The role of Notch signaling in tumorigenesis can vary; Notch1 acts as an oncogene in some neoplasms, and a tumor suppressor in others. Here, we show that different Notch receptors can have opposite effects in a single tumor type. Expression of truncated, constitutively active Notch1 or Notch2 in embryonal brain tumor cell lines caused antagonistic effects on tumor growth. Cell proliferation, soft agar colony formation, and xenograft growth were all promoted by Notch2 and inhibited by Notch1. We also found that Notch2 receptor transcripts are highly expressed in progenitor cell-derived brain tumors such as medulloblastomas, whereas Notch1 is scarce or undetectable. This parallels normal cerebellar development, during which Notch2 is predominantly expressed in proliferating progenitors and Notch1 in postmitotic differentiating cells. Given the oncogenic effects of Notch2, we analyzed its gene dosage in 40 embryonal brain tumors, detecting an increased copy number in 15% of cases. Notch2 gene amplification was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization in one case with extremely high Notch2 mRNA levels. In addition, expression of the Notch pathway target gene Hes1 in medulloblastomas was associated with significantly shorter patient survival (P ‫؍‬ 0.01). Finally, pharmacological inhibition of Notch signaling suppresses growth of medulloblastoma cells. Our data indicate that Notch1 and Notch2 can have opposite effects on the growth of a single tumor type, and show that Notch2 can be overexpressed after gene amplification in human tumors.

Local SDF-1 and/or systemic G-CSF can effectively increase BMDC homing to sites of traumatic injury in an additive way and improve wound healing. This process appears to be mediated predominantly through MSC. Additional investigations are needed to identify the optimal adjuncts to improve wound healing following severe traumatic injury.

Background Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) are mobilized into the peripheral blood (PB) and then sequestered in injured tissue after trauma. Nonselective β-adrenergic blockade (BB) has been shown to cause a decrease in mobilization of HPCs to the periphery and to injured tissue. Given the vast physiologic effects of nonselective BB, the aim of this study is to delineate the role of selective BB in HPC growth and mobilization. Methods Rats underwent daily intraperitoneal injections of propranolol (Prop), atenolol (B1), butoxamine (B2), or SR59230A (B3) for 3 days to induce BB. All groups then underwent lung contusion (LC). HPC presence was assessed by GEMM, BFU-E, and CFU-E colony growth both in injured lung and bone marrow (BM). Flow cytometry, using c-kit and CD71, was used to determine mobilization into PB. Results LC alone decreased BM HPC growth in all erythroid cell types and increased their number in injured lung (all *p < 0.05). β-Blockade with Prop, B2, and B3 blockades restored BM HPC growth to control levels and decreased HPCs recovered in the injured lung. Similarly, Prop, B2, and B3 blockade prevented HPC mobilization to PB. B1 blockade with atenolol had no impact on HPC growth and mobilization following LC. Conclusions Nonselective BB reduced suppression of HPC growth in BM after injury and prevented the mobilization and subsequent sequestration of HPCs in injured tissue. Our data have shown that this effect is mediated through the B2 and B3 receptors. Therefore, after trauma, treatment with selective B2 or B3 blocker may attenuate the BM suppression associated with tissue injury.