Showing papers by "Peter Kille published in 2013"

A mechanism for epithelial–mesenchymal transition and anoikis resistance in breast cancer triggered by zinc channel ZIP6 and STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3)

Abstract: Genes involved in normal developmental processes attract attention as mediators of tumour progression as they facilitate migration of tumour cells. EMT (epithelial–mesenchymal transition), an essential part of embryonic development, tissue remodelling and wound repair, is crucial for tumour metastasis. Previously, zinc transporter ZIP6 [SLC39A6; solute carrier family 39 (zinc transporter), member 6; also known as LIV-1) was linked to EMT in zebrafish gastrulation through a STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) mechanism, resulting in nuclear localization of transcription factor Snail. In the present study, we show that zinc transporter ZIP6 is transcriptionally induced by STAT3 and unprecedented among zinc transporters, and is activated by N-terminal cleavage which triggers ZIP6 plasma membrane location and zinc influx. This zinc influx inactivates GSK-3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3β), either indirectly or directly via Akt or GSK-3β respectively, resulting in activation of Snail, which remains in the nucleus and acts as a transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin (epithelial cadherin), CDH1, causing cell rounding and detachment. This was mirrored by ZIP6-transfected cells which underwent EMT, detached from monolayers and exhibited resistance to anoikis by their ability to continue proliferating even after detachment. Our results indicate a causative role for ZIP6 in cell motility and migration, providing ZIP6 as a new target for prediction of clinical cancer spread and also suggesting a ZIP6-dependent mechanism of tumour metastasis.

DNA sequence variation and methylation in an arsenic tolerant earthworm population

Abstract: Evidence is emerging that earthworms can evolve tolerance to trace element enriched soils. However, few studies have sought to establish whether such tolerance is determined through adaptation or plasticity. Here we report results from a combined analysis of mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase II, COII), nuclear (amplified fragment length polymorphism, AFLP) variation and DNA methylation in populations of the earthworm Lumbricus rubellus from sites across an abandoned arsenic and copper mine. Earthworms from the mine site population demonstrated clear arsenic tolerance in comparison to a naive strain. COII and AFLP results suggest that L. rubellus from the unexposed and the adapted populations comprises two cryptic lineages (Lineages A and B) each of which was present across all of the sites. AFLP analysis by lineage highlighted variations associated with soil metal/metalloid concentrations (most clearly for Lineage A) suggesting a genetic component to the observed tolerance. The methylation sensitive AFLP (Me-AFLP) identified a high genome methylation content (average 13.5%) in both lineages. For Lineage A, Me-AFLP analysis did not identify a strong association with soil arsenic levels. For Lineage B, however, a clear association of methylation patterns with soil arsenic concentrations was found. This suggests that Lineage B earthworms utilise epigenetic mechanisms to adapt to the presence of contamination. These fundamentally different genetic adjustments in the two clades indicate that the two lineages employ distinct adaptive strategies (genetic or epigenetic) in response to arsenic exposure. Mechanisms driving this variation may be founded within the colonisation histories of the lineages.

Earthworms Produce phytochelatins in Response to Arsenic

Abstract: Phytochelatins are small cysteine-rich non-ribosomal peptides that chelate soft metal and metalloid ions, such as cadmium and arsenic. They are widely produced by plants and microbes; phytochelatin synthase genes are also present in animal species from several different phyla, but there is still little known about whether these genes are functional in animals, and if so, whether they are metal-responsive. We analysed phytochelatin production by direct chemical analysis in Lumbricus rubellus earthworms exposed to arsenic for a 28 day period, and found that arsenic clearly induced phytochelatin production in a dose-dependent manner. It was necessary to measure the phytochelatin metabolite concentrations directly, as there was no upregulation of phytochelatin synthase gene expression after 28 days: phytochelatin synthesis appears not to be transcriptionally regulated in animals. A further untargetted metabolomic analysis also found changes in metabolites associated with the transsulfuration pathway, which channels sulfur flux from methionine for phytochelatin synthesis. There was no evidence of biological transformation of arsenic (e.g. into methylated species) as a result of laboratory arsenic exposure. Finally, we compared wild populations of earthworms sampled from the field, and found that both arsenic-contaminated and cadmium-contaminated mine site worms had elevated phytochelatin concentrations.

In Situ Metal Imaging and Zn Ligand-Speciation in a Soil-Dwelling Sentinel: Complementary Electron Microprobe and Synchrotron Microbeam X-ray Analyses

Abstract: Understanding the relationships between accumulated metal speciation in cells and tissues of ecologically significant taxa such as earthworms will improve risk assessments. Synchrotron-based μ-focus X-ray spectroscopy was used to detect, localize, and determine ligand-speciation of Zn and Pb in thin sections of two epigeic earthworm species collected from a Pb/Zn-mine soil. The findings indicated that Zn and Pb partition predominantly as typical hard acids (i.e., strong affinities for O-donors) within liverlike chloragocytes. Moreover, Zn speciation was very similar in the chloragog and intestinal epithelia but differed subtly in the kidneylike nephridial tubules; neither Zn nor Pb was detectable in the ventral nerve cord. High resolution X-ray mapping of high pressure-frozen, ultrathin, freeze-substituted sections in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), combined with conventional TEM structural analysis, identified a new cell type packed with highly organized rough endoplasmic reticulum and containing deposits of Cd (codistributed with S); there was no evidence that these cells are major depositories of Zn or Pb. These data may be used in a systems biology approach to assist in the interpretation of metal-evoked perturbations in whole-worm transcriptome and metabolome profiles.

The bottom-up approach to defining life: deciphering the functional organization of biological cells via multi-objective representation of biological complexity from molecules to cells.

Abstract: In silico representation of cellular systems needs to represent the adaptive dynamics of biological cells, recognizing a cell’s multi-objective topology formed by spatially and temporally cohesive intracellular structures. The design of these models needs to address the hierarchical and concurrent nature of cellular functions and incorporate the ability to self-organise in response to transitions between healthy and pathological phases, and adapt accordingly. The functions of biological systems are constantly evolving, due to the ever changing demands of their environment. Biological systems meet these demands by pursuing objectives, aided by their constituents, giving rise to biological functions. A biological cell is organised into an objective/task hierarchy. These objective hierarchy corresponds to the nested nature of temporally cohesive structures and representing them will facilitate in studying pleiotropy and polygeny by modeling causalities propagating across multiple interconnected intracellular processes. Although biological adaptations occur in physiological, developmental and reproductive timescales, the paper is focused on adaptations that occur within physiological timescales, where the biomolecular activities contributing to functional organisation, play a key role in cellular physiology. The paper proposes a multi-scale and multi-objective modelling approach from the bottom-up by representing temporally cohesive structures for multi-tasking of intracellular processes. Further the paper characterises the properties and constraints that are consequential to the organisational and adaptive dynamics in biological cells.