CD8-positive T cells are thought to play an important role in the control of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a result of their cytotoxic activity and by releasing soluble factors. In AIDS patients, the absolute number of CD8+ T lymphocytes is decreased in peripheral blood and their turnover rate is increased, suggesting that there is more cell renewal and cell death occurring. Anti-retroviral therapy raises CD8+ T-cell counts in HIV-infected patients. Here we report that the death rate of CD8+ T cells by apoptosis increased markedly during HIV infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. Apoptosis is induced in a dose-dependent manner by recombinant envelope glycoprotein gp120 from HIV strain X4, or by stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), the physiological ligand of the chemokine receptor CXCR4. Apoptosis is mediated by the interaction between tumour-necrosis factor-alpha bound to the membrane of macrophages (mbTNF) and a receptor on CD8+ T cells (TNF-receptor II, or TNFRII). The expression of both of these cell-surface proteins is upregulated by HIV infection or by treatment with recombinant gp120 or SDF-1. Apoptosis of CD8+ T cells isolated from HIV-infected patients is also mediated by macrophages through the interaction between mbTNF and TNFRII. These results indicate that the increased turnover of CD8+ T cells in HIV-infected subjects is mediated by the HIV envelope protein through the CXCR4 chemokine receptor.

The clinical and research value of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) depends upon maintaining their epigenetically naïve, fully undifferentiated state. Inactivation of one X chromosome in each cell of mammalian female embryos is a paradigm for one of the earliest steps in cell specialization through formation of facultative heterochromatin. Mouse ES cells are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocyst stage embryos prior to X-inactivation, and cultured murine ES cells initiate this process only upon differentiation. Less is known about human X-inactivation during early development. To identify a human ES cell model for X-inactivation and study differences in the epigenetic state of hESC lines, we investigated X-inactivation in all growth competent, karyotypically normal, NIH approved, female hESC lines and several sublines. In the vast majority of undifferentiated cultures of nine lines examined, essentially all cells exhibit hallmarks of X-inactivation. However, subcultures of any hESC line can vary in X-inactivation status, comprising distinct sublines. Importantly, we identified rare sublines that have not yet inactivated Xi and retain competence to undergo X-inactivation upon differentiation. Other sublines exhibit defects in counting or maintenance of XIST expression on Xi. The few hESC sublines identified that have not yet inactivated Xi may reflect the earlier epigenetic state of the human ICM and represent the most promising source of NIH hESC for study of human X-inactivation. The many epigenetic anomalies seen indicate that maintenance of fully unspecialized cells, which have not formed Xi facultative heterochromatin, is a delicate epigenetic balance difficult to maintain in culture.The potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) in cell replacement therapies depends upon stable maintenance in culture of the epigenetic competence of developmentally naïve cells. Inactivation of one X chromosome in mammalian females is a prominent example of early epigenetic regulation and "commitment" to cell-specific facultative heterochromatin which is then propagated to all subsequent cell generations. Embryonic stem (ES) , 2006). Once established, the same XIST RNA coated heterochromatic chromosome is maintained in subsequent cell generations, such that the embryo is henceforth mosaic with regard to paternal or maternal X-linked gene expression.To date, studies of the initiation of mammalian X-inactivation have been largely restricted to mouse, and any studies involving human X-inactivation have been very limited and restricted to somewhat abnormal systems, such as embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells or inducible transgenes in somatic cells (see Discussion Section). Previous reports indicated that two of the eleven NIH approved human female ES lines did not initiate X-inactivation upon differentiation, as expected from studies in mouse Hoffman et al., 2005). One line (H7) never initiated X-inactivation even when differentiated for many weeks, whereas another (H9) exhibited apparently premature X-i...

Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) was recently identified as an endogenous ligand of the type 4 melanocortin receptor (MC4R), a critical regulator of appetite. However, it remains unknown if this molecule influences appetite during cancer cachexia, a devastating clinical entity characterized by decreased nutrition and progressive wasting. We demonstrate that LCN2 is robustly upregulated in murine models of pancreatic cancer, its expression is associated with reduced food consumption, and Lcn2 deletion is protective from cachexia-anorexia. Consistent with LCN2’s proposed MC4R-dependent role in cancer-induced anorexia, pharmacologic MC4R antagonism mitigates cachexia-anorexia, while restoration of Lcn2 expression in the bone marrow is sufficient in restoring the anorexia feature of cachexia. Finally, we observe that LCN2 levels correlate with fat and lean mass wasting and is associated with increased mortality in patients with pancreatic cancer. Taken together, these findings implicate LCN2 as a pathologic mediator of appetite suppression during pancreatic cancer cachexia.

Self-renewal and differentiation are defining characteristics of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and their balanced regulation is central to lifelong function of both blood and immune systems. In addition to cell-intrinsic programs, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell fate decisions are subject to extrinsic cues from within the bone marrow microenvironment and systemically. Yet, many of the paracrine and endocrine mediators that shape hematopoietic function remain to be discovered. Extracellular vesicles serve as evolutionarily conserved, constitutive regulators of cell and tissue homeostasis, with several recent reports supporting a role for extracellular vesicles in the regulation of hematopoiesis. We review the physiological and pathophysiological effects that extracellular vesicles have on bone marrow compartmental function while highlighting progress in understanding vesicle biogenesis, cargo incorporation, differential uptake, and downstream effects of vesicle internalization. This review also touches on the role of extracellular vesicles in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell fate regulation and recent advances in therapeutic and diagnostic applications of extracellular vesicles in hematologic disorders.

The complex nuclear structure of somatic cells is important to epigenomic regulation, yet little is known about nuclear organization of human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Here we surveyed several nuclear structures in pluripotent and transitioning hESC. Observations of centromeres, telomeres, SC35 speckles, Cajal Bodies, lamin A/C and emerin, nuclear shape and size demonstrate a very different "nuclear landscape" in hESC. This landscape is remodeled during a brief transitional window, concomitant with or just prior to differentiation onset. Notably, hESC initially contain abundant signal for spliceosome assembly factor, SC35, but lack discrete SC35 domains; these form as cells begin to specialize, likely reflecting cell-type specific genomic organization. Concomitantly, nuclear size increases and shape changes as lamin A/C and emerin incorporate into the lamina. During this brief window, hESC exhibit dramatically different PMLdefined structures, which in somatic cells are linked to gene regulation and cancer. Unlike the numerous, spherical somatic PML bodies, hES cells often display ~1 -3 large PML structures of two morphological types: long linear "rods" or elaborate "rosettes", which lack substantial SUMO-1, Daxx, and Sp100.These occur primarily between Day 0-2 of differentiation and become rare thereafter. PML rods may be "taut" between other structures, such as centromeres, but clearly show some relationship with the lamina, where PML often abuts or fills a "gap" in early lamin A/ C staining. Findings demonstrate that pluripotent hES cells have a markedly different overall nuclear architecture, remodeling of which is linked to early epigenomic programming and involves formation of unique PML-defined structures. Keywordshuman embryonic stem cells; PML; nuclear structure; lamina; SC35 domains; Speckles; Differentiation; pluripotency; nuclear shape Although human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have become an intense topic of biomedical research, a great deal about their basic biology is unknown. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst stage embryos and have two essential characteristics: an apparently unlimited ability to self renew and the capacity to differentiate 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.