Biomedical subjects

D J Milasincic

Publications and source records attributed to D J Milasincic.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Critical proliferation-independent window for basic fibroblast growth factor repression of myogenesis via the p42/p44 MAPK signaling pathway.

In many cell types including myoblasts, growth factors control proliferation and differentiation, in part, via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway (also known as the extracellular regulated kinase (Erk) pathway). In C2C12 myoblast cells, insulin-like growth factor-1 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) activate MAPK/Erk, and both growth factors promote myoblast proliferation. However, these factors have opposing roles with respect to differentiation; insulin-like growth factor-1 enhances muscle cell differentiation, whereas bFGF inhibits the expression of the muscle-specific transcription factors MyoD and myogenin. Cells treated with bFGF and PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the MAPK pathway, show enhanced expression of the muscle-specific transcription factors MyoD and myogenin as compared with cells not exposed to this inhibitor. Inhibiting MAPK activity also enhances myoblast fusion and the expression of the late differentiation marker myosin heavy chain. Basic FGF mediated repression of muscle-specific genes does not result from continued cell proliferation, since bFGF-treated cells progress through only one round of cell division. We have identified a critical boundary 16 to 20 h after plating during which bFGF induced MAPK activity is able to repress myogenic gene expression and differentiation. Thus, the targets of MAPK that regulate myogenesis are functional at this time and their identification is in progress.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Anchorage-dependent control of muscle-specific gene expression in C2C12 mouse myoblasts.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that expression of growth-associated genes is regulated by the adhesive state of the cell. To understand the role of cell adhesion in regulating the switch from growth to differentiation, we are studying the differentiation of mouse myoblasts into multinucleated contractile myotubes. In this report, we describe a novel means of culturing C2C12 myoblasts that permits an analysis of the role of cell adhesion in regulating the sequential induction of muscle-specific genes that control myogenesis. Suspension of an asynchronous, proliferating population of myoblasts in a viscous gel of methylcellulose dissolved in medium containing 20% serum induces growth arrest in G0 phase of the cell cycle without a concomitant induction of muscle-specific genes. Reattachment to a solid substratum in 20% serum, 0.5 nM bFGF, or 10 nM IGF-1 rapidly activates entry of the quiescent cells into G1 followed by a synchronous progression of the cell population through into S phase. bFGF or IGF-1 added separately facilitate only one passage through the cell cycle, whereas 20% serum or the two growth factors added together support multiple cell divisions. Adhesion of suspended cells in DMEM alone or with 3 nM IGF-1 induces myogenesis as evidenced by the synthesis of myogenin and myosin heavy chain (MHC) proteins followed by fusion into myotubes. bFGF completely inhibits this differentiation process even in the presence of myogenic doses of IGF-1. Addition of 3 nM IGF-1 to quiescent myoblasts maintained in suspension culture in serum-free conditions does not induce myogenin or MHC expression. Thus, adhesion is a requirement for the induction of muscle gene expression in mouse myoblasts. The development of a muscle cell culture environment in which proliferating myoblasts can be growth arrested in G0 without activating muscle-specific gene expression provides a means of analyzing the synchronous activation of either the myogenic or growth programs and how adhesion affects each process, respectively.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Stimulation of C2C12 myoblast growth by basic fibroblast growth factor and insulin-like growth factor 1 can occur via mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent and -independent pathways.

It is now well-recognized that the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade facilitates signaling from an activated tyrosine kinase receptor to the nucleus. In fact, an increasing number of extracellular effectors have been reported to activate the MAP kinase cascade, with a significant number of cellular responses attributed to this activation. We set out to explore how two extracellular effectors, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which have both been reported to activate MAP kinase, generate quite distinct cellular responses in C2C12 myoblasts. We demonstrate here that bFGF, which is both a potent mitogen and inhibitor of myogenic differentiation, is a strong MAP kinase agonist. By contrast, IGF-1, which is equally mitogenic for C2C12 cells but ultimately enhances the differentiated phenotype, is a weak activator of the MAP kinase cascade. We further demonstrate that IGF-1 is a potent activator of both insulin receptor substrate IRS-1 tyrosyl phosphorylation and association of IRS-1 with activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). Finally, use of the specific MAP kinase kinase inhibitor, PD098059, and wortmannin, a PI 3-kinase inhibitor, suggests the existence of an IGF-1-induced, MAP kinase-independent signaling event which contributes to the mitogenic response of this factor, whereas bFGF-induced mitogenesis appears to strongly correlate with activation of the MAP kinase cascade.

Androstadienes↗

PubMed1992

Dynamic equilibria between subcomponents of C1, the first component of human complement.

C1r and C1s, the serine protease components of activated C1, form a tetramer in the presence of Ca2+. The stability of this tetramer is sufficient that its association with the third component, C1q, has been successfully treated as a reversible bimolecular equilibrium reaction [Siegel and Schumaker, Molec. Immun. 20, 53-66 (1983)]. We have used the fluorescence anisotropy (A) of fluorescein-labeled C1s (s*) to monitor assembly and subcomponent exchange in 0.15 mol/l NaCl, 0.001 mol/l Ca2+ 0.02 mol/l Tris, pH 7.4. Addition of q to r2s*2 causes a small but measurable delta A of 0.01-0.02. The response is too fast to measure at 37 degrees but can be readily followed at 4 degrees where t 1/2 = 0.6 min when [q] = [r2s*2] = 0.5 mumol/l. The increase in A can be readily reversed by dilution or by addition of unlabeled C1s. Slow incremental addition of q to a solution of r2s*2 produces a dose-dependent delta A from which stoichiometry and dissociation constants can be derived. Measurements of Kd as a function of temperature establish an inverse temperature dependence with delta H = -15 kcal/mol and a value of Kd = 0.031 mumol/l at 37 degrees (delta G = + 11, T delta S = -26 kcal/mol). Thus, the assembly process appears to be entropy-driven presumably due to the exclusion of structured water from protein-protein interfaces in the complex.

Complement C1r↗