Background-Macrophage activation plays a crucial role in regulating adipose tissue inflammation and is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of obesity-associated cardiovascular diseases. On various types of stimuli, macrophages respond with either classic (M1) or alternative (M2) activation. M1-and M2-mediated signaling pathways and corresponding cytokine production profiles are not completely understood. The discovery of microRNAs provides a new opportunity to understand this complicated but crucial network for macrophage activation and adipose tissue function. Methods and Results-We have examined the activity of microRNA-223 (miR-223) and its role in controlling macrophage functions in adipose tissue inflammation and systemic insulin resistance. miR-223 Ϫ/Ϫ mice on a high-fat diet exhibited an increased severity of systemic insulin resistance compared with wild-type mice that was accompanied by a marked increase in adipose tissue inflammation. The specific regulatory effects of miR-223 in myeloid cell-mediated regulation of adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance were then confirmed by transplantation analysis. Moreover, using bone marrow-derived macrophages, we demonstrated that miR-223 is a novel regulator of macrophage polarization, which suppresses classic proinflammatory pathways and enhances the alternative antiinflammatory responses. In addition, we identified Pknox1 as a genuine miR-223 target gene and an essential regulator for macrophage polarization. Conclusion-For the first time, this study demonstrates that miR-223 acts to inhibit Pknox1, suppressing proinflammatory activation of macrophages; thus, it is a crucial regulator of macrophage polarization and protects against diet-induced adipose tissue inflammatory response and systemic insulin resistance. (Circulation. 2012;125:2892-2903.)Key Words: adipose tissue Ⅲ insulin resistance Ⅲ macrophages Ⅲ microRNAs A dipose tissue inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and a causal factor of metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance 1-5 and a wide variety of metabolic diseases, including atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus. 4 -6 Mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) frequently develop chronic low-grade inflammation within adipose tissues, characterized by increased infiltration of immune cells and the production of proinflammatory cytokines. 1,2 Consequently, adipocytes produce a number of inflammatory mediators that contribute to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 7,8 Importantly, elevated adipose tissue inflammation is a significant factor contributing to systemic insulin resistance, 9 -14 which is an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease through both inflammation-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Given the importance of adipose tissue inflammation in metabolic diseases, there is a critical need to better understand the mechanisms underlying these inflammatory processes. Editorial see p 2815 Clinical Perspective on p 2903Several reports demonstrate that macrophages are key regulators of adipose tissue inflammat...

The article describes a readily easy adaptive in vitro model to investigate macrophage polarization. In the presence of GM-CSF/M-CSF, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow are directed into monocytic differentiation, followed by M1 or M2 stimulation. The activation status can be tracked by changes in cell surface antigens, gene expression and cell signaling pathways. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

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The microRNA miR-150, a critical regulator of hematopoiesis, is downregulated in mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL). In this study, miR-150 acts as a potent leukemic tumor suppressor by blocking the oncogenic properties of leukemic cells. By using MLL-AF9-transformed cells, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of miR-150 inhibits blast colony formation, cell growth, and increases apoptosis in vitro. More importantly, ectopic expression of miR-150 in MLL-AF9-transformed cells completely blocked the development of myeloid leukemia in transplanted mice. Furthermore, gene expression profiling revealed that miR-150 altered the expression levels of more than 30 "stem cell signature" genes and many others that are involved in critical cancer pathways. In addition to the known miR-150 target Myb, we also identified Cbl and Egr2 as bona fide targets and shRNA-mediated suppression of these genes recapitulated the pro-apoptotic effects observed in leukemic cells with miR-150 ectopic expression.In conclusion, we demonstrate that miR-150 is a potent leukemic tumor suppressor that regulates multiple oncogenes.Implications: These data establish new, key players for the development of therapeutic strategies to treat MLL-AF9-related leukemia. Mol Cancer Res; 11(8); 912-22. Ó2013 AACR.

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The article describes a readily easy adaptive in vitro model to investigate macrophage polarization. In the presence of GM-CSF/M-CSF, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow are directed into monocytic differentiation, followed by M1 or M2 stimulation. The activation status can be tracked by changes in cell surface antigens, gene expression and cell signaling pathways.

Summary Activation of NOTCH signaling in human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) by treatment with an engineered Delta-like ligand (DELTA1 ext-IgG [DXI]) has enabled ex vivo expansion of short-term HSPCs, but the effect on long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells (LTR-HSCs) remains uncertain. Here, we demonstrate that ex vivo culture of human adult HSPCs with DXI under low oxygen tension limits ER stress in LTR-HSCs and lineage-committed progenitors compared with normoxic cultures. A distinct HSC gene signature was upregulated in cells cultured with DXI in hypoxia and, after 21 days of culture, the frequency of LTR-HSCs increased 4.9-fold relative to uncultured cells and 4.2-fold compared with the normoxia + DXI group. NOTCH and hypoxia pathways intersected to maintain undifferentiated phenotypes in cultured HSPCs. Our work underscores the importance of mitigating ER stress perturbations to preserve functional LTR-HSCs in extended cultures and offers a clinically feasible platform for the expansion of human HSPCs.

A causal link between hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) dysfunction and DNA damage accrual has been proposed. Clinically relevant strategies to maintain genome integrity in these cells are needed. Here we report that eltrombopag, a small molecule agonist of the thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor used in the clinic, promotes DNA double strand break (DSB) repair in human HSPCs. We demonstrate that eltrombopag specifically activates the classical non-homologous end joining (C-NHEJ) DNA repair mechanism, a pathway known to support genome integrity. Eltrombopag-mediated DNA repair results in enhanced genome stability, survival and function of primary human HSPCs, as demonstrated in karyotyping analyses, colony forming unit assays and after transplantation in immunodeficient NSG mice. Eltrombopag may offer a new therapeutic modality to protect human HSPCs against genome insults.