Objective We generated knock-in mice that express a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase from the Prg4 locus (Prg4GFPCreERt2), and used these animals to fate-map the progeny of Prg4-positive articular cartilage cells at various ages. Methods We crossed Prg4GFPCreERt2 mice to Rosa26floxlacZ or Rosa26mTmG reporter strains, administered tamoxifen to the double heterozygous offspring at different ages, and assayed Cre-mediated recombination by histochemistry and/or fluorescence microscopy. Results In 1-month-old mice, the expression of the Prg4GFPCreERt2 allele mirrors expression of endogenous Prg4 and, when tamoxifen is given for 10 days, causes Cre-mediated recombination in ~70% of the superficial-most chondrocytes. Prg4GFPCreERt2 expressing cells are mostly confined to the top three cell layers of the articular cartilage in 1-month-old mice, but descendants of these cells are located in deeper regions of the articular cartilage in aged mice. At embryonic day 17.5, Prg4GFPCreERt2 expressing cells are largely restricted to the superficial-most cell layer of the forming joint, yet at approximately 1 year, progeny of these cells span the depth of the articular cartilage. Conclusions Our results indicate that Prg4-expressing cells located at the joint surface in the embryo serve as a progenitor population for all deeper layers of the mature articular cartilage. Also, our data reveal that Prg4GFPCreERt2 is expressed by superficial chondrocytes in young mice, but expands into deeper regions of the articular cartilage as the animals age. The Prg4GFPCreERt2 allele should be a useful tool for inducing efficient Cre-mediated recombination of floxed alleles at sites of Prg4 expression.
Temozolomide (TMZ) was used for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) for over a decade, but its treatment benefits are limited by acquired resistance, a process that remains incompletely understood. Here we report that an enhancer, located between the promoters of marker of proliferation Ki67 (MKI67) and O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) genes, is activated in TMZ-resistant patient-derived xenograft (PDX) lines and recurrent tumor samples. Activation of the enhancer correlates with increased MGMT expression, a major known mechanism for TMZ resistance. We show that forced activation of the enhancer in cell lines with low MGMT expression results in elevated MGMT expression. Deletion of this enhancer in cell lines with high MGMT expression leads to a dramatic reduction of MGMT and a lesser extent of Ki67 expression, increased TMZ sensitivity, and impaired proliferation. Together, these studies uncover a mechanism that regulates MGMT expression, confers TMZ resistance, and potentially regulates tumor proliferation.
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