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Wells JR, Padua MB, Haaning AM, Smith AM, Morris SA, Tariq M, Ware SM. Non-coding cause of congenital heart defects: Abnormal RNA splicing with multiple isoforms as a mechanism for heterotaxy. HGG ADVANCES 2024; 5:100353. [PMID: 39275801 DOI: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2024.100353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 09/10/2024] [Accepted: 09/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Heterotaxy is a disorder characterized by severe congenital heart defects (CHDs) and abnormal left-right patterning in other thoracic or abdominal organs. Clinical and research-based genetic testing has previously focused on evaluation of coding variants to identify causes of CHDs, leaving non-coding causes of CHDs largely unknown. Variants in the transcription factor zinc finger of the cerebellum 3 (ZIC3) cause X-linked heterotaxy. We identified an X-linked heterotaxy pedigree without a coding variant in ZIC3. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a deep intronic variant (ZIC3 c.1224+3286A>G) predicted to alter RNA splicing. An in vitro minigene splicing assay confirmed the variant acts as a cryptic splice acceptor. CRISPR-Cas9 served to introduce the ZIC3 c.1224+3286A>G variant into human embryonic stem cells demonstrating pseudoexon inclusion caused by the variant. Surprisingly, Sanger sequencing of the resulting ZIC3 c.1224+3286A>G amplicons revealed several isoforms, many of which bypass the normal coding sequence of the third exon of ZIC3, causing a disruption of a DNA-binding domain and a nuclear localization signal. Short- and long-read mRNA sequencing confirmed these initial results and identified additional splicing patterns. Assessment of four isoforms determined abnormal functions in vitro and in vivo while treatment with a splice-blocking morpholino partially rescued ZIC3. These results demonstrate that pseudoexon inclusion in ZIC3 can cause heterotaxy and provide functional validation of non-coding disease causation. Our results suggest the importance of non-coding variants in heterotaxy and the need for improved methods to identify and classify non-coding variation that may contribute to CHDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Wells
- Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Maria B Padua
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Allison M Haaning
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Amanda M Smith
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Shaine A Morris
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Muhammad Tariq
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Stephanie M Ware
- Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
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2
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Niehrs C, Zapparoli E, Lee H. 'Three signals - three body axes' as patterning principle in bilaterians. Cells Dev 2024:203944. [PMID: 39121910 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2024.203944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
In vertebrates, the three orthogonal body axes, anteroposterior (AP), dorsoventral (DV) and left-right (LR) are determined at gastrula and neurula stages by the Spemann-Mangold organizer and its equivalents. A common feature of AP and DV axis formation is that an evolutionary conserved interplay between growth factors (Wnt, BMP) and their extracellular antagonists (e.g. Dkk1, Chordin) creates signaling gradients for axial patterning. Recent work showed that LR patterning in Xenopus follows the same principle, with R-spondin 2 (Rspo2) as an extracellular FGF antagonist, which creates a signaling gradient that determines the LR vector. That a triad of anti-FGF, anti-BMP, and anti-Wnt governs LR, DV, and AP axis formation reveals a unifying principle in animal development. We discuss how cross-talk between these three signals confers integrated AP-DV-LR body axis patterning underlying developmental robustness, size scaling, and harmonious regulation. We propose that Urbilateria featured three orthogonal body axes that were governed by a Cartesian coordinate system of orthogonal Wnt/AP, BMP/DV, and FGF/LR signaling gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christof Niehrs
- Division of Molecular Embryology, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | | | - Hyeyoon Lee
- Division of Molecular Embryology, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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3
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Lee H, Camuto CM, Niehrs C. R-Spondin 2 governs Xenopus left-right body axis formation by establishing an FGF signaling gradient. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1003. [PMID: 38307837 PMCID: PMC10837206 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44951-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Establishment of the left-right (LR, sinistral, dextral) body axis in many vertebrate embryos relies on cilia-driven leftward fluid flow within an LR organizer (LRO). A cardinal question is how leftward flow triggers symmetry breakage. The chemosensation model posits that ciliary flow enriches a signaling molecule on the left side of the LRO that promotes sinistral cell fate. However, the nature of this sinistralizing signal has remained elusive. In the Xenopus LRO, we identified the stem cell growth factor R-Spondin 2 (Rspo2) as a symmetrically expressed, sinistralizing signal. As predicted for a flow-mediated signal, Rspo2 operates downstream of leftward flow but upstream of the asymmetrically expressed gene dand5. Unexpectedly, in LR patterning, Rspo2 acts as an FGF receptor antagonist: Rspo2 via its TSP1 domain binds Fgfr4 and promotes its membrane clearance by Znrf3-mediated endocytosis. Concordantly, we find that at flow-stage, FGF signaling is dextralizing and forms a gradient across the LRO, high on the dextral- and low on the sinistral side. Rspo2 gain- and loss-of function equalize this FGF signaling gradient and sinistralize and dextralize development, respectively. We propose that leftward flow of Rspo2 produces an FGF signaling gradient that governs LR-symmetry breakage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeyoon Lee
- Division of Molecular Embryology, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Celine Marie Camuto
- Division of Molecular Embryology, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christof Niehrs
- Division of Molecular Embryology, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), 55128, Mainz, Germany.
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4
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Tisler M, Ott T, Blum M, Schweickert A. Expression and cilia associated localization of Histone deacetylases 6 in Xenopus. MICROPUBLICATION BIOLOGY 2023; 2023:10.17912/micropub.biology.000919. [PMID: 37649557 PMCID: PMC10463039 DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key posttranslational modulators of the proteome. We show that expression of histone deacetylase 6 ( hdac6 ) is dynamic and appears in a tissue specific manner throughout embryonic development of the frog Xenopus laevis . Interestingly, hdac6 transcripts often associate with ciliated tissues, like the left-right organizer at neurula stage or the pronephros. In the embryonic skin, Hdac6 protein localizes to the cilia base, suggesting a functional link.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Tisler
- Department of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Tim Ott
- Department of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Martin Blum
- Department of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Axel Schweickert
- Department of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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5
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Colleluori V, Khokha MK. Mink1 regulates spemann organizer cell fate in the xenopus gastrula via Hmga2. Dev Biol 2023; 495:42-53. [PMID: 36572140 PMCID: PMC10116378 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect and leading cause of infant mortality, yet molecular mechanisms explaining CHD remain mostly unknown. Sequencing studies are identifying CHD candidate genes at a brisk rate including MINK1, a serine/threonine kinase. However, a plausible molecular mechanism connecting CHD and MINK1 is unknown. Here, we reveal that mink1 is required for proper heart development due to its role in left-right patterning. Mink1 regulates canonical Wnt signaling to define the cell fates of the Spemann Organizer and the Left-Right Organizer, a ciliated structure that breaks bilateral symmetry in the vertebrate embryo. To identify Mink1 targets, we applied an unbiased proteomics approach and identified the high mobility group architectural transcription factor, Hmga2. We report that Hmga2 is necessary and sufficient for regulating Spemann's Organizer. Indeed, we demonstrate that Hmga2 can induce Spemann Organizer cell fates even when β-catenin, a critical effector of the Wnt signaling pathway, is depleted. In summary, we discover a transcription factor, Hmga2, downstream of Mink1 that is critical for the regulation of Spemann's Organizer, as well as the LRO, defining a plausible mechanism for CHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaughn Colleluori
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - Mustafa K Khokha
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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6
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Brunner N, Stein L, Amasheh S. Cellular Distribution Pattern of tjp1 (ZO-1) in Xenopus laevis Oocytes Heterologously Expressing Claudins. J Membr Biol 2023; 256:51-61. [PMID: 35737002 PMCID: PMC9884258 DOI: 10.1007/s00232-022-00251-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Epithelial barriers constitute a fundamental requirement in every organism, as they allow the separation of different environments and set boundaries against noxious and other adverse effectors. In many inflammatory and degenerative diseases, epithelial barrier function is impaired because of a disturbance of the paracellular seal. Recently, the Xenopus laevis oocyte has been established as a heterologous expression model for the analysis of transmembrane tight junction protein interactions and is currently considered to be a suitable screening model for barrier effectors. A prerequisite for this application is a physiological anchoring of claudins to the cytoskeleton via the major scaffolding protein tjp1 (tight junction protein 1, ZO-1). We have analyzed the oocyte model with regard to the interaction of heterologously expressed claudins and tjp1. Our experiments have revealed endogenous tjp1 expression in protein and mRNA analyses of unfertilized Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing human claudin 1 (CLDN1) to claudin 5 (CLDN5). The amphibian cell model can therefore be used for the analysis of claudin interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Brunner
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin, Germany
| | - Laura Stein
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin, Germany
| | - Salah Amasheh
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin, Germany
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7
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Petri N, Nordbrink R, Tsikolia N, Kremnyov S. Abnormal left-right organizer and laterality defects in Xenopus embryos after formin inhibitor SMIFH2 treatment. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275164. [PMCID: PMC9639825 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Left-right symmetry breaking in most studied vertebrates makes use of so-called leftward flow, a mechanism which was studied in detail especially in mouse and Xenopus laevis embryos and is based on rotation of monocilia on specialized epithelial surface designated as left-right organizer or laterality coordinator. However, it has been argued that prior to emergence of leftward flow an additional mechanism operates during early cleavage stages in Xenopus embryo which is based on cytoskeletal processes. Evidence in favour of this early mechanism was supported by left-right abnormalities after chemical inhibition of cytoskeletal protein formin. Here we analyzed temporal dimension of this effect in detail and found that reported abnormalities arise only after treatment at gastrula-neurula stages, i.e. just prior to and during the operation of left-right organizer. Moreover, molecular and morphological analysis of the left-right organizer reveals its abnormal development. Our results strongly indicate that left-right abnormalities reported after formin inhibition cannot serve as support of models based on early symmetry breaking event in Xenopus embryo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Petri
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Rhea Nordbrink
- Anatomy and Embryology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nikoloz Tsikolia
- Anatomy and Embryology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- * E-mail: (NT); (SK)
| | - Stanislav Kremnyov
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Laboratory of Morphogenesis Evolution, Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology RAS, Moscow, Russia
- * E-mail: (NT); (SK)
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8
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Negretti MI, Böse N, Petri N, Kremnyov S, Tsikolia N. Nodal asymmetry and hedgehog signaling during vertebrate left–right symmetry breaking. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:957211. [PMID: 36172285 PMCID: PMC9511907 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.957211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of visceral left–right asymmetry in bilateria is based on initial symmetry breaking followed by subsequent asymmetric molecular patterning. An important step is the left-sided expression of transcription factor pitx2 which is mediated by asymmetric expression of the nodal morphogen in the left lateral plate mesoderm of vertebrates. Processes leading to emergence of the asymmetric nodal domain differ depending on the mode of symmetry breaking. In Xenopus laevis and mouse embryos, the leftward fluid flow on the ventral surface of the left–right organizer leads through intermediate steps to enhanced activity of the nodal protein on the left side of the organizer and subsequent asymmetric nodal induction in the lateral plate mesoderm. In the chick embryo, asymmetric morphogenesis of axial organs leads to paraxial nodal asymmetry during the late gastrulation stage. Although it was shown that hedgehog signaling is required for initiation of the nodal expression, the mechanism of its asymmetry remains to be clarified. In this study, we established the activation of hedgehog signaling in early chick embryos to further study its role in the initiation of asymmetric nodal expression. Our data reveal that hedgehog signaling is sufficient to induce the nodal expression in competent domains of the chick embryo, while treatment of Xenopus embryos led to moderate nodal inhibition. We discuss the role of symmetry breaking and competence in the initiation of asymmetric gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nina Böse
- Anatomy and Embryology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Natalia Petri
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Stanislav Kremnyov
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Nikoloz Tsikolia
- Anatomy and Embryology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Nikoloz Tsikolia,
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9
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Kreis J, Camuto CM, Elsner CC, Vogel S, Vick P. FGF-mediated establishment of left-right asymmetry requires Rab7 function in the dorsal mesoderm in Xenopus. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:981762. [PMID: 36105355 PMCID: PMC9465294 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.981762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastrulation denotes a very important developmental process, which includes significant structural tissue rearrangements and patterning events that shape the emerging vertebrate organism. At the end of gastrulation, the three body axes are spatially defined while the left-right axis still lacks any molecular or morphological polarity. In most vertebrates, this is established during neurulation by a symmetry breaking LR organizer. However, this mesoderm-derived structure depends on proper induction and specification of the mesoderm, which in turn requires involvement of several signaling pathways. Endocytosis and the endosomal machinery offer manifold platforms for intracellular pathway regulation, especially late endosomes claim increasing attention. The late endosomal regulator Rab7 has been linked to mesoderm specification during gastrulation. Distinct axial defects due to compromised dorsal mesoderm development in rab7-deficient Xenopus embryos suggested a requirement of Rab7 for FGF-dependent mesoderm patterning and LR asymmetry. Here we specifically addressed such a role of Rab7, demonstrating a functional requirement for LR organizer development and symmetry breakage. Using different FGF/MAPK pathway components we show that Rab7 participates in dorsal mesoderm patterning. We suggest a hierarchical classification of Rab7 upstream of MAPK-dependent mesoderm specification, most probably at the level of the small GTPase Ras. Thus, this study affords an insight on how the Rab7-regulated endosomal machinery could participate in signal transduction to enable correct mesoderm specification and left-right asymmetry.
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10
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Jang DG, Kwon KY, Kweon YC, Kim BG, Myung K, Lee HS, Young Park C, Kwon T, Park TJ. GJA1 depletion causes ciliary defects by affecting Rab11 trafficking to the ciliary base. eLife 2022; 11:81016. [PMID: 36004726 PMCID: PMC9448326 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The gap junction complex functions as a transport channel across the membrane. Among gap junction subunits, gap junction protein α1 (GJA1) is the most commonly expressed subunit. A recent study showed that GJA1 is necessary for the maintenance of motile cilia; however, the molecular mechanism and function of GJA1 in ciliogenesis remain unknown. Here, we examined the functions of GJA1 during ciliogenesis in human retinal pigment epithelium-1 and Xenopus laevis embryonic multiciliated-cells. GJA1 localizes to the motile ciliary axonemes or pericentriolar regions beneath the primary cilium. GJA1 depletion caused malformation of both the primary cilium and motile cilia. Further study revealed that GJA1 depletion affected several ciliary proteins such as BBS4, CP110, and Rab11 in the pericentriolar region and basal body. Interestingly, CP110 removal from the mother centriole was significantly reduced by GJA1 depletion. Importantly, Rab11, a key regulator during ciliogenesis, was immunoprecipitated with GJA1, and GJA1 knockdown caused the mislocalization of Rab11. These findings suggest that GJA1 regulates ciliogenesis by interacting with the Rab11-Rab8 ciliary trafficking pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Gil Jang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Keun Yeong Kwon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeong Cheon Kweon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung-Gyu Kim
- Center for Genomic Integrity, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyungjae Myung
- Center for Genomic Integrity, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Shik Lee
- School of Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Chan Young Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Taejoon Kwon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Joo Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
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Tingler M, Brugger A, Feistel K, Schweickert A. dmrt2 and myf5 Link Early Somitogenesis to Left-Right Axis Determination in Xenopus laevis. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:858272. [PMID: 35813209 PMCID: PMC9260042 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.858272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The vertebrate left-right axis is specified during neurulation by events occurring in a transient ciliated epithelium termed left-right organizer (LRO), which is made up of two distinct cell types. In the axial midline, central LRO (cLRO) cells project motile monocilia and generate a leftward fluid flow, which represents the mechanism of symmetry breakage. This directional fluid flow is perceived by laterally positioned sensory LRO (sLRO) cells, which harbor non-motile cilia. In sLRO cells on the left side, flow-induced signaling triggers post-transcriptional repression of the multi-pathway antagonist dand5. Subsequently, the co-expressed Tgf-β growth factor Nodal1 is released from Dand5-mediated repression to induce left-sided gene expression. Interestingly, Xenopus sLRO cells have somitic fate, suggesting a connection between LR determination and somitogenesis. Here, we show that doublesex and mab3-related transcription factor 2 (Dmrt2), known to be involved in vertebrate somitogenesis, is required for LRO ciliogenesis and sLRO specification. In dmrt2 morphants, misexpression of the myogenic transcription factors tbx6 and myf5 at early gastrula stages preceded the misspecification of sLRO cells at neurula stages. myf5 morphant tadpoles also showed LR defects due to a failure of sLRO development. The gain of myf5 function reintroduced sLRO cells in dmrt2 morphants, demonstrating that paraxial patterning and somitogenesis are functionally linked to LR axis formation in Xenopus.
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12
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Xu Y, Jang J, Gye MC. The Xenopus laevis teratogenesis assay for developmental toxicity of phthalate plasticizers and alternatives. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 300:118985. [PMID: 35167930 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Contamination of phthalate ester plasticizers threatens the wildlife as well as human health. To evaluate the developmental toxicity of commonly used phthalate esters and emerging alternatives, the frog embryo teratogenesis assay-Xenopus (FETAX) was conducted for dibutyl-phthalate (DBP), benzyl-butyl-phthalate (BBP), dioctyl-terephthalate (DOTP), di(2-propylheptyl)-phthalate (DPHP), diisononyl-phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl-phthalate (DIDP), diethyl hexyl cyclohexane (DEHCH), and diisononyl-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH). The 96-hrs LC50 for DBP, BBP, DOTP, DIDP, DINCH, DINP, DPHP, and DEHCH were 18.3, 20.1, 588.7, 718.0, 837.5, 859.3, 899.0, and 899.0 mg/L, respectively. The 96-hrs EC50 of developmental abnormality of DBP, BBP, DPHP, DOTP, DINP, DEHCH, DINCH, and DIDP were 7.5, 18.2, 645.1, 653.6, 664.4, 745.6, 813.7, and 944.5 mg/L, respectively. The lowest observed effective concentration for embryonic survival, malformation, and growth was DINP, DBP, BBP, DIDP, DPHP, DINCH, DEHCH, and DOTP in increasing order. In tadpoles, DBP, BBP, DEHCH, DINP, and DIDP caused inositol-requiring enzyme 1 or protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase pathway endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in order, and BBP, DBP, DOTP, DPHP, DINP, and DIDP caused long term ERS-related apoptosis or mitochondrial apoptosis in order. Together, in Xenopus embryos, the developmental toxicity and the cellular stress-inducing potential of tested plasticizers were DEHCH, DINCH, DPHP, DIDP, DINP, DOTP, BBP, and DBP in increasing order. In consideration of public as well as environmental health this information would be helpful for industrial choice of phthalate ester plasticizers and their alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Xu
- Department of Life Science and Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, South Korea
| | - Jihyun Jang
- Department of Life Science and Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, South Korea
| | - Myung Chan Gye
- Department of Life Science and Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, South Korea.
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13
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Niziolek M, Bicka M, Osinka A, Samsel Z, Sekretarska J, Poprzeczko M, Bazan R, Fabczak H, Joachimiak E, Wloga D. PCD Genes-From Patients to Model Organisms and Back to Humans. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031749. [PMID: 35163666 PMCID: PMC8836003 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a hereditary genetic disorder caused by the lack of motile cilia or the assembxly of dysfunctional ones. This rare human disease affects 1 out of 10,000-20,000 individuals and is caused by mutations in at least 50 genes. The past twenty years brought significant progress in the identification of PCD-causative genes and in our understanding of the connections between causative mutations and ciliary defects observed in affected individuals. These scientific advances have been achieved, among others, due to the extensive motile cilia-related research conducted using several model organisms, ranging from protists to mammals. These are unicellular organisms such as the green alga Chlamydomonas, the parasitic protist Trypanosoma, and free-living ciliates, Tetrahymena and Paramecium, the invertebrate Schmidtea, and vertebrates such as zebrafish, Xenopus, and mouse. Establishing such evolutionarily distant experimental models with different levels of cell or body complexity was possible because both basic motile cilia ultrastructure and protein composition are highly conserved throughout evolution. Here, we characterize model organisms commonly used to study PCD-related genes, highlight their pros and cons, and summarize experimental data collected using these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Niziolek
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Marta Bicka
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Osinka
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Zuzanna Samsel
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Justyna Sekretarska
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Martyna Poprzeczko
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
- Laboratory of Immunology, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 5 Pawinskiego Street, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Rafal Bazan
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Hanna Fabczak
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
| | - Ewa Joachimiak
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
- Correspondence: (E.J.); (D.W.); Tel.: +48-22-58-92-338 (E.J. & D.W.)
| | - Dorota Wloga
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.N.); (M.B.); (A.O.); (Z.S.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (R.B.); (H.F.)
- Correspondence: (E.J.); (D.W.); Tel.: +48-22-58-92-338 (E.J. & D.W.)
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14
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Szenker-Ravi E, Ott T, Khatoo M, Moreau de Bellaing A, Goh WX, Chong YL, Beckers A, Kannesan D, Louvel G, Anujan P, Ravi V, Bonnard C, Moutton S, Schoen P, Fradin M, Colin E, Megarbane A, Daou L, Chehab G, Di Filippo S, Rooryck C, Deleuze JF, Boland A, Arribard N, Eker R, Tohari S, Ng AYJ, Rio M, Lim CT, Eisenhaber B, Eisenhaber F, Venkatesh B, Amiel J, Crollius HR, Gordon CT, Gossler A, Roy S, Attie-Bitach T, Blum M, Bouvagnet P, Reversade B. Discovery of a genetic module essential for assigning left-right asymmetry in humans and ancestral vertebrates. Nat Genet 2022; 54:62-72. [PMID: 34903892 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00970-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The vertebrate left-right axis is specified during embryogenesis by a transient organ: the left-right organizer (LRO). Species including fish, amphibians, rodents and humans deploy motile cilia in the LRO to break bilateral symmetry, while reptiles, birds, even-toed mammals and cetaceans are believed to have LROs without motile cilia. We searched for genes whose loss during vertebrate evolution follows this pattern and identified five genes encoding extracellular proteins, including a putative protease with hitherto unknown functions that we named ciliated left-right organizer metallopeptide (CIROP). Here, we show that CIROP is specifically expressed in ciliated LROs. In zebrafish and Xenopus, CIROP is required solely on the left side, downstream of the leftward flow, but upstream of DAND5, the first asymmetrically expressed gene. We further ascertained 21 human patients with loss-of-function CIROP mutations presenting with recessive situs anomalies. Our findings posit the existence of an ancestral genetic module that has twice disappeared during vertebrate evolution but remains essential for distinguishing left from right in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Szenker-Ravi
- Laboratory of Human Genetics and Therapeutics, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Tim Ott
- Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Muznah Khatoo
- Laboratory of Human Genetics and Therapeutics, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Anne Moreau de Bellaing
- Laboratoire de Cardiogénétique, Groupe Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Wei Xuan Goh
- Laboratory of Human Genetics and Therapeutics, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yan Ling Chong
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Pathology, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Anja Beckers
- Institute for Molecular Biology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover, Germany
| | - Darshini Kannesan
- Laboratory of Human Genetics and Therapeutics, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Guillaume Louvel
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Écologie, Systématique et Évolution, UMR 8079 CNRS - Université Paris-Saclay - AgroParisTech, Orsay, France
| | - Priyanka Anujan
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Vydianathan Ravi
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Carine Bonnard
- Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sébastien Moutton
- CPDPN, Pôle mère enfant, Maison de Santé Protestante Bordeaux Bagatelle, Talence, France
| | | | - Mélanie Fradin
- Service de Génétique Médicale, Hôpital Sud, CHU de Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Estelle Colin
- Service de Génétique Médicale, CHU d'Angers, Angers, France
| | - André Megarbane
- Department of Human Genetics, Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon
- Institut Jérôme LEJEUNE, Paris, France
| | - Linda Daou
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Hôtel Dieu de France University Medical Center, Saint Joseph University, Alfred Naccache Boulevard, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Ghassan Chehab
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Hôtel Dieu de France University Medical Center, Saint Joseph University, Alfred Naccache Boulevard, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
- Department of Pediatrics, Lebanese University, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Hadath, Greater Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sylvie Di Filippo
- Service de Cardiologie Pédiatrique, Groupe Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France
| | - Caroline Rooryck
- Service de Génétique, University of Bordeaux, MRGM, INSERM U1211, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Jean-François Deleuze
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine (CNRGH), Evry, France
| | - Anne Boland
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine (CNRGH), Evry, France
| | - Nicolas Arribard
- Service de Cardiologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola (HUDERF), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Rukiye Eker
- Pediatrics Department, Pediatric Cardiology Division, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sumanty Tohari
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Alvin Yu-Jin Ng
- Molecular Diagnosis Centre (MDC), National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Marlène Rio
- Fédération de Génétique, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Developmental Brain Disorders Laboratory, Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, INSERM UMR 1163, Paris, France
| | - Chun Teck Lim
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Birgit Eisenhaber
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Frank Eisenhaber
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences (SBS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Byrappa Venkatesh
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Pediatrics, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jeanne Amiel
- Fédération de Génétique, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Laboratory of Embryology and Genetics of Malformations, Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, INSERM UMR 1163, Paris, France
| | - Hugues Roest Crollius
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Christopher T Gordon
- Laboratory of Embryology and Genetics of Malformations, Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, INSERM UMR 1163, Paris, France
| | - Achim Gossler
- Institute for Molecular Biology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover, Germany
| | - Sudipto Roy
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Pediatrics, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tania Attie-Bitach
- Fédération de Génétique, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Laboratory of Genetics and Development of the Cerebral Cortex, Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, INSERM UMR 1163, Paris, France
| | - Martin Blum
- Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | | | - Bruno Reversade
- Laboratory of Human Genetics and Therapeutics, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Pediatrics, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore.
- Medical Genetics Department, Koç University School of Medicine (KUSOM), Istanbul, Turkey.
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15
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Physiological Functions of Thiol Peroxidases (Gpx1 and Prdx2) during Xenopus laevis Embryonic Development. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 10:antiox10101636. [PMID: 34679770 PMCID: PMC8533462 DOI: 10.3390/antiox10101636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1) and peroxiredoxin 2 (Prdx2) belong to the thiol peroxidase family of antioxidants, and have been studied for their antioxidant functions and roles in cancers. However, the physiological significance of Gpx1 and Prdx2 during vertebrate embryogenesis are lacking. Currently, we investigated the functional roles of Gpx1 and Prdx2 during vertebrate embryogenesis using Xenopus laevis as a vertebrate model. Our investigations revealed the zygotic nature of gpx1 having its localization in the eye region of developing embryos, whereas prdx2 exhibited a maternal nature and were localized in embryonic ventral blood islands. Furthermore, the gpx1-morphants exhibited malformed eyes with incompletely detached lenses. However, the depletion of prdx2 has not established its involvement with embryogenesis. A molecular analysis of gpx1-depleted embryos revealed the perturbed expression of a cryba1-lens-specific marker and also exhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in the eye regions of gpx1-morphants. Additionally, transcriptomics analysis of gpx1-knockout embryos demonstrated the involvement of Wnt, cadherin, and integrin signaling pathways in the development of malformed eyes. Conclusively, our findings indicate the association of gpx1 with a complex network of embryonic developmental pathways and ROS responses, but detailed investigation is a prerequisite in order to pinpoint the mechanistic details of these interactions.
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16
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Maerker M, Getwan M, Dowdle ME, McSheene JC, Gonzalez V, Pelliccia JL, Hamilton DS, Yartseva V, Vejnar C, Tingler M, Minegishi K, Vick P, Giraldez AJ, Hamada H, Burdine RD, Sheets MD, Blum M, Schweickert A. Bicc1 and Dicer regulate left-right patterning through post-transcriptional control of the Nodal inhibitor Dand5. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5482. [PMID: 34531379 PMCID: PMC8446035 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25464-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rotating cilia at the vertebrate left-right organizer (LRO) generate an asymmetric leftward flow, which is sensed by cells at the left LRO margin. Ciliary activity of the calcium channel Pkd2 is crucial for flow sensing. How this flow signal is further processed and relayed to the laterality-determining Nodal cascade in the left lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) is largely unknown. We previously showed that flow down-regulates mRNA expression of the Nodal inhibitor Dand5 in left sensory cells. De-repression of the co-expressed Nodal, complexed with the TGFß growth factor Gdf3, drives LPM Nodal cascade induction. Here, we show that post-transcriptional repression of dand5 is a central process in symmetry breaking of Xenopus, zebrafish and mouse. The RNA binding protein Bicc1 was identified as a post-transcriptional regulator of dand5 and gdf3 via their 3'-UTRs. Two distinct Bicc1 functions on dand5 mRNA were observed at pre- and post-flow stages, affecting mRNA stability or flow induced translational inhibition, respectively. To repress dand5, Bicc1 co-operates with Dicer1, placing both proteins in the process of flow sensing. Intriguingly, Bicc1 mediated translational repression of a dand5 3'-UTR mRNA reporter was responsive to pkd2, suggesting that a flow induced Pkd2 signal triggers Bicc1 mediated dand5 inhibition during symmetry breakage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Maerker
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Maike Getwan
- University of Zurich, Institute of Anatomy, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Megan E Dowdle
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason C McSheene
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Vanessa Gonzalez
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - José L Pelliccia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Valeria Yartseva
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Charles Vejnar
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Melanie Tingler
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Katsura Minegishi
- Laboratory for Organismal Patterning, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Philipp Vick
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Antonio J Giraldez
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Hiroshi Hamada
- Laboratory for Organismal Patterning, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Rebecca D Burdine
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Michael D Sheets
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Martin Blum
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Axel Schweickert
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology, Stuttgart, Germany.
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17
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Abstract
Congenital birth defects result from an abnormal development of an embryo and have detrimental effects on children's health. Specifically, congenital heart malformations are a leading cause of death among pediatric patients and often require surgical interventions within the first year of life. Increased efforts to navigate the human genome provide an opportunity to discover multiple candidate genes in patients suffering from birth defects. These efforts, however, fail to provide an explanation regarding the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and emphasize the need for an efficient platform to screen candidate genes. Xenopus is a rapid, cost effective, high-throughput vertebrate organism to model the mechanisms behind human disease. This review provides numerous examples describing the successful use of Xenopus to investigate the contribution of patient mutations to complex phenotypes including congenital heart disease and heterotaxy. Moreover, we describe a variety of unique methods that allow us to rapidly recapitulate patients' phenotypes in frogs: gene knockout and knockdown strategies, the use of fate maps for targeted manipulations, and novel imaging modalities. The combination of patient genomics data and the functional studies in Xenopus will provide necessary answers to the patients suffering from birth defects. Furthermore, it will allow for the development of better diagnostic methods to ensure early detection and intervention. Finally, with better understanding of disease pathogenesis, new treatment methods can be tailored specifically to address patient's phenotype and genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentyna Kostiuk
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Mustafa K Khokha
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
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18
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Kim H, Lee YS, Kim SM, Jang S, Choi H, Lee JW, Kim TD, Kim VN. RNA demethylation by FTO stabilizes the FOXJ1 mRNA for proper motile ciliogenesis. Dev Cell 2021; 56:1118-1130.e6. [PMID: 33761320 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Adenosine N6-methylation (m6A) is one of the most pervasive mRNA modifications, and yet the physiological significance of m6A removal (demethylation) remains elusive. Here, we report that the m6A demethylase FTO functions as a conserved regulator of motile ciliogenesis. Mechanistically, FTO demethylates and thereby stabilizes the mRNA that encodes the master ciliary transcription factor FOXJ1. Depletion of Fto in Xenopus laevis embryos caused widespread motile cilia defects, and Foxj1 was identified as one of the major phenocritical targets. In primary human airway epithelium, FTO depletion also led to FOXJ1 mRNA destabilization and a severe loss of ciliated cells with an increase of neighboring goblet cells. Consistently, Fto knockout mice showed strong asthma-like phenotypes upon allergen challenge, a result owing to defective ciliated cells in the airway epithelium. Altogether, our study reveals a conserved role of the FTO-FOXJ1 axis in embryonic and homeostatic motile ciliogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunjoon Kim
- Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 08826, Korea; School of the Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
| | - Young-Suk Lee
- Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 08826, Korea; School of the Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Seok-Min Kim
- Immunotherapy Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, Korea; Department of Functional Genomics, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, Korea
| | - Soohyun Jang
- Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Hyunji Choi
- School of the Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Jae-Won Lee
- Natural Medicine Research Center, KRIBB, Cheongju, Korea
| | - Tae-Don Kim
- Immunotherapy Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, Korea; Department of Functional Genomics, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, Korea.
| | - V Narry Kim
- Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 08826, Korea; School of the Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
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19
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Rao VG, Kulkarni SS. Xenopus to the rescue: A model to validate and characterize candidate ciliopathy genes. Genesis 2021; 59:e23414. [PMID: 33576572 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cilia are present on most vertebrate cells and play a central role in development, growth, and homeostasis. Thus, cilia dysfunction can manifest into an array of diseases, collectively termed ciliopathies, affecting millions of lives worldwide. Yet, our understanding of the gene regulatory networks that control cilia assembly and functions remain incomplete. With the advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, we can now rapidly predict pathogenic variants from hundreds of ciliopathy patients. While the pace of candidate gene discovery is exciting, most of these genes have never been previously implicated in cilia assembly or function. This makes assigning the disease causality difficult. This review discusses how Xenopus, a genetically tractable and high-throughput vertebrate model, has played a central role in identifying, validating, and characterizing candidate ciliopathy genes. The review is focused on multiciliated cells (MCCs) and diseases associated with MCC dysfunction. MCCs harbor multiple motile cilia on their apical surface to generate extracellular fluid flow inside the airway, the brain ventricles, and the oviduct. In Xenopus, these cells are external and present on the embryonic epidermal epithelia, facilitating candidate genes analysis in MCC development in vivo. The ability to introduce patient variants to study their effects on disease progression makes Xenopus a powerful model to improve our understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms and explain the patient phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkatramanan G Rao
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Saurabh S Kulkarni
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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20
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Rare Human Diseases: Model Organisms in Deciphering the Molecular Basis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. Cells 2019; 8:cells8121614. [PMID: 31835861 PMCID: PMC6952885 DOI: 10.3390/cells8121614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a recessive heterogeneous disorder of motile cilia, affecting one per 15,000-30,000 individuals; however, the frequency of this disorder is likely underestimated. Even though more than 40 genes are currently associated with PCD, in the case of approximately 30% of patients, the genetic cause of the manifested PCD symptoms remains unknown. Because motile cilia are highly evolutionarily conserved organelles at both the proteomic and ultrastructural levels, analyses in the unicellular and multicellular model organisms can help not only to identify new proteins essential for cilia motility (and thus identify new putative PCD-causative genes), but also to elucidate the function of the proteins encoded by known PCD-causative genes. Consequently, studies involving model organisms can help us to understand the molecular mechanism(s) behind the phenotypic changes observed in the motile cilia of PCD affected patients. Here, we summarize the current state of the art in the genetics and biology of PCD and emphasize the impact of the studies conducted using model organisms on existing knowledge.
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21
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Alkylglycerol monooxygenase, a heterotaxy candidate gene, regulates left-right patterning via Wnt signaling. Dev Biol 2019; 456:1-7. [PMID: 31398317 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of morbidity in the pediatric population yet its genetic and molecular causes remain poorly defined. Previously, we identified AGMO as a candidate heterotaxy disease gene, a disorder of left-right (LR) patterning that can have a profound effect on cardiac function. AGMO is the only known alkylglycerol monooxygenase, an orphan tetrahydrobiopterin dependent enzyme that cleaves the ether linkage in alkylglycerols. However, whether AGMO plays a role in LR patterning was unexplored. Here we reveal that Agmo is required for correct development of the embryonic LR axis in Xenopus embryos recapitulating the patient's heterotaxy phenotype. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Agmo is a regulator of canonical Wnt signaling, required during gastrulation for normal formation of the left - right organizer. Mutational analysis demonstrates that this function is dependent on Agmo's alkylglycerol monooxygenase activity. Together, our findings identify Agmo as a regulator of canonical Wnt signaling, demonstrate a role for Agmo in embryonic axis formation, and provide insight into the poorly understood developmental requirements for ether lipid cleavage.
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22
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Blum M, Ott T. Mechanical strain, novel genes and evolutionary insights: news from the frog left-right organizer. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2019; 56:8-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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23
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Schneider I, Kreis J, Schweickert A, Blum M, Vick P. A dual function of FGF signaling in Xenopus left-right axis formation. Development 2019; 146:dev.173575. [PMID: 31036544 DOI: 10.1242/dev.173575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Organ left-right (LR) asymmetry is a conserved vertebrate feature, which is regulated by left-sided activation of Nodal signaling. Nodal asymmetry is established by a leftward fluid-flow generated at the ciliated LR organizer (LRO). Although the role of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways during mesoderm development is conserved, diverging results from different model organisms suggest a non-conserved function in LR asymmetry. Here, we demonstrate that FGF is required during gastrulation in a dual function at consecutive stages of Xenopus embryonic development. In the early gastrula, FGF is necessary for LRO precursor induction, acting in parallel with FGF-mediated mesoderm induction. During late gastrulation, the FGF/Ca2+-branch is required for specification of the flow-sensing lateral LRO cells, a function related to FGF-mediated mesoderm morphogenesis. This second function in addition requires input from the calcium channel Polycystin-2. Thus, analogous to mesoderm development, FGF activity is required in a dual role for laterality specification; namely, for generating and sensing leftward flow. Moreover, our findings in Xenopus demonstrate that FGF functions in LR development share more conserved features across vertebrate species than previously anticipated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer Kreis
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Axel Schweickert
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Martin Blum
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Philipp Vick
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
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24
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The extraordinary biology and development of marsupial frogs (Hemiphractidae) in comparison with fish, mammals, birds, amphibians and other animals. Mech Dev 2018; 154:2-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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25
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Abstract
TGF-β family ligands function in inducing and patterning many tissues of the early vertebrate embryonic body plan. Nodal signaling is essential for the specification of mesendodermal tissues and the concurrent cellular movements of gastrulation. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling patterns tissues along the dorsal-ventral axis and simultaneously directs the cell movements of convergence and extension. After gastrulation, a second wave of Nodal signaling breaks the symmetry between the left and right sides of the embryo. During these processes, elaborate regulatory feedback between TGF-β ligands and their antagonists direct the proper specification and patterning of embryonic tissues. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the function and regulation of TGF-β family signaling in these processes. Although we cover principles that are involved in the development of all vertebrate embryos, we focus specifically on three popular model organisms: the mouse Mus musculus, the African clawed frog of the genus Xenopus, and the zebrafish Danio rerio, highlighting the similarities and differences between these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Zinski
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6058
| | - Benjamin Tajer
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6058
| | - Mary C Mullins
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6058
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26
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Griffin JN, del Viso F, Duncan AR, Robson A, Hwang W, Kulkarni S, Liu KJ, Khokha MK. RAPGEF5 Regulates Nuclear Translocation of β-Catenin. Dev Cell 2018; 44:248-260.e4. [PMID: 29290587 PMCID: PMC5818985 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2017.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Canonical Wnt signaling coordinates many critical aspects of embryonic development, while dysregulated Wnt signaling contributes to common diseases, including congenital malformations and cancer. The nuclear localization of β-catenin is the defining step in pathway activation. However, despite intensive investigation, the mechanisms regulating β-catenin nuclear transport remain undefined. In a patient with congenital heart disease and heterotaxy, a disorder of left-right patterning, we previously identified the guanine nucleotide exchange factor, RAPGEF5. Here, we demonstrate that RAPGEF5 regulates left-right patterning via Wnt signaling. In particular, RAPGEF5 regulates the nuclear translocation of β-catenin independently of both β-catenin cytoplasmic stabilization and the importin β1/Ran-mediated transport system. We propose a model whereby RAPGEF5 activates the nuclear GTPases, Rap1a/b, to facilitate the nuclear transport of β-catenin, defining a parallel nuclear transport pathway to Ran. Our results suggest new targets for modulating Wnt signaling in disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- John N. Griffin
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA,Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, United Kingdom
| | - Florencia del Viso
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Anna R. Duncan
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Andrew Robson
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Woong Hwang
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Saurabh Kulkarni
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
| | - Karen J. Liu
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, United Kingdom
| | - Mustafa K. Khokha
- Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA,Correspondence to: Lead contact Mustafa Khokha,
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27
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Schweickert A, Ott T, Kurz S, Tingler M, Maerker M, Fuhl F, Blum M. Vertebrate Left-Right Asymmetry: What Can Nodal Cascade Gene Expression Patterns Tell Us? J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2017; 5:jcdd5010001. [PMID: 29367579 PMCID: PMC5872349 DOI: 10.3390/jcdd5010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Laterality of inner organs is a wide-spread characteristic of vertebrates and beyond. It is ultimately controlled by the left-asymmetric activation of the Nodal signaling cascade in the lateral plate mesoderm of the neurula stage embryo, which results from a cilia-driven leftward flow of extracellular fluids at the left-right organizer. This scenario is widely accepted for laterality determination in wildtype specimens. Deviations from this norm come in different flavors. At the level of organ morphogenesis, laterality may be inverted (situs inversus) or non-concordant with respect to the main body axis (situs ambiguus or heterotaxia). At the level of Nodal cascade gene activation, expression may be inverted, bilaterally induced, or absent. In a given genetic situation, patterns may be randomized or predominantly lacking laterality (absence or bilateral activation). We propose that the distributions of patterns observed may be indicative of the underlying molecular defects, with randomizations being primarily caused by defects in the flow-generating ciliary set-up, and symmetrical patterns being the result of impaired flow sensing, on the left, the right, or both sides. This prediction, the reasoning of which is detailed in this review, pinpoints functions of genes whose role in laterality determination have remained obscure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Schweickert
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Tim Ott
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Sabrina Kurz
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Melanie Tingler
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Markus Maerker
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Franziska Fuhl
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Martin Blum
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
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Cowan JR, Tariq M, Shaw C, Rao M, Belmont JW, Lalani SR, Smolarek TA, Ware SM. Copy number variation as a genetic basis for heterotaxy and heterotaxy-spectrum congenital heart defects. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0406. [PMID: 27821535 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomic disorders and rare copy number abnormalities are identified in 15-25% of patients with syndromic conditions, but their prevalence in individuals with isolated birth defects is less clear. A spectrum of congenital heart defects (CHDs) is seen in heterotaxy, a highly heritable and genetically heterogeneous multiple congenital anomaly syndrome resulting from failure to properly establish left-right (L-R) organ asymmetry during early embryonic development. To identify novel genetic causes of heterotaxy, we analysed copy number variants (CNVs) in 225 patients with heterotaxy and heterotaxy-spectrum CHDs using array-based genotyping methods. Clinically relevant CNVs were identified in approximately 20% of patients and encompassed both known and putative heterotaxy genes. Patients were carefully phenotyped, revealing a significant association of abdominal situs inversus with pathogenic or likely pathogenic CNVs, while d-transposition of the great arteries was more frequently associated with common CNVs. Identified cytogenetic abnormalities ranged from large unbalanced translocations to smaller, kilobase-scale CNVs, including a rare, single exon deletion in ZIC3, a gene known to cause X-linked heterotaxy. Morpholino loss-of-function experiments in Xenopus support a role for one of these novel candidates, the platelet isoform of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFKP) in heterotaxy. Collectively, our results confirm a high CNV yield for array-based testing in patients with heterotaxy, and support use of CNV analysis for identification of novel biological processes relevant to human laterality.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason R Cowan
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.,Department of Pediatrics and Medical and Molecular Genetics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Muhammad Tariq
- Department of Pediatrics and Medical and Molecular Genetics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.,Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Chad Shaw
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mitchell Rao
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - John W Belmont
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Seema R Lalani
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Teresa A Smolarek
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Stephanie M Ware
- Department of Pediatrics and Medical and Molecular Genetics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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29
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Wang L, Liu Z, Lin H, Ma D, Tao Q, Liu F. Epigenetic regulation of left-right asymmetry by DNA methylation. EMBO J 2017; 36:2987-2997. [PMID: 28882847 DOI: 10.15252/embj.201796580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification; however, the precise role of DNA methylation in vertebrate development is still not fully understood. Here, we show that DNA methylation is essential for the establishment of the left-right (LR) asymmetric body plan during vertebrate embryogenesis. Perturbation of DNA methylation by depletion of DNA methyltransferase 1 (dnmt1) or dnmt3bb.1 in zebrafish embryos leads to defects in dorsal forerunner cell (DFC) specification or collective migration, laterality organ malformation, and disruption of LR patterning. Knockdown of dnmt1 in Xenopus embryos also causes similar defects. Mechanistically, loss of dnmt1 function induces hypomethylation of the lefty2 gene enhancer and promotes lefty2 expression, which consequently represses Nodal signaling in zebrafish embryos. We also show that Dnmt3bb.1 regulates collective DFC migration through cadherin 1 (Cdh1). Taken together, our data uncover dynamic DNA methylation as an epigenetic mechanism to control LR determination during early embryogenesis in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zhibin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Lin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dongyuan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Qinghua Tao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China .,University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
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30
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Palmquist K, Davidson B. Establishment of lateral organ asymmetries in the invertebrate chordate, Ciona intestinalis. EvoDevo 2017; 8:12. [PMID: 28770040 PMCID: PMC5526266 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-017-0075-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evolutionary emergence and diversification of the chordates appear to involve dramatic changes in organ morphogenesis along the left/right axis. However, the ancestral chordate mechanism for establishing lateral asymmetry remains ambiguous. Additionally, links between the initial establishment of lateral asymmetry and subsequent asymmetries in organ morphogenesis are poorly characterized. RESULTS To explore asymmetric organ morphogenesis during chordate evolution, we have begun to characterize left/right patterning of the heart and endodermal organs in an invertebrate chordate, Ciona intestinalis. Here, we show that Ciona has a laterally asymmetric, right-sided heart. Our data indicate that cardiac lateral asymmetry requires H+/K+ ion flux, but is independent of Nodal signaling. Our pharmacological inhibitor studies show that ion flux is required for polarization of epidermal cilia and neurula rotation and suggest that ion flux functions synergistically with chorion contact to drive cardiac laterality. Live imaging analysis revealed that larval heart progenitor cells undergo a lateral shift without displaying any migratory behaviors. Furthermore, we find that this passive shift corresponds with the emergence of lateral asymmetry in the endoderm, which is also ion flux dependent. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that ion flux promotes laterally asymmetric morphogenesis of the larval endoderm rudiment leading to a passive, Nodal-independent shift in the position of associated heart progenitor cells. These findings help to refine hypotheses regarding ancestral chordate left/right patterning mechanisms and how they have diverged within invertebrate and vertebrate chordate lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Palmquist
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 USA
| | - Brad Davidson
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 USA
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31
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Ferreira RR, Vilfan A, Jülicher F, Supatto W, Vermot J. Physical limits of flow sensing in the left-right organizer. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28613157 PMCID: PMC5544429 DOI: 10.7554/elife.25078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluid flows generated by motile cilia are guiding the establishment of the left-right asymmetry of the body in the vertebrate left-right organizer. Competing hypotheses have been proposed: the direction of flow is sensed either through mechanosensation, or via the detection of chemical signals transported in the flow. We investigated the physical limits of flow detection to clarify which mechanisms could be reliably used for symmetry breaking. We integrated parameters describing cilia distribution and orientation obtained in vivo in zebrafish into a multiscale physical study of flow generation and detection. Our results show that the number of immotile cilia is too small to ensure robust left and right determination by mechanosensing, given the large spatial variability of the flow. However, motile cilia could sense their own motion by a yet unknown mechanism. Finally, transport of chemical signals by the flow can provide a simple and reliable mechanism of asymmetry establishment. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25078.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita R Ferreira
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | | | - Frank Jülicher
- Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
| | - Willy Supatto
- Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences, Ecole Polytechnique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR7645), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (U1182) and Paris Saclay University, Palaiseau, France
| | - Julien Vermot
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
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32
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Gao Q, Zhang J, Wang X, Liu Y, He R, Liu X, Wang F, Feng J, Yang D, Wang Z, Meng A, Yan X. The signalling receptor MCAM coordinates apical-basal polarity and planar cell polarity during morphogenesis. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15279. [PMID: 28589943 PMCID: PMC5467231 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The apical-basal (AB) polarity and planar cell polarity (PCP) provide an animal cell population with different phenotypes during morphogenesis. However, how cells couple these two patterning systems remains unclear. Here we provide in vivo evidence that melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) coordinates AB polarity-driven lumenogenesis and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/PCP-dependent ciliogenesis. We identify that MCAM is an independent receptor of fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4), a membrane anchor of phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ), an immediate upstream receptor of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and a constitutive activator of JNK. We find that MCAM-mediated vesicular trafficking towards FGF4, while generating a priority-grade transcriptional response of NFAT determines lumenogenesis. We demonstrate that MCAM plays indispensable roles in ciliogenesis through activating JNK independently of FGF signals. Furthermore, mcam-deficient zebrafish and Xenopus exhibit a global defect in left-right (LR) asymmetric establishment as a result of morphogenetic failure of their LR organizers. Therefore, MCAM coordination of AB polarity and PCP provides insight into the general mechanisms of morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Gao
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junfeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Engineering, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiumei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Rongqiao He
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xingfeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Engineering, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jing Feng
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Dongling Yang
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zhaoqing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Anming Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Engineering, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiyun Yan
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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33
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Tisler M, Schweickert A, Blum M. Xenopus, an ideal model organism to study laterality in conjoined twins. Genesis 2017; 55. [PMID: 28132423 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.22993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Conjoined twins occur at low frequency in all vertebrates including humans. Many twins fused at the chest or abdomen display a very peculiar laterality defect: while the left twin is normal with respect to asymmetric organ morphogenesis and placement (situs solitus), the organ situs is randomized in right twins. Although this phenomenon has fascinated already some of the founders of experimental embryology in the 19th and early 20th century, such as Dareste, Fol, Warynsky and Spemann, its embryological basis has remained enigmatic. Here we summarize historical experiments and interpretations as well as current models, argue that the frog Xenopus is the only vertebrate model organism to tackle the issue, and outline suitable experiments to address the question of twin laterality in the context of cilia-based symmetry breakage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Tisler
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Zoology, Stuttgart, D-70593, Germany
| | | | - Martin Blum
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Zoology, Stuttgart, D-70593, Germany
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34
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Kelley DB, Elliott TM, Evans BJ, Hall IC, Leininger EC, Rhodes HJ, Yamaguchi A, Zornik E. Probing forebrain to hindbrain circuit functions in Xenopus. Genesis 2017; 55. [PMID: 28095617 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.22999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The vertebrate hindbrain includes neural circuits that govern essential functions including breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. Hindbrain circuits also participate in generating rhythmic motor patterns for vocalization. In most tetrapods, sound production is powered by expiration and the circuitry underlying vocalization and respiration must be linked. Perception and arousal are also linked; acoustic features of social communication sounds-for example, a baby's cry-can drive autonomic responses. The close links between autonomic functions that are essential for life and vocal expression have been a major in vivo experimental challenge. Xenopus provides an opportunity to address this challenge using an ex vivo preparation: an isolated brain that generates vocal and breathing patterns. The isolated brain allows identification and manipulation of hindbrain vocal circuits as well as their activation by forebrain circuits that receive sensory input, initiate motor patterns and control arousal. Advances in imaging technologies, coupled to the production of Xenopus lines expressing genetically encoded calcium sensors, provide powerful tools for imaging neuronal patterns in the entire fictively behaving brain, a goal of the BRAIN Initiative. Comparisons of neural circuit activity across species (comparative neuromics) with distinctive vocal patterns can identify conserved features, and thereby reveal essential functional components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darcy B Kelley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027
| | - Taffeta M Elliott
- Department of Psychology, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico, 87801
| | - Ben J Evans
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Ontario, L8S4K1, Canada
| | - Ian C Hall
- Department of Biology, Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois
| | | | - Heather J Rhodes
- Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, 43023
| | - Ayako Yamaguchi
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112
| | - Erik Zornik
- Biology Department, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 97201
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35
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An interspecies heart-to-heart: Using Xenopus to uncover the genetic basis of congenital heart disease. CURRENT PATHOBIOLOGY REPORTS 2017; 5:187-196. [PMID: 29082114 DOI: 10.1007/s40139-017-0142-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Given the enormous impact congenital heart disease has on child health, it is imperative that we improve our understanding of the disease mechanisms that underlie patient phenotypes and clinical outcomes. This review will outline the merits of using the frog model, Xenopus, as a tool to study human cardiac development and left-right patterning mechanisms associated with congenital heart disease. RECENT FINDINGS Patient-driven gene discovery continues to provide new insight into the mechanisms of congenital heart disease, and by extension, patient phenotypes and outcomes. By identifying gene variants in CHD patients, studies in Xenopus have elucidated the molecular mechanisms of how these candidate genes affect cardiac development, both cardiogenesis as well as left-right patterning, which can have a major impact on cardiac morphogenesis. Xenopus has also proved to be a useful screening tool for the biological relevance of identified patient-mutations, and ongoing investigations continue to illuminate disease mechanisms. SUMMARY Analyses in model organisms can help to elucidate the disease mechanisms underlying CHD patient phenotypes. Using Xenopus to disentangle the genotype-phenotype relationships of well-known and novel disease genes could enhance the ability of physicians to efficaciously treat patients and predict clinical outcomes, ultimately improving quality of life and survival rates of patients born with congenital heart disease.
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36
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Davis A, Amin NM, Johnson C, Bagley K, Ghashghaei HT, Nascone-Yoder N. Stomach curvature is generated by left-right asymmetric gut morphogenesis. Development 2017; 144:1477-1483. [PMID: 28242610 PMCID: PMC5399665 DOI: 10.1242/dev.143701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Left-right (LR) asymmetry is a fundamental feature of internal anatomy, yet the emergence of morphological asymmetry remains one of the least understood phases of organogenesis. Asymmetric rotation of the intestine is directed by forces outside the gut, but the morphogenetic events that generate anatomical asymmetry in other regions of the digestive tract remain unknown. Here, we show in mouse and Xenopus that the mechanisms that drive the curvature of the stomach are intrinsic to the gut tube itself. The left wall of the primitive stomach expands more than the right wall, as the left epithelium becomes more polarized and undergoes radial rearrangement. These asymmetries exist across several species, and are dependent on LR patterning genes, including Foxj1, Nodal and Pitx2 Our findings have implications for how LR patterning manifests distinct types of morphological asymmetries in different contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Davis
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Nirav M Amin
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Caroline Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Kristen Bagley
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - H Troy Ghashghaei
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Nanette Nascone-Yoder
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
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Ferreira RR, Vermot J. The balancing roles of mechanical forces during left-right patterning and asymmetric morphogenesis. Mech Dev 2017; 144:71-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Walentek P, Quigley IK. What we can learn from a tadpole about ciliopathies and airway diseases: Using systems biology in Xenopus to study cilia and mucociliary epithelia. Genesis 2017; 55:10.1002/dvg.23001. [PMID: 28095645 PMCID: PMC5276738 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Over the past years, the Xenopus embryo has emerged as an incredibly useful model organism for studying the formation and function of cilia and ciliated epithelia in vivo. This has led to a variety of findings elucidating the molecular mechanisms of ciliated cell specification, basal body biogenesis, cilia assembly, and ciliary motility. These findings also revealed the deep functional conservation of signaling, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and protein networks employed in the formation and function of vertebrate ciliated cells. Therefore, Xenopus research can contribute crucial insights not only into developmental and cell biology, but also into the molecular mechanisms underlying cilia related diseases (ciliopathies) as well as diseases affecting the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract in humans (e.g., chronic lung diseases). Additionally, systems biology approaches including transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomics have been rapidly adapted for use in Xenopus, and broaden the applications for current and future translational biomedical research. This review aims to present the advantages of using Xenopus for cilia research, highlight some of the evolutionarily conserved key concepts and mechanisms of ciliated cell biology that were elucidated using the Xenopus model, and describe the potential for Xenopus research to address unresolved questions regarding the molecular mechanisms of ciliopathies and airway diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Walentek
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development Division; Developmental and Regenerative Biology Group; University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ian K. Quigley
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Dasgupta A, Amack JD. Cilia in vertebrate left-right patterning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150410. [PMID: 27821522 PMCID: PMC5104509 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how left-right (LR) asymmetry is generated in vertebrate embryos is an important problem in developmental biology. In humans, a failure to align the left and right sides of cardiovascular and/or gastrointestinal systems often results in birth defects. Evidence from patients and animal models has implicated cilia in the process of left-right patterning. Here, we review the proposed functions for cilia in establishing LR asymmetry, which include creating transient leftward fluid flows in an embryonic 'left-right organizer'. These flows direct asymmetric activation of a conserved Nodal (TGFβ) signalling pathway that guides asymmetric morphogenesis of developing organs. We discuss the leading hypotheses for how cilia-generated asymmetric fluid flows are translated into asymmetric molecular signals. We also discuss emerging mechanisms that control the subcellular positioning of cilia and the cellular architecture of the left-right organizer, both of which are critical for effective cilia function during left-right patterning. Finally, using mosaic cell-labelling and time-lapse imaging in the zebrafish embryo, we provide new evidence that precursor cells maintain their relative positions as they give rise to the ciliated left-right organizer. This suggests the possibility that these cells acquire left-right positional information prior to the appearance of cilia.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnik Dasgupta
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Amack
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
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Bodenstine TM, Chandler GS, Seftor REB, Seftor EA, Hendrix MJC. Plasticity underlies tumor progression: role of Nodal signaling. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2016; 35:21-39. [PMID: 26951550 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-016-9605-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily member Nodal is an established regulator of early embryonic development, with primary roles in endoderm induction, left-right asymmetry, and primitive streak formation. Nodal signals through TGFβ family receptors at the plasma membrane and induces signaling cascades leading to diverse transcriptional regulation. While conceptually simple, the regulation of Nodal and its molecular effects are profoundly complex and context dependent. Pioneering work by developmental biologists has characterized the signaling pathways, regulatory components, and provided detailed insight into the mechanisms by which Nodal mediates changes at the cellular and organismal levels. Nodal is also an important factor in maintaining pluripotency of embryonic stem cells through regulation of core transcriptional programs. Collectively, this work has led to an appreciation for Nodal as a powerful morphogen capable of orchestrating multiple cellular phenotypes. Although Nodal is not active in most adult tissues, its reexpression and signaling have been linked to multiple types of human cancer, and Nodal has emerged as a driver of tumor growth and cellular plasticity. In vitro and in vivo experimental evidence has demonstrated that inhibition of Nodal signaling reduces cancer cell aggressive characteristics, while clinical data have established associations with Nodal expression and patient outcomes. As a result, there is great interest in the potential targeting of Nodal activity in a therapeutic setting for cancer patients that may provide new avenues for suppressing tumor growth and metastasis. In this review, we evaluate our current understanding of the complexities of Nodal function in cancer and highlight recent experimental evidence that sheds light on the therapeutic potential of its inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Bodenstine
- Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 222, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Grace S Chandler
- Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 222, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Richard E B Seftor
- Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 222, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Elisabeth A Seftor
- Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 222, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Mary J C Hendrix
- Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 222, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
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Current Perspectives in Cardiac Laterality. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2016; 3:jcdd3040034. [PMID: 29367577 PMCID: PMC5715725 DOI: 10.3390/jcdd3040034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The heart is the first organ to break symmetry in the developing embryo and onset of dextral looping is the first indication of this event. Looping is a complex process that progresses concomitantly to cardiac chamber differentiation and ultimately leads to the alignment of the cardiac regions in their final topology. Generation of cardiac asymmetry is crucial to ensuring proper form and consequent functionality of the heart, and therefore it is a highly regulated process. It has long been known that molecular left/right signals originate far before morphological asymmetry and therefore can direct it. The use of several animal models has led to the characterization of a complex regulatory network, which invariably converges on the Tgf-β signaling molecule Nodal and its downstream target, the homeobox transcription factor Pitx2. Here, we review current data on the cellular and molecular bases of cardiac looping and laterality, and discuss the contribution of Nodal and Pitx2 to these processes. A special emphasis will be given to the morphogenetic role of Pitx2 and to its modulation of transcriptional and functional properties, which have also linked laterality to atrial fibrillation.
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Campbell EP, Quigley IK, Kintner C. Foxn4 promotes gene expression required for the formation of multiple motile cilia. Development 2016; 143:4654-4664. [PMID: 27864379 DOI: 10.1242/dev.143859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Multiciliated cell (MCC) differentiation involves extensive organelle biogenesis required to extend hundreds of motile cilia. Key transcriptional regulators known to drive the gene expression required for this organelle biogenesis are activated by the related coiled-coil proteins Multicilin and Gemc1. Here we identify foxn4 as a new downstream target of Multicilin required for MCC differentiation in Xenopus skin. When Foxn4 activity is inhibited in Xenopus embryos, MCCs show transient ciliogenesis defects similar to those seen in mutants of Foxj1, a known key regulator of genes required for motile ciliation. RNAseq analysis indicates that Foxn4 co-activates some Foxj1 target genes strongly and many Foxj1 targets weakly. ChIPseq suggests that whereas Foxn4 and Foxj1 frequently bind to different targets at distal enhancers, they largely bind together at MCC gene promoters. Consistent with this co-regulation, cilia extension by MCCs is more severely compromised in foxn4 and foxj1 double mutants than in single mutants. In contrast to Foxj1, Foxn4 is not required to extend a single motile cilium by cells involved in left-right patterning. These results indicate that Foxn4 complements Foxj1 transcriptionally during MCC differentiation, thereby shaping the levels of gene expression required for the timely and complete biogenesis of multiple motile cilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan P Campbell
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ian K Quigley
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Chris Kintner
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Del Viso F, Huang F, Myers J, Chalfant M, Zhang Y, Reza N, Bewersdorf J, Lusk CP, Khokha MK. Congenital Heart Disease Genetics Uncovers Context-Dependent Organization and Function of Nucleoporins at Cilia. Dev Cell 2016; 38:478-92. [PMID: 27593162 PMCID: PMC5021619 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2016.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2016] [Revised: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Human genomics is identifying candidate genes for congenital heart disease (CHD), but discovering the underlying mechanisms remains challenging. In a patient with CHD and heterotaxy (Htx), a disorder of left-right patterning, we previously identified a duplication in Nup188. However, a mechanism to explain how a component of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) could cause Htx/CHD was undefined. Here, we show that knockdown of Nup188 or its binding partner Nup93 leads to a loss of cilia during embryonic development while leaving NPC function largely intact. Many data, including the localization of endogenous Nup188/93 at cilia bases, support their direct role at cilia. Super-resolution imaging of Nup188 shows two barrel-like structures with dimensions and organization incompatible with an NPC-like ring, arguing against a proposed "ciliary pore complex." We suggest that the nanoscale organization and function of nucleoporins are context dependent in a way that is required for the structure of the heart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia Del Viso
- Program in Vertebrate Developmental Biology, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Fang Huang
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Jordan Myers
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Madeleine Chalfant
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Yongdeng Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Nooreen Reza
- Program in Vertebrate Developmental Biology, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Joerg Bewersdorf
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - C Patrick Lusk
- Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
| | - Mustafa K Khokha
- Program in Vertebrate Developmental Biology, Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
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Duncan AR, Khokha MK. Xenopus as a model organism for birth defects-Congenital heart disease and heterotaxy. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2016; 51:73-9. [PMID: 26910255 PMCID: PMC4809202 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2016.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Congenital heart disease is the leading cause of birth defects, affecting 9 out of 1000 newborns each year. A particularly severe form of congenital heart disease is heterotaxy, a disorder of left-right development. Despite aggressive surgical management, patients with heterotaxy have poor survival rates and severe morbidity due to their complex congenital heart disease. Recent genetic analysis of affected patients has found novel candidate genes for heterotaxy although their underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this review, we discuss the importance and challenges of birth defects research including high locus heterogeneity and few second alleles that make defining disease causality difficult. A powerful strategy moving forward is to analyze these candidate genes in a high-throughput human disease model. Xenopus is ideal for these studies. We present multiple examples demonstrating the power of Xenopus in discovering new biology from the analysis of candidate heterotaxy genes such as GALNT11, NEK2 and BCOR. These genes have diverse roles in embryos and have led to a greater understanding of complex signaling pathways and basic developmental biology. It is our hope that the mechanistic analysis of these candidate genes in Xenopus enabled by next generation sequencing of patients will provide clinicians with a greater understanding of patient pathophysiology allowing more precise and personalized medicine, to help patients more effectively in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna R Duncan
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Mustafa K Khokha
- Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.
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Endicott SJ, Basu B, Khokha M, Brueckner M. The NIMA-like kinase Nek2 is a key switch balancing cilia biogenesis and resorption in the development of left-right asymmetry. Development 2015; 142:4068-79. [PMID: 26493400 PMCID: PMC4712839 DOI: 10.1242/dev.126953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Vertebrate left-right (LR) asymmetry originates at a transient left-right organizer (LRO), a ciliated structure where cilia play a crucial role in breaking symmetry. However, much remains unknown about the choreography of cilia biogenesis and resorption at this organ. We recently identified a mutation affecting NEK2, a member of the NIMA-like serine-threonine kinase family, in a patient with congenital heart disease associated with abnormal LR development. Here, we report how Nek2 acts through cilia to influence LR patterning. Both overexpression and knockdown of nek2 in Xenopus result in abnormal LR development and reduction of LRO cilia count and motility, phenotypes that are modified by interaction with the Hippo signaling pathway. nek2 knockdown leads to a centriole defect at the LRO, consistent with the known role of Nek2 in centriole separation. Nek2 overexpression results in premature ciliary resorption in cultured cells dependent on function of the tubulin deacetylase Hdac6. Finally, we provide evidence that the known interaction between Nek2 and Nup98, a nucleoporin that localizes to the ciliary base, is important for regulating cilium resorption. Together, these data show that Nek2 is a switch balancing ciliogenesis and resorption in the development of LR asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Joseph Endicott
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Basudha Basu
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Mustafa Khokha
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Martina Brueckner
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Fitkin 426, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Trulioff AS, Malashichev YB, Ermakov AS. Artificial inversion of the left–right visceral asymmetry in vertebrates: Conceptual approaches and experimental solutions. Russ J Dev Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062360415060090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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47
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Casar Tena T, Burkhalter MD, Philipp M. Left-right asymmetry in the light of TOR: An update on what we know so far. Biol Cell 2015; 107:306-18. [PMID: 25943139 PMCID: PMC4744706 DOI: 10.1111/boc.201400094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The internal left‐right (LR) asymmetry is a characteristic that exists throughout the animal kingdom from roundworms over flies and fish to mammals. Cilia, which are antenna‐like structures protruding into the extracellular space, are involved in establishing LR asymmetry during early development. Humans who suffer from dysfunctional cilia often develop conditions such as heterotaxy, where internal organs appear to be placed randomly. As a consequence to this failure in asymmetry development, serious complications such as congenital heart defects (CHD) occur. The mammalian (or mechanistic) target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has recently emerged as an important regulator regarding symmetry breaking. The mTOR pathway governs fundamental processes such as protein translation or metabolism. Its activity can be transduced by two complexes, which are called TORC1 and TORC2, respectively. So far, only TORC1 has been implicated with asymmetry development and appears to require very precise regulation. A number of recent papers provided evidence that dysregulated TORC1 results in alterations of motile cilia and asymmetry defects. In here, we give an update on what we know so far of mTORC1 in LR asymmetry development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Casar Tena
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, 89081, Germany
| | - Martin D Burkhalter
- Leibniz Institute for Age Research Fritz Lippmann Institute, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | - Melanie Philipp
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, 89081, Germany
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Schweickert A, Feistel K. The Xenopus Embryo: An Ideal Model System to Study Human Ciliopathies. CURRENT PATHOBIOLOGY REPORTS 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s40139-015-0074-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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The ribosome biogenesis factor Nol11 is required for optimal rDNA transcription and craniofacial development in Xenopus. PLoS Genet 2015; 11:e1005018. [PMID: 25756904 PMCID: PMC4354908 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The production of ribosomes is ubiquitous and fundamental to life. As such, it is surprising that defects in ribosome biogenesis underlie a growing number of symptomatically distinct inherited disorders, collectively called ribosomopathies. We previously determined that the nucleolar protein, NOL11, is essential for optimal pre-rRNA transcription and processing in human tissue culture cells. However, the role of NOL11 in the development of a multicellular organism remains unknown. Here, we reveal a critical function for NOL11 in vertebrate ribosome biogenesis and craniofacial development. Nol11 is strongly expressed in the developing cranial neural crest (CNC) of both amphibians and mammals, and knockdown of Xenopus nol11 results in impaired pre-rRNA transcription and processing, increased apoptosis, and abnormal development of the craniofacial cartilages. Inhibition of p53 rescues this skeletal phenotype, but not the underlying ribosome biogenesis defect, demonstrating an evolutionarily conserved control mechanism through which ribosome-impaired craniofacial cells are removed. Excessive activation of this mechanism impairs craniofacial development. Together, our findings reveal a novel requirement for Nol11 in craniofacial development, present the first frog model of a ribosomopathy, and provide further insight into the clinically important relationship between specific ribosome biogenesis proteins and craniofacial cell survival.
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Abstract
Humans and other vertebrates exhibit left-right (LR) asymmetric arrangement of the internal organs, and failure to establish normal LR asymmetry leads to internal laterality disorders, including situs inversus and heterotaxy. Situs inversus is complete mirror-imaged arrangement of the internal organs along LR axis, whereas heterotaxy is abnormal arrangement of the internal thoraco-abdominal organs across LR axis of the body, most of which are associated with complex cardiovascular malformations. Both disorders are genetically heterogeneous with reduced penetrance, presumably because of monogenic, polygenic or multifactorial causes. Research in genetics of LR asymmetry disorders has been extremely prolific over the past 17 years, and a series of loci and disease genes involved in situs inversus and heterotaxy have been described. The review highlights the classification, chromosomal abnormalities, pathogenic genes and the possible mechanism of human LR asymmetry disorders.
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