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Wang Y, Xiong Y, Shi K, Effah CY, Song L, He L, Liu J. DNA nanostructures for exploring cell-cell communication. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53:4020-4044. [PMID: 38444346 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00944k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
The process of coordinating between the same or multiple types of cells to jointly execute various instructions in a controlled and carefully regulated environment is a very appealing field. In order to provide clearer insight into the role of cell-cell interactions and the cellular communication of this process in their local communities, several interdisciplinary approaches have been employed to enhance the core understanding of this phenomenon. DNA nanostructures have emerged in recent years as one of the most promising tools in exploring cell-cell communication and interactions due to their programmability and addressability. Herein, this review is dedicated to offering a new perspective on using DNA nanostructures to explore the progress of cell-cell communication. After briefly outlining the anchoring strategy of DNA nanostructures on cell membranes and the subsequent dynamic regulation of DNA nanostructures, this paper highlights the significant contribution of DNA nanostructures in monitoring cell-cell communication and regulating its interactions. Finally, we provide a quick overview of the current challenges and potential directions for the application of DNA nanostructures in cellular communication and interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Wang
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Yamin Xiong
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Kangqi Shi
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Clement Yaw Effah
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Sepsis, Henan Engineering Research Center for Critical Care Medicine, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Lulu Song
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Leiliang He
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
| | - Jianbo Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Bio-Nanotechnology and Molecular Engineering of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
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Ma Q, Li Q, Zheng X, Pan J. CellCommuNet: an atlas of cell-cell communication networks from single-cell RNA sequencing of human and mouse tissues in normal and disease states. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D597-D606. [PMID: 37850657 PMCID: PMC10767892 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-cell communication, as a basic feature of multicellular organisms, is crucial for maintaining the biological functions and microenvironmental homeostasis of cells, organs, and whole organisms. Alterations in cell-cell communication contribute to many diseases, including cancers. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides a powerful method for studying cell-cell communication by enabling the analysis of ligand-receptor interactions. Here, we introduce CellCommuNet (http://www.inbirg.com/cellcommunet/), a comprehensive data resource for exploring cell-cell communication networks in scRNA-seq data from human and mouse tissues in normal and disease states. CellCommuNet currently includes 376 single datasets from multiple sources, and 118 comparison datasets between disease and normal samples originating from the same study. CellCommuNet provides information on the strength of communication between cells and related signalling pathways and facilitates the exploration of differences in cell-cell communication between healthy and disease states. Users can also search for specific signalling pathways, ligand-receptor pairs, and cell types of interest. CellCommuNet provides interactive graphics illustrating cell-cell communication in different states, enabling differential analysis of communication strength between disease and control samples. This comprehensive database aims to be a valuable resource for biologists studying cell-cell communication networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinfeng Ma
- Precision Medicine Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
- Basic Medicine Research and Innovation Center for Novel Target and Therapeutic Intervention, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Basic Medicine Research and Innovation Center for Novel Target and Therapeutic Intervention, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Xiao Zheng
- Basic Medicine Research and Innovation Center for Novel Target and Therapeutic Intervention, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Jianbo Pan
- Precision Medicine Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
- Basic Medicine Research and Innovation Center for Novel Target and Therapeutic Intervention, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
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Wang H, Zhang C, Hong SH, Maye P, Rowe D, Shin DG. CGCom: a framework for inferring Cell-cell Communication based on Graph Neural Network. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.10.566642. [PMID: 38014057 PMCID: PMC10680670 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.566642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Cell-cell communication is crucial in maintaining cellular homeostasis, cell survival and various regulatory relationships among interacting cells. Thanks to recent advances of spatial transcriptomics technologies, we can now explore if and how cells' proximal information available from spatial transcriptomics datasets can be used to infer cell-cell communication. Here we present a cell-cell communication inference framework, called CGCom, which uses a graph neural network (GNN) to learn communication patterns among interacting cells by combining single-cell spatial transcriptomic datasets with publicly available ligand-receptor information and the molecular regulatory information down-stream of the ligand-receptor signaling. To evaluate the performance of CGCom, we applied it to mouse embryo seqFISH datasets. Our results demonstrate that CGCom can not only accurately infer cell communication between individual cell pairs but also generalize its learning to predict communication between different cell types. We compared the performance of CGCom with two existing methods, CellChat and CellPhoneDB, and our comparative study revealed both common and unique communication patterns from the three approaches. Commonly found communication patterns include three sets of ligand-receptor communication relationships, one between surface ectoderm cells and spinal cord cells, one between gut tube cells and endothelium, and one between neural crest and endothelium, all of which have already been reported in the literature thus offering credibility of all three methods. However, we hypothesize that CGCom is superior in reducing false positives thanks to its use of cell proximal information and its learning between specific cell pairs rather than between cell types. CGCom is a GNN-based solution that can take advantage of spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomic data in predicting cell-cell communication with a higher accuracy.
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Zhang C, Tan G, Zhang Y, Zhong X, Zhao Z, Peng Y, Cheng Q, Xue K, Xu Y, Li X, Li F, Zhang Y. Comprehensive analyses of brain cell communications based on multiple scRNA-seq and snRNA-seq datasets for revealing novel mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023; 29:2775-2786. [PMID: 37269061 PMCID: PMC10493674 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Complex cellular communications between glial cells and neurons are critical for brain normal function and disorders, and single-cell level RNA-sequencing datasets display more advantages for analyzing cell communications. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically explore brain cell communications when considering factors such as sex and brain region. METHODS We extracted a total of 1,039,459 cells derived from 28 brain single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) or single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) datasets from the GEO database, including 12 human and 16 mouse datasets. These datasets were further divided into 71 new sub-datasets when considering disease, sex, and region conditions. In the meanwhile, we integrated four methods to evaluate ligand-receptor interaction score among six major brain cell types (microglia, neuron, astrocyte, oligodendrocyte, OPC, and endothelial cell). RESULTS For Alzheimer's disease (AD), disease-specific ligand-receptor pairs when compared with normal sub-datasets, such as SEMA4A-NRP1, were identified. Furthermore, we explored the sex- and region-specific cell communications and identified that WNT5A-ROR1 among microglia cells displayed close communications in male, and SPP1-ITGAV displayed close communications in the meninges region from microglia to neurons. Furthermore, based on the AD-specific cell communications, we constructed a model for AD early prediction and confirmed the predictive performance using multiple independent datasets. Finally, we developed an online platform for researchers to explore brain condition-specific cell communications. CONCLUSION This research provided a comprehensive study to explore brain cell communications, which could reveal novel biological mechanisms involved in normal brain function and neurodegenerative diseases such as AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunlong Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Guiyuan Tan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yuxi Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Xiaoling Zhong
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Ziyan Zhao
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yunyi Peng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Qian Cheng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Ke Xue
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yanjun Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Xia Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Feng Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yunpeng Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
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Wang Z, Zhang Y, Wu L, Chen J, Xie S, He J, Zhang Q, Chen H, Chen F, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Zhuo Y, Wen N, Qiu L, Tan W. An Aptamer-Functionalized DNA Circuit to Establish an Artificial Interaction between T Cells and Cancer Cells. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202307656. [PMID: 37423897 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202307656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Nongenetic strategies that enable control over the cell-cell interaction network would be highly desired, particularly in T cell-based cancer immunotherapy. In this work, we developed an aptamer-functionalized DNA circuit to modulate the interaction between T cells and cancer cells. This DNA circuit was composed of recognition-then-triggering and aggregation-then-activation modules. Upon recognizing target cancer cells, the triggering strand was released to induce aggregation of immune receptors on the T cell surface, leading to an enhancement of T cell activity for effective cancer eradication. Our results demonstrated the feasibility of this DNA circuit for promoting target cancer cell-directed stimulation of T cells, which, consequently, enhanced their killing effect on cancer cells. This DNA circuit, as a modular strategy to modulate intercellular interactions, could lead to a new paradigm for the development of nongenetic T cell-based immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Wang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Limei Wu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Jianghuai Chen
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Sitao Xie
- The Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
| | - Jiaxuan He
- The Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Fengming Chen
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Yue Liu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Yutong Zhang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Yuting Zhuo
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Nachuan Wen
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
| | - Liping Qiu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
- The Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
| | - Weihong Tan
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
- The Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China
- Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
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Xu KL, Mauck RL, Burdick JA. Modeling development using hydrogels. Development 2023; 150:dev201527. [PMID: 37387575 PMCID: PMC10323241 DOI: 10.1242/dev.201527] [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] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
The development of multicellular complex organisms relies on coordinated signaling from the microenvironment, including both biochemical and mechanical interactions. To better understand developmental biology, increasingly sophisticated in vitro systems are needed to mimic these complex extracellular features. In this Primer, we explore how engineered hydrogels can serve as in vitro culture platforms to present such signals in a controlled manner and include examples of how they have been used to advance our understanding of developmental biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L. Xu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Robert L. Mauck
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Jason A. Burdick
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
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Bafna M, Li H, Zhang X. CLARIFY: cell-cell interaction and gene regulatory network refinement from spatially resolved transcriptomics. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:i484-i493. [PMID: 37387180 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in a cell provide the tight feedback needed to synchronize cell actions. However, genes in a cell also take input from, and provide signals to other neighboring cells. These cell-cell interactions (CCIs) and the GRNs deeply influence each other. Many computational methods have been developed for GRN inference in cells. More recently, methods were proposed to infer CCIs using single cell gene expression data with or without cell spatial location information. However, in reality, the two processes do not exist in isolation and are subject to spatial constraints. Despite this rationale, no methods currently exist to infer GRNs and CCIs using the same model. RESULTS We propose CLARIFY, a tool that takes GRNs as input, uses them and spatially resolved gene expression data to infer CCIs, while simultaneously outputting refined cell-specific GRNs. CLARIFY uses a novel multi-level graph autoencoder, which mimics cellular networks at a higher level and cell-specific GRNs at a deeper level. We applied CLARIFY to two real spatial transcriptomic datasets, one using seqFISH and the other using MERFISH, and also tested on simulated datasets from scMultiSim. We compared the quality of predicted GRNs and CCIs with state-of-the-art baseline methods that inferred either only GRNs or only CCIs. The results show that CLARIFY consistently outperforms the baseline in terms of commonly used evaluation metrics. Our results point to the importance of co-inference of CCIs and GRNs and to the use of layered graph neural networks as an inference tool for biological networks. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The source code and data is available at https://github.com/MihirBafna/CLARIFY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihir Bafna
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, United States
| | - Hechen Li
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, United States
| | - Xiuwei Zhang
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, United States
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Caetano AJ, Redhead Y, Karim F, Dhami P, Kannambath S, Nuamah R, Volponi AA, Nibali L, Booth V, D'Agostino EM, Sharpe PT. Spatially resolved transcriptomics reveals pro-inflammatory fibroblast involved in lymphocyte recruitment through CXCL8 and CXCL10. eLife 2023; 12:81525. [PMID: 36648332 PMCID: PMC9897724 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The interplay among different cells in a tissue is essential for maintaining homeostasis. Although disease states have been traditionally attributed to individual cell types, increasing evidence and new therapeutic options have demonstrated the primary role of multicellular functions to understand health and disease, opening new avenues to understand pathogenesis and develop new treatment strategies. We recently described the cellular composition and dynamics of the human oral mucosa; however, the spatial arrangement of cells is needed to better understand a morphologically complex tissue. Here, we link single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and high-resolution multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation to characterise human oral mucosa in health and oral chronic inflammatory disease. We deconvolved expression for resolution enhancement of spatial transcriptomic data and defined highly specialised epithelial and stromal compartments describing location-specific immune programs. Furthermore, we spatially mapped a rare pathogenic fibroblast population localised in a highly immunogenic region, responsible for lymphocyte recruitment through CXCL8 and CXCL10 and with a possible role in pathological angiogenesis through ALOX5AP. Collectively, our study provides a comprehensive reference for the study of oral chronic disease pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana J Caetano
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Yushi Redhead
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Farah Karim
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Pawan Dhami
- NIHR BRC Genomics Research Platform, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s HospitalLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Shichina Kannambath
- NIHR BRC Genomics Research Platform, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s HospitalLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Rosamond Nuamah
- NIHR BRC Genomics Research Platform, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s HospitalLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Ana A Volponi
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Luigi Nibali
- Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Veronica Booth
- Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Paul T Sharpe
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Laboratory of Odontogenesis and Osteogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and GeneticsBrnoCzech Republic
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Ma L, Ye Y, Lu H, Xing Y, Zhao Z, Quan C, Jia Z, Lu Y, Li Y, Zhou G. A Study on the Radiosensitivity of Radiation-Induced Lung Injury at the Acute Phase Based on Single-Cell Transcriptomics. Front Immunol 2022; 13:941976. [PMID: 35967301 PMCID: PMC9364823 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.941976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Aims Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is the most common complication associated with chest tumors, such as lung and breast cancers, after radiotherapy; however, the pathogenic mechanisms are unclear. Single-cell RNA sequencing has laid the foundation for studying RILI at the cellular microenvironmental level. This study focused on changes during the acute pneumonitis stage of RILI at the cellular microenvironmental level and investigated the interactions between different cell types. Methods An acute RILI model in mice and a single-cell transcriptional library were established. Intercellular communication networks were constructed to study the heterogeneity and intercellular interactions among different cell types. Results A single-cell transcriptome map was established in a mouse model of acute lung injury. In total, 18,500 single-cell transcripts were generated, and 10 major cell types were identified. The heterogeneity and radiosensitivity of each cell type or subtype in the lung tissues during the acute stage were revealed. It was found that immune cells had higher radiosensitivity than stromal cells. Immune cells were highly heterogeneous in terms of radiosensitivity, while some immune cells had the characteristics of radiation resistance. Two groups of radiation-induced Cd8+Mki67+ T cells and Cd4+Cxcr6+ helper T cells were identified. The presence of these cells was verified using immunofluorescence. The ligand-receptor interactions were analyzed by constructing intercellular communication networks. These explained the origins of the cells and revealed that they had been recruited from endothelial cells to the inflammatory site. Conclusions This study revealed the heterogeneity of in vivo radiosensitivity of different cell types in the lung at the initial stage post irradiation
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Affiliation(s)
- Luyu Ma
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Eighth Medical Center, Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yumeng Ye
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Lu
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Xing
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, China
| | - Zhen Zhao
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Quan
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaoqian Jia
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yiming Lu
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Gangqiao Zhou, ; Yang Li, ; Yiming Lu,
| | - Yang Li
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
- Department of Pharmacy, Academy of Life Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- *Correspondence: Gangqiao Zhou, ; Yang Li, ; Yiming Lu,
| | - Gangqiao Zhou
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Gangqiao Zhou, ; Yang Li, ; Yiming Lu,
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Khamissi FZ, Ning L, Kefaloyianni E, Dun H, Arthanarisami A, Keller A, Atkinson JJ, Li W, Wong B, Dietmann S, Lavine K, Kreisel D, Herrlich A. Identification of kidney injury released circulating osteopontin as causal agent of respiratory failure. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm5900. [PMID: 35213222 PMCID: PMC8880785 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm5900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Tissue injury can drive secondary organ injury; however, mechanisms and mediators are not well understood. To identify interorgan cross-talk mediators, we used acute kidney injury (AKI)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) as a clinically important example. Using kidney and lung single-cell RNA sequencing after AKI in mice followed by ligand-receptor pairing analysis across organs, kidney ligands to lung receptors, we identify kidney-released circulating osteopontin (OPN) as a novel AKI-ALI mediator. OPN release from kidney tubule cells triggered lung endothelial leakage, inflammation, and respiratory failure. Pharmacological or genetic OPN inhibition prevented AKI-ALI. Transplantation of ischemic wt kidneys caused AKI-ALI, but not of ischemic OPN-global knockout kidneys, identifying kidney-released OPN as necessary interorgan signal to cause AKI-ALI. We show that OPN serum levels are elevated in patients with AKI and correlate with kidney injury. Our results demonstrate feasibility of using ligand-receptor analysis across organs to identify interorgan cross-talk mediators and may have important therapeutic implications in human AKI-ALI and multiorgan failure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Hao Dun
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | | | - Amy Keller
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jeffrey J. Atkinson
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Wenjun Li
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Brian Wong
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Sabine Dietmann
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Kory Lavine
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Daniel Kreisel
- Washington University School in St. Louis School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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11
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Bischoff JP, Schulz A, Morrison H. The role of exosomes in inter-cellular and inter-organ communication of the peripheral nervous system. FEBS Lett 2022; 596:655-664. [PMID: 34990014 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Exosomes, nano-sized extracellular vesicles, are produced via the endosomal pathway and released in the extracellular space upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. Recent evidence shows that these extracellular vesicles play a key role in cell-to-cell communication. Exosomes transport bioactive proteins, messenger RNA (mRNAs) and microRNA (miRNAs) in an active form to adjacent cells or to distant organs. In this review, we focus on the role of exosomes in peripheral nerve maintenance and repair, as well as peripheral nerve/organ crosstalk, and discuss the potential benefits of exploiting exosomes for treating PNS injuries. In addition, we will highlight the emerging role of exosomes as new important vehicles for physiological systemic crosstalk failures, which could lead to organ dysfunction during neuroinflammation or aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Patricia Bischoff
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Beutenbergstrasse 11, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Alexander Schulz
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Beutenbergstrasse 11, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Helen Morrison
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Beutenbergstrasse 11, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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12
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Herrlich A. Interorgan crosstalk mechanisms in disease: the case of acute kidney injury-induced remote lung injury. FEBS Lett 2021; 596:620-637. [PMID: 34932216 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Homeostasis and health of multicellular organisms with multiple organs depends on interorgan communication. Tissue injury in one organ disturbs this homeostasis and can lead to disease in multiple organs, or multiorgan failure. Many routes of interorgan crosstalk during homeostasis are relatively well known, but interorgan crosstalk in disease still lacks understanding. In particular, how tissue injury in one organ can drive injury at remote sites and trigger multiorgan failure with high mortality is poorly understood. As examples, acute kidney injury can trigger acute lung injury and cardiovascular dysfunction; pneumonia, sepsis or liver failure conversely can cause kidney failure; lung transplantation very frequently triggers acute kidney injury. Mechanistically, interorgan crosstalk after tissue injury could involve soluble mediators and their target receptors, cellular mediators, in particular immune cells, as well as newly identified neuro-immune connections. In this review, I will focus the discussion of deleterious interorgan crosstalk and its mechanistic concepts on one example, acute kidney injury-induced remote lung injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Herrlich
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
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13
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Armingol E, Officer A, Harismendy O, Lewis NE. Deciphering cell-cell interactions and communication from gene expression. Nat Rev Genet 2021; 22:71-88. [PMID: 33168968 PMCID: PMC7649713 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-020-00292-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 480] [Impact Index Per Article: 160.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cell-cell interactions orchestrate organismal development, homeostasis and single-cell functions. When cells do not properly interact or improperly decode molecular messages, disease ensues. Thus, the identification and quantification of intercellular signalling pathways has become a common analysis performed across diverse disciplines. The expansion of protein-protein interaction databases and recent advances in RNA sequencing technologies have enabled routine analyses of intercellular signalling from gene expression measurements of bulk and single-cell data sets. In particular, ligand-receptor pairs can be used to infer intercellular communication from the coordinated expression of their cognate genes. In this Review, we highlight discoveries enabled by analyses of cell-cell interactions from transcriptomic data and review the methods and tools used in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick Armingol
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Adam Officer
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Olivier Harismendy
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Nathan E Lewis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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14
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Goldbeter A. Dissipative structures in biological systems: bistability, oscillations, spatial patterns and waves. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2018; 376:rsta.2017.0376. [PMID: 29891498 PMCID: PMC6000149 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2017.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this review article is to assess how relevant is the concept of dissipative structure for understanding the dynamical bases of non-equilibrium self-organization in biological systems, and to see where it has been applied in the five decades since it was initially proposed by Ilya Prigogine. Dissipative structures can be classified into four types, which will be considered, in turn, and illustrated by biological examples: (i) multistability, in the form of bistability and tristability, which involve the coexistence of two or three stable steady states, or in the form of birhythmicity, which involves the coexistence between two stable rhythms; (ii) temporal dissipative structures in the form of sustained oscillations, illustrated by biological rhythms; (iii) spatial dissipative structures, known as Turing patterns; and (iv) spatio-temporal structures in the form of propagating waves. Rhythms occur with widely different periods at all levels of biological organization, from neural, cardiac and metabolic oscillations to circadian clocks and the cell cycle; they play key roles in physiology and in many disorders. New rhythms are being uncovered while artificial ones are produced by synthetic biology. Rhythms provide the richest source of examples of dissipative structures in biological systems. Bistability has been observed experimentally, but has primarily been investigated in theoretical models in an increasingly wide range of biological contexts, from the genetic to the cell and animal population levels, both in physiological conditions and in disease. Bistable transitions have been implicated in the progression between the different phases of the cell cycle and, more generally, in the process of cell fate specification in the developing embryo. Turing patterns are exemplified by the formation of some periodic structures in the course of development and by skin stripe patterns in animals. Spatio-temporal patterns in the form of propagating waves are observed within cells as well as in intercellular communication. This review illustrates how dissipative structures of all sorts abound in biological systems.This article is part of the theme issue 'Dissipative structures in matter out of equilibrium: from chemistry, photonics and biology (part 1)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Goldbeter
- Unité de Chronobiologie théorique, Service de Chimie physique et Biologie théorique, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, CP 231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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15
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16
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Li L, Wang Y, An L, Kong X, Huang T. A network-based method using a random walk with restart algorithm and screening tests to identify novel genes associated with Menière's disease. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182592. [PMID: 28787010 PMCID: PMC5546581 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
As a chronic illness derived from hair cells of the inner ear, Menière’s disease (MD) negatively influences the quality of life of individuals and leads to a number of symptoms, such as dizziness, temporary hearing loss, and tinnitus. The complete identification of novel genes related to MD would help elucidate its underlying pathological mechanisms and improve its diagnosis and treatment. In this study, a network-based method was developed to identify novel MD-related genes based on known MD-related genes. A human protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the PPI information reported in the STRING database. A classic ranking algorithm, the random walk with restart (RWR) algorithm, was employed to search for novel genes using known genes as seed nodes. To make the identified genes more reliable, a series of screening tests, including a permutation test, an interaction test and an enrichment test, were designed to select essential genes from those obtained by the RWR algorithm. As a result, several inferred genes, such as CD4, NOTCH2 and IL6, were discovered. Finally, a detailed biological analysis was performed on fifteen of the important inferred genes, which indicated their strong associations with MD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Li
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - YanShu Wang
- Department of Anesthesia, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lifeng An
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
- * E-mail:
| | - XiangYin Kong
- Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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17
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Jiménez A, Cotterell J, Munteanu A, Sharpe J. A spectrum of modularity in multi-functional gene circuits. Mol Syst Biol 2017; 13:925. [PMID: 28455348 PMCID: PMC5408781 DOI: 10.15252/msb.20167347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in systems biology is to understand the relationship between a circuit's structure and its function, but how is this relationship affected if the circuit must perform multiple distinct functions within the same organism? In particular, to what extent do multi‐functional circuits contain modules which reflect the different functions? Here, we computationally survey a range of bi‐functional circuits which show no simple structural modularity: They can switch between two qualitatively distinct functions, while both functions depend on all genes of the circuit. Our analysis reveals two distinct classes: hybrid circuits which overlay two simpler mono‐functional sub‐circuits within their circuitry, and emergent circuits, which do not. In this second class, the bi‐functionality emerges from more complex designs which are not fully decomposable into distinct modules and are consequently less intuitive to predict or understand. These non‐intuitive emergent circuits are just as robust as their hybrid counterparts, and we therefore suggest that the common bias toward studying modular systems may hinder our understanding of real biological circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Jiménez
- EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - James Cotterell
- EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andreea Munteanu
- EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - James Sharpe
- EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain .,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Cell Fate Specification Based on Tristability in the Inner Cell Mass of Mouse Blastocysts. Biophys J 2017; 110:710-722. [PMID: 26840735 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Revised: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
During development, interactions between transcription factors control the specification of different cell fates. The regulatory networks of genetic interactions often exhibit multiple stable steady states; such multistability provides a common dynamical basis for differentiation. During early murine embryogenesis, cells from the inner cell mass (ICM) can be specified in epiblast (Epi) or primitive endoderm (PrE). Besides the intracellular gene regulatory network, specification is also controlled by intercellular interactions involving Erk signaling through extracellular Fgf4. We previously proposed a model that describes the gene regulatory network and its interaction with Erk signaling in ICM cells. The model displays tristability in a range of Fgf4 concentrations and accounts for the self-organized specification process observed in vivo. Here, we further investigate the origin of tristability in the model and analyze in more detail the specification process by resorting to a simplified two-cell model. We also carry out simulations of a population of 25 cells under various experimental conditions to compare their outcome with that of mutant embryos or of embryos submitted to exogenous treatments that interfere with Fgf signaling. The results are analyzed by means of bifurcation diagrams. Finally, the model predicts that heterogeneities in extracellular Fgf4 concentration play a primary role in the spatial arrangement of the Epi/PrE cells in a salt-and-pepper pattern. If, instead of heterogeneities in extracellular Fgf4 concentration, internal fluctuations in the levels of expression of the transcription factors are considered as a source of randomness, simulations predict the occurrence of unrealistic switches between the Epi and the PrE cell fates, as well as the evolution of some cells toward one of these states without passing through the previous ICM state, in contrast to what is observed in vivo.
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19
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Guisoni N, Martinez-Corral R, Garcia Ojalvo J, de Navascués J. Diversity of fate outcomes in cell pairs under lateral inhibition. Development 2017; 144:1177-1186. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.137950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Cell fate determination by lateral inhibition via Notch/Delta signalling has been extensively studied. Most formalised models consider Notch/Delta interactions in fields of cells, with parameters that typically lead to symmetry breaking of signalling states between neighbouring cells, commonly resulting in salt-and-pepper fate patterns. Here we consider the case of signalling between isolated cell pairs, and find that the bifurcation properties of a standard mathematical model of lateral inhibition can lead to stable symmetric signalling states. We apply this model to the adult intestinal stem cell (ISC) of Drosophila, whose fate is stochastic but dependent on the Notch/Delta pathway. We observe a correlation between signalling state in cell pairs and their contact area. We interpret this behaviour in terms of the properties of our model in the presence of population variability in contact areas, which affects the effective signalling threshold of individual cells. Our results suggest that the dynamics of Notch/Delta signalling can contribute to explain stochasticity in stem cell fate decisions, and that the standard model for lateral inhibition can account for a wider range of developmental outcomes than previously considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nara Guisoni
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos, CONICET & Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 59-789, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
| | - Rosa Martinez-Corral
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Garcia Ojalvo
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joaquín de Navascués
- European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK
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20
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Siegal-Gaskins D, Franco E, Zhou T, Murray RM. An analytical approach to bistable biological circuit discrimination using real algebraic geometry. J R Soc Interface 2016; 12:20150288. [PMID: 26109633 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomolecular circuits with two distinct and stable steady states have been identified as essential components in a wide range of biological networks, with a variety of mechanisms and topologies giving rise to their important bistable property. Understanding the differences between circuit implementations is an important question, particularly for the synthetic biologist faced with determining which bistable circuit design out of many is best for their specific application. In this work we explore the applicability of Sturm's theorem--a tool from nineteenth-century real algebraic geometry--to comparing 'functionally equivalent' bistable circuits without the need for numerical simulation. We first consider two genetic toggle variants and two different positive feedback circuits, and show how specific topological properties present in each type of circuit can serve to increase the size of the regions of parameter space in which they function as switches. We then demonstrate that a single competitive monomeric activator added to a purely monomeric (and otherwise monostable) mutual repressor circuit is sufficient for bistability. Finally, we compare our approach with the Routh-Hurwitz method and derive consistent, yet more powerful, parametric conditions. The predictive power and ease of use of Sturm's theorem demonstrated in this work suggest that algebraic geometric techniques may be underused in biomolecular circuit analysis.
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21
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Occhetta P, Glass N, Otte E, Rasponi M, Cooper-White JJ. Stoichiometric control of live cell mixing to enable fluidically-encoded co-culture models in perfused microbioreactor arrays. Integr Biol (Camb) 2016; 8:194-204. [DOI: 10.1039/c5ib00311c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
A cell mixer microbioreactor array platform that permits the rapid establishment of perfused cell co-culture models in a high-throughput, programmable fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Occhetta
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
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22
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Martins BMC, Locke JCW. Microbial individuality: how single-cell heterogeneity enables population level strategies. Curr Opin Microbiol 2015; 24:104-12. [PMID: 25662921 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2015.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Revised: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 01/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Much of our knowledge of microbial life is only a description of average population behaviours, but modern technologies provide a more inclusive view and reveal that microbes also have individuality. It is now acknowledged that isogenic cell-to-cell heterogeneity is common across organisms and across different biological processes. This heterogeneity can be regulated and functional, rather than just reflecting tolerance to noisy biochemistry. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of microbial heterogeneity, with an emphasis on the pervasiveness of heterogeneity, the mechanisms that sustain it, and how heterogeneity enables collective function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno M C Martins
- Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, United Kingdom
| | - James C W Locke
- Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, United Kingdom.
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23
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Abstract
The different cell types in a living organism acquire their identity through the process of cell differentiation in which multipotent progenitor cells differentiate into distinct cell types. Experimental evidence and analysis of large-scale microarray data establish the key role played by a two-gene motif in cell differentiation in a number of cell systems. The two genes express transcription factors which repress each other's expression and autoactivate their own production. A number of theoretical models have recently been proposed based on the two-gene motif to provide a physical understanding of how cell differentiation occurs. In this paper, we study a simple model of cell differentiation which assumes no cooperativity in the regulation of gene expression by the transcription factors. The latter repress each other's activity directly through DNA binding and indirectly through the formation of heterodimers. We specifically investigate how deterministic processes combined with stochasticity contribute in bringing about cell differentiation. The deterministic dynamics of our model give rise to a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation from an undifferentiated stable steady state to two differentiated stable steady states. The stochastic dynamics of our model are studied using the approaches based on the Langevin equations and the linear noise approximation. The simulation results provide a new physical understanding of recent experimental observations. We further propose experimental measurements of quantities like the variance and the lag-1 autocorrelation function in protein fluctuations as the early signatures of an approaching bifurcation point in the cell differentiation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mainak Pal
- Department of Physics, Bose Institute 93/1, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata-700009, India
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24
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Formosa-Jordan P, Ibañes M. Competition in notch signaling with cis enriches cell fate decisions. PLoS One 2014; 9:e95744. [PMID: 24781918 PMCID: PMC4004554 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 03/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Notch signaling is involved in cell fate choices during the embryonic development of Metazoa. Commonly, Notch signaling arises from the binding of the Notch receptor to its ligands in adjacent cells driving cell-to-cell communication. Yet, cell-autonomous control of Notch signaling through both ligand-dependent and ligand-independent mechanisms is known to occur as well. Examples include Notch signaling arising in the absence of ligand binding, and cis-inhibition of Notch signaling by titration of the Notch receptor upon binding to its ligands within a single cell. Increasing experimental evidences support that the binding of the Notch receptor with its ligands within a cell (cis-interactions) can also trigger a cell-autonomous Notch signal (cis-signaling), whose potential effects on cell fate decisions and patterning remain poorly understood. To address this question, herein we mathematically and computationally investigate the cell states arising from the combination of cis-signaling with additional Notch signaling sources, which are either cell-autonomous or involve cell-to-cell communication. Our study shows that cis-signaling can switch from driving cis-activation to effectively perform cis-inhibition and identifies under which conditions this switch occurs. This switch relies on the competition between Notch signaling sources, which share the same receptor but differ in their signaling efficiency. We propose that the role of cis-interactions and their signaling on fine-grained patterning and cell fate decisions is dependent on whether they drive cis-inhibition or cis-activation, which could be controlled during development. Specifically, cis-inhibition and not cis-activation facilitates patterning and enriches it by modulating the ratio of cells in the high-ligand expression state, by enabling additional periodic patterns like stripes and by allowing localized patterning highly sensitive to the precursor state and cell-autonomous bistability. Our study exemplifies the complexity of regulations when multiple signaling sources share the same receptor and provides the tools for their characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pau Formosa-Jordan
- Dept. Estructura i Constituents de la Matèria, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Ibañes
- Dept. Estructura i Constituents de la Matèria, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail:
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25
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Feng Z, Zhang W, Xu J, Gauron C, Ducos B, Vriz S, Volovitch M, Jullien L, Weiss S, Bensimon D. Optical control and study of biological processes at the single-cell level in a live organism. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2013; 76:072601. [PMID: 23764902 PMCID: PMC3736146 DOI: 10.1088/0034-4885/76/7/072601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms are made of cells that are capable of responding to external signals by modifying their internal state and subsequently their external environment. Revealing and understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of these complex interaction networks is the subject of a field known as systems biology. To investigate these interactions (a necessary step before understanding or modelling them) one needs to develop means to control or interfere spatially and temporally with these processes and to monitor their response on a fast timescale (< minute) and with single-cell resolution. In 2012, an EMBO workshop on 'single-cell physiology' (organized by some of us) was held in Paris to discuss those issues in the light of recent developments that allow for precise spatio-temporal perturbations and observations. This review will be largely based on the investigations reported there. We will first present a non-exhaustive list of examples of cellular interactions and developmental pathways that could benefit from these new approaches. We will review some of the novel tools that have been developed for the observation of cellular activity and then discuss the recent breakthroughs in optical super-resolution microscopy that allow for optical observations beyond the diffraction limit. We will review the various means to photo-control the activity of biomolecules, which allow for local perturbations of physiological processes. We will end up this review with a report on the current status of optogenetics: the use of photo-sensitive DNA-encoded proteins as sensitive reporters and efficient actuators to perturb and monitor physiological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiping Feng
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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26
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François P, Siggia ED. Phenotypic models of evolution and development: geometry as destiny. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2012; 22:627-33. [PMID: 23026724 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2012.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2012] [Revised: 08/10/2012] [Accepted: 09/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Quantitative models of development that consider all relevant genes typically are difficult to fit to embryonic data alone and have many redundant parameters. Computational evolution supplies models of phenotype with relatively few variables and parameters that allows the patterning dynamics to be reduced to a geometrical picture for how the state of a cell moves. The clock and wavefront model, that defines the phenotype of somitogenesis, can be represented as a sequence of two discrete dynamical transitions (bifurcations). The expression-time to space map for Hox genes and the posterior dominance rule are phenotypes that naturally follow from computational evolution without considering the genetics of Hox regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul François
- McGill University, 3600 rue University, H3A2T8, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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