Obesity and weight gain are characterized by increased adipose tissue mass due to an increase in the size of individual adipocytes and the generation of new adipocytes. New adipocytes are believed to arise from resident adipose tissue preadipocytes and mesenchymal progenitor cells. However, it is possible that progenitor cells from other tissues, in particular BM, could also contribute to development of new adipocytes in adipose tissue. We tested this hypothesis by transplanting whole BM cells from GFP-expressing transgenic mice into wild-type C57BL/6 mice and subjecting them to a high-fat diet or treatment with the thiazolidinedione (TZD) rosiglitazone (ROSI) for several weeks. Histological examination of adipose tissue or FACS of adipocytes revealed the presence of GFP + multilocular (ML) adipocytes, whose number was significantly increased by ROSI treatment or high-fat feeding. These ML adipocytes expressed adiponectin, perilipin, fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), leptin, C/EBPα, and PPARγ but not uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1), the CD45 hematopoietic lineage marker, or the CDllb monocyte marker. They also exhibited increased mitochondrial content. Appearance of GFP + ML adipocytes was contemporaneous with an increase in circulating levels of mesenchymal and hematopoietic progenitor cells in ROSI-treated animals. We conclude that TZDs and high-fat feeding promote the trafficking of BM-derived circulating progenitor cells to adipose tissue and their differentiation into ML adipocytes.

The endospores of Bacillus anthracis are the infectious particles of anthrax. Spores are dormant bacterial morphotypes able to withstand harsh environments for decades, which contributes to their ability to be formulated and dispersed as a biological weapon. We monitored gene expression in B. anthracis during growth and sporulation using full genome DNA microarrays and matched the results against a comprehensive analysis of the mature anthrax spore proteome. A large portion (ϳ36%) of the B. anthracis genome is regulated in a growth phase-dependent manner, and this regulation is marked by five distinct waves of gene expression as cells proceed from exponential growth through sporulation. The identities of more than 750 proteins present in the spore were determined by multidimensional chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Comparison of data sets revealed that while the genes responsible for assembly and maturation of the spore are tightly regulated in discrete stages, many of the components ultimately found in the spore are expressed throughout and even before sporulation, suggesting that gene expression during sporulation may be mainly related to the physical construction of the spore, rather than synthesis of eventual spore content. The spore also contains an assortment of specialized, but not obviously related, metabolic and protective proteins. These findings contribute to our understanding of spore formation and function and will be useful in the detection, prevention, and early treatment of anthrax. This study also highlights the complementary nature of genomic and proteomic analyses and the benefits of combining these approaches in a single study.Entry of Bacillus anthracis spores into the host from the environment, or by events brought about by human design, is the initial event of anthrax infections (8). Vegetative bacilli are not believed to be the disease contagion for any form of anthrax. The route of spore entry into the host dictates the specific pathology and severity of the disease; e.g., cutaneous anthrax is generally far less severe than either the gastrointestinal or inhalational form (8). Endospores are produced in response to nutrient deprivation via an alternative developmental cascade by two known genera of gram-positive bacteria, Clostridium and Bacillus (34). During sporulation, vegetative metabolism is minimized, and a series of alternative sigma factors are sequentially expressed and activated to coordinate the expression of mRNAs responsible for spore development (22).Mature spores are metabolically inactive and have a highly ordered structure. This structure provides the protection required for survival over long periods, even in the face of harsh environmental conditions (48). Spore germination, outgrowth, and initiation of a vegetative cycle occur when small molecules, often nutrients and/or ions, are sensed in the context of aqueous environments. B. anthracis spores recognize specific signals provided by the local environment of a mammalian host and rapidly germinate when ass...

Information is rapidly emerging regarding the important role of the arterial vasa vasorum in a variety of systemic vascular diseases. In addition, increasing evidence suggests that progenitor cells of bone marrow (BM) origin may contribute to postnatal neovascularization and/or vascular wall thickening that is characteristic in some forms of systemic vascular disease. Little is known regarding postnatal vasa formation and the role of BM-derived progenitor cells in the setting of pulmonary hypertension (PH). We sought to determine the effects of chronic hypoxia on the density of vasa vasorum in the pulmonary artery and to evaluate if BM-derived progenitor cells contribute to the increased vessel wall mass in a bovine model of hypoxia-induced PH. Quantitative morphometric analyses of lung tissue from normoxic and hypoxic calves revealed that hypoxia results in a dramatic expansion of the pulmonary artery adventitial vasa vasorum. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that cells expressing the transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor for stem cell factor, c-kit, are mobilized from the BM in the circulation in response to hypoxia. Immunohistochemistry revealed an increase in the expression of c-kit+ cells together with vascular endothelial growth factor, fibronectin, and thrombin in the hypoxia-induced remodeled pulmonary artery vessel wall. Circulating mononuclear cells isolated from neonatal calves exposed to hypoxia were found to differentiate into endothelial and smooth muscle cell phenotypes depending on culture conditions. From these observations, we suggest that the vasa vasorum and circulating progenitor cells could be involved in vessel wall thickening in the setting of hypoxia-induced PH.

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are insulin-sensitizing agents that also decrease systemic blood pressure, attenuate the formation of atherosclerotic lesions, and block remodeling of injured arterial walls. Recently, TZDs were shown to prevent pulmonary arterial (PA) remodeling in rats treated with monocrotaline. Presently we report studies testing the ability of the TZD rosiglitazone (ROSI) to attenuate pathological arterial remodeling in the lung and prevent the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in rats subjected to chronic hypoxia. PA remodeling was reduced in ROSI-treated animals exposed to hypoxia compared with animals exposed to hypoxia alone. ROSI treatment blocked muscularization of distal pulmonary arterioles and reversed remodeling and neomuscularization in lungs of animals previously exposed to chronic hypoxia. Decreased PA remodeling in ROSI-treated animals was associated with decreased smooth muscle cell proliferation, decreased collagen and elastin deposition, and increased matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity in the PA wall. Cells expressing the c-Kit cell surface marker were observed in the PA adventitia of untreated animals exposed to hypoxia but not in ROSI-treated hypoxic rats. Right ventricular hypertrophy and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy were also blunted in ROSI-treated hypoxic animals. Interestingly, mean PA pressures were elevated equally in the untreated and ROSI-treated groups, indicating that ROSI had no effect on the development of PH. However, mean PA pressure was normalized acutely in both groups of hypoxia-exposed animals by Fasudil, an agent that inhibits RhoA/Rho kinase-mediated vasoconstriction. We conclude that ROSI can attenuate and reverse PA remodeling and neomuscularization associated with hypoxic PH. However, this agent fails to block the development of PH, apparently because of its inability to repress sustained Rho kinase-mediated arterial vasoconstriction.

Objective PTEN inactivation selectively in smooth muscle cells (SMC) initiates multiple downstream events driving neointima formation, including SMC cytokine/chemokine production, in particular SDF-1α. We investigated the effects of SDF-1α on resident SMC and bone marrow-derived cells and in mediating neointima formation. Methods and Results Inducible, SMC-specific PTEN knockout mice (PTEN iKO) were bred to floxed-stop ROSA26-βGal mice to fate-map mature SMC in response to injury; mice received wild-type GFP-labeled bone marrow to track recruitment. Following wire-induced femoral artery injury, βGal(+) SMC accumulate in the intima and adventitia. Compared to wild-type, PTEN iKO mice exhibit massive neointima formation, increased replicating intimal and medial βGal(+)SMC, and enhanced vascular recruitment of bone marrow cells following injury. Inhibiting SDF-1α blocks these events and reverses enhanced neointima formation observed in PTEN iKO mice. Most recruited GFP(+) cells stain positive for macrophage markers, but not SMC markers. SMC-macrophage interactions result in a persistent SMC inflammatory phenotype that is dependent on SMC PTEN and SDF-1α expression. Conclusions Resident SMC play a multifaceted role in neointima formation by contributing the majority of neointimal cells, regulating recruitment of inflammatory cells, and contributing to adventitial remodeling. The SMC PTEN-SDF-1α axis is a critical regulator of these events.