scholarly journals The conserved fertility factor SPACA4/Bouncer has divergent modes of action in vertebrate fertilization

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (39) ◽  
pp. e2108777118
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Fujihara ◽  
Sarah Herberg ◽  
Andreas Blaha ◽  
Karin Panser ◽  
Kiyonori Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zona Pellucida ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Sperm Protein ◽  
Mammalian Sperm ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Fundamental Process ◽  
Mammalian Fertilization ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor

Fertilization is the fundamental process that initiates the development of a new individual in all sexually reproducing species. Despite its importance, our understanding of the molecular players that govern mammalian sperm–egg interaction is incomplete, partly because many of the essential factors found in nonmammalian species do not have obvious mammalian homologs. We have recently identified the lymphocyte antigen-6 (Ly6)/urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) protein Bouncer as an essential fertilization factor in zebrafish [S. Herberg, K. R. Gert, A. Schleiffer, A. Pauli, Science 361, 1029–1033 (2018)]. Here, we show that Bouncer’s homolog in mammals, Sperm Acrosome Associated 4 (SPACA4), is also required for efficient fertilization in mice. In contrast to fish, in which Bouncer is expressed specifically in the egg, SPACA4 is expressed exclusively in the sperm. Male knockout mice are severely subfertile, and sperm lacking SPACA4 fail to fertilize wild-type eggs in vitro. Interestingly, removal of the zona pellucida rescues the fertilization defect of Spaca4-deficient sperm in vitro, indicating that SPACA4 is not required for the interaction of sperm and the oolemma but rather of sperm and the zona pellucida. Our work identifies SPACA4 as an important sperm protein necessary for zona pellucida penetration during mammalian fertilization.

scholarly journals The sperm protein SPACA4 is required for efficient fertilization in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Herberg ◽  
Yoshitaka Fujihara ◽  
Andreas Blaha ◽  
Karin Panser ◽  
Kiyonari Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zona Pellucida ◽  
Knockout Mice ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Sperm Protein ◽  
Mammalian Sperm ◽  
Fundamental Process ◽  
Mammalian Fertilization

Fertilization is the fundamental process that initiates the development of a new individual in all sexually reproducing species. Despite its importance, our understanding of the molecular players that govern mammalian sperm-egg interaction is incomplete, partly because many of the essential factors found in non-mammalian species do not have obvious mammalian homologs. We have recently identified the Ly6/uPAR protein Bouncer as a new, essential fertilization factor in zebrafish (Herberg et al., 2018). Here, we show that Bouncer's homolog in mammals, SPACA4, is also required for efficient fertilization in mice. In contrast to fish, where Bouncer is expressed specifically in the egg, SPACA4 is expressed exclusively in the testis. Male knockout mice are severely sub-fertile, and sperm lacking SPACA4 fail to fertilize wild-type eggs in vitro. Interestingly, removal of the zona pellucida rescues the fertilization defect of Spaca4-deficient sperm in vitro, indicating that SPACA4 is not required for the interaction of sperm and the oolemma but rather of sperm and zona pellucida. Our work identifies SPACA4 as an important sperm protein necessary for zona pellucida penetration during mammalian fertilization.

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor is not required for skeletal muscle inflammation or regeneration

2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (3) ◽  
pp. R1152-R1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott C. Bryer ◽  
Timothy J. Koh
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Muscle Regeneration ◽  
Inflammatory Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Neutrophil Accumulation ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor

The hypothesis of this study was the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is required for accumulation of inflammatory cells in injured skeletal muscle and for efficient muscle regeneration. Expression of uPAR was elevated at 1 and 3 days after cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury in wild-type mice before returning to baseline levels. Neutrophil accumulation peaked 1 day postinjury in muscle from both wild-type (WT) and uPAR null mice, while macrophage accumulation peaked between 3 and 5 days postinjury, with no differences between strains. Histological analyses confirmed efficient muscle regeneration in both wild-type and uPAR null mice, with no difference between strains in the formation or growth of regenerating fibers, or recovery of normal morphology. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that chemotaxis is not different between WT and uPAR null macrophages. Finally, fusion of cultured satellite cells into multinucleated myotubes was not different between cells isolated from WT and uPAR null mice. These results demonstrate that uPAR is not required for the accumulation of inflammatory cells or the regeneration of skeletal muscle following injury, suggesting uPA can act independently of uPAR to regulate events critical for muscle regeneration.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor is associated with the development of adipose tissue

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (12) ◽  
pp. 1124-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Matsuno ◽  
Eri Kawashita ◽  
Kiyotaka Okada ◽  
Hidetaka Suga ◽  
Shigeru Ueshima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Adipocyte Differentiation ◽  
Cellular Adhesion ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tissue Mass ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor

SummaryUrokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) plays a role in cellular responses which include cellular adhesion, differentiation, proliferation and migration. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of uPAR on the development of adipose tissue. To clarify the role of uPAR on adipogenesis, we examined the effect of uPAR overexpression and uPAR deficiency on the adipocyte differentiation. Adipocyte differentiation was induced by incubation of 3T3-L1 cells with differentiation media containing insulin, dexamethasone, and 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthin. uPAR overexpression by transfection of uPAR expression vector induced adipocyte differentiation. In addition, we examined the difference in adipocyte differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from wild-type mice and uPAR knockout (uPAR-/-) mice. The uPAR deficiency attenuated differentiation media-induced adipocyte differentiation. Moreover, we found that the inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway attenuated uPAR overexpression-induced adipocyte differentiation, and uPAR overexpression induced the activation of Akt. We also found that an increase of the adipose tissue mass in uPAR-/- mice was less than that observed in wild-type mice. The present results suggest that uPAR plays a pivotal role in the development of adipose tissue through PI3K/Akt pathway.

scholarly journals uPAR Directly Interacts with LDLR-like Proteins to Induce Angiogenic Endothelial Cell Behavior

Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 4172-4172
Author(s):  
Clemens Pausz ◽  
Rula Mawas ◽  
Matthias Unseld ◽  
Anastasia Chilla ◽  
René Novotny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Endothelial Cell Migration ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Domain 3

Abstract In this study we characterized a conserved motif of domain 3 of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) to directly interact with low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)-related protein (LRP) family proteins, thereby affecting endothelial cell motility and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. There is increasing evidence that uPAR plays a central role in growth factor induced endothelial cell activation. Beside its proteolytic role, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) / uPAR-complex formation induces intracellular signal transduction, which leads to endothelial cell migration and invasion. Since uPAR is a GPI-anchored protein, an interaction with transmembrane proteins - such as members of the LDL-receptor family - is required, inducing signal transduction but also regulating distribution of uPAR via its internalization and recycling to the leading edge. Recently, a direct interaction between uPAR and LRP-family members has been suggested to be sufficient to mediate internalization of uPAR-complex. A crystal structure analysis revealed a small sequence of domain 3 (D3) of uPAR, to be highly exposed upon uPA binding to its receptor. Applying affinity chromatography analysis as well as mutation expression studies, we identified the sequence as an LRP-binding motif, which affects endothelial cell spreading, migration and invasion upon VEGF in vivo as well as in vitro. In detail, matrigel-filled angioreactors with embedded retroviral constructs, carrying wild-type or modified uPAR genes, were implanted subcutaneously into uPAR deficient C57BL/6 mice. After explantation, blood vessel in-growth analysis revealed that only angioreactors with reconstituted wild-type uPAR but not reactors with modified uPAR, being deficient in LDLR interaction, showed angiogenesis. To test a therapeutic impact, peptides mimicking the binding motif and competitive for LDLR binding were used. We found that in a dose dependent manner the peptides did not only block uPAR/LDLR-like protein interaction, but were also capable of blocking VEGF-induced endothelial cell migration in vitro. In summary, our data show that a conserved motif of uPAR domain 3 is capable to interact with LDLR-like proteins, which is required for efficient growth-factor induced endothelial cell behavior. Preliminary functional data suggest that this extracellular motif might be a potential therapeutic target in angiogenesis dependent diseases such as cancer. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Specific Interference of Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Receptor and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Gene Expression Induced by Double-stranded RNA Results in Decreased Invasion, Tumor Growth, and Angiogenesis in Gliomas

2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (23) ◽  
pp. 21882-21892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajani S. Lakka ◽  
Christopher S. Gondi ◽  
Dzung H. Dinh ◽  
William C. Olivero ◽  
Meena Gujrati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Matrix Metalloproteinase ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Tumor Invasion ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Antisense Approach ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor ◽  
Metalloproteinase 9

We have previously demonstrated the effectiveness of adenovirus-mediated expression of antisense urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in inhibiting tumor invasion in vitro and ex vivo. However, the therapeutic effect of the adenovirus-mediated antisense approach was shown to be transient and required potentially toxic, high viral doses. In contrast, RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene targeting may be superior to the traditional antisense approach, because the target mRNA is completely degraded and the molar ratio of siRNA required to degrade the target mRNA is very low. Here, we have examined the siRNA-mediated target RNA degradation of uPAR and MMP-9 in human glioma cell lines. Using RNAi directed toward uPAR and MMP-9, we achieved specific inhibition of uPAR and MMP-9. This bicistronic construct (pUM) inhibited the formation of capillary-like structures in both in vitro and in vivo models of angiogenesis. We demonstrated that blocking the expression of these genes results in significant inhibition of glioma tumor invasion in Matrigel and spheroid invasion assay models. RNAi for uPAR and MMP-9 inhibited cell proliferation, and significantly reduced the levels of phosphorylated forms of MAPK, ERK, and AKT signaling pathway molecules when compared with parental and empty vector/scrambled vector-transfected SNB19 cells. Furthermore, using RNAi to simultaneously target two proteases resulted in total regression of pre-established intracerebral tumor growth. Our results provide evidence that the use of hairpin siRNA expression vectors for uPAR and MMP-9 may provide an effective tool for cancer therapy.

Leukocyte urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and PSGL1 play a role in endogenous arterial fibrinolysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (12) ◽  
pp. 1212-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xufang Bai ◽  
Jeffrey Weitz ◽  
Peter Gross
Keyword(s):  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor ◽  
Activated Platelets ◽  
Upa Receptor ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor ◽  
Deficient Mice

SummaryFibrin is an integral component of arterial thrombi. Using a mouse model of arteriolar thrombosis, high-speed fluorescence microscopy reveals that, within minutes, the fibrin content of thrombi rapidly increases and then decreases.The decrease in fibrin coincides with leukocyte binding to the thrombi, a process mediated by the interaction of leukocyte P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) with P-selectin on the surface of activated platelets. Because leukocytes possess urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) activity,we used mice deficient in uPA or the uPA receptor (uPAR) to explore the contribution of leukocyte associated uPA to the loss of fibrin from these thrombi. Fibrin loss in both uPA-deficient mice and uPAR-deficient mice was reduced compared with that in wild-type controls.Transfusion of leukocytes from wild-type mice into uPAR-deficient mice restored fibrin loss to levels similar to that in wild-type mice. In contrast, transfusion of leukocytes from mice deficient in uPAR or PSGL-1 did not enhance fibrin loss. Thus, fibrin loss from microarteriolar thrombi is mediated, at least in part, by leukocyte-associated uPA in a process that requires leukocyte uPAR and PSGL-1.

Involvement of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in hematopoietic stem cell mobilization

Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 2198-2205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmine Selleri ◽  
Nunzia Montuori ◽  
Patrizia Ricci ◽  
Valeria Visconte ◽  
Maria Vincenza Carriero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Serum Levels ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Receptor ◽  
Cell Mobilization

AbstractWe investigated the involvement of the urokinase-type plasminogen-activator receptor (uPAR) in granulocyte–colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)–induced mobilization of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from 16 healthy donors. Analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) showed an increased uPAR expression after G-CSF treatment in CD33+ myeloid and CD14+ monocytic cells, whereas mobilized CD34+ HSCs remained uPAR negative. G-CSF treatment also induced an increase in serum levels of soluble uPAR (suPAR). Cleaved forms of suPAR (c-suPAR) were released in vitro by PBMNCs and were also detected in the serum of G-CSF–treated donors. c-suPAR was able to chemoattract CD34+ KG1 leukemia cells and CD34+ HSCs, as documented by their in vitro migratory response to a chemotactic suPAR-derived peptide (uPAR84-95). uPAR84-95 induced CD34+ KG1 and CD34+ HSC migration by activating the high-affinity fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) receptor (FPR). In addition, uPAR84-95 inhibited CD34+ KG1 and CD34+ HSC in vitro migration toward the stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF1), thus suggesting the heterologous desensitization of its receptor, CXCR4. Finally, uPAR84-95 treatment significantly increased the output of clonogenic progenitors from long-term cultures of CD34+ HSCs. Our findings demonstrate that G-CSF–induced upregulation of uPAR on circulating CD33+ and CD14+ cells is associated with increased uPAR shedding, which leads to the appearance of serum c-suPAR. c-suPAR could contribute to the mobilization of HSCs by promoting their FPR-mediated migration and by inducing CXCR4 desensitization.

scholarly journals Receptor-independent Role of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator in Pericellular Plasmin and Matrix Metalloproteinase Proteolysis during Vascular Wound Healing in Mice

1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Carmeliet ◽  
Lieve Moons ◽  
Mieke Dewerchin ◽  
Steven Rosenberg ◽  
Jean-Marc Herbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Neointima Formation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator

It has been proposed that the urokinase receptor (u-PAR) is essential for the various biological roles of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in vivo, and that smooth muscle cells require u-PA for migration during arterial neointima formation. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the role of u-PAR during this process in mice with targeted disruption of the u-PAR gene (u-PAR−/−). Surprisingly, u-PAR deficiency did not affect arterial neointima formation, neointimal cell accumulation, or migration of smooth muscle cells. Indeed, topographic analysis of arterial wound healing after electric injury revealed that u-PAR−/− smooth muscle cells, originating from the uninjured borders, migrated over a similar distance and at a similar rate into the necrotic center of the wound as wild-type (u-PAR+/+) smooth muscle cells. In addition, u-PAR deficiency did not impair migration of wounded cultured smooth muscle cells in vitro. There were no genotypic differences in reendothelialization of the vascular wound. The minimal role of u-PAR in smooth muscle cell migration was not because of absent expression, since wild-type smooth muscle cells expressed u-PAR mRNA and functional receptor in vitro and in vivo. Pericellular plasmin proteolysis, evaluated by degradation of 125I-labeled fibrin and activation of zymogen matrix metalloproteinases, was similar for u-PAR−/− and u-PAR+/+ cells. Immunoelectron microscopy of injured arteries in vivo revealed that u-PA was bound on the cell surface of u-PAR+/+ cells, whereas it was present in the pericellular space around u-PAR−/− cells. Taken together, these results suggest that binding of u-PA to u-PAR is not required to provide sufficient pericellular u-PA–mediated plasmin proteolysis to allow cellular migration into a vascular wound.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document