the early embryo after two precedent waves of primitive hematopoiesis. Canonical Notch signaling is at the center of the complex mechanism that controls the development of the definitive HSC. The successful in vitro generation of hematopoietic cells from pluripotent stem cells with the capacity for multilineage hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation requires the recapitulation of the most important process that takes place in the hemogenic endothelium during definitive hematopoiesis, that is the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT). To meet this challenge, it is necessary to thoroughly understand the molecular mechanisms that modulate Notch signaling during the HSC differentiation process considering different temporal and spatial dimensions. In recent years, there have been important advances in this field. Here, we review relevant contributions describing different genes, factors, environmental cues, and signaling cascades that regulate the EHT through Notch interactions at multiple levels. The evolutionary conservation of the hematopoietic program has made possible the use of diverse model systems. We describe the contributions of the zebrafish model and the most relevant ones from transgenic mouse studies and from in vitro differentiated pluripotent cells.     

Notch signaling in stem cell systems

The Notch signaling pathway is among the most commonly used communication channels in animal cells. Recent studies have demonstrated that this pathway is indispensable for cells in various stages of maturation, including terminal differentiation. One main focus in mammalian studies is the role of Notch in embryonic and postembryonic stem cell systems. In this review, the roles of Notch signaling in various mammalian stem and early progenitor cells are summarized.     

Wnt signaling in neuroprotection and stem cell differentiation

In the past several years, we postulated that the loss of Wnt signaling was implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since then, our lab and other groups have confirmed the involvement of the Wnt signaling in some aspects of AD. So far, we have demonstrated that activation of Wnt signaling protects neurons against neurotoxic injuries, including both amyloid-beta (Abeta) fibrils and Abeta oligomers by using either lithium, an inhibitor of the glycogen-synthase-kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta), or different Wnt ligands. Also, we have found that several molecules which activate well known neurotransmitter systems and other signaling system, are able by crosstalk to activate Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in order to protect neurons against both Abeta fibrils or Abeta oligomers. In particular, the activation of non-canonical Wnt signaling was able to protect postsynaptic regions and dendritic spines against Abeta oligomers. Furthermore Wnt signaling ligands also affect stem cells, and they are also involved in cell fate decision during neurogenesis and embryonic development as well as in adult stem cells differentiation in the nervous system. The Wnt signaling plays a key role modulating their cell differentiation or proliferation states. Altogether, these findings in both stem cell biology and neuroprotection, may introduce new approaches in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including drug screening and therapies against neurodegenerative diseases which activates the Wnt signaling pathway.     

Wnt和Notch信号通路在肿瘤干细胞自我更新中的作用

肿瘤干细胞是一类能够导致肿瘤发生的具有自我更新能力的细胞，它与干细胞具有很多相似性，其中最重要的一点是自我更新能力。它们具有相似的自我更新调节通路，如：Wnt，Notch和Shh(Sonic hedgehog)。Wnt和Notch信号通路通过其受体和配体的相互作用在自我更新的增殖和分化中都起着重要的作用，两者均能促进干细胞增殖而抑制其分化，但各自侧重不同。此外，Wnt和Notch信号通路之间相互作用、协调共同完成干细胞的自我更新。对肿瘤干细胞的Wnt和Notch信号通路研究将为未来肿瘤的靶向治疗提供新的方向。     

Activation of Wnt signaling in hematopoietic regeneration

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) respond to injury by rapidly proliferating and regenerating the hematopoietic system. Little is known about the intracellular programs that are activated within HSCs during this regenerative process and how this response may be influenced by alterations in signals from the injured microenvironment. Here we have examined the regenerating microenvironment and find that following injury it has an enhanced ability to support HSCs. During this regenerative phase, both hematopoietic and stromal cell elements within the bone marrow microenvironment show increased expression of Wnt10b, which can function to enhance growth of hematopoietic precursors. In addition, regenerating HSCs show increased activation of Wnt signaling, suggesting that microenvironmental changes in Wnt expression after injury may be integrated with the responses of the hematopoietic progenitors. Cumulatively, our data reveal that growth signals in the hematopoietic system are re-activated during injury, and provide novel insight into the influence of the microenvironment during regeneration.     

Inflammatory signaling regulates embryonic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell production

Identifying signaling pathways that regulate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) formation in the embryo will guide efforts to produce and expand HSPCs ex vivo. Here we show that sterile tonic inflammatory signaling regulates embryonic HSPC formation. Expression profiling of progenitors with lymphoid potential and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from aorta/gonad/mesonephros (AGM) regions of midgestation mouse embryos revealed a robust innate immune/inflammatory signature. Mouse embryos lacking interferon γ (IFN-γ) or IFN-α signaling and zebrafish morphants lacking IFN-γ and IFN-ϕ activity had significantly fewer AGM HSPCs. Conversely, knockdown of IFN regulatory factor 2 (IRF2), a negative regulator of IFN signaling, increased expression of IFN target genes and HSPC production in zebrafish. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) combined with sequencing (ChIP-seq) and expression analyses demonstrated that IRF2-occupied genes identified in human fetal liver CD34⁺ HSPCs are actively transcribed in human and mouse HSPCs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the primitive myeloid population contributes to the local inflammatory response to impact the scale of HSPC production in the AGM region. Thus, sterile inflammatory signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway regulating the production of HSPCs during embryonic development.     

An endothelial cell niche induces hepatic specification through dual repression of Wnt and Notch signaling

Complex cross-talk between endoderm and the microenvironment is an absolute requirement to orchestrate hepatic specification and expansion. In the mouse, the septum transversum and cardiac mesoderm, through secreted bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) and fibroblast growth factors (FGF), respectively, instruct the adjacent ventral endoderm to become hepatic endoderm. Consecutively, endothelial cells promote expansion of the specified hepatic endoderm. By using a mouse reporter embryonic stem cell line, in which hCD4 and hCD25 were targeted to the Foxa2 and Foxa3 loci, we reconstituted an in vitro culture system in which committed endoderm cells coexpressing hCD4-Foxa2 and hCD25-Foxa3 were isolated and cocultured with endothelial cells in the presence of BMP4 and bFGF. In this culture setting, we provide mechanistic evidence that endothelial cells function not only to promote hepatic endoderm expansion but are also required at an earlier step for hepatic specification, at least in part through regulation of the Wnt and Notch pathways. Activation of Wnt and Notch by chemical or genetic approaches increases endoderm cell numbers but inhibits hepatic specification, and conversely, chemical inhibition of both pathways enhances hepatic specification and reduces proliferation. By using identical coculture conditions, we defined a similar dependence of endoderm harvested from embryos on endothelial cells to support their growth and hepatic specification. Our findings (1) confirm a conserved role of Wnt repression for mouse hepatic specification, (2) uncover a novel role for Notch repression in the hepatic fate decision, and (3) demonstrate that repression of Wnt and Notch signaling in hepatic endoderm is controlled by the endothelial cell niche.     

Hes1 regulates embryonic stem cell differentiation by suppressing Notch signaling

Embryonic stem (ES) cells display heterogeneous responses upon induction of differentiation. Recent analysis has shown that Hes1 expression oscillates with a period of about 3–5 h in mouse ES cells and that this oscillating expression contributes to the heterogeneous responses: Hes1‐high ES cells are prone to the mesodermal fate, while Hes1‐low ES cells are prone to the neural fate. These outcomes of Hes1‐high and Hes1‐low ES cells are very similar to those of inactivation and activation of Notch signaling, respectively. These results suggest that Hes1 and Notch signaling lead to opposite outcomes in ES cell differentiation, although they work in the same direction in most other cell types. Here, we found that Hes1 acts as an inhibitor but not as an effector of Notch signaling in ES cell differentiation. Our results indicate that sustained Hes1 expression delays the differentiation of ES cells and promotes the preference for the mesodermal rather than the neural fate by suppression of Notch signaling.     

Wnt信号通路调控角膜缘干细胞治疗角膜缘干细胞缺乏症

文题释义： Wnt信号通路：Wnt信号通路是一条高度保守的信号通路,在干细胞调控中发挥重要作用。当细胞外Wnts与细胞膜上特异性受体Frizzled蛋白结合导致GSK3β失活,β-catenin在胞质中积累继而向胞核转位,标志着Wnt通路被激活。β-catenin在细胞核中与转录因子Tcf /LEF结合启动下游基因而发挥功能。 角膜缘干细胞：角膜缘为角膜和结膜、巩膜交界部分,角膜缘干细胞存在于角膜缘的Vogt栅栏结构中,属于单能干细胞,在角膜损伤修复中发挥重要作用。角膜缘干细胞缺乏是由于眼表各类损伤(化学伤、严重的感染等)或者基质微环境异常(先天性无虹膜、放射线所致角膜病)导致角膜上皮被结膜上皮侵犯和替代。 背景：Wnt信号通路在干细胞的调控中发挥重要作用,但是其对于角膜缘干细胞的调控作用尚不十分明确。 目的：探讨Wnt信号通路对角膜缘干细胞的调控作用及其在角膜缘干细胞缺乏症治疗中的疗效。 方法：大鼠角膜缘组织中依次加入Dispase和Trypsin/EDTA进行消化,将消化后的角膜缘干细胞悬液接种于3D-Matrigel微环境中培养,实验组培养体系中加入Wnt信号通路激活剂氯化锂(500 μmol/L),对照组不加氯化锂,培养第7天qRT-PCR检测角膜缘干细胞中p63α、CK12、CEBPδ和Ki67的表达,免疫荧光染色检测角膜缘干细胞中β-catenin的表达。采用碱烧伤法建立大鼠角膜缘干细胞缺乏模型,治疗组大鼠结膜下注射激活了Wnt信号通路的角膜缘干细胞,对照组大鼠结膜下注射等量PBS,随后每天使用裂隙灯观察,治疗后第4天取角膜缘组织进行免疫荧光染色、苏木精-伊红染色。 结果与结论：①角膜缘干细胞在3D-Matrigel培养微环境中呈球形聚集生长,对照组角膜缘干细胞中β-catenin呈阴性,实验组角膜缘干细胞中β-catenin在细胞浆和细胞核内聚集;②qRT-PCR结果显示：对照组与实验组之间干性指标p63α、CK12和功能指标CEBPδ差异均无显著性意义(P > 0.05);实验组增殖指标Ki-67较对照组水平明显升高,差异有显著性意义(P < 0.05);③建立大鼠角膜缘干细胞缺乏模型,治疗组大鼠角膜组织混浊评分较对照组明显减低,差异有显著性意义(P < 0.05),角膜组织苏木精-伊红染色可见治疗组大鼠角膜上皮细胞排列整齐,细胞大小较均一,修复情况较良好,免疫荧光结果显示治疗组大部分角膜上皮细胞中β-catenin在细胞浆以及细胞核内聚集,而对照组角膜上皮细胞中β-catenin仅是弱阳性,未见在胞浆聚集或者进核;④结果表明,Wnt信号通路的激活增强了角膜缘干细胞的增殖能力,同时能够维持细胞干性,角膜缘干细胞进入干细胞自我更新状态;激活Wnt信号通路后的角膜缘干细胞可促进角膜缘干细胞缺乏模型大鼠角膜上皮的修复,减轻角膜混浊程度;通过调控Wnt信号通路改变角膜缘干细胞的功能特性可能成为治疗角膜缘干细胞缺乏症的新途径。 ORCID: 0000-0003-0698-3653(韩波) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程     

The role of Notch signaling during hematopoietic lineage commitment

Summary: Over the last few years a vast amount of progress has been made in identifying mechanisms controlling lineage commitment and plasticity of hematopoietic precursors to different lymphoid or myeloid lineages. This has been due largely to the ability to identify and isolate rare cell populations in order to investigate their developmental potential, together with the development of inducible and/or tissue specific targeting technology. One family of proteins that has been postulated to be involved in hematopoietic stem cell maintenance as well as in multiple commitment processes during T cell development is the Notch receptors and their ligands. In this review we will summarize recent findings and controversies regarding the role of Notch signaling in the myeloid and lymphoid systems.     

Notch signaling in T cell development

Notch signaling regulates cell fate decisions during development. Recent experiments suggest that Notch signaling is essential for initial commitment to the T cell lineage and may function together with signals from the pre-TCR and the TCR to regulate subsequent steps of T cell development.     

乳腺原发癌和相应淋巴结转移癌干细胞Wnt、Notch信号通路相关分子的比较

目的：探讨乳腺原发癌和相应淋巴结转移癌干细胞Wnt、Notch信号通路分子β-catenin、Cyclin D1和Notch1 mRNA表达及意义。方法选取乳腺浸润性导管癌30例,且均伴有淋巴结转移,制备乳腺癌单细胞悬液,通过免疫磁珠分选技术分别提取乳腺原发癌和相应淋巴结转移癌干细胞,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术检测两种癌干细胞Wnt、Notch信号通路关键分子β-catenin、Cyclin D1和Notch1 mRNA的表达。结果乳腺原发癌干细胞和相应淋巴结转移癌干细胞中β-catenin mRNA的表达差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);淋巴结转移癌干细胞中Cyclin D1和Notch1 mRNA的表达显著高于乳腺原发癌干细胞(P<0.01)。结论与乳腺原发癌干细胞相比,淋巴结转移癌干细胞中Cyclin D1和Notch1处于更高的活化状态,具有更高的侵袭和转移能力,有可能成为乳腺癌的新治疗靶点。