ABSTRACT Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans are synthesised by different tissues and cell types, and the chondroitin sulphate chains are variably sulphated. Three monoclonal antibodies 3B3, 7D4 and 6C3 that recognise different native chondroitin sulphate epitopes have been used to investigate changes in structure during embryonic tissue development in the chick and in the response of mature canine articular cartilage during experimental osteoarthritis. Strong focal expression of the epitopes was seen during development of chick bursa, which was different for the three epitopes and which changed during 5 days of development. In embryonic chick limb, although chondroitin sulphate is present throughout the cartilage, the 3B3 epitope, which is at the non-reducing terminus of chains, was only expressed on chondroitin sulphate within one region of the sub-articular cartilage. In mature canine articular cartilage the expression of this epitope on proteoglycans was very low, but when determined 3 or 6 months after induction of experimental osteoarthritis the level was greatly increased in all joints tested (23/23). The abundance of the other two native chondroitin sulphate epitopes was also increased in this experimental disease. The results show that expression of the chondroitin sulphate epitopes detected by the monoclonal antibodies changes during cellular differentiation and development and suggests that it is closely controlled by the cells synthesising chondroitin sulphate chains.
Abstract: Epithelial–mesenchymal interactions play a critical role in skin development and differentiation, and similar interactions may also regulate the day‐to‐day proliferation and differentiation events of the epidermis that occur in normal adult skin. This study was directed at identifying molecules that are selectively located at the dermal–epidermal junction in normal adult skin as they may be involved in regulating these homeostatic events. To this end, monoclonal antibodies were raised against the crude cell membrane fraction of cultured human dermal fibroblasts. Screening of antibodies that recognized cell surface antigen on cultured human dermal fibroblasts was followed by determining which of these antibodies selectively localized cells at sites of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions. Antibody DF‐5 fit these criteria and was further characterized. This antibody was found to recognize the cell surface ectopeptidase aminopeptidase N (APN), a molecule homologous to the cluster differentiation antigen CD13. Antibody DF‐5 and anti‐CD13 antibodies both identified cells at sites of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions in fetal, neonatal, and adult human skin, and the APN/CD13 enzyme activity was also identified at these sites. A second ectopeptidase, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) or CD26, presented a significantly different immunohistochemical and histochemical pattern in skin samples, confirming the specificity of the APN/CD13 studies. The function of APN/CD13 in skin has yet to be determined. Its invariant localization at sites of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions argues for a role particular to this region. It may play a role in regulating the activity of neuropeptides or other signaling peptides that are released in this region of skin or it may have an as yet undefined role in mediating communication between dermal and epidermal cells.
The effective delivery of bioactive molecules to wound sites hasten repair. Cellular therapies provide a means for the targeted delivery of a complex, multiple arrays of bioactive factors to wound sites. Thus, the identification of ideal therapeutic populations is an essential aspect of this approach. In vitro assays can provide an important first step toward this goal by selecting populations that are likely suitable for more expensive and time-consuming in vivo assays. In this study, bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) were integrated into a three-dimensional coculture system that supports the development and stabilization of vascular tube-like structures. The presence of a limited number of BM-MSCs resulted in their coalignment with vascular structures, and it further resulted in increased tubule numbers and complexity. Thus, these studies suggest that BM-MSCs functionally interacted with and were attracted to in vitro formed vascular structures. Further, these cells also provided sufficient bioactive factors and matrix molecules to support the formation of tubular arrays and the stabilization of these arrays. This in vitro system provides a means for assessing the function of BM-MSCs in aspects of the angiogenic component of wound repair.
The connective tissue stroma of malignant tumors is a newly formed tissue that supports the growth and progression of neoplastic cells. Proteoglycans are intrinsic components of this complex structure and molecular changes in this class of macromolecules can significantly affect behavioral properties of transformed cells. We report that human colon carcinoma contained increased levels of a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan that exhibited an altered glycosaminoglycan structure in which 0- and 6-sulfated units, as detected by specific monoclonal antibodies, predominated. Proteoglycans with such epitopes were localized primarily to the connective tissue stroma surrounding the tumor cells but not to the tumor cells themselves or the native, non-cancerous connective tissue. Analysis of mRNA encoding PG-40, the main chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of colon tissue, revealed a 7-fold increase in the two transcripts encoding this gene product. This increase was evident whether the data were normalized to total RNA content or beta-actin mRNA levels. The altered steady state levels of PG-40 mRNA did not correlate with any significant gene amplification or rearrangement of PG-40 in human colon cancer. However, when genomic DNA was tested for degree of methylation, the colon carcinoma tissue showed a marked hypomethylation of PG-40 gene locus, a finding that has been associated with increased gene activation. Interestingly, PG-40 gene was also hypomethylated in cultured colon fibroblasts, which express PG-40, but not in colon carcinoma cells which do not express this gene. These results indicate that specific proteoglycan changes occur in colon carcinoma and that these alterations are the product of stromal cells that are topologically associated with and functionally respondent to the growing malignant cells. This is the first evidence that enhanced PG-40 expression in a human malignant tissue is associated with a hypomethylated gene and suggests that the control of PG-40 gene expression may represent an important factor in the progression of colon carcinoma.
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