Quantitative Studies of Fibronectin Adsorption on Submicron Scaffolds

Author(s):  
Shawn Regis ◽  
Manisha Jassal ◽  
Sina Youssefian ◽  
Nima Rahbar ◽  
Sankha Bhowmick

Fibronectin plays a crucial role in adhesion of several cell types, mainly due to the fact that it is recognized by at least ten different integrin receptors. Since most cell types can bind to fibronectin, it becomes involved in many various biological processes. The interaction of cells with ECM proteins such as fibronectin provides the signals affecting morphology, motility, gene expression, and survival of cells [1]. Fibronectin exists in both soluble and insoluble forms; soluble fibronectin is secreted by cells and exits in cell media or body fluids, whereas insoluble fibronectin exists in tissues or the extracellular matrix of cultured cells [2]. The ability to control adsorption of fibronectin on tissue engineering scaffolds would therefore play a huge role in controlling cell attachment and survival in vivo. This can be achieved through surface functionalization of the scaffolds. The goal of these studies is to use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to mechanistically understand how fibronectin adsorption is enhanced by surface functionalization of submicron scaffolds.

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erol C. Bayraktar ◽  
Lou Baudrier ◽  
Ceren Özerdem ◽  
Caroline A. Lewis ◽  
Sze Ham Chan ◽  
...  

Mitochondria are metabolic organelles that are essential for mammalian life, but the dynamics of mitochondrial metabolism within mammalian tissues in vivo remains incompletely understood. While whole-tissue metabolite profiling has been useful for studying metabolism in vivo, such an approach lacks resolution at the cellular and subcellular level. In vivo methods for interrogating organellar metabolites in specific cell types within mammalian tissues have been limited. To address this, we built on prior work in which we exploited a mitochondrially localized 3XHA epitope tag (MITO-Tag) for the fast isolation of mitochondria from cultured cells to generate MITO-Tag Mice. Affording spatiotemporal control over MITO-Tag expression, these transgenic animals enable the rapid, cell-type-specific immunoisolation of mitochondria from tissues, which we verified using a combination of proteomic and metabolomic approaches. Using MITO-Tag Mice and targeted and untargeted metabolite profiling, we identified changes during fasted and refed conditions in a diverse array of mitochondrial metabolites in hepatocytes and found metabolites that behaved differently at the mitochondrial versus whole-tissue level. MITO-Tag Mice should have utility for studying mitochondrial physiology, and our strategy should be generally applicable for studying other mammalian organelles in specific cell types in vivo.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erol Can Bayraktar ◽  
Lou Baudrier ◽  
Ceren Özerdem ◽  
Caroline A. Lewis ◽  
Sze Ham Chan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMitochondria are metabolic organelles that are essential for mammalian life, but the dynamics of mitochondrial metabolism within mammalian tissues in vivo remains incompletely understood. While whole-tissue metabolite profiling has been useful for studying metabolism in vivo, such an approach lacks resolution at the cellular and subcellular level. In vivo methods for interrogating organellar metabolites in specific cell-types within mammalian tissues have been limited. To address this, we built on prior work in which we exploited a mitochondrially-localized 3XHA epitope-tag (“MITO-Tag”) for the fast isolation of mitochondria from cultured cells to now generate “MITO-Tag Mice.” Affording spatiotemporal control over MITO-Tag expression, these transgenic animals enable the rapid, cell-type-specific immunoisolation of mitochondria from tissues, which we verified using a combination of proteomic and metabolomic approaches. Using MITO-Tag Mice and targeted and untargeted metabolite profiling, we identified changes during fasted and refed conditions in a diverse array of mitochondrial metabolites in hepatocytes and found metabolites that behaved differently at the mitochondrial versus whole-tissue level. MITO-Tag Mice should have utility for studying mitochondrial physiology and our strategy should be generally applicable for studying other mammalian organelles in specific cell-types in vivo.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (17) ◽  
pp. 2937-2946
Author(s):  
N.A. Hotchin ◽  
A.G. Kidd ◽  
H. Altroff ◽  
H.J. Mardon

Fibronectins are widely expressed extracellular matrix ligands that are essential for many biological processes. Fibronectin-induced signaling pathways are elicited in diverse cell types when specific integrin receptors bind to the ninth and tenth FIII domains, FIII9-10. Integrin-mediated signal transduction involves activation of signaling pathways of the growth factor-dependent Ras-related small GTP-binding proteins Rho and Rac, and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase. We have dissected the requirement of FIII9 and FIII10 for Rho and Rac activity and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase in BHK fibroblasts and Swiss 3T3 cells. We demonstrate that FIII10 supports cell attachment but does not induce phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase. In Swiss 3T3 cells, growth factor-independent phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and downstream adhesion events are dependent upon the presence of FIII9 in the intact FIII9-10 pair, whereas FIII10-mediated focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation requires a synergistic signal from growth factors. Furthermore, FIII10 is able to elicit cellular responses mediated by Rho, but not Rac, whereas FIII9-10 can elicit both Rho- and Rac-mediated responses. We propose that activation of specific integrin subunits by the FIII10 and FIII9-10 ligands elicits distinct signaling events. This may represent a general molecular mechanism for activation of receptor-specific signaling pathways by a multi-domain ligand.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Houssam Aheget ◽  
María Tristán-Manzano ◽  
Loubna Mazini ◽  
Marina Cortijo-Gutierrez ◽  
Pablo Galindo-Moreno ◽  
...  

Summary: Exosomes are extracellular vesicles released by the vast majority of cell types both in vivo and ex vivo, upon the fusion of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) with the cellular plasma membrane. Two main functions have been attributed to exosomes: their capacity to transport proteins, lipids and nucleic acids between cells and organs, as well as their potential to act as natural intercellular communicators in normal biological processes and in pathologies. From a clinical perspective, the majority of applications use exosomes as biomarkers of disease. A new approach uses exosomes as biologically active carriers to provide a platform for the enhanced delivery of cargo in vivo. One of the major limitations in developing exosome-based therapies is the difficulty of producing sufficient amounts of safe and efficient exosomes. The identification of potential proteins involved in exosome biogenesis is expected to directly cause a deliberate increase in exosome production. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding exosomes, with particular emphasis on their structural features, biosynthesis pathways, production techniques and potential clinical applications.


1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriyuki Takai ◽  
Jun Yoshimatsu ◽  
Yoshihiro Nishida ◽  
Isao Miyakawa ◽  
Ryoji Hamanaka ◽  
...  

The polo-like kinase (PLK) is a mammalian serine/threonine kinase involved in cell cycle regulation. Much evidence for the role of PLK in the cell cycle has come from studies of cultured cells; however, little is known about its function or even expression in vivo . The present study examined the features of PLK expression in the mouse placenta and ovary. Immunohistochemical studies showed that PLK is highly expressed in the basement membrane of the endometrial gland, in some endothelial cells, in endometrium after embryo implantation, in trophoblastic tissue invading the decidua, in the ovarian stroma and in some lutein bodies. In contrast, PLK was not detectable by immunohistochemistry in endometrial stroma before decidualization, in decidua, in trophoblastic tissue not invading the decidua or in ovarian follicles. PLK expression seemed to be correlated with the expression of proliferation cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA) in many placental and ovarian cells, reflecting a role in cellular proliferation. Nevertheless, in ovarian stroma and lutein bodies where PCNA was not expressed, PLK was strongly expressed. This finding indicates that PLK may have some post mitotic functions in certain specialized cell types.


1993 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 1025-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Berryman ◽  
Z. Franck ◽  
A. Bretscher

Ezrin and moesin are two cytoskeletal proteins originally purified from human placenta that are 74% identical in overall protein sequence. They are believed to be membrane-cytoskeletal linking proteins because they share sequence homology with erythrocyte band 4.1 and colocalize with actin specifically in microvilli and membrane ruffles in cultured cells. To determine if ezrin and moesin share similar distributions in vivo, we studied their localizations with respect to F-actin in tissue sections. Surprisingly, ezrin and moesin exhibited very different cellular distributions. Ezrin was highly concentrated and colocalized with actin on the apical surface of many epithelial cell types. During enterocyte differentiation, the pattern of expression and redistribution of ezrin was consistent with it performing a role in microvillus assembly. Immunoelectron microscopy in differentiated cells revealed that ezrin was restricted mainly to the plasma membrane of microvilli and other actin-rich surface projections. Moesin was found in endothelial cells and was also enriched in the apical microvilli of a restricted set of epithelial cells. All polarized cell types with abundant microvilli contained one or both proteins, suggesting that ezrin and moesin perform related functions. However, the differential expression of ezrin and moesin indicates that they have distinct properties, which are uniquely adapted to specific cell types.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 2031-2038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathleen Pfefferkorn ◽  
Carsten Kallfass ◽  
Stefan Lienenklaus ◽  
Julia Spanier ◽  
Ulrich Kalinke ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTInterferon beta (IFN-β) is a key component of cellular innate immunity in mammals, and it constitutes the first line of defense during viral infection. Studies with cultured cells previously showed that almost all nucleated cells are able to produce IFN-β to various extents, but information about thein vivosources of IFN-β remains incomplete. By applying immunohistochemistry and employing conditional-reporter mice that express firefly luciferase under the control of the IFN-β promoter in either all or only distinct cell types, we found that astrocytes are the main producers of IFN-β after infection of the brain with diverse neurotropic viruses, including rabies virus, Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus. Analysis of a panel of knockout mouse strains revealed that sensing of viral components via both RIG-I-like helicases and Toll-like receptors contributes to IFN induction in the infected brain. A genetic approach to permanently mark rabies virus-infected cells in the brain showed that a substantial number of astrocytes became labeled and, therefore, must have been infected by the virus at least transiently. Thus, our results strongly indicate that abortive viral infection of astrocytes can trigger pattern recognition receptor signaling events which result in secretion of IFN-β that confers antiviral protection.IMPORTANCEPrevious work indicated that astrocytes are the main producers of IFN after viral infection of the central nervous system (CNS), but it remained unclear how astrocytes might sense those viruses which preferentially replicate in neurons. We have now shown that virus sensing by both RIG-I-like helicases and Toll-like receptors is involved. Our results further demonstrate that astrocytes get infected in a nonproductive manner under these conditions, indicating that abortive infection of astrocytes plays a previously unappreciated role in the innate antiviral defenses of the CNS.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2148-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
R D McKinnon ◽  
P Danielson ◽  
M A Brow ◽  
F E Bloom ◽  
J G Sutcliffe

We examined the level of expression of small RNA transcripts hybridizing to a rodent repetitive DNA element, the identifier (ID) sequence, in a variety of cell types in vivo and in cultured mammalian cells. A 160-nucleotide (160n) cytoplasmic poly(A)+ RNA (BC1) appeared in late embryonic and early postnatal rat brain development, was enriched in the cerebral cortex, and appeared to be restricted to neural tissue and the anterior pituitary gland. A 110n RNA (BC2) was specifically enriched in brain, especially the postnatal cortex, but was detectable at low levels in peripheral tissues. A third, related 75n poly(A)- RNA (T3) was found in rat brain and at lower levels in peripheral tissues but was very abundant in the testes. The BC RNAs were found in a variety of rat cell lines, and their level of expression was dependent upon cell culture conditions. A rat ID probe detected BC-like RNAs in mouse brain but not liver and detected a 200n RNA in monkey brain but not liver at lower hybridization stringencies. These RNAs were expressed by mouse and primate cell lines. Thus, tissue-specific expression of small ID-sequence-related transcripts is conserved among mammals, but the tight regulation found in vivo is lost by cells in culture.


1985 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 1948-1954 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G Hayman ◽  
M D Pierschbacher ◽  
E Ruoslahti

The synthetic cell attachment-promoting peptides from fibronectin (Pierschbacher, M. D., and E. Ruoslahti, 1984, Nature (Lond.)., 309:30-33) were found to detach cultured cells from the substratum when added to the culture in a soluble form. Peptides ranging in length from tetrapeptide to heptapeptide and containing the active L-arginyl-glycyl-L-aspartic acid (Arg-Gly-Asp) sequence had the detaching activity, whereas a series of different peptides with chemically similar structures had no detectable effect on any of the test cells. The Arg-Gly-Asp-containing peptides caused detachment of various cell lines of different species and histogenetic origin. Studies with defined substrates showed that the active peptides could inhibit the attachment of cells to vitronectin in addition to fibronectin, indicating that vitronectin is recognized by cells through a similar mechanism as fibronectin. The peptides did not inhibit the attachment of cells to collagen. However, cells cultured on collagen-coated plastic for 24-36 h, as well as cells with demonstrable type I or type VI collagen in their matrix, were susceptible to the detaching effect of the peptides. These results indicate that the recognition mechanism(s) by which cells bind to fibronectinand vitronectin plays a major role in the substratum attachment of cells and that collagens may not be directly involved in cell-substratum adhesion. Since vitronectin is abundant in serum, it is probably an important component in mediating the attachment of cultured cells. The independence of the effects of the peptide on the presence of serum and the susceptibility of many different cell types to detachment by the peptide show that the peptides perturb an attachment mechanism that is intrinsic to the cells and fundamentally significant to their adhesion.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (97) ◽  
pp. 20140247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina López-Fagundo ◽  
Eyal Bar-Kochba ◽  
Liane L. Livi ◽  
Diane Hoffman-Kim ◽  
Christian Franck

The mechanical interaction between Schwann cells (SCs) and their microenvironment is crucial for the development, maintenance and repair of the peripheral nervous system. In this paper, we present a detailed investigation on the mechanosensitivity of SCs across a physiologically relevant substrate stiffness range. Contrary to many other cell types, we find that the SC spreading area and cytoskeletal actin architecture were relatively insensitive to substrate stiffness with pronounced stress fibre formation across all moduli tested (0.24–4.80 kPa). Consistent with the presence of stress fibres, we found that SCs generated large surface tractions on stiff substrates and large, finite material deformations on soft substrates. When quantifying the three-dimensional characteristics of the SC traction profiles, we observed a significant contribution from the out-of-plane traction component, locally giving rise to rotational moments similar to those observed in mesenchymal embryonic fibroblasts. Taken together, these measurements provide the first set of quantitative biophysical metrics of how SCs interact with their physical microenvironment, which are anticipated to aid in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds designed to promote functional integration of SCs into post-injury in vivo environments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document