The factors that organize the internal membranes of cells are still poorly understood. We have been addressing this question using striated muscle cells, which have regular arrays of membranes that associate with the contractile apparatus in stereotypic patterns. Here we examine links between contractile structures and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) established by small ankyrin 1 (sAnk1), a approximately 17.5-kDa integral protein of network SR. We used yeast two-hybrid to identify obscurin, a giant Rho-GEF protein, as the major cytoplasmic ligand for sAnk1. The binding of obscurin to the cytoplasmic sequence of sAnk1 is mediated by a sequence of obscurin that is C-terminal to its last Ig-like domain. Binding was confirmed in two in vitro assays. In one, GST-obscurin, bound to glutathione-matrix, specifically adsorbed native sAnk1 from muscle homogenates. In the second, MBP-obscurin bound recombinant GST-sAnk1 in nitrocellulose blots. Kinetic studies using surface plasmon resonance yielded a K(D) = 130 nM. On subcellular fractionation, obscurin was concentrated in the myofibrillar fraction, consistent with its identification as sarcomeric protein. Nevertheless, obscurin, like sAnk1, concentrated around Z-disks and M-lines of striated muscle. Our findings suggest that obscurin binds sAnk1, and are the first to document a specific and direct interaction between proteins of the sarcomere and the SR.
Keratinocyte growth factor , (KGF) , a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family , is involved in wound healing. It also promotes the differentiation of many epithelial tissues and proliferation of epithelial cells as well as pancreatic duct cells. Additionally, many members of the highly homologous FGF family (including KGF) , influence both growth and cellular morphology in the developing embryo. We have previously observed elevated levels of KGF in our interferon-␥ transgenic mouse model of pancreatic regeneration. To understand the role of KGF in pancreatic differentiation , we generated insulin promoter-regulated KGF transgenic mice. Remarkably , we have found that ectopic KGF expression resulted in the emergence of hepatocytes within the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Additionally , significant intraislet duct cell proliferation in the pancreata of transgenic KGF mice was observed. The unexpected appearance of hepatocytes and proliferation of intraislet duct cells in the pancreata of these mice evidently stemmed directly from local exposure to KGF. (Am J Pathol 1999, 154:683-691)
We have observed pancreatic duct cell proliferation and islet regeneration in transgenic mice whose pancreata produce interferon (IFNg mice). We have previously demonstrated that new islet cells derive from endocrine progenitor cells in the pancreatic ducts of this model. The current study was initiated to define these endocrine progenitor cells further and to identify novel markers associated with pancreatic regeneration. Importantly, we have found that PDX-1, a transcription factor required for insulin gene transcription as well as for pancreatic development during embryogenesis, is expressed in the duct cells of IFNg mice. This striking observation suggests an important role for PDX-1 in the marked regeneration observed in IFNg mice, paralleling its critical function during ontogeny. Also demonstrated was elevated expression of the homeobox-containing protein Msx-2 in the pancreata of fetal mice as well as in adult IFNg mice, identifying this molecule as a novel marker associated with pancreatic development and regeneration as well. The identification of PDX-1 and Msx in the ducts of the IFNg transgenic pancreas but not in the ducts of the nontransgenic pancreas suggests that these molecules are associated with endocrine precursor cells in the ducts of the IFNg transgenic mouse.
The upregulation of a limited number of growth factors in our interferon-transgenic model for regeneration within the pancreas lead us to propose that these factors are important during pancreatic regeneration. In this study, we have assessed the influence of two growth factors within the pancreas, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), by ectopically expressing these proteins under the control of the human insulin promoter in transgenic mice. This -cell-targeted expression of either EGF or KGF resulted in significant morphological changes, including cellular proliferation and disorganized islet growth. Intercrossing the individual Ins-EGF and Ins-KGF transgenic mice resulted in more profound changes in pancreatic morphology including proliferation of pancreatic cells and extensive intra-islet fibrosis. Insulin-producing -cells were found in some of the ducts of older Ins-EGF and Ins-EGF KGF transgenic mice, and amylase-producing cells were observed within the islet structures of the double transgenic mice. These data suggest that both EGF and KGF are capable of affecting pancreatic differentiation and growth, and that co-expression of these molecules in islets has a more substantial impact on the pancreas than does expression of either growth factor alone.
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