Cathy Mendelsohn

Cellular receptor for poliovirus: Molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression of a new member of the immunoglobulin superfamily

Restriction of poliovirus replication to a few sites in the infected primate host appears to be controlled by the expression of viral receptors. To learn more about these binding sites and their role in viral tissue tropism, cDNA clones encoding functional poliovirus receptors were isolated. The predicted amino acid sequence reveals that the human poliovirus receptor is an integral membrane protein with the conserved amino acids and domain structure characteristic of members of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Northern hybridization analysis indicates that poliovirus receptor transcripts are expressed in a wide range of human tissues, in contrast to the limited expression of virus binding sites, which suggests that additional factors or modifications of the receptor protein are required to permit poliovirus attachment.

Distinct and sequential tissue-specific activities of the LIM-class homeobox gene Lim1 for tubular morphogenesis during kidney development.

Kidney organogenesis requires the morphogenesis of epithelial tubules. Inductive interactions between the branching ureteric buds and the metanephric mesenchyme lead to mesenchyme-to-epithelium transitions and tubular morphogenesis to form nephrons, the functional units of the kidney. The LIM-class homeobox gene Lim1 is expressed in the intermediate mesoderm, nephric duct, mesonephric tubules, ureteric bud, pretubular aggregates and their derivatives. Lim1-null mice lack kidneys because of a failure of nephric duct formation, precluding studies of the role of Lim1 at later stages of kidney development. Here, we show that Lim1 functions in distinct tissue compartments of the developing metanephros for both proper development of the ureteric buds and the patterning of renal vesicles for nephron formation. These observations suggest that Lim1 has essential roles in multiple steps of epithelial tubular morphogenesis during kidney organogenesis. We also demonstrate that the nephric duct is essential for the elongation and maintenance of the adjacent Müllerian duct, the anlage of the female reproductive tract.

Vitamin A controls epithelial/mesenchymal interactions through Ret expression

Mutations or rearrangements in the gene encoding the receptor tyrosine kinase RET result in Hirschsprung disease, cancer and renal malformations. The standard model of renal development involves reciprocal signaling between the ureteric bud epithelium, inducing metanephric mesenchyme to differentiate into nephrons, and metanephric mesenchyme, inducing the ureteric bud to grow and branch. RET and GDNF (a RET ligand) are essential mediators of these epithelial–mesenchymal interactions. Vitamin A deficiency has been associated with widespread embryonic abnormalities, including renal malformations. The vitamin A signal is transduced by nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARs). We previously showed that two RAR genes, Rara and Rarb2, were colocalized in stromal mesenchyme, a third renal cell type, where their deletion led to altered stromal cell patterning, impaired ureteric bud growth and downregulation of Ret in the ureteric bud. Here we demonstrate that forced expression of Ret in mice deficient for both Rara and Rarb2 (Rara−/−Rarb2−/−) genetically rescues renal development, restoring ureteric bud growth and stromal cell patterning. Our studies indicate the presence of a new reciprocal signaling loop between the ureteric bud epithelium and the stromal mesenchyme, dependent on Ret and vitamin A. In the first part of the loop, vitamin-A–dependent signals secreted by stromal cells control Ret expression in the ureteric bud. In the second part of the loop, ureteric bud signals dependent on Ret control stromal cell patterning.

IRTA1 and IRTA2, novel immunoglobulin superfamily receptors expressed in B cells and involved in chromosome 1q21 abnormalities in B cell malignancy.

Abnormalities of chromosome 1q21 are common in B cell malignancies, but their target genes are largely unknown. By cloning the breakpoints of a (1;14) (q21;q32) chromosomal translocation in a myeloma cell line, we have identified two novel genes, IRTA1 and IRTA2, encoding cell surface receptors homologous to the Fc and inhibitory receptor families. Both genes are selectively expressed in mature B cells: IRTA1 in marginal zone B cells and IRTA2 in centrocytes, marginal zone B cells, and immunoblasts. As a result of the t(1;14), IRTA1 is fused to the immunoglobulin Calpha domain to produce a chimeric IRTA1/Calpha fusion protein. In tumor cell lines with 1q21 abnormalities, IRTA2 expression is deregulated. Thus, IRTA1 and IRTA2 are novel immunoreceptors implicated in B cell development and lymphomagenesis.

Foxd1-dependent signals control cellularity in the renal capsule, a structure required for normal renal development

Development of the metanephric kidney involves the establishment of discrete zones of induction and differentiation that are crucial to the future radial patterning of the organ. Genetic deletion of the forkhead transcription factor, Foxd1, results in striking renal abnormalities, including the loss of these discrete zones and pelvic fused kidneys. We have investigated the molecular and cellular basis of the kidney phenotypes displayed by Foxd1-null embryos and report here that they are likely to be caused by a failure in the correct formation of the renal capsule. Unlike the single layer of Foxd1-positive stroma that comprises the normal renal capsule, the mutant capsule contains heterogeneous layers of cells, including Bmp4-expressing cells, which induce ectopic phospho-Smad1 signaling in nephron progenitors. This missignaling disrupts their early patterning, which, in turn, causes mispatterning of the ureteric tree, while delaying and disorganizing nephrogenesis. In addition, the defects in capsule formation prevent the kidneys from detaching from the body wall, thus explaining their fusion and pelvic location. For the first time, functions have been ascribed to the renal capsule that include delineation of the organ and acting as a barrier to inappropriate exogenous signals, while providing a source of endogenous signals that are crucial to the establishment of the correct zones of induction and differentiation.

The GUDMAP database – an online resource for genitourinary research

The GenitoUrinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project (GUDMAP) is an international consortium working to generate gene expression data and transgenic mice. GUDMAP includes data from large-scale in situ hybridisation screens (wholemount and section) and microarray gene expression data of microdissected, laser-captured and FACS-sorted components of the developing mouse genitourinary (GU) system. These expression data are annotated using a high-resolution anatomy ontology specific to the developing murine GU system. GUDMAP data are freely accessible at www.gudmap.org via easy-to-use interfaces. This curated, high-resolution dataset serves as a powerful resource for biologists, clinicians and bioinformaticians interested in the developing urogenital system. This paper gives examples of how the data have been used to address problems in developmental biology and provides a primer for those wishing to use the database in their own research.

Apoptosis induced by vitamin A signaling is crucial for connecting the ureters to the bladder.

Removal of toxic substances from the blood depends on patent connections between the kidney, ureters and bladder that are established when the ureter is transposed from its original insertion site in the male genital tract to the bladder. This transposition is thought to occur as the trigone forms from the common nephric duct and incorporates into the bladder. Here we re-examine this model in the context of normal and abnormal development. We show that the common nephric duct does not differentiate into the trigone but instead undergoes apoptosis, a crucial step for ureter transposition controlled by vitamin A–induced signals from the primitive bladder. Ureter abnormalities occur in 1–2% of the human population and can cause obstruction and end-stage renal disease. These studies provide an explanation for ureter defects underlying some forms of obstruction in humans and redefine the current model of ureter maturation.

Non-cell-autonomous retinoid signaling is crucial for renal development.

In humans and mice, mutations in the Ret gene result in Hirschsprungs disease and renal defects. In the embryonic kidney, binding of Ret to its ligand, Gdnf, induces a program of epithelial cell remodeling that controls primary branch formation and branching morphogenesis within the kidney. Our previous studies showed that transcription factors belonging to the retinoic acid (RA) receptor family are crucial for controlling Ret expression in the ureteric bud; however, the mechanism by which retinoid-signaling acts has remained unclear. In the current study, we show that expression of a dominant-negative RA receptor in mouse ureteric bud cells abolishes Ret expression and Ret-dependent functions including ureteric bud formation and branching morphogenesis, indicating that RA-receptor signaling in ureteric bud cells is crucial for renal development. Conversely, we find that RA-receptor signaling in ureteric bud cells depends mainly on RA generated in nearby stromal cells by retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2, an enzyme required for most fetal RA synthesis. Together, these studies suggest that renal development depends on paracrine RA signaling between stromal mesenchyme and ureteric bud cells that regulates Ret expression both during ureteric bud formation and within the developing collecting duct system.

A novel pleckstrin homology-related gene family defined by Ipl/Tssc3, TDAG51, and Tih1: tissue-specific expression, chromosomal location, and parental imprinting

Abstract. We previously described a gene, Ipl (Tssc3), that is expressed selectively from the maternal allele in placenta, yolk sac, and fetal liver and that maps within the imprinted domain of mouse distal Chromosome (Chr) 7/human Chr 11p15.5 (Hum Mol Genet 6, 2021, 1997). Ipl is similar to TDAG51, a gene that is involved in FAS/CD95 expression. Here we describe another gene, Tih1 (TDAG/Ipl homologue 1), with equivalent sequence similarity to Ipl. Structural prediction indicates that the products of these three genes share a central motif resembling a pleckstrin-homology (PH) domain, and TIH1 protein has weak sequence similarity to the PH-domain protein SEC7/CYTOHESIN. Like Ipl, Tih1 is a small gene with a single small intron. Tih1 maps to distal mouse Chr 1 and human Chr 1q31, chromosomal regions that have not shown evidence for imprinting and, in contrast to Ipl, Tih1 is expressed equally from both parental alleles. Ipl, Tih1, and TDAG51 have overlapping but distinct patterns of expression. Tih1 and TDAG51 are expressed in multiple fetal and adult tissues. In contrast, during early mouse development Ipl mRNA and protein are highly specific for two tissues involved in maternal/fetal exchange: visceral endoderm of the yolk sac and labyrinthine trophoblast of the placenta. These findings highlight the dominance of chromosomal context over gene structure in some examples of parental imprinting and extend previous evidence for placenta-specific expression of imprinted genes. The data also define a new subfamily of PH domain genes.

Retinoid Signaling in Progenitors Controls Specification and Regeneration of the Urothelium

The urothelium is a multilayered epithelium that serves as a barrier between the urinary tract and blood, preventing the exchange of water and toxic substances. It consists of superficial cells specialized for synthesis and transport of uroplakins that assemble into a tough apical plaque, one or more layers of intermediate cells, and keratin 5-expressing basal cells (K5-BCs), which are considered to be progenitors in the urothelium and other specialized epithelia. Fate mapping, however, reveals that intermediate cells rather than K5-BCs are progenitors in the adult regenerating urothelium, that P cells, a transient population, are progenitors in the embryo, and that retinoids are critical in P cells and intermediate cells, respectively, for their specification during development and regeneration. These observations have important implications for tissue engineering and repair and, ultimately, may lead to treatments that prevent loss of the urothelial barrier, a major cause of voiding dysfunction and bladder pain syndrome.