MAB424R Sigma-AldrichAnti-PCNA Antibody, clone PC10

The gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal cells turnover regularly under physiological conditions, which may be stimulated in various pathological situations including inflammation. Local epithelial stem cells appear to play a major role in such mucosal renewal or pathological regeneration. Less is clear about the involvement of multipotent stem cells from blood in GI repair. We attempted to explore a role of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMMSCs) and soluble stem cell factor (SCF) in GI mucosa regeneration in a rat model of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).BMMSCs labelled with the fluorescent dye PKH26 from donor rats were transfused into rats suffering indomethacin-induced GI injury. Experimental effects by BMMSCs transplant and SCF were determined by morphometry of intestinal mucosa, double labeling of PKH26 positive BMMSCs with endogenous proliferative and intestinal cell markers, and western blot and PCR analyses of the above molecular markers in the recipient rats relative to controls.PKH26 positive BMMSCs were found in the recipient mucosa, partially colocalizing with the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Lgr5, Musashi-1 and ephrin-B3. mRNA and protein levels of PCNA, Lgr5, Musashi-1 and ephrin-B3 were elevated in the intestine in BMMSCs-treated rats, most prominent in the BMMSCs-SCF co-treatment group. The mucosal layer and the crypt layer of the small intestine were thicker in BMMSCs-treated rats, more evident in the BMMSCs-SCF co-treatment group.BMMSCs and SCF participate in but may play a synergistic role in mucosal cell regeneration following experimentally induced intestinal injury. Bone marrow stem cell therapy and SCF administration may be of therapeutic value in IBD.

A considerable number of cells expressing typical immature neuronal markers including doublecortin (DCX+) are present around layer II in the cerebral cortex of young and adult guinea pigs and other larger mammals, and their origin and biological implication await further characterization. We show here in young adult guinea pigs that these DCX+ cells are accompanied by in situ cell division around the superficial cortical layers mostly in layer I, but they co-express proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and an early neuronal fate determining factor, PAX6. A small number of these DCX+ cells also colocalize with BrdU following administration of this mitotic indicator. Cranial X-ray irradiation causes a decline of DCX+ cells around layer II, and novel environmental exploration induces c-Fos expression among these cells in several neocortical areas. Together, these data are compatible with a notion that DCX+ cortical neurons around layer II might derive from proliferable neuronal precursors around layer I in young adult guinea pig cerebrum, and that these cells might be modulated by experience under physiological conditions.

Deletion of TP53 gene, under routine assessment by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, connects with the worst prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The presence of isolated TP53 mutation (without deletion) is associated with reduced survival in CLL patients. It is unclear how these abnormalities are selected and what their mutual proportion is. We used methodologies with similar sensitivity for the detection of deletions (interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization) and mutations (yeast functional analysis) and analyzed a large consecutive series of 400 CLL patients; a subset of p53-wild-type cases (n = 132) was screened repeatedly during disease course. The most common type of TP53 inactivation, ie, mutation accompanied by deletion of the remaining allele, occurred in 42 patients (10.5%). Among additional defects, the frequency of the isolated TP53 mutation (n = 20; 5%) and the combination of 2 or more mutations on separate alleles (n = 5; 1.3%) greatly exceeded the sole deletion (n = 3; 0.8%). Twelve patients manifested defects during repeated investigation; in all circumstances the defects involved mutation and occurred after therapy. Monoallelic defects had a negative impact on survival and impaired in vitro response to fludarabine. Mutation analysis of the TP53 should be performed before each treatment initiation because novel defects may be selected by previous therapies.

SOX transcription factors have the capacity to modulate stem/progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. SOX9 is expressed in the small intestine epithelial stem cell zone. Therefore, we hypothesized that differential levels of SOX9 may exist, influencing proliferation and/or differentiation of the small intestine epithelium. Sox9 expression levels in the small intestine were investigated using a Sox9 enhanced green fluorescent protein (Sox9(EGFP)) transgenic mouse. Sox9(EGFP) levels correlate with endogenous SOX9 levels, which are expressed at two steady-state levels, termed Sox9(EGFPLO) and Sox9(EGFPHI). Crypt-based columnar cells are Sox9(EGFPLO) and demonstrate enriched expression of the stem cell marker, Lgr5. Sox9(EGFPHI) cells express chromogranin A and substance P but do not express Ki67 and neurogenin3, indicating that Sox9(EGFPHI) cells are postmitotic enteroendocrine cells. Overexpression of SOX9 in a crypt cell line stopped proliferation and induced morphological changes. These data support a bimodal role for SOX9 in the intestinal epithelium, where low SOX9 expression supports proliferative capacity, and high SOX9 expression suppresses proliferation.

Ran-binding protein M (RanBPM) is a nucleocytoplasmic protein previously implicated in various signaling pathways, but whose function remains enigmatic. Here, we provide evidence that RanBPM functions as an activator of apoptotic pathways induced by DNA damage. First, transient expression of RanBPM in HeLa cells induced cell death through caspase activation, and in the long-term, forced expression of RanBPM impaired cell viability. RanBPM COOH-terminal domain stimulated the ability of RanBPM to induce caspase activation, whereas this activity was negatively regulated by the central SPRY domain. Second, small interfering RNA-directed knockdown of RanBPM prevented DNA damage-induced apoptosis, as evidenced by the marked reduction in caspase-3 and caspase-2 activation. This correlated with a magnitude fold increase in the survival of RanBPM-depleted cells. Following ionizing radiation treatment, we observed a progressive relocalization of RanBPM from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, suggesting that the activation of apoptotic pathways by RanBPM in response to ionizing radiation may be regulated by nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. Finally, RanBPM downregulation was associated with a marked decrease of mitochondria-associated Bax, whereas Bcl-2 overall levels were dramatically upregulated. Overall, our results reveal a novel proapoptotic function for RanBPM in DNA damage-induced apoptosis through the regulation of factors involved in the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. (Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(12):1962-72).

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is expressed in many different tumors, but its precise roles in tumorigenesis remain to be fully defined. Here, we report on a mouse model that demonstrates dose-dependent effects of PDGF-B on glial tumorigenesis. By removing inhibitory regulatory elements in the PDGFB mRNA, we are able to substantially elevate its expression in tumor cells using a retroviral delivery system. This elevation in PDGF-B production results in tumors with shortened latency, increased cellularity, regions of necrosis, and general high-grade character. In addition, elevated PDGF-B in these tumors also mediates vascular smooth muscle cell recruitment that supports tumor angiogenesis. PDGF receptor (PDGFR) signaling appears to be required for the maintenance of these high-grade characteristics, because treatment of high-grade tumors with a small molecule inhibitor of PDGFR results in reversion to a lower grade tumor histology. Our data show that PDGFR signaling quantitatively regulates tumor grade and is required to sustain high-grade oligodendrogliomas.

The usefulness of different anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen monoclonal antibodies as S-phase probes in flow cytometric analysis was evaluated after various fixation procedures on human cell lines. With a newly developed detergent extraction/fixation method the monoclonal antibody PC10 acted as a selective S-phase marker. A total of 27 human hematopoietic tumors were analyzed using PC10, and all exhibited the characteristic S-phase recognition pattern. The percentage of PC10-positive cells was easily calculated and showed strong correlation to the fraction of S-phase cells determined from DNA histograms. Using alternative fixation procedures PC10, on the other hand, could recognize all actively cycling cells, a feature also observed for the monoclonal antibodies, 19A2 and TOB7.

The proliferating cell nuclear antigen, PCNA, has recently been identified as the polymerase delta accessory protein. PCNA is essential for cellular DNA synthesis and is also required for the in vitro replication of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA where it acts to coordinate leading and lagging strand synthesis at the replication fork. The cDNA for rat PCNA was cloned into a series of bacterial expression vectors and the resulting protein used to immunize mice. Eleven new monoclonal antibodies to PCNA have been isolated and characterized. Some of the antibodies recognize epitopes conserved from man to fission yeast. Immunocytochemical analysis of primate epithelial cell lines showed that the antibodies recognized antigenically distinct forms of PCNA and that these forms were localized to different compartments of the nucleus. One antibody reacted exclusively with PCNA in the nucleolus. These results suggest that the PCNA protein may fulfil several separate roles in the cell nucleus associated with changes in its antigenic structure.

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/cyclin is an intranuclear polypeptide antigen that is found in both normal and transformed proliferating cells. We have recently described two mouse monoclonal antibodies reacting with PCNA. In this report we describe the application of these antibodies to the study of proliferating human cells by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy and by flow cytometry. A fixation/permeation procedure was developed in order to obtain satisfactory binding of monoclonal PCNA-specific antibodies to proliferating cells. This method involved fixation with 1% paraformaldehyde followed by methanol treatment. For the staining of cells in suspension with the IgM type monoclonal antibodies lysolecithin was added to the paraformaldehyde solution to achieve a better permeation by the antibody molecules. This procedure gave a good ratio of specific staining relative to the background staining. It also preserved the shape and normal architecture of the cells as judged by visual microscopic observation and by light scatter measurements using a flow cytometer. Furthermore, this fixation technique permits simultaneous labeling of DNA by propidium iodide and PCNA by monoclonal antibodies. PCNA was detected in various types of normal and transformed proliferating cells by indirect immunofluorescence. Quiescent peripheral blood mononuclear cells were PCNA-negative whereas a fraction of lectin-stimulated lymphocytes became PCNA-positive. Similarly, early passages of fetal skin fibroblasts were PCNA-positive but non-proliferating senescent fibroblasts of later passages were PCNA-negative. The association of PCNA-staining by monoclonal antibodies with cell proliferation was confirmed by flow cytometry. Simultaneous labeling of PCNA and DNA showed that the PCNA signal increased during the G1 phase of the cell cycle, reached its maximum in the S-phase, and declined during the G2/M phase. Using cell sorting we demonstrated that mitotic cells had a very low PCNA signal. Thus, monoclonal PCNA-specific antibodies offer a convenient tool for the detection of human cell proliferation by immunofluorescence microscopy and by flow cytometry.

Two hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to proliferating cell nuclear antigen. (PNCA)/cyclin were generated from spleen cells of BALB/c mice immunized with purified PCNA from rabbit thymus. The specificity of the monoclonal antibodies (19A2 and 19F4) was established by showing that they reacted in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with purified PCNA. Furthermore, they reacted in one-dimensional (ID) gel immunoblots with a 36 kD polypeptide which also reacted with human autoantibodies from lupus patients. Both monoclonals also recognized the nuclear polypeptide cyclin in two-dimensional (2D) gel immunoblots of HeLa cell proteins. Epitopes recognized by 19A2 and 19F4 were analysed by competitive inhibition test using a modified ELISA. The data suggested that the epitopes were closely related, but not identical. The data with human auto-antibodies were more difficult to interpret, although it suggested that some human anti-PCNA may share epitopes with 19A2 and 19F4, but in addition recognize different epitopes on the PCNA molecule.