Margaret Clagett-Dame

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.

A ligand for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor isolated from lung.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-inducible transcription factor that is best known because it mediates the actions of polycyclic and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon environmental toxicants such as 3-methylcholanthrene and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. We report here the successful identification of an endogenous ligand for this receptor; ≈20 μg was isolated in pure form from 35 kg of porcine lung. Its structure was deduced as 2-(1′H-indole-3′-carbonyl)-thiazole-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester from extensive physical measurements and quantum mechanical calculations. In a reporter gene assay, this ligand activates the AHR with a potency five times greater than that of β-naphthoflavone, a prototypical synthetic AHR ligand. 2-(1′H-indole-3′-carbonyl)-thiazole-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester competes with 2,3,7,8-[3H]tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin for binding to human, murine, and fish AHRs, thus showing that AHR activation is caused by direct receptor binding, and that recognition of this endogenous ligand is conserved from early vertebrates (fish) to humans.

A potent analog of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 selectively induces bone formation

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] is a principal regulator of calcium and phosphorus homeostasis through actions on intestine, kidney, and bone. 1,25(OH)2D3 is not considered to play a significant role in bone formation, except for its role in supporting mineralization. We report here on the properties of 2-methylene-19-nor-(20S)-1α,25(OH)2D3 (2MD), a highly potent analog of 1,25(OH)2D3 that induces bone formation both in vitro and in vivo. Selectivity for bone was first demonstrated through the observation that 2MD is at least 30-fold more effective than 1,25(OH)2D3 in stimulating osteoblast-mediated bone calcium mobilization while being only slightly more potent in supporting intestinal calcium transport. 2MD is also highly potent in promoting osteoblast-mediated osteoclast formation in vitro, a process essential to both bone resorption and formation. Most significantly, 2MD at concentrations as low as 10−12 M causes primary cultures of osteoblasts to produce bone in vitro. This effect is not found with 1,25(OH)2D3 even at 10−8 M, suggesting that 2MD might be osteogenic in vivo. Indeed, 2MD (7 pmol/day) causes a substantial increase (9%) in total body bone mass in ovariectomized rats over a 23-week period. 1,25(OH)2D3 (500 pmol three times a week) only prevented the bone loss associated with ovariectomy and did not increase bone mass. These results indicate that 2MD is a potent bone-selective analog of 1,25(OH)2D3 potentially effective in treating bone loss diseases.

Vitamin A in Reproduction and Development

The requirement for vitamin A in reproduction was first recognized in the early 1900’s, and its importance in the eyes of developing embryos was realized shortly after. A greater understanding of the large number of developmental processes that require vitamin A emerged first from nutritional deficiency studies in rat embryos, and later from genetic studies in mice. It is now generally believed that all-trans retinoic acid (RA) is the form of vitamin A that supports both male and female reproduction as well as embryonic development. This conclusion is based on the ability to reverse most reproductive and developmental blocks found in vitamin A deficiency induced either by nutritional or genetic means with RA, and the ability to recapitulate the majority of embryonic defects in retinoic acid receptor compound null mutants. The activity of the catabolic CYP26 enzymes in determining what tissues have access to RA has emerged as a key regulatory mechanism, and helps to explain why exogenous RA can rescue many vitamin A deficiency defects. In severely vitamin A-deficient (VAD) female rats, reproduction fails prior to implantation, whereas in VAD pregnant rats given small amounts of carotene or supported on limiting quantities of RA early in organogenesis, embryos form but show a collection of defects called the vitamin A deficiency syndrome or late vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is also essential for the maintenance of the male genital tract and spermatogenesis. Recent studies show that vitamin A participates in a signaling mechanism to initiate meiosis in the female gonad during embryogenesis, and in the male gonad postnatally. Both nutritional and genetic approaches are being used to elucidate the vitamin A-dependent pathways upon which these processes depend.

Cyp26b1 Expression in Murine Sertoli Cells Is Required to Maintain Male Germ Cells in an Undifferentiated State during Embryogenesis

In mammals, germ cells within the developing gonad follow a sexually dimorphic pathway. Germ cells in the murine ovary enter meiotic prophase during embryogenesis, whereas germ cells in the embryonic testis arrest in G0 of mitotic cell cycle and do not enter meiosis until after birth. In mice, retinoic acid (RA) signaling has been implicated in controlling entry into meiosis in germ cells, as meiosis in male embryonic germ cells is blocked by the activity of a RA-catabolizing enzyme, CYP26B1. However, the mechanisms regulating mitotic arrest in male germ cells are not well understood. Cyp26b1 expression in the testes begins in somatic cells at embryonic day (E) 11.5, prior to mitotic arrest, and persists throughout fetal development. Here, we show that Sertoli cell-specific loss of CYP26B1 activity between E15.5 and E16.5, several days after germ cell sex determination, causes male germ cells to exit from G0, re-enter the mitotic cell cycle and initiate meiotic prophase. These results suggest that male germ cells retain the developmental potential to differentiate in meiosis until at least at E15.5. CYP26B1 in Sertoli cells acts as a masculinizing factor to arrest male germ cells in the G0 phase of the cell cycle and prevents them from entering meiosis, and thus is essential for the maintenance of the undifferentiated state of male germ cells during embryonic development.

The atRA-responsive gene neuron navigator 2 functions in neurite outgrowth and axonal elongation

Neuron navigator 2 (Nav2) was first identified as an all‐trans retinoic acid (atRA)‐responsive gene in human neuroblastoma cells (retinoic acid‐induced in neuroblastoma 1, RAINB1) that extend neurites after exposure to atRA. It is structurally related to the Caenorhabditis elegans unc‐53 gene that is required for cell migration and axonal outgrowth. To gain insight into NAV2 function, the full‐length human protein was expressed in C. elegans unc‐53 mutants under the control of a mechanosensory neuron promoter. Transgene expression of NAV2 rescued the defects in unc‐53 mutant mechanosensory neuron elongation, indicating that Nav2 is an ortholog of unc‐53. Using a loss‐of‐function approach, we also show that Nav2 induction is essential for atRA to induce neurite outgrowth in SH‐SY5Y cells. The NAV2 protein is located both in the cell body and along the length of the growing neurites of SH‐SY5Y cells in a pattern that closely mimics that of neurofilament and microtubule proteins. Transfection of Nav2 deletion constructs in Cos‐1 cells reveals a region of the protein (aa 837–1065) that directs localization with the microtubule cytoskeleton. Collectively, this work supports a role for NAV2 in neurite outgrowth and axonal elongation and suggests this protein may act by facilitating interactions between microtubules and other proteins such as neurofilaments that are key players in the formation and stability of growing neurites.

Vitamin A Deficiency Results in Meiotic Failure and Accumulation of Undifferentiated Spermatogonia in Prepubertal Mouse Testis

Vitamin A (retinol) is required for maintenance of adult mammalian spermatogenesis. In adult rodents, vitamin A withdrawal is followed by a loss of differentiated germ cells within the seminiferous epithelium and disrupted spermatogenesis that can be restored by vitamin A replacement. However, whether vitamin A plays a role in the differentiation and meiotic initiation of germ cells during the first round of mouse spermatogenesis is unknown. In the present study, we found that vitamin A depletion markedly decreased testicular expression of the all-trans retinoic acid-responsive gene, Stra8, and caused meiotic failure in prepubertal male mice lacking lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (Lrat), encoding for the major enzyme in liver responsible for the formation of retinyl esters. Rather than undergoing normal differentiation, germ cells accumulated in the testes of Lrat−/− mice maintained on a vitamin A-deficient diet. These results, together with our previous observations that germ cells fail to enter meiosis and remain undifferentiated in embryonic vitamin A-deficient ovaries, support the hypothesis that vitamin A regulates the initiation of meiosis I of both oogenesis and spermatogenesis in mammals.

Vitamin A Deficiency Blocks the Initiation of Meiosis of Germ Cells in the Developing Rat Ovary In Vivo

Vitamin A (retinol) is required for male and female reproduction as well as to support many developmental processes. In the male, meiotic entry of germ cells occurs after birth and throughout adulthood, whereas in the female, the entry into meiosis I occurs during embryonic development. Evidence from cultured embryonic ovaries suggests that the vitamin A metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (atRA), initiates this process. However, in vivo evidence to support a normal role for atRA in meiotic entry is lacking. The present study demonstates that although germ cell number is normal in ovaries from both vitamin A-sufficient (VAS) embryos and those that are deficient in atRA, the majority of germ cells in the most severely atRA-deficient group fail to enter meiosis and remain in an undifferentiated state. In contrast, in a group that is only moderately deficient in atRA, a small number of ovarian germ cells enter meiosis (30%) compared with 75% of cells in the VAS control group. The expression of the atRA-responsive gene, Stra8, is reduced by approximately 90% and 50% in the severely and moderately atRA-deficient ovaries, respectively, compared with the VAS controls. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that vitamin A regulates the entry of germ cells into meiosis in the developing ovary.

A mammalian homolog of unc-53 is regulated by all-trans retinoic acid in neuroblastoma cells and embryos

The vitamin A metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (atRA), plays an important role in neuronal development, including neurite outgrowth. However, the genes that lie downstream of atRA and its receptors in neuronal cells are largely unknown. By using the human neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y, we have identified an atRA-responsive gene (RAINB1: retinoic acid inducible in neuroblastoma cells) that is induced within 4 h after exposure of SH-SY5Y cells to atRA. RAINB1 mRNA is highly expressed in the nervous system (10.5- to 11-kb transcript) in both developing embryos and adults. Its expression is perturbed in developing rat embryos exposed to excess or insufficient atRA. RAINB1 is present on chromosome 11 and is spread over 38 exons, resulting in a putative ORF of 2,429 amino acids. The RAINB1 protein shows high similarity to a gene in Caenorhabditis elegans, unc-53, that is required for axonal elongation of mechanosensory neurons, suggesting that these proteins are orthologs. Thus, RAINB1 may represent a critical downstream gene in atRA-mediated neurite outgrowth.

A nutritional model of late embryonic vitamin A deficiency produces defects in organogenesis at a high penetrance and reveals new roles for the vitamin in skeletal development

Vitamin A plays an essential role in vertebrate embryogenesis. In the present study, pregnant vitamin A-deficient (VAD) rats were maintained during early pregnancy on the short half-life vitamin A metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (atRA), in an amount sufficient to support normal development to E10.5, with a higher level of atRA (250 microg atRA/g diet) provided from embryonic day (E) 8.5-10.5 to prevent mid-gestational resorption. When limiting amounts of atRA (1.5 or 12 microg/g diet) were provided after E10.5, a highly reproducible and penetrant state of late fetal vitamin A deficiency (late VAD) was induced in the organs of developing fetuses. In addition, late VAD fetuses displayed both anteriorization of cervical regions and novel posteriorization events at the thoracic and sacral levels of the skeleton, and showed sternal and pelvic malformations not previously observed in early VAD or genetic models. The expression of several Hox genes (Hoxd3 and Hoxb4) was altered in late VAD embryos, with a reduction in Hoxd3 noted as early as 1 day after instituting deficiency. All late VAD-induced malformations were prevented by the addition of retinol starting at E10.5, whereas provision of a high level of atRA throughout pregnancy improved but could not completely rescue the development of all organ systems. This work defines a nutritional model in which vitamin A deficiency can be induced during fetal development, and reveals new functions for the vitamin in the development of the axial and appendicular skeleton.