Anti-MDK (aa 110-143) polyclonal antibody

Although transcriptional control is key for proper lung development, little is known about the possible accompanying epigenetic modifications. Here, we have used gene expression profiling to identify 99 genes that are upregulated in fetal lung and 354 genes that are upregulated in adult lung. From the differentially expressed genes, we analyzed the accompanying 5'-UTR methylation profiles of 43 genes. Out of these, nine genes (COL11A1, MEOX2, SERPINE2, SOX9, FBN2, MDK, COL1A1, LAPTM5 and MARCO) displayed an inverse correlation of their 5'-UTR methylation and the cognate gene expression, suggesting that these genes are at least partially regulated by DNA methylation. Using the differential gene expression/DNA methylation profiles as a guidepost, we identified four genes (MEOX2, MDK, LAPTM5, FGFR3) aberrantly methylated in lung cancer. MEOX2 was uniformly higher methylated in all lung cancer samples (n = 15), while the methylation of the other three genes was correlated with either the differentiation state of the tumor (MDK, LAPTM5) or the tumor type itself (FGFR3). (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In the brain, specific signalling pathways localized in highly organized regions called niches, allow the persistence of a pool of stem and progenitor cells that generate new neurons and glial cells in adulthood. Much less is known on the spinal cord central canal niche where a sustained adult neurogenesis is not observed. Here we review our current knowledge of this caudal niche in normal and pathological situations. Far from being a simple layer of homogenous cells, this region is composed of several cell types localized at specific locations, expressing characteristic markers and with different morphologies and functions. We further report on a screen of online gene-expression databases to better define this spinal cord niche. Several genes were found to be preferentially expressed within or around the central canal region (Bmp6, CXCR4, Gdf10, Fzd3, Mdk, Nrtn, Rbp1, Shh, Sox4, Wnt7a) some of which by specific cellular subtypes. In depth characterization of the spinal cord niche constitutes a framework to make the most out of this endogenous cell pool in spinal cord disorders.