Browsing by Author "Malik, Asrar B."

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    SOX17 Regulates Conversion of Human Fibroblasts Into Endothelial Cells and Erythroblasts by Dedifferentiation Into CD34+ Progenitor Cells
    (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2017-06-20) Zhang, Lianghui; Jambusaria, Ankit; Hong, Zhigang; Marsboom, Glenn; Toth, Peter T.; Herbert, Brittney-Shea; Malik, Asrar B.; Rehman, Jalees; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: The mechanisms underlying the dedifferentiation and lineage conversion of adult human fibroblasts into functional endothelial cells have not yet been fully defined. Furthermore, it is not known whether fibroblast dedifferentiation recapitulates the generation of multipotent progenitors during embryonic development, which give rise to endothelial and hematopoietic cell lineages. Here we established the role of the developmental transcription factor SOX17 in regulating the bilineage conversion of fibroblasts by the generation of intermediate progenitors. METHODS: CD34+ progenitors were generated after the dedifferentiation of human adult dermal fibroblasts by overexpression of pluripotency transcription factors. Sorted CD34+ cells were transdifferentiated into induced endothelial cells and induced erythroblasts using lineage-specific growth factors. The therapeutic potential of the generated cells was assessed in an experimental model of myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Induced endothelial cells expressed specific endothelial cell surface markers and also exhibited the capacity for cell proliferation and neovascularization. Induced erythroblasts expressed erythroid surface markers and formed erythroid colonies. Endothelial lineage conversion was dependent on the upregulation of the developmental transcription factor SOX17, whereas suppression of SOX17 instead directed the cells toward an erythroid fate. Implantation of these human bipotential CD34+ progenitors into nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD-SCID) mice resulted in the formation of microvessels derived from human fibroblasts perfused with mouse and human erythrocytes. Endothelial cells generated from human fibroblasts also showed upregulation of telomerase. Cell implantation markedly improved vascularity and cardiac function after myocardial infarction without any evidence of teratoma formation. CONCLUSIONS: Dedifferentiation of fibroblasts to intermediate CD34+ progenitors gives rise to endothelial cells and erythroblasts in a SOX17-dependent manner. These findings identify the intermediate CD34+ progenitor state as a critical bifurcation point, which can be tuned to generate functional blood vessels or erythrocytes and salvage ischemic tissue.
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    TLR4 activation of TRPC6-dependent calcium signaling mediates endotoxin-induced lung vascular permeability and inflammation
    (Rockefeller University Press, 2012) Tauseef, Mohammad; Knezevic, Nebojsa; Chava, Koteswara R.; Smith, Monica; Sukriti, Sukriti; Gianaris, Nicholas; Obukhov, Alexander G.; Vogel, Stephen M.; Schraufnagel, Dean E.; Dietrich, Alexander; Birnbaumer, Lutz; Malik, Asrar B.; Mehta, Dolly; Cellular and Integrative Physiology, School of Medicine
    Lung vascular endothelial barrier disruption and the accompanying inflammation are primary pathogenic features of acute lung injury (ALI); however, the basis for the development of both remains unclear. Studies have shown that activation of transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels induces Ca(2+) entry, which is essential for increased endothelial permeability. Here, we addressed the role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) intersection with TRPC6-dependent Ca(2+) signaling in endothelial cells (ECs) in mediating lung vascular leakage and inflammation. We find that the endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide; LPS) induces Ca(2+) entry in ECs in a TLR4-dependent manner. Moreover, deletion of TRPC6 renders mice resistant to endotoxin-induced barrier dysfunction and inflammation, and protects against sepsis-induced lethality. TRPC6 induces Ca(2+) entry in ECs, which is secondary to the generation of diacylglycerol (DAG) induced by LPS. Ca(2+) entry mediated by TRPC6, in turn, activates the nonmuscle myosin light chain kinase (MYLK), which not only increases lung vascular permeability but also serves as a scaffold to promote the interaction of myeloid differentiation factor 88 and IL-1R-associated kinase 4, which are required for NF-κB activation and lung inflammation. Our findings suggest that TRPC6-dependent Ca(2+) entry into ECs, secondary to TLR4-induced DAG generation, participates in mediating both lung vascular barrier disruption and inflammation induced by endotoxin.