No abstract

Keratinocyte differentiation program leading to an organized epidermis plays a key role in maintaining the first line of defense of the skin. Epidermal integrity is regulated by a tight communication between keratinocytes and leucocytes, particularly under cytokine control. Imbalance of the cytokine network leads to inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis. Our attempt to model skin inflammation showed that the combination of IL-17A, IL-22, IL-1α, OSM and TNFα (Mix M5) synergistically increases chemokine and antimicrobial-peptide expression, recapitulating some features of psoriasis. Other characteristics of psoriasis are acanthosis and down-regulation of keratinocyte differentiation markers. Our aim was to characterize the specific roles of these cytokines on keratinocyte differentiation, and to compare with psoriatic lesion features. All cytokines decrease keratinocyte differentiation markers, but IL-22 and OSM were the most powerful, and the M5 strongly synergized the effects. In addition, IL-22 and OSM induced epidermal hyperplasia in vitro and M5 induced epidermal thickening and decreased differentiation marker expression in a mouse model, as observed in human psoriatic skin lesions. This study highlights the precise role of cytokines in the skin inflammatory response. IL-22 and OSM more specifically drive epidermal hyperplasia and differentiation loss while IL-1α, IL-17A and TNFα were more involved in the activation of innate immunity.

Recent studies have demonstrated a relationship between the expression of stem cell-associated genes and relapses in glioblastoma (GBM), suggesting a key role for tumor stem cells in this process. Although there is increasing interest in this field, glioma stem cells (GSCs) are still poorly characterized, their ‘stemness' state and factors maintaining these properties remain largely unknown. We performed an expression profiling analysis of pluripotency in gliomaspheres derived from 11 patients. Comparative analysis between GSCs and H1 and H9 human embryonic stem cells as well as H9-derived neural stem cells indicates major variations in gene expression of pluripotency factors Nanog and OCT4, but a stable pattern for SOX2 suggesting its important function in maintaining pluripotency in GSCs. Our results also showed that all GSC lines have the capacity to commit to neural differentiation and express mesenchymal or endothelial differentiation markers. In addition, hierarchical clustering analysis revealed two groups of GSCs reflecting their heterogeneity and identified COL1A1 and IFITM1 as the most discriminating genes. Similar patterns have been observed in tumors from which gliomaspheres have been established. To determine whether this heterogeneity could be clinically relevant, the expression of both genes was further analyzed in an independent cohort of 30 patients with GBM and revealed strong correlation with overall survival. In vitro silencing of COL1A1 and IFTM1 confirmed the effect of these mesenchymal-associated genes on cell invasion and gliomasphere initiation. Our results indicate that COL1A1 and IFITM1 genes could be considered for use in stratifying patients with GBM into subgroups for risk of recurrence at diagnosis, as well as for prognostic and therapeutic evolution.

BackgroundRadioresistant glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) contribute to tumor recurrence and identification of the molecular targets involved in radioresistance mechanisms is likely to enhance therapeutic efficacy. This study analyzed the DNA damage response following ionizing radiation (IR) in 10 GSC lines derived from patients.MethodsDNA damage was quantified by Comet assay and DNA repair effectors were assessed by Low Density Array. The effect of RAD51 inhibitor, RI-1, was evaluated by comet and annexin V assays.ResultsWhile all GSC lines displayed efficient DNA repair machinery following ionizing radiation, our results demonstrated heterogeneous responses within two distinct groups showing different intrinsic radioresistance, up to 4Gy for group 1 and up to 8Gy for group 2. Radioresistant cell group 2 (comprising 5 out of 10 GSCs) showed significantly higher RAD51 expression after IR. In these cells, inhibition of RAD51 prevented DNA repair up to 180 min after IR and induced apoptosis. In addition, RAD51 protein expression in glioblastoma seems to be associated with poor progression-free survival.ConclusionThese results underscore the importance of RAD51 in radioresistance of GSCs. RAD51 inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy helping to treat a significant number of glioblastoma, in combination with radiotherapy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2647-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.