J. Tucholski et al., Tissue transglutaminase is essential for neurite outgrowth in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, NEUROSCIENC, 102(2), 2001, pp. 481-491
Tissue transglutaminase is a normal constituent of the central and peripher
al nervous systems and in rats transglutaminase activity in brain and spina
l cord is highest during fetal stages when axonal outgrowth is occurring. F
urther, treatment of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells with retinoic acid r
esults in the cells withdrawing from the cell cycle and extending neurites,
in the same time frame that tissue transglutaminase expression significant
ly increases. Considering these and other previous findings, this study was
carried out to determine whether tissue transglutaminase is involved in ne
uronal differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells. For these studies SH-SY5Y cells st
ably overexpressing wild-type tissue transglutaminase, an inactive tissue t
ransglutaminase mutant (C277S) or an antisense tissue transglutaminase cons
truct (which decreased endogenous tissue transglutaminase below detectable
levels) were used. SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing wild-type tissue transgluta
minase spontaneously differentiated into a neuronal phenotype when grown in
low-serum media. In contrast, cells overexpressing inactive tissue transgl
utaminase or the antisense tissue transglutaminase continued to proliferate
and exhibit a flat polygenic morphology even when maintained in low-serum
conditions. In addition, increased tissue transglutaminase expression in re
sponse to retinoic acid was abolished in the antisense tissue transglutamin
ase cells, and antisense and mutant tissue transglutaminase expressing cell
s did not extend neurites in response to retinoic acid. Moreover, wild-type
and inactive tissue transglutaminase exhibited differential intracellular
localization.
These data indicate that tissue transglutaminase is necessary and sufficien
t for neuronal differentiation of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. (C) 20
01 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.