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Parodi C, Hardman JA, Allavena G, Marotta R, Catelani T, Bertolini M, Paus R, Grimaldi B. Autophagy is essential for maintaining the growth of a human (mini-)organ: Evidence from scalp hair follicle organ culture. PLoS Biol 2018; 16:e2002864. [PMID: 29590104 PMCID: PMC5891029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Autophagy plays a crucial role in health and disease, regulating central cellular processes such as adaptive stress responses, differentiation, tissue development, and homeostasis. However, the role of autophagy in human physiology is poorly understood, highlighting a need for a model human organ system to assess the efficacy and safety of strategies to therapeutically modulate autophagy. As a complete, cyclically remodelled (mini-)organ, the organ culture of human scalp hair follicles (HFs), which, after massive growth (anagen), spontaneously enter into an apoptosis-driven organ involution (catagen) process, may provide such a model. Here, we reveal that in anagen, hair matrix keratinocytes (MKs) of organ-cultured HFs exhibit an active autophagic flux, as documented by evaluation of endogenous lipidated Light Chain 3B (LC3B) and sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62) proteins and the ultrastructural visualization of autophagosomes at all stages of the autophagy process. This autophagic flux is altered during catagen, and genetic inhibition of autophagy promotes catagen development. Conversely, an anti-hair loss product markedly enhances intrafollicular autophagy, leading to anagen prolongation. Collectively, our data reveal a novel role of autophagy in human hair growth. Moreover, we show that organ-cultured scalp HFs are an excellent preclinical research model for exploring the role of autophagy in human tissue physiology and for evaluating the efficacy and tissue toxicity of candidate autophagy-modulatory agents in a living human (mini-)organ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Parodi
- Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
| | - Jonathan A. Hardman
- The Centre for Dermatology Research, University of Manchester, MAHSC, and National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Center, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Giulia Allavena
- Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
| | - Roberto Marotta
- Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
| | - Tiziano Catelani
- Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
| | - Marta Bertolini
- Monasterium Laboratory, Münster, Germany
- Department of Dermatology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Ralf Paus
- The Centre for Dermatology Research, University of Manchester, MAHSC, and National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Center, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Monasterium Laboratory, Münster, Germany
- Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Benedetto Grimaldi
- Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
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Xu Z, Song Z, Li G, Tu H, Liu W, Liu Y, Wang P, Wang Y, Cui X, Liu C, Shang Y, de Rooij DG, Gao F, Li W. H2B ubiquitination regulates meiotic recombination by promoting chromatin relaxation. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 44:9681-9697. [PMID: 27431324 PMCID: PMC5175339 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Meiotic recombination is essential for fertility in most sexually reproducing species, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood in mammals. Here, we show that RNF20-mediated H2B ubiquitination is required for meiotic recombination. A germ cell-specific knockout of the H2B ubiquitination E3 ligase RNF20 results in complete male infertility. The Stra8-Rnf20−/− spermatocytes arrest at the pachytene stage because of impaired programmed double-strand break (DSB) repair. Further investigations reveal that the depletion of RNF20 in the germ cells affects chromatin relaxation, thus preventing programmed DSB repair factors from being recruited to proper positions on the chromatin. The gametogenetic defects of the H2B ubiquitination deficient cells could be partially rescued by forced chromatin relaxation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that RNF20/Bre1p-mediated H2B ubiquitination regulates meiotic recombination by promoting chromatin relaxation, and suggest an old drug may provide a new way to treat some oligo- or azoospermia patients with chromatin relaxation disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiliang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhenhua Song
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guoping Li
- The Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital and Beijing Institute of Geriatrics, Ministry of Health, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Huayu Tu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Weixiao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yujiao Liu
- College of Marine Life, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Pan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yuanting Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiuhong Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yongliang Shang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dirk G de Rooij
- Reproductive Biology Group, Division of Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Fei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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The autophagy inhibitor chloroquine targets cancer stem cells in triple negative breast cancer by inducing mitochondrial damage and impairing DNA break repair. Cancer Lett 2016; 376:249-58. [PMID: 27060208 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by an abundance of treatment-resistant breast cancer stem cells (CSCs), has a poorer prognosis than other types of breast cancers. Despite its aggressiveness, no effective targeted therapy exists for TNBC. Here, we demonstrate that CQ effectively targets CSCs via autophagy inhibition, mitochondrial structural damage, and impairment of double-stranded DNA break repair. Electron microscopy demonstrates CQ-induced mitochondrial cristae damage, which leads to mitochondrial membrane depolarization with a significant reduction in the activity of cytochrome c oxidase and accumulation of superoxide and double-stranded DNA breaks. CQ effectively diminishes the TNBC cells' ability to metastasize in vitro and in a TNBC xenograft model. When administered in combination with carboplatin, CQ effectively inhibits carboplatin-induced autophagy. This combination treatment significantly diminishes the expression of DNA repair proteins in CSC subpopulations, resulting in tumor growth reduction in carboplatin-resistant BRCA1 wild-type TNBC orthotopic xenografts. As TNBC's high treatment failure rate has been attributed to enrichment of CSCs, CQ, an autophagy inhibitor with anti-CSC effects, may be an effective adjunct to current TNBC chemotherapy regimens with carboplatin.
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Mahut M, Gargano A, Schuchnigg H, Lindner W, Lämmerhofer M. Chemoaffinity material for plasmid DNA analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography with condition-dependent switching between isoform and topoisomer selectivity. Anal Chem 2013; 85:2913-20. [PMID: 23391311 DOI: 10.1021/ac3034823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Plasmid DNA may exist in three isoforms, the linear, open-circular (oc, "nicked"), and covalently closed circular (ccc, "supercoiled") form. We have recently reported on the chromatographic separation of supercoiled plasmid topoisomers on cinchona-alkaloid modified silica-based stationary phases. Herein, we present a selectivity switching mechanism to achieve separation of isoforms and/or supercoiled topoisomers using the very same chromatographic column and system. While salt gradient elution facilitates topoisomer separation, the supercoiled species are eluting as a single peak upon elution by a mixed pH and organic modifier gradient, still well separated from the other isoforms. We have found that a mobile phase pH value near the pI of the zwitterionic adsorbent surface leads to full recovery of all plasmid DNA isoforms, which is a major issue when using anion exchange-based resins. Furthermore, the observed elution pattern, oc < linear < ccc, is constant upon changes of mobile phase composition, gradient slope, and plasmid size. The remarkable isoform selectivity found on quinine-based selectors is explained by van't Hoff plots, revealing a different binding mechanism between the supercoiled plasmid on one hand and the oc and linear isoforms on the other hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Mahut
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 38, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
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