TGF-beta signals from the membrane to the nucleus through serine/threonine kinase receptors and their downstream effectors, termed SMAD proteins. The activated TGF-beta receptor induces phosphorylation of two such proteins, Smad2 and Smad3, which form hetero-oligomeric complex(es) with Smad4/DPC4 that translocate to the nucleus, where they then regulate transcriptional responses. However, the mechanisms by which the intracellular signals of TGF-beta are switched off are unclear. Here we report the identification of Smad7, which is related to Smad6. Transfection of Smad7 blocks responses mediated by TGF-beta in mammalian cells, and injection of Smad7 RNA into Xenopus embryos blocks activin/TGF-beta signalling. Smad7 associates stably with the TGF-beta receptor complex, but is not phosphorylated upon TGF-beta stimulation. TGFbeta-mediated phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3 is inhibited by Smad7, indicating that the antagonistic effect of Smad7 is exerted at this important regulatory step. TGF-beta rapidly induces expression of Smad7 mRNA, suggesting that Smad7 may participate in a negative feedback loop to control TGF-beta responses.

No abstract

The ability of differentiating cells to migrate within the developing central nervous system (CNS) depends on extrinsic guidance signals, some of which are growth factors. In this study we have investigated the chemotactic response of cultured stem cells from the embryonic rat cortex to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). Nestin-positive stem cells from the developing CNS can be maintained and expanded in vitro under serum-free conditions in the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Northern blot analysis of PDGF receptor expression revealed both alpha- and beta-receptors on bFGF-treated neural stem cells. Both PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB readily induced directed migration of cultured neuroepithelial cells as measured in a microchemotaxis assay. Blocking of the migratory response was achieved by incubation with PDGF isoform-specific antibodies. More than 90% of the migrating cells were nestin-positive and incorporation of BrdU was also seen suggesting the cells to be immature and not yet committed to a specific cell lineage. These findings suggest a role for PDGF in cell migration in the developing cortex.

Activin A and osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) exerted antagonistic effects on each other's responses on the human Tera-2 embryonal carcinoma cell line. OP-1 dose dependently inhibited activin A-induced activation of p3TP-Lux transcriptional reporter, containing part of the human plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) promoter, while activin A inhibited OP-1-mediated alkaline phosphatase induction. Approximately equimolar concentrations of both growth factors resulted in 50% inhibition of the respective biological responses. Affinity cross-linking studies using 125I-activin A or 125I-OP-1 followed by receptor-immunoprecipitations revealed that both ligands bound to the activin type II receptor (ActR-II), but recruited different type I receptors. In addition, OP-1 competed with binding of 125I-activin A, and activin A competed with binding of 125I-OP-1 to ActR-II. Transient transfection studies showed that competition between activin A and OP-1 also occurred at the type I receptor (ActR-1) level; constitutively active (CA)-ActR-I inhibited CA-ActR-IB-mediated p3TP-Lux reporter induction. There was no competition between activin A and OP-1 for availability of Smad4, indicating that the concentration of this common signal transducer is not limiting for generating the observed biological responses. Overexpression of ActR-II abolished the inhibitory effect of OP-1 on activin A-induced p3TP-Lux activation and, surprisingly, led to OP-1-induced transcriptional reporter activity. Whereas the exact mechanism of competition is unclear, the role of ActR-II in the competition between activin A and OP-1 is discussed in light of the observed interference in downstream signaling by CA-ActR-I and CA-ActR-IB.

The gas3/PMP22 gene product is a dual function protein, involved in both peripheral nerve myelination and cell proliferation. gas 3/PMP22 is highly expressed in myelinating Schwann cells and is required for normal PNS development. In addition, a more general function for gas3 is suggested by its expression in non-neural tissues and upregulation by growth arrest in cultured rodent fibroblasts. In the present work, the expression of the gas3 gene has been studied in human fibroblasts. We have confirmed that gas3 mRNA is upregulated when cells are serum starved or grown to high cell density (G0 arrest). When quiescent cells were stimulated by serum or platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), gas3 mRNA was down regulated. In contrast, we found that the expression of gas3 mRNA was neither upregulated in senescent cells nor in cells arrested in G1 using Lovastatin. Thus, high expression of gas3 is not related to growth inhibition in general, but more probably to the G0 growth arrest state. Furthermore, we found that in two malignant fibrous histiocytoma cell lines, gas3 expression was lower than in normal fibroblasts, suggesting an altered regulation of the gas3 gene in transformed cells.