bioRxiv ScienceSearch

Biology subjects

Yin, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Yin, W..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Myh10 deficiency leads to defective extracellular matrix remodeling and pulmonary disease

Impaired alveolar formation and maintenance are features of many pulmonary diseases that are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In a forward genetic screen for modulators of mouse lung development, we identified the non-muscle myosin II heavy chain gene, Myh10. Myh10 mutant pups exhibit cyanosis and respiratory distress, and die shortly after birth from differentiation defects in alveolar epithelium and mesenchyme. From omics analyses and follow up studies, we find decreased Thrombospondin expression accompanied with increased matrix metalloproteinase activity in both mutant lungs and cultured mutant fibroblasts, as well as disrupted extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. Loss of Myh10 specifically in mesenchymal cells results in ECM deposition defects and alveolar simplification. Notably, MYH10 expression is down-regulated in the lung of emphysema patients. Altogether, our findings reveal critical roles for Myh10 in alveologenesis at least in part via the regulation of ECM remodeling, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema.

developmental biology

MITA couples with PI3K to regulate actin reorganization during BCR activation

As an adaptor protein, MITA has been extensively studied in innate immunity. However, its role in adaptive immunity as well as its underlying mechanism are not completely understood. We used MITA KO mice to study the effect of MITA deficiency on B cell development and differentiation, BCR signaling during BCR activation and humoral immune response. We found that MITA deficiency promotes the differentiation of marginal zone B cells, which is linked to the lupus-like autoimmune disease that develops in MITA KO mice. MITA is involved in BCR activation and negatively regulates the activation of CD19 and Btk and positively regulates the activation of SHIP. Interestingly, we found that the activation of WASP and accumulation of F-actin is enhanced in MITA KO B cells upon stimulation. Mechanistically, we found that MITA uses PI3K mediated by the CD19-Btk axis as a central hub to control the actin remodeling that, in turn, offers feedback to BCR signaling. Overall, our study has provided a new mechanism on how MITA regulates BCR signaling via feedback from actin reorganization, which may contribute to the effects of MITA on the humoral immune response.

immunology

The potassium channel KCNJ13 is essential for smooth muscle cytoskeletal organization during mouse tracheal tubulogenesis

Tubulogenesis is essential for the formation and function of internal organs. One such organ is the trachea, which allows gas exchange between the external environment and the lungs. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying tracheal tube development remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the potassium channel KCNJ13 is a critical modulator of tracheal tubulogenesis. We identify Kcnj13 in an ethylnitrosourea forward genetic screen for regulators of mouse respiratory organ development. Kcnj13 mutants exhibit a shorter trachea as well as defective smooth muscle (SM) cell alignment and polarity. KCNJ13 is essential to maintain ion homeostasis in tracheal SM cells, which is required for actin polymerization. This process appears to be mediated, at least in part, through activation of the actin regulator AKT, as pharmacological increase of AKT phosphorylation ameliorates the Kcnj13 mutant trachea phenotypes. These results provide insights into the role of ion homeostasis in cytoskeletal organization during tubulogenesis.

developmental biology

Early urinary candidate biomarker discovery in a rat thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis model

Biomarker is the change associated with the disease. Blood is relatively stable because of the homeostatic mechanisms of the body. However, urine accumulates changes of the body, which makes it a better early biomarker source. Liver fibrosis, which results from the deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, is a reversible pathological condition, whereas cirrhosis, the end-stage of liver fibrosis, is irreversible. Consequently, noninvasive early biomarkers for fibrosis are desperately needed. In this study, differential urinary proteins were identified in the thioacetamide (TAA) liver fibrosis rat model using tandem mass tagging and two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (2DLC-MS/MS). A total of 766 urinary proteins were identified, 143 and 118 of which were significantly changed in the TAA 1-week and 3-week groups, respectively. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-targeted proteomics was used to further validate the abundant differentially expressed proteins in the TAA 1-week, 3-week, 6-week and 8-week groups. A total of 40 urinary proteins were statistically significant (fold change >2 and p<0.05), 15 of which had been previously reported as biomarkers of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis or other related diseases and 10 of which had been reported to be associated with the pathology and mechanism of liver fibrosis. These differential proteins were detected in urine before the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) changes in the serum and before fibrosis was observed upon hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Massons staining.

molecular biology

Urine Glucose Levels Are Disordered Before Blood Glucose Levels Increase In Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

Diabetes mellitus is a type of metabolic disease marked by hyperglycemia, and 90% of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes mellitus. More than half of patients are not diagnosed at all or are diagnosed too late to be effectively treated, resulting in nonspecific symptoms and a long period of incubation of the disease. Pre-diabetes mellitus, also known as impaired glucose regulation, is an early warning signal of diabetes, which has long been determinated by impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. In this study, Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats were used to test if there were changes in urine glucose before blood glucose increases. Six 8-week-old male ZDF rats (fa/fa) and Zucker lean (ZL) rats (fa/+) were fed with Purina 5008 high-fat diet and tested for fasting blood glucose and urine glucose. After 12 weeks of feeding, the urine glucose values of the ZL rats were normal (0-10 mmol/L), but the values of the ZDF model rats increased 10 weeks before their blood glucose levels elevated. The urine glucose values of the ZDF model rats showed a state of disorder that was frequently elevated (>10 mmol/L) and occasionally normal (0-10 mmol/L). This finding may provide an easy early diagnosis. Screening for human diabetes can be considered by frequently monitoring urine glucose levels: pre-diabetes may be revealed by frequently disordered urine glucose levels over a period.

molecular biology

Early Candidate Biomarkers Found From Urine Of Astrocytoma Rat Before Changes In MRI

Astrocytoma is the most common aggressive glioma and its early diagnosis remains difficult. Biomarkers are changes associated with the disease. Urine, which is not regulated by homeostatic mechanisms, accumulates changes and therefore is a better source for biomarker discovery. In this study, C6 cells were injected into Wistar rats brain as astrocytoma model. Urine samples were collected at day 2, day 6, day 10 and day 13 after injection, and the urinary proteomes were analyzed. On the 10th day, lesions appeared in magnetic resonance imaging. On the 13th day, clinical symptoms started. But differential urinary proteins were changed with the development of the astrocytoma, and can provide clues even on the 2nd and 6th day. Twenty-seven differential proteins with human orthologs had been reported to associate with astrocytoma. Thirty-nine proteins were verified in four more rats as candidate biomarkers of astrocytoma using multiple-reaction monitoring. A panel of differential urinary proteins may provide early biomarkers for diagnose of astrocytoma.

biochemistry