scholarly journals Mouse Fetal Whole Intestine Culture System for Ex Vivo Manipulation of Signaling Pathways and Three-dimensional Live Imaging of Villus Development

Author(s):  
Katherine D. Walton ◽  
Åsa Kolterud
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Foxall ◽  
Priyanka Narang ◽  
Bridget Glaysher ◽  
Elin Hub ◽  
Emma Teal ◽  
...  

Diffuse large cell B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) accounts for approximately 30%–40% of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases. Current first line DLBCL treatment results in long-term remission in more than 60% of cases. However, those patients with primary refractory disease or early relapse exhibit poor prognosis, highlighting a requirement for alternative therapies. Our aim was to develop a novel model of DLBCL that facilitates in vitro testing of current and novel therapies by replicating key components of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in a three-dimensional (3D) culture system that would enable primary DLBCL cell survival and study ex vivo. The TME is a complex ecosystem, comprising malignant and non-malignant cells, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) whose reciprocal crosstalk drives tumor initiation and growth while fostering an immunosuppressive milieu enabling its persistence. The requirement to recapitulate, at least to some degree, this complex, interactive network is exemplified by the rapid cell death of primary DLBCL cells removed from their TME and cultured alone in vitro. Building on previously described methodologies to generate lymphoid-like fibroblasts from adipocyte derived stem cells (ADSC), we confirmed lymphocytes, specifically B cells, interacted with this ADSC-derived stroma, in the presence or absence of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM), in both two-dimensional (2D) cultures and a 3D collagen-based spheroid system. Furthermore, we demonstrated that DLBCL cells cultured in this system interact with its constituent components, resulting in their improved viability as compared to ex-vivo 2D monocultures. We then assessed the utility of this system as a platform to study therapeutics in the context of antibody-directed phagocytosis, using rituximab as a model immunotherapeutic antibody. Overall, we describe a novel 3D spheroid co-culture system comprising key components of the DLBCL TME with the potential to serve as a testbed for novel therapeutics, targeting key cellular constituents of the TME, such as CAF and/or TAM.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. e0174151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Tashiro ◽  
Hiroaki Okuyama ◽  
Hiroko Endo ◽  
Kenji Kawada ◽  
Yasuko Ashida ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Donghyun Kim ◽  
Yeo-Jun Yoon ◽  
Dojin Choi ◽  
Jisun Kim ◽  
Jae-Yol Lim

Lumen formation of salivary glands has been investigated using in vivo or ex vivo rudiment culture models. In this study, we used a three-dimensional (3D) salivary gland organoid culture system and demonstrated that lumen formation could be recapitulated in mouse SMG organoids. In our organoid culture system, lumen formation was induced by vasoactive intestinal peptide and accelerated by treatment with RA. Furthermore, lumen formation was observed in branching duct-like structure when cultured in combination of fibroblast growth factors (FGF) in the presence of retinoic acid (RA). We suggest RA signaling-mediated regulation of VIPR1 and KRT7 as the underlying mechanism for lumen formation, rather than apoptosis in the organoid culture system. Collectively, our results support a fundamental role for RA in lumen formation and demonstrate the feasibility of 3D organoid culture as a tool for studying salivary gland morphogenesis.


Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hessel Honkoop ◽  
Phong D. Nguyen ◽  
Veronique E.M. van der Velden ◽  
Katharina F. Sonnen ◽  
Jeroen Bakkers

Zebrafish are excellent at regenerating their heart by reinitiating proliferation in pre-existing cardiomyocytes. Studying how zebrafish achieve this holds great potential in developing new strategies to boost mammalian heart regeneration. Nevertheless, the lack of appropriate live imaging tools for the adult zebrafish heart has limited detailed studies into the dynamics underlying cardiomyocyte proliferation. Here, we address this by developing a system in which cardiac slices of the injured zebrafish heart are cultured ex vivo for several days while retaining key regenerative characteristics including cardiomyocyte proliferation. In addition, we show that the cardiac slice culture system is compatible with live timelapse imaging and allows manipulation of regenerating cardiomyocytes with drugs that normally would have toxic effects that prevent its use. Finally, we use the cardiac slices to demonstrate that adult cardiomyocytes with fully assembled sarcomeres can partially disassemble their sarcomeres in a calpain and proteasome dependent manner to progress through nuclear division and cytokinesis. In conclusion, we have developed a cardiac slice culture system, which allows imaging of native cardiomyocyte dynamics in real time to discover cellular mechanisms during heart regeneration.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Meng Wu ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Hong-Ju Xie ◽  
Hong-Wei Liu

Silicone implant-based augmentation rhinoplasty or mammoplasty induces capsular contracture, which has been acknowledged as a process that develops an abnormal fibrotic capsule associated with the immune response to allogeneic materials. However, the signaling pathways leading to the nasal fibrosis remain poorly investigated. We aimed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of nasal capsular contracture, with a specific research interest in the signaling pathways involved in fibrotic development at the advanced stage of contracture. By examining our recently obtained RNA sequencing data and global gene expression profiling between grade II and grade IV nasal capsular tissues, we found that both the RAP1 and JAK/STAT signaling pathways were hyperactive in the contracted capsules. This was verified on quantitative real-time PCR which demonstrated upregulation of most of the representative component signatures in these pathways. Loss-of-function assays through siRNA-mediated Rap1 silencing and/or small molecule-directed inhibition of JAK/STAT pathway in ex vivo primary nasal fibroblasts caused a series of dramatic behavioral and functional changes, including decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis, reduced secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and synthesis of type I collagen, compared to control cells, and indicating the essential role of the RAP1 and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in nasal capsular fibrosis. Our results sheds light on targeting downstream signaling pathways for the prevention and therapy of silicone implant-induced nasal capsular contracture.


Reproduction ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Bentin-Ley ◽  
B. Pedersen ◽  
S. Lindenberg ◽  
J. F. Larsen ◽  
L. Hamberger ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 1562-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy A. Hornberger ◽  
R. D. Mateja ◽  
E. R. Chin ◽  
J. L. Andrews ◽  
K. A. Esser

The capacity for skeletal muscle to recover its mass following periods of unloading (regrowth) has been reported to decline with age. Although the mechanisms responsible for the impaired regrowth are not known, it has been suggested that aged muscles have a diminished capacity to sense and subsequently respond to a given amount of mechanical stimuli (mechanosensitivity). To test this hypothesis, extensor digitorum longus muscles from young (2–3 mo) and old (26–27 mo) mice were subjected to intermittent 15% passive stretch (ex vivo) as a source of mechanical stimulation and analyzed for alterations in the phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinase (p38), ribosomal S6 kinase (p70S6k), and the p54 jun N-terminal kinase (JNK2). The results indicated that the average magnitude of specific tension (mechanical stimuli) induced by 15% stretch was similar in muscles from young and old mice. Young and old muscles also revealed similar increases in the magnitude of mechanically induced p38, p70S6k (threonine/serine 421/424 and threonine 389), and JNK2 phosphorylation. In addition, coincubation experiments demonstrated that the release of locally acting growth factors was not sufficient for the induction of JNK2 phosphorylation, suggesting that JNK2 was activated by a mechanical rather than a mechanical/growth factor-dependent mechanism. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate that aging does not alter the mechanosensitivity of the p38, p70S6k, and JNK2 signaling pathways in skeletal muscle.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2815
Author(s):  
Gang Ren ◽  
Xunzhen Zheng ◽  
Vandana Sharma ◽  
Joshua Letson ◽  
Andrea L. Nestor-Kalinoski ◽  
...  

Excessive myofibroblast activation, which leads to dysregulated collagen deposition and the stiffening of the extracellular matrix (ECM), plays pivotal roles in cancer initiation and progression. Cumulative evidence attests to the cancer-causing effects of a number of fibrogenic factors found in the environment, diseases and drugs. While identifying such factors largely depends on epidemiological studies, it would be of great importance to develop a robust in vitro method to demonstrate the causal relationship between fibrosis and cancer. Here, we tested whether our recently developed organotypic three-dimensional (3D) co-culture would be suitable for that purpose. This co-culture system utilizes the discontinuous ECM to separately culture mammary epithelia and fibroblasts in the discrete matrices to model the complexity of the mammary gland. We observed that pharmaceutical deprivation of nitric oxide (NO) in 3D co-cultures induced myofibroblast differentiation of the stroma as well as the occurrence of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of the parenchyma. Such in vitro response to NO deprivation was unique to co-cultures and closely mimicked the phenotype of NO-depleted mammary glands exhibiting stromal desmoplasia and precancerous lesions undergoing EMT. These results suggest that this novel 3D co-culture system could be utilized in the deep mechanistic studies of the linkage between fibrosis and cancer.


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