Hypoxic regulation of mesenchymal stem cell migration: the role of RhoA and HIF-1α

Hypoxia and the modulation of the actin cytoskeleton - emerging interrelations

Recent progress in understanding the influence of hypoxia on cell function has revealed new information about the interrelationship between the actin cytoskeleton and hypoxia; nevertheless, details remain cloudy. The dynamic regulation of the actin cytoskeleton during hypoxia is complex, varies in different cells and tissues, and also depends on the mode of hypoxia. Several molecular players and pathways are emerging that contribute to the modulation of the actin cytoskeleton and that affect the large repertoire of actin-binding proteins in hypoxia. This review describes and discusses the accumulated knowledge about actin cytoskeleton dynamics in hypoxia, placing special emphasis on the Rho family of small guanosine triphosphatases (Rho GTPases). Given that RhoA, Rac and Cdc42 are very well characterized, the review is focused on these family members of Rho GTPases. Notably, in several cell types and tissues, hypoxia, presumably via Rho GTPase signaling, induces actin rearrangement and actin stress fiber assembly, which is a prevalent modulation of the actin cytoskeleton in hypoxia.

Cartilage tissue engineering: molecular control of chondrocyte differentiation for proper cartilage matrix reconstruction

BACKGROUND

Articular cartilage defects are a veritable therapeutic problem because therapeutic options are very scarce. Due to the poor self-regeneration capacity of cartilage, minor cartilage defects often lead to osteoarthritis. Several surgical strategies have been developed to repair damaged cartilage. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) gives encouraging results, but this cell-based therapy involves a step of chondrocyte expansion in a monolayer, which results in the loss in the differentiated phenotype. Thus, despite improvement in the quality of life for patients, reconstructed cartilage is in fact fibrocartilage. Successful ACI, according to the particular physiology of chondrocytes in vitro, requires active and phenotypically stabilized chondrocytes.

SCOPE OF REVIEW

This review describes the unique physiology of cartilage, with the factors involved in its formation, stabilization and degradation. Then, we focus on some of the most recent advances in cell therapy and tissue engineering that open up interesting perspectives for maintaining or obtaining the chondrogenic character of cells in order to treat cartilage lesions.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

Current research involves the use of chondrocytes or progenitor stem cells, associated with "smart" biomaterials and growth factors. Other influential factors, such as cell sources, oxygen pressure and mechanical strain are considered, as are recent developments in gene therapy to control the chondrocyte differentiation/dedifferentiation process.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

This review provides new information on the mechanisms regulating the state of differentiation of chondrocytes and the chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells that will lead to the development of new restorative cell therapy approaches in humans. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Matrix-mediated cell behaviour and properties.

Cyclic mechanical loading enables solute transport and oxygen supply in bone healing: an in vitro investigation

Bone healing is a complex process with an increased metabolic activity and consequently high demand for oxygen. In the hematoma phase, inflammatory cells and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are initially cut off from direct nutritional supply via blood vessels. Cyclic mechanical loading that occurs, for example, during walking is expected to have an impact on the biophysical environment of the cells but meaningful quantitative experimental data are still missing. In this study, the hypothesis that cyclic mechanical loading within a physiological range significantly contributes to oxygen transport into the fracture hematoma was investigated by an in vitro approach. MSCs were embedded in a fibrin matrix to mimic the hematoma phase during bone healing. Construct geometry, culture conditions, and parameters of mechanical loading in a bioreactor system were chosen to resemble the in vivo situation based on data from human studies and a well-characterized large animal model. Oxygen tension was measured before and after mechanical loading intervals by a chemical optical microsensor. The increase in oxygen tension at the center of the constructs was significant and depended on loading time with maximal values of 9.9%±5.1%, 14.8%±4.9%, and 25.3%±7.2% of normal atmospheric oxygen tension for 5, 15, and 30 min of cyclic loading respectively. Histological staining of hypoxic cells after 48 h of incubation confirmed sensor measurements by showing an increased number of normoxic cells with intermittent cyclic compression compared with unloaded controls. The present study demonstrates that moderate cyclic mechanical loading leads to an increased oxygen transport and thus to substantially enhanced supply conditions for cells entrapped in the hematoma. This link between mechanical conditions and nutrition supply in the early regenerative phases could be employed to improve the environmental conditions for cell metabolism and consequently prevent necrosis.

Aqp1 enhances migration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells through regulation of FAK and β-catenin

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to migrate to the site of injury and regulate the repair process. Aquaporin 1 (Aqp1) is a water channel molecule and a regulator of endothelial cell migration. To study the role of Apq1 in MSC migration, we manipulated the expression of the Aqp1 gene in MSCs and explored its effects on MSC migration both in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of Aqp1 promoted MSC migration, while depletion of Aqp1 impaired MSC migration in vitro. When the green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled Aqp1 overexpressing MSCs were systemically injected into rats with a femoral fracture, there were significantly more GFP-MSCs found at the fracture gap in the Aqp1-GFP-MSC-treated group compared to the GFP-MSC group. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, we screened several migration-related regulators. The results showed that β-catenin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) were upregulated in the Aqp1-MSCs and downregulated in the Aqp1-depleted MSCs, while C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 had no change. Furthermore, β-catenin and FAK were co-immunoprecipitated with Aqp1, and depletion of FAK abolished the Aqp1 effects on MSC migration. This study demonstrates that Aqp1 enhances MSC migration ability mainly through the FAK pathway and partially through the β-catenin pathway. Our finding suggests a novel function of Aqp1 in governing MSC migration, and this may aid MSC therapeutic applications.

Evidence for high translational potential of mesenchymal stromal cell therapy to improve recovery from ischemic stroke

Although ischemic stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, current therapies benefit only a small proportion of patients. Transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC, also known as mesenchymal stem cells or multipotent stromal cells) has attracted attention as a regenerative therapy for numerous diseases, including stroke. Mesenchymal stromal cells may aid in reducing the long-term impact of stroke via multiple mechanisms that include induction of angiogenesis, promotion of neurogenesis, prevention of apoptosis, and immunomodulation. In this review, we discuss the clinical rationale of MSC for stroke therapy in the context of their emerging utility in other diseases, and their recent clinical approval for treatment of graft-versus-host disease. An analysis of preclinical studies examining the effects of MSC therapy after ischemic stroke indicates near-universal agreement that MSC have significant favorable effect on stroke recovery, across a range of doses and treatment time windows. These results are interpreted in the context of completed and ongoing human clinical trials, which provide support for MSC as a safe and potentially efficacious therapy for stroke recovery in humans. Finally, we consider principles of brain repair and manufacturing considerations that will be useful for effective translation of MSC from the bench to the bedside for stroke recovery.

Polymorphism in the hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha gene may confer susceptibility to LDD in Chinese cohort

Objective

This study aimed to investigate whether or not hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) gene variants are associated with the susceptibility and clinical characteristics of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD).

Methods

We examined 320 patients with LDD and 447 gender- and age-matched control subjects. We also determined the HIF-1α gene variants, including C1772T (P582S) and G1790A (A588T) polymorphisms.

Results

Significant differences were observed in allelic and genotypic distributions of 1790 A > G polymorphisms between LDD cases and control subjects. Logistic regression revealed that 1790 AA genotypes indicated a protective effect against the development of LDD. The HIF-1α 1790 A > G polymorphisms also affected the severity of LDD as evaluated based on the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) scores. The 1790 AA genotype carriers exhibited significantly lower mJOA scores than AG and GG carriers. C1772T did not show any association with the risk and severity of LDD.

Conclusion

Our study suggested that HIF-1α 1790 A > G polymorphisms may be used as a molecular marker to determine the susceptibility and severity of LDD.

Mesenchymal stem cells and their chondrogenic differentiated and dedifferentiated progeny express chemokine receptor CCR9 and chemotactically migrate toward CCL25 or serum

Introduction

Guided migration of chondrogenically differentiated cells has not been well studied, even though it may be critical for growth, repair, and regenerative processes. The chemokine CCL25 is believed to play a critical role in the directional migration of leukocytes and stem cells. To investigate the motility effect of serum- or CCL25-mediated chemotaxis on chondrogenically differentiated cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were induced to chondrogenic lineage cells.

Methods

MSC-derived chondrogenically differentiated cells were characterized for morphology, histology, immunohistochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), surface profile, and serum- or CCL25-mediated cell migration. Additionally, the chemokine receptor, CCR9, was examined in different states of MSCs.

Results

The chondrogenic differentiated state of MSCs was positive for collagen type II and Alcian blue staining, and showed significantly upregulated expression of COL2A1and SOX9, and downregulated expression of CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105 and CD166, in contrast to the undifferentiated and dedifferentiated states of MSCs. For the chondrogenic differentiated, undifferentiated, and dedifferentiated states of MSCs, the serum-mediated chemotaxis was in a percentage ratio of 33%:84%:85%, and CCL25-mediated chemotaxis was in percentage ratio of 12%:14%:13%, respectively. On the protein level, CCR9, receptor of CCL25, was expressed in the form of extracellular and intracellular domains. On the gene level, qPCR confirmed the expression of CCR9 in different states of MSCs.

Conclusions

CCL25 is an effective cue to guide migration in a directional way. In CCL25-mediated chemotaxis, the cell-migration rate was almost the same for different states of MSCs. In serum-mediated chemotaxis, the cell-migration rate of chondrogenically differentiated cells was significantly lower than that in undifferentiated or dedifferentiated cells. Current knowledge of the surface CD profile and cell migration could be beneficial for regenerative cellular therapies.

High targeted migration of human mesenchymal stem cells grown in hypoxia is associated with enhanced activation of RhoA

INTRODUCTION

A feature which makes stem cells promising candidates for cell therapy is their ability to migrate effectively into damaged or diseased tissues. Recent reports demonstrated the increased motility of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) grown under hypoxic conditions compared to normoxic cells. However, the directional migration of hMSC cultured in hypoxia has not been investigated. In this study we examined the in vitro transmembrane migration of hMSC permanently cultured in hypoxia in response to various cytokines. We also studied the involvement of RhoA, a molecule believed to play an essential role in the migration of MSC via reorganization of the cytoskeleton.

METHODS

We compared the directional migration of human hMSCs grown permanently under normal (21%, normoxic) and low O2 (5%, hypoxic) conditions until passage 4 using an in vitro transmembrane migration assay. A series of 17 cytokines was used to induce chemotaxis. We also compared the level of GTP-bound RhoA in the cell extracts of calpeptin-activated hypoxic and normoxic hMSC.

RESULTS

We found that hMSC cultured in hypoxia demonstrate markedly higher targeted migration activity compared to normoxic cells, particularly towards wound healing cytokines, including those found in ischemic and myocardial infarction. We also demonstrated for the first time that hMSC are dramatically more sensitive to activation of RhoA.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that high directional migration of hMSCs permanently grown in hypoxia is associated with the enhanced activation of RhoA. The enhanced migratory capacity of hypoxic hMSC would further suggest their potential advantages for clinical applications.

The roles of hypoxia-inducible factors in regulating neural stem cells migration to glioma stem cells and determinating their fates

The mortality of patients with malignant gliomas remains high despite the advancement in multi-modal therapy including surgery, radio- and chemotherapy. Glioma stem cells (GSCs), sharing some characteristics with normal neural stem cells (NSCs), contribute to the cellular origin for primary gliomas and the recurrence of malignant gliomas after current conventional therapy. Accordingly, targeting GSCs proves to be a promising avenue of therapeutic intervention. The specific tropism of NSCs to GSCs provides a novel platform for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents. Tropism and mobilization of NSCs are enhanced by hypoxia through upregulating chemotactic cytokines and activating several signaling pathways. Moreover, hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) produced under hypoxic microenvironment of the stem cell niche play critical roles in the growth and stemness phenotypes regulation of both NSCs and GSCs. However, the definite cellular and molecular mechanisms of HIFs involvement in the process remain obscure. In this review, we focus on the pivotal roles of HIFs in migration of NSCs to GSCs and potential roles of HIFs in dictating the fates of migrated NSCs and targeted GSCs.

Biomaterial delivery of morphogens to mimic the natural healing cascade in bone

Complications in treatment of large bone defects using bone grafting still remain. Our understanding of the endogenous bone regeneration cascade has inspired the exploration of a wide variety of growth factors (GFs) in an effort to mimic the natural signaling that controls bone healing. Biomaterial-based delivery of single exogenous GFs has shown therapeutic efficacy, and this likely relates to its ability to recruit and promote replication of cells involved in tissue development and the healing process. However, as the natural bone healing cascade involves the action of multiple factors, each acting in a specific spatiotemporal pattern, strategies aiming to mimic the critical aspects of this process will likely benefit from the usage of multiple therapeutic agents. This article reviews the current status of approaches to deliver single GFs, as well as ongoing efforts to develop sophisticated delivery platforms to deliver multiple lineage-directing morphogens (multiple GFs) during bone healing.

Increased stemness and migration of human mesenchymal stem cells in hypoxia is associated with altered integrin expression

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are regularly cultured and characterised under normoxic (21% O(2)) conditions, although the physiological oxygen tension in the stem cell niche is known to be as low as 1-2%. Oxygen itself is an important signalling molecule, but the distinct impact on various stem cell characteristics is still unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of oxygen concentration on the hMSC subpopulation composition, cell morphology and migration on different surfaces (polystyrene, collagen I, fibronectin, laminin) as well as on the expression of integrin receptors. Bone marrow-derived hMSCs were cultured either in normoxic (21% O(2)) or hypoxic (2% O(2)) conditions. The hMSC subpopulations were assessed by aspect ratio and cell area. Hypoxia promoted a more homogeneous cell population with a significantly higher fraction of rapidly self-renewing cells which are believed to be the true stem cells. Under hypoxic conditions hMSC volume and height were significantly decreased on all surfaces as measured by white light confocal microscopy. Furthermore, low oxygen tension led to a significant increase in cell velocity and Euclidian distance on all matrixes, which was evaluated by time-lapse microscopy. With regard to cell-matrix contacts, expression of several integrin subunits was evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Increased expression of the subunits α(1), α(3), α(5,) α(6), α(11), α(v), β(1) and β(3) was observed in hypoxic conditions, while α(2) was higher expressed in normoxic cultured hMSCs. Taken together, our results indicate that hypoxic conditions promote stemness and migration of hMSC along with altering their integrin expression.

The primary cilium as a biomarker in the hypoxic adaptation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells: a role for the secreted frizzled-related proteins

A pivotal role in guiding mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation has recently been attributed to the primary cilium. This solitary, non-motile microtubule-based organelle emerging from the cell surface acts as a sensorial membrane structure reflecting developmental and adaptive processes associated with pathologies including human cystic kidney disease, skeletal malformations, obesity and cancer. Given that the intrinsic hypoxic adaptation of MSC remains poorly understood within ischemic tissues or hypoxic tumours, we questioned whether the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) might be a downstream effector regulating cilium maintenance. We show that murine bone marrow-derived MSC cultured under hypoxic conditions (1.2% O(2)) lose their primary cilia in a time-dependent manner. Gene silencing of HIF-1α prevented cilia loss in hypoxic cultures, and generation of MSC expressing a constitutively active HIF-1α (MSC-HIF) was found to decrease primary cilium formation. A Wnt pathway-related gene expression array was also performed on MSC-HIF and indicated that the secreted Frizzled-related proteins (sFRP)-1, -3 and -4 were down-regulated, while sFRP-2 was up-regulated. Overexpression of recombinant sFRP-2 or gene silencing of sFRP-1, -3 and -4 in MSC led to primary cilium disruption. These results indicate a molecular signalling mechanism for the hypoxic disruption of the primary cilium in MSC involving an HIF-1α/sFRP axis. This mechanism contributes to our understanding of the adaptive processes possibly involved in the oncogenic transformation and tumour-supporting potential of MSC. Our current observations also open up the possibility for the primary cilia to serve as a biomarker in MSC adaptation to low oxygen tension within (patho)physiological microenvironments.