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en: H3K9 Demethylases JMJD1A and JMJD1B Control Prospermatogonia to Spermatogonia Transition in Mouse Germline

en: Histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is dynamically regulated by methyltransferases and demethylases. In spermatogenesis, prospermatogonia differentiate into differentiating or undifferentiated spermatogonia after birth. However, the epigenetic regulation of prospermatogonia to spermatogonia transition is largely unknown. We found that perinatal prospermatogonia have extremely low levels of di-methylated H3K9 (H3K9me2) and that H3K9 demethylases, JMJD1A and JMJD1B, catalyze H3K9me2 demethylation in perinatal prospermatogonia. Depletion of JMJD1A and JMJD1B in the embryonic germline resulted in complete loss of male germ cells after puberty, indicating that H3K9me2 demethylation is essential for male germline maintenance. JMJD1A/JMJD1B-depleted germ cells were unable to differentiate into functional spermatogonia. JMJD1 isozymes contributed to activation of several spermatogonial stem cell maintenance genes through H3K9 demethylation during the prospermatogonia to spermatogonia transition, which we propose is key for spermatogonia development. In summary, JMJD1A/JMJD1B-mediated H3K9me2 demethylation promotes prospermatogonia to differentiate into functional spermatogonia by establishing proper gene expression profiles.

en: Stem Cell Reports

ja: Stem Cell Reports


en: Report on the Abolition Experience of Several Unsealed RI Facilities in Tokushima University

ja: 徳島大学に置ける複数の非密封RI施設の廃止経験の報告

en: Japanese Journal of Radiation Safety Management

ja: 日本放射線安全管理学会誌


en: Prion protein protects mice from lethal infection with influenza A viruses.

en: The cellular prion protein, designated PrPC, is a membrane glycoprotein expressed abundantly in brains and to a lesser extent in other tissues. Conformational conversion of PrPC into the amyloidogenic isoform is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases. However, the physiological functions of PrPC remain largely unknown, particularly in non-neuronal tissues. Here, we show that PrPC is expressed in lung epithelial cells, including alveolar type 1 and 2 cells and bronchiolar Clara cells. Compared with wild-type (WT) mice, PrPC-null mice (Prnp0/0) were highly susceptible to influenza A viruses (IAVs), with higher mortality. Infected Prnp0/0 lungs were severely injured, with higher inflammation and higher apoptosis of epithelial cells, and contained higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) than control WT lungs. Treatment with a ROS scavenger or an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase (XO), a major ROS-generating enzyme in IAV-infected lungs, rescued Prnp0/0 mice from the lethal infection with IAV. Moreover, Prnp0/0 mice transgenic for PrP with a deletion of the Cu-binding octapeptide repeat (OR) region, Tg(PrPOR)/Prnp0/0 mice, were also highly susceptible to IAV infection. These results indicate that PrPC has a protective role against lethal infection with IAVs through the Cu-binding OR region by reducing ROS in infected lungs. Cu content and the activity of anti-oxidant enzyme Cu/Zn-dependent superoxide dismutase, SOD1, were lower in Prnp0/0 and Tg(PrPOR)/Prnp0/0 lungs than in WT lungs. It is thus conceivable that PrPC functions to maintain Cu content and regulate SOD1 through the OR region in lungs, thereby reducing ROS in IAV-infected lungs and eventually protecting them from lethal infection with IAVs. Our current results highlight the role of PrPC in protection against IAV infection, and suggest that PrPC might be a novel target molecule for anti-influenza therapeutics.

en: PLoS Pathogens

ja: PLoS Pathogens


en: Rescuing the aberrant sex development of H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a-deficient mice by modulating H3K9 methylation balance

en: Histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is a hallmark of heterochromatin. H3K9 demethylation is crucial in mouse sex determination; The H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a deficiency leads to increased H3K9 methylation at the Sry locus in embryonic gonads, thereby compromising Sry expression and causing male-to-female sex reversal. We hypothesized that the H3K9 methylation level at the Sry locus is finely tuned by the balance in activities between the H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a and an unidentified H3K9 methyltransferase to ensure correct Sry expression. Here we identified the GLP/G9a H3K9 methyltransferase complex as the enzyme catalyzing H3K9 methylation at the Sry locus. Based on this finding, we tried to rescue the sex-reversal phenotype of Jmjd1a-deficient mice by modulating GLP/G9a complex activity. A heterozygous GLP mutation rescued the sex-reversal phenotype of Jmjd1a-deficient mice by restoring Sry expression. The administration of a chemical inhibitor of GLP/G9a enzyme into Jmjd1a-deficient embryos also successfully rescued sex reversal. Our study not only reveals the molecular mechanism underlying the tuning of Sry expression but also provides proof on the principle of therapeutic strategies based on the pharmacological modulation of epigenetic balance.

en: PLoS Genetics

ja: PLoS Genetics


en: Prions amplify through degradation of the VPS10P sorting receptor sortilin.

en: Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by prions, which consist mainly of the abnormally folded isoform of prion protein, PrPSc. A pivotal pathogenic event in prion disease is progressive accumulation of prions, or PrPSc, in brains through constitutive conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein, PrPC, into PrPSc. However, the cellular mechanism by which PrPSc is progressively accumulated in prion-infected neurons remains unknown. Here, we show that PrPSc is progressively accumulated in prion-infected cells through degradation of the VPS10P sorting receptor sortilin. We first show that sortilin interacts with PrPC and PrPSc and sorts them to lysosomes for degradation. Consistently, sortilin-knockdown increased PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. In contrast, overexpression of sortilin reduced PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. These results indicate that sortilin negatively regulates PrPSc accumulation in prion-infected cells. The negative role of sortilin in PrPSc accumulation was further confirmed in sortilin-knockout mice infected with prions. The infected mice had accelerated prion disease with early accumulation of PrPSc in their brains. Interestingly, sortilin was reduced in prion-infected cells and mouse brains. Treatment of prion-infected cells with lysosomal inhibitors, but not proteasomal inhibitors, increased the levels of sortilin. Moreover, sortilin was reduced following PrPSc becoming detectable in cells after infection with prions. These results indicate that PrPSc accumulation stimulates sortilin degradation in lysosomes. Taken together, these results show that PrPSc accumulation of itself could impair the sortilin-mediated sorting of PrPC and PrPSc to lysosomes for degradation by stimulating lysosomal degradation of sortilin, eventually leading to progressive accumulation of PrPSc in prion-infected cells.


en: Effects of prion protein devoid of the N-terminal residues 25-50 on prion pathogenesis in mice.

en: The N-terminal polybasic region of the normal prion protein, PrP(C), which encompasses residues 23-31, is important for prion pathogenesis by affecting conversion of PrP(C) into the pathogenic isoform, PrP(Sc). We previously reported transgenic mice expressing PrP with residues 25-50 deleted in the PrP-null background, designated as Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice. Here, we produced two new lines of Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice, each expressing the mutant protein, PrPpreOR, 1.1 and 1.6 times more than PrP(C) in wild-type mice, and subsequently intracerebrally inoculated RML and 22L prions into them. The lower expresser showed slightly reduced susceptibility to RML prions but not to 22L prions. The higher expresser exhibited enhanced susceptibility to both prions. No prion transmission barrier was created in Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice against full-length PrP(Sc). PrP(Sc)preOR accumulated in the brains of infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice less than PrP(Sc) in control wild-type mice, although lower in RML-infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice than in 22L-infected mice. Prion infectivity in infected Tg(PrPpreOR)/Prnp (0/0) mice was also lower than that in wild-type mice. These results indicate that deletion of residues 25-50 only slightly affects prion susceptibility, the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP(Sc), and prion infectivity in a strain-specific way. PrPpreOR retains residues 23-24 and lacks residues 25-31 in the polybasic region. It is thus conceivable that residues 23-24 rather than 25-31 are important for the polybasic region to support prion pathogenesis. However, other investigators have reported that residues 27-31 not 23-24 are important to support prion pathogenesis. Taken together, the polybasic region might support prion pathogenesis through multiple sites including residues 23-24 and 27-31.

en: Archives of Virology

ja: Archives of Virology


en: Mouse-Hamster Chimeric Prion Protein (PrP) Devoid of N-terminal Residues 23-88 Restores Susceptibility to 22L Prions, But Not to RML Prions in PrP-Knockout Mice.

en: Prion infection induces conformational conversion of the normal prion protein PrPC, into the pathogenic isoform PrPSc, in prion diseases. It has been shown that PrP-knockout (Prnp0/0) mice transgenically reconstituted with a mouse-hamster chimeric PrP lacking N-terminal residues 23-88, or Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice, neither developed the disease nor accumulated MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains after inoculation with RML prions. In contrast, RML-inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice developed the disease with abundant accumulation of MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains. These results indicate that MHM223-88 itself might either lose or greatly reduce the converting capacity to MHM2Sc23-88, and that the co-expressing wild-type PrPC can stimulate the conversion of MHM223-88 to MHM2Sc23-88 in trans. In the present study, we confirmed that Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice remained resistant to RML prions for up to 730 days after inoculation. However, we found that Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/0 mice were susceptible to 22L prions, developing the disease with prolonged incubation times and accumulating MHM2Sc23-88 in their brains. We also found accelerated conversion of MHM223-88 into MHM2Sc23-88 in the brains of RML- and 22L-inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice. However, wild-type PrPSc accumulated less in the brains of these inoculated Tg(MHM223-88)/Prnp 0/+ mice, compared with RML- and 22L-inoculated Prnp 0/+ mice. These results show that MHM223-88 itself can convert into MHM2Sc23-88 without the help of the trans-acting PrPC, and that, irrespective of prion strains inoculated, the co-expressing wild-type PrPC stimulates the conversion of MHM223-88 into MHM2Sc23-88, but to the contrary, the co-expressing MHM223-88 disturbs the conversion of wild-type PrPC into PrPSc.

en: PLoS ONE

ja: PLoS ONE


en: Prions disturb post-Golgi trafficking of membrane proteins.

en: Conformational conversion of normal cellular prion protein PrP(C) into pathogenic PrP(Sc) is central to the pathogenesis of prion diseases. However, the pathogenic mechanism remains unknown. Here we show that post-Golgi vesicular trafficking is significantly delayed in prion-infected N2a cells. Accordingly, cell surface expression of membrane proteins examined, including PrP(C), insulin receptor involved in neuroprotection, and attractin, whose mutation causes prion disease-like spongiform neurodegeneration, is reduced. Instead, they accumulate in the Golgi apparatus. PrP(Sc) is detected throughout endosomal compartments, being particularly abundant in recycling endosome. We also show reduced surface expression of PrP(C) and insulin receptor in prion-infected mouse brains well before the onset of disease. These results suggest that prion infection might impair post-Golgi trafficking of membrane proteins to the cell surface in neurons via PrP(Sc) accumulated in recycling endosome, and eventually induce neuronal dysfunctions associated with prion diseases.

en: Nature Communications

ja: Nature Communications


en: Effects of a Brain-Engraftable Microglial Cell Line Expressing Anti-Prion scFv Antibodies on Survival Times of Mice Infected with Scrapie Prions.

en: We first verified that a single chain Fv fragment against prion protein (anti-PrP scFv) was secreted by HEK293T cells and prevented prion replication in infected cells. We then stably expressed anti-PrP scFv in brain-engraftable murine microglial cells and intracerebrally injected these cells into mice before or after infection with prions. Interestingly, the injection before or at an early time point after infection attenuated the infection marginally but significantly prolonged survival times of the mice. These suggest that the ex vivo gene transfer of anti-PrP scFvs using brain-engraftable cells could be a possible immunotherapeutic approach against prion diseases.

en: Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology

ja: Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology


en: Lymphotoxin signal promotes thymic organogenesis by eliciting RANK expression in the embryonic thymic stroma

en: It has recently become clear that signals mediated by members of the TNFR superfamily, including lymphotoxin-β receptor (LTβR), receptor activator for NF-κB (RANK), and CD40, play essential roles in organizing the integrity of medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) required for the establishment of self-tolerance. However, details of the mechanism responsible for the unique and cooperative action of individual and multiple TNFR superfamily members during mTEC differentiation still remain enigmatic. In this study, we show that the LTβR signal upregulates expression of RANK in the thymic stroma, thereby promoting accessibility to the RANK ligand necessary for mTEC differentiation. Cooperation between the LTβR and RANK signals for optimal mTEC differentiation was underscored by the exaggerated defect of thymic organogenesis observed in mice doubly deficient for these signals. In contrast, we observed little cooperation between the LTβR and CD40 signals. Thus, the LTβR signal exhibits a novel and unique function in promoting RANK activity for mTEC organization, indicating a link between thymic organogenesis mediated by multiple cytokine signals and the control of autoimmunity.

en: The Journal of Immunology

ja: The Journal of Immunology


en: Biphasic Aire expression in early embryos and in medullary thymic epithelial cells before end-stage terminal differentiation

en: The roles of autoimmune regulator (Aire)-expressing medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) in the organization of the thymic microenvironment for establishing self-tolerance are enigmatic. We sought to monitor the production and maintenance of Aire-expressing mTECs by a fate-mapping strategy in which bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic (Tg) mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the Aire regulatory element were crossed with a GFP reporter strain. We found that, in addition to its well recognized expression within mature mTECs, Aire was expressed in the early embryo before emergence of the three germ cell layers. This observation may help to explain the development of ectodermal dystrophy often seen in patients with AIRE deficiency. With the use of one Tg line in which Cre recombinase expression was confined to mTECs, we found that Aire(+)CD80(high) mTECs further progressed to an Aire(-)CD80(intermediate) stage, suggesting that Aire expression is not constitutive from after its induction until cell death but instead is down-regulated at the beginning of terminal differentiation. We also demonstrated that many mTECs of Aire-expressing lineage are in close contact with thymic dendritic cells. This close proximity may contribute to transfer of tissue-restricted self-antigens expressed by mTECs to professional antigen-presenting cells.

en: The Journal of Experimental Medicine

ja: The Journal of Experimental Medicine


en: Aire controls the differentiation program of thymic epithelial cells in the medulla for the establishment of self-tolerance.

en: The roles of autoimmune regulator (Aire) in the expression of the diverse arrays of tissue-restricted antigen (TRA) genes from thymic epithelial cells in the medulla (medullary thymic epithelial cells [mTECs]) and in organization of the thymic microenvironment are enigmatic. We approached this issue by creating a mouse strain in which the coding sequence of green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inserted into the Aire locus in a manner allowing concomitant disruption of functional Aire protein expression. We found that Aire(+) (i.e., GFP(+)) mTECs were the major cell types responsible for the expression of Aire-dependent TRA genes such as insulin 2 and salivary protein 1, whereas Aire-independent TRA genes such as C-reactive protein and glutamate decarboxylase 67 were expressed from both Aire(+) and Aire(-) mTECs. Remarkably, absence of Aire from mTECs caused morphological changes together with altered distribution of mTECs committed to Aire expression. Furthermore, we found that the numbers of mTECs that express involucrin, a marker for terminal epidermal differentiation, were reduced in Aire-deficient mouse thymus, which was associated with nearly an absence of Hassall's corpuscle-like structures in the medulla. Our results suggest that Aire controls the differentiation program of mTECs, thereby organizing the global mTEC integrity that enables TRA expression from terminally differentiated mTECs in the thymic microenvironment.