The role of hepatocyte nuclear factor 1β in disease and development

Heterozygous mutations in the gene that encodes the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor 1β (HNF1B) result in a multi-system disorder. HNF1B was initially discovered as a monogenic diabetes gene; however, renal cysts are the most frequently detected feature. Other clinical features include pancreatic hypoplasia and exocrine insufficiency, genital tract malformations, abnormal liver function, cholestasis and early-onset gout. Heterozygous mutations and complete gene deletions in HNF1B each account for approximately 50% of all cases of HNF1B-associated disease and may show autosomal dominant inheritance or arise spontaneously. There is no clear genotype-phenotype correlation indicating that haploinsufficiency is the main disease mechanism. Data from animal models suggest that HNF1B is essential for several stages of pancreas and liver development. However, mice with heterozygous mutations in HNF1B show no phenotype in contrast to the phenotype seen in humans. This suggests that mouse models do not fully replicate the features of human disease and complementary studies in human systems are necessary to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying HNF1B-associated disease. This review discusses the role of HNF1B in human and murine pancreas and liver development, summarizes the disease phenotypes and identifies areas for future investigations in HNF1B-associated diabetes and liver disease.

Inhibition of activin/nodal signalling is necessary for pancreatic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSCs) offer unique opportunities for regenerative medicine and for the study of mammalian development. However, developing methods to differentiate hESCs/hIPSCs into specific cell types following a natural pathway of development remains a major challenge.

METHODS

We used defined culture media to identify signalling pathways controlling the differentiation of hESCs/hIPSCs into pancreatic or hepatic progenitors. This approach avoids the use of feeders, stroma cells or serum, all of which can interfere with experimental outcomes and could preclude future clinical applications.

RESULTS

This study reveals, for the first time, that activin/TGF-β signalling blocks pancreatic specification induced by retinoic acid while promoting hepatic specification in combination with bone morphogenetic protein and fibroblast growth factor. Using this knowledge, we developed culture systems to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into near homogenous population of pancreatic and hepatic progenitors displaying functional characteristics specific to their natural counterparts. Finally, functional experiments showed that activin/TGF-β signalling achieves this essential function by controlling the levels of transcription factors necessary for liver and pancreatic development, such as HEX and HLXB9.

CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION

Our methods of differentiation provide an advantageous system to model early human endoderm development in vitro, and also represent an important step towards the generation of pancreatic and hepatic cells for clinical applications.

An efficient system for conditional gene expression in embryonic stem cells and in their in vitro and in vivo differentiated derivatives

We have developed a universally applicable system for conditional gene expression in embryonic stem (ES) cells that relies on tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase-loxP site-mediated recombination and bicistronic gene-trap expression vectors that allow transgene expression from endogenous cellular promoters. Two vectors were introduced into the genome of recipient ES cells, successively: (i) a bicistronic gene-trap vector encoding the beta-galactosidase/neo(R) fusion protein and the Cre-ER(T2) (Cre recombinase fused to a mutated ligand-binding domain of the human estrogen receptor) and (ii) a bicistronic gene-trap vector encoding the hygro(R) protein and the human alkaline phosphatase (hAP), the expression of which is prevented by tandemly repeated stop-of-transcription sequences flanked by loxP sites. In selected clones, hAP expression was shown to be regulated accurately by 4'hydroxy-tamoxifen. Strict hormone-dependent expression of hAP was achieved (i) in vitro in undifferentiated ES cells and embryoid bodies, (ii) in vivo in virtually all the tissues of the 10-day-old chimeric fetus (after injection of 4'hydroxy-tamoxifen to foster mothers), and (iii) ex vivo in primary embryonic fibroblasts isolated from chimeric fetuses. Therefore, this approach can be applied to drive conditional expression of virtually any transgene in a large variety of cell types, both in vitro and in vivo.

The Spa2-related protein, Sph1p, is important for polarized growth in yeast

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Sph1p is both structurally and functionally related to the polarity protein, Spa2p. Sph1p and Spa2p are predicted to share three 100-amino acid domains each exceeding 30% sequence identity, and the amino-terminal domain of each protein contains a direct repeat common to Homo sapiens and Caenorhabditis elegans protein sequences. sph1- and spa2-deleted cells possess defects in mating projection morphology and pseudohyphal growth. sph1(Delta) spa2(Delta) double mutants also exhibit a strong haploid invasive growth defect and an exacerbated mating projection defect relative to either sph1(Delta) or spa2(Delta) single mutants. Consistent with a role in polarized growth, Sph1p localizes to growth sites in a cell cycle-dependent manner: Sph1p concentrates as a cortical patch at the presumptive bud site in unbudded cells, at the tip of small, medium and large buds, and at the bud neck prior to cytokinesis. In pheromone-treated cells, Sph1p localizes to the tip of the mating projection. Proper localization of Sph1p to sites of active growth during budding and mating requires Spa2p. Sph1p interacts in the two-hybrid system with three mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinases (MAPKKs): Mkk1p and Mkk2p, which function in the cell wall integrity/cell polarization MAP kinase pathway, and Ste7p, which operates in the pheromone and pseudohyphal signaling response pathways. Sph1p also interacts weakly with STE11, the MAPKKK known to activate STE7. Moreover, two-hybrid interactions between SPH1 and STE7 and STE11 occur independently of STE5, a proposed scaffolding protein which interacts with several members of this MAP kinase module. We speculate that Spa2p and Sph1p may function during pseudohyphal and haploid invasive growth to help tether this MAP kinase module to sites of polarized growth. Our results indicate that Spa2p and Sph1p comprise two related proteins important for the control of cell morphogenesis in yeast.