Neurogenin 3 is regulated by neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (TRKB) signaling in the adult human exocrine pancreas

Cell Communication and Signaling

Research

Danielle L. Gomez¹  Dustin L. McGuire¹  Marci L. O’Driscoll¹  Michael J. Shamblott² 

[1] Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Research Institute, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, 601 4th St. South, CRI 3005, 33701, St. Petersburg, FL, USA;Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Research Institute, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, 601 4th St. South, CRI 3005, 33701, St. Petersburg, FL, USA;Morphogenesis, Inc, 4613 N. Clark Ave, 33614, Tampa, FL, USA;

关键词: TRKB;    NTRK2;    Neurogenin 3;    NGN3;    Pancreas;    Exocrine;    Endocrine;    AKT;    Protein kinase B;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12964-016-0146-x

 received in 2016-04-12, accepted in 2016-09-14,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundReports of exocrine-to-endocrine reprogramming through expression or stabilization of the transcription factor neurogenin 3 (NGN3) have generated renewed interest in harnessing pancreatic plasticity for therapeutic applications. NGN3 is expressed by a population of endocrine progenitor cells that give rise exclusively to hormone-secreting cells within pancreatic islets and is necessary and sufficient for endocrine differentiation during development. In the adult human pancreas, NGN3 is expressed by dedifferentiating exocrine cells with a phenotype resembling endocrine progenitor cells and the capacity for endocrine differentiation in vitro. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (TRKB), which regulates neuronal cell survival, differentiation and plasticity, was identified as highly overexpressed in the NGN3 positive cell transcriptome compared to NGN3 negative exocrine cells. This study was designed to determine if NGN3 is regulated by TRKB signaling in the adult human exocrine pancreas.MethodsTranscriptome analysis, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) and immunochemistry were used to identify TRKB isoform expression in primary cultures of human islet-depleted exocrine tissue and human cadaveric pancreas biopsies. The effects of pharmacological modulation of TRKB signaling on the expression of NGN3 were assessed by Student’s t-test and ANOVA.ResultsApproximately 30 % of cultured exocrine cells and 95 % of NGN3+ cells express TRKB on their cell surface. Transcriptome-based exon splicing analyses, isoform-specific quantitative RTPCR and immunochemical staining demonstrate that TRKB-T1, which lacks a tyrosine kinase domain, is the predominant isoform expressed in cultured exocrine tissue and is expressed in histologically normal cadaveric pancreas biopsies. Pharmacological inhibition of TRKB significantly decreased the percentage of NGN3+ cells, while a TRKB agonist significantly increased this percentage. Inhibition of protein kinase B (AKT) blocked the effect of the TRKB agonist, while inhibition of tyrosine kinase had no effect. Modulation of TRKB and AKT signaling did not significantly affect the level of NGN3 mRNA.ConclusionsIn the adult human exocrine pancreas, TRKB-T1 positively regulates NGN3 independent of effects on NGN3 transcription. Targeting mechanisms controlling the NGN3+ cell population size and endocrine cell fate commitment represent a potential new approach to understand pancreas pathobiology and means whereby cell populations could be expanded for therapeutic purposes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016