Spatial and temporal control of NODAL signaling

Rate thresholds in cell signaling have functional and phenotypic consequences in non-linear time-dependent environments

All cells employ signal transduction pathways to respond to physiologically relevant extracellular cytokines, stressors, nutrient levels, hormones, morphogens, and other stimuli that vary in concentration and rate in healthy and diseased states. A central unsolved fundamental question in cell signaling is whether and how cells sense and integrate information conveyed by changes in the rate of extracellular stimuli concentrations, in addition to the absolute difference in concentration. We propose that different environmental changes over time influence cell behavior in addition to different signaling molecules or different genetic backgrounds. However, most current biomedical research focuses on acute environmental changes and does not consider how cells respond to environments that change slowly over time. As an example of such environmental change, we review cell sensitivity to environmental rate changes, including the novel mechanism of rate threshold. A rate threshold is defined as a threshold in the rate of change in the environment in which a rate value below the threshold does not activate signaling and a rate value above the threshold leads to signal activation. We reviewed p38/Hog1 osmotic stress signaling in yeast, chemotaxis and stress response in bacteria, cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling in Amoebae, growth factors signaling in mammalian cells, morphogen dynamics during development, temporal dynamics of glucose and insulin signaling, and spatio-temproral stressors in the kidney. These reviewed examples from the literature indicate that rate thresholds are widespread and an underappreciated fundamental property of cell signaling. Finally, by studying cells in non-linear environments, we outline future directions to understand cell physiology better in normal and pathophysiological conditions.

Nodal signaling establishes a competency window for stochastic cell fate switching

Specification of the germ layers by Nodal signaling has long been regarded as an archetype of how graded morphogens induce different cell fates. However, this deterministic model cannot explain why only a subset of cells at the early zebrafish embryo margin adopt the endodermal fate, whereas their immediate neighbours, experiencing a similar signaling environment, become mesoderm. Combining pharmacology, quantitative imaging and single cell transcriptomics, we demonstrate that sustained Nodal signaling establishes a bipotential progenitor state from which cells can switch to an endodermal fate or differentiate into mesoderm. Switching is a random event, the likelihood of which is modulated by Fgf signaling. This inherently imprecise mechanism nevertheless leads to robust endoderm formation because of buffering at later stages. Thus, in contrast to previous deterministic models of morphogen action, Nodal signaling establishes a temporal window when cells are competent to undergo a stochastic cell fate switch, rather than determining fate itself.

Biology of cancer; from cellular and molecular mechanisms to developmental processes and adaptation

Cancer research has been largely focused on the cellular and molecular levels of investigation. Recent data show that not only the cell but also the extracellular matrix plays a major role in the progression of malignancy. In this way, the cells and the extracellular matrix create a specific local microenvironment that supports malignant development. At the same time, cancer implies a systemic evolution which is closely related to developmental processes and adaptation. Consequently, there is currently a real gap between the local investigation of cancer at the microenvironmental level, and the pathophysiological approach to cancer as a systemic disease. In fact, the cells and the matrix are not only complementary structures but also interdependent components that act synergistically. Such relationships lead to cell-matrix integration, a supracellular form of biological organization that supports tissue development. The emergence of this supracellular level of organization, as a structure, leads to the emergence of the supracellular control of proliferation, as a supracellular function. In humans, proliferation is generally involved in developmental processes and adaptation. These processes suppose a specific configuration at the systemic level, which generates high-order guidance for local supracellular control of proliferation. In conclusion, the supracellular control of proliferation act as an interface between the downstream level of cell division and differentiation, and upstream level of developmental processes and adaptation. Understanding these processes and their disorders is useful not only to complete the big picture of malignancy as a systemic disease, but also to open new treatment perspectives in the form of etiopathogenic (supracellular or informational) therapies.

OCT4/POU5F1 is indispensable for the lineage differentiation of the inner cell mass in bovine embryos

The mammalian blastocyst undergoes two lineage segregations, that is, formation of the trophectoderm and subsequently differentiation of the hypoblast (HB) from the inner cell mass, leaving the epiblast (EPI) as the remaining pluripotent lineage. To clarify the expression patterns of markers specific for these lineages in bovine embryos, we analyzed day 7, 9, and 12 blastocysts completely produced in vivo by staining for OCT4, NANOG, SOX2 (EPI), and GATA6, SOX17 (HB) and identified genes specific for these developmental stages in a global transcriptomics approach. To study the role of OCT4, we generated OCT4-deficient (OCT4 KO) embryos via somatic cell nuclear transfer or in vitro fertilization. OCT4 KO embryos reached the expanded blastocyst stage by day 8 but lost NANOG and SOX17 expression, while SOX2 and GATA6 were unaffected. Blastocysts transferred to recipient cows from day 6 to 9 expanded, but the OCT4 KO phenotype was not rescued by the uterine environment. Exposure of OCT4 KO embryos to exogenous FGF4 or chimeric complementation with OCT4 intact embryos did not restore NANOG or SOX17 in OCT4-deficient cells. Our data show that OCT4 is required cell autonomously for the maintenance of pluripotency of the EPI and differentiation of the HB in bovine embryos.

Identification and functional analysis of foxl2 and nodal in sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus

Sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an important mariculture species in China. To date, the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in sea cucumber remain unclear. Identifying sex-specific molecular markers is an effective method for revealing the genetic basis of sex determination and sex differentiation. In this study, foxl2 and nodal homologous genes were identified in A. japonicus. Foxl2 exhibited dynamic and sexually dimorphic expression patterns in the gonads, with prominent expression in the ovaries and minimal expression in the testis according to real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) study. As nodal was specifically expressed in the ovary, it could serve as an ovary-specific marker in sea cucumber. Additionally, knockdown of foxl2 or nodal using RNA interference (RNAi) led to the down-regulation of piwi, germ cell-less, and dmrt1, suggesting that foxl2 and nodal may play important roles in gonad maintenance of sea cucumber. Overall, this study adds to our understanding of the roles of foxl2 and nodal in the gonadal development of A. japonicus, which provides further insight into the mechanisms of sea cucumber sex determination and differentiation.

Establishment and interpretation of NODAL and BMP signaling gradients in early vertebrate development

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family ligands play crucial roles in orchestrating early embryonic development. Most significantly, two family members, NODAL and BMP form signaling gradients and indeed in fish, frogs and sea urchins these two opposing gradients are sufficient to organize a complete embryonic axis. This review focuses on how these gradients are established and interpreted during early vertebrate development. The review highlights key principles that are emerging, in particular the importance of signaling duration as well as ligand concentration in both gradient generation and their interpretation. Feedforward and feedback loops involving other signaling pathways are also essential for providing spatial and temporal information downstream of the NODAL and BMP signaling pathways. Finally, new data suggest the existence of buffering mechanisms, whereby early signaling defects can be readily corrected downstream later in development, suggesting that signaling gradients do not have to be as precise as previously thought.

Smad4 controls signaling robustness and morphogenesis by differentially contributing to the Nodal and BMP pathways

The transcriptional effector SMAD4 is a core component of the TGF-β family signaling pathways. However, its role in vertebrate embryo development remains unresolved. To address this, we deleted Smad4 in zebrafish and investigated the consequences of this on signaling by the TGF-β family morphogens, BMPs and Nodal. We demonstrate that in the absence of Smad4, dorsal/ventral embryo patterning is disrupted due to the loss of BMP signaling. However, unexpectedly, Nodal signaling is maintained, but lacks robustness. This Smad4-independent Nodal signaling is sufficient for mesoderm specification, but not for optimal endoderm specification. Furthermore, using Optical Projection Tomography in combination with 3D embryo morphometry, we have generated a BMP morphospace and demonstrate that Smad4 mutants are morphologically indistinguishable from embryos in which BMP signaling has been genetically/pharmacologically perturbed. Smad4 is thus differentially required for signaling by different TGF-β family ligands, which has implications for diseases where Smad4 is mutated or deleted.

A case for revisiting Nodal signaling in human pluripotent stem cells

Nodal is a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily member that plays a number of critical roles in mammalian embryonic development. Nodal is essential for the support of the peri-implantation epiblast in the mouse embryo and subsequently acts to specify mesendodermal fate at the time of gastrulation and, later, left-right asymmetry. Maintenance of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in vitro is dependent on Nodal signaling. Because it has proven difficult to prepare a biologically active form of recombinant Nodal protein, Activin or TGFB1 are widely used as surrogates for NODAL in hPSC culture. Nonetheless, the expression of the components of an endogenous Nodal signaling pathway in hPSC provides a potential autocrine pathway for the regulation of self-renewal in this system. Here we review recent studies that have clarified the role of Nodal signaling in pluripotent stem cell populations, highlighted spatial restrictions on Nodal signaling, and shown that Nodal functions in vivo as a heterodimer with GDF3, another TGF-β superfamily member expressed by hPSC. We discuss the role of this pathway in the maintenance of the epiblast and hPSC in light of these new advances.

Investigating the molecular guts of endoderm formation using zebrafish

The vertebrate endoderm makes major contributions to the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts and all associated organs. Zebrafish and humans share a high degree of genetic homology and strikingly similar endodermal organ systems. Combined with a multitude of experimental advantages, zebrafish are an attractive model organism to study endoderm development and disease. Recent functional genomics studies have shed considerable light on the gene regulatory programs governing early zebrafish endoderm development, while advances in biological and technological approaches stand to further revolutionize our ability to investigate endoderm formation, function and disease. Here, we discuss the present understanding of endoderm specification in zebrafish compared to other vertebrates, how current and emerging methods will allow refined and enhanced analysis of endoderm formation, and how integration with human data will allow modeling of the link between non-coding sequence variants and human disease.

NODAL/TGFβ signalling mediates the self-sustained stemness induced by PIK3CAH1047R homozygosity in pluripotent stem cells

Activating PIK3CA mutations are known 'drivers' of human cancer and developmental overgrowth syndromes. We recently demonstrated that the 'hotspot' PIK3CAH1047R variant exerts unexpected allele dose-dependent effects on stemness in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). In this study, we combine high-depth transcriptomics, total proteomics and reverse-phase protein arrays to reveal potentially disease-related alterations in heterozygous cells, and to assess the contribution of activated TGFβ signalling to the stemness phenotype of homozygous PIK3CAH1047R cells. We demonstrate signalling rewiring as a function of oncogenic PI3K signalling strength, and provide experimental evidence that self-sustained stemness is causally related to enhanced autocrine NODAL/TGFβ signalling. A significant transcriptomic signature of TGFβ pathway activation in heterozygous PIK3CAH1047R was observed but was modest and was not associated with the stemness phenotype seen in homozygous mutants. Notably, the stemness gene expression in homozygous PIK3CAH1047R hPSCs was reversed by pharmacological inhibition of NODAL/TGFβ signalling, but not by pharmacological PI3Kα pathway inhibition. Altogether, this provides the first in-depth analysis of PI3K signalling in hPSCs and directly links strong PI3K activation to developmental NODAL/TGFβ signalling. This work illustrates the importance of allele dosage and expression when artificial systems are used to model human genetic disease caused by activating PIK3CA mutations. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

The role of Nodal and Cripto-1 in human oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common epithelial malignancy of the oral cavity. Nodal and Cripto-1 (CR-1) are important developmental morphogens expressed in several adult cancers and are associated with disease progression. Whether Nodal and CR-1 are simultaneously expressed in the same tumor and how this affects cancer biology are unclear. We investigate the expression and potential role of both Nodal and CR-1 in human OSCC. Immunohistochemistry results show that Nodal and CR-1 are both expressed in the same human OSCC sample and that intensity of Nodal staining is correlated with advanced-stage disease. However, this was not observed with CR-1 staining. Western blot analysis of lysates from two human OSCC line experiments shows expression of CR-1 and Nodal, and their respective signaling molecules, Src and ERK1/2. Treatment of SCC25 and SCC15 cells with both Nodal and CR-1 inhibitors simultaneously resulted in reduced cell viability and reduced levels of P-Src and P-ERK1/2. Further investigation showed that the combination treatment with both Nodal and CR-1 inhibitors was capable of reducing invasiveness of SCC25 cells. Our results show a possible role for Nodal/CR-1 function during progression of human OSCC and that targeting both proteins simultaneously may have therapeutic potential.

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva mutant ACVR1 signals by multiple modalities in the developing zebrafish

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare human genetic disorder characterized by altered skeletal development and extraskeletal ossification. All cases of FOP are caused by activating mutations in the type I BMP/TGFβ cell surface receptor ACVR1, which over-activates signaling through phospho-Smad1/5 (pSmad1/5). To investigate the mechanism by which FOP-ACVR1 enhances pSmad1/5 activation, we used zebrafish embryonic dorsoventral (DV) patterning as an assay for BMP signaling. We determined that the FOP mutants ACVR1-R206H and -G328R do not require their ligand binding domain to over-activate BMP signaling in DV patterning. However, intact ACVR1-R206H has the ability to respond to both Bmp7 and Activin A ligands. Additionally, BMPR1, a type I BMP receptor normally required for BMP-mediated patterning of the embryo, is dispensable for both ligand-independent signaling pathway activation and ligand-responsive signaling hyperactivation by ACVR1-R206H. These results demonstrate that FOP-ACVR1 is not constrained by the same receptor/ligand partner requirements as WT-ACVR1.

Microfibril-associated glycoprotein 4 (Mfap4) regulates haematopoiesis in zebrafish

Microfibril-associated glycoprotein 4 (MFAP4) is an extracellular matrix protein belonging to the fibrinogen-related protein superfamily. MFAP4 is produced by vascular smooth muscle cells and is highly enriched in the blood vessels of the heart and lung, where it is thought to contribute to the structure and function of elastic fibers. Genetic studies in humans have implicated MFAP4 in the pathogenesis of Smith-Magenis syndrome, in which patients present with multiple congenital abnormalities and mental retardation, as well as in the severe cardiac malformation left-sided congenital heart disease. Comprehensive genetic analysis of the role of MFAP4 orthologues in model organisms during development and tissue homeostasis is however lacking. Here, we demonstrate that zebrafish mfap4 transcripts are detected embryonically, resolving to the macrophage lineage by 24 h post fertilization. mfap4 null mutant zebrafish are unexpectedly viable and fertile, without ostensible phenotypes. However, tail fin amputation assays reveal that mfap4 mutants have reduced numbers of macrophages, with a concomitant increase in neutrophilic granulocytes, although recruitment of both cell types to the site of injury was unaffected. Molecular analyses suggest that loss of Mfap4 alters the balance between myeloid and lymphoid lineages during both primitive and definitive haematopoiesis, which could significantly impact the downstream function of the immune system.

Repulsive guidance molecules lock growth differentiation factor 5 in an inhibitory complex

Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) are cell surface proteins that regulate the development and homeostasis of many tissues and organs, including the nervous, skeletal, and immune systems. They control fundamental biological processes, such as migration and differentiation by direct interaction with the Neogenin (NEO1) receptor and function as coreceptors for the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/growth differentiation factor (GDF) family. We determined crystal structures of all three human RGM family members in complex with GDF5, as well as the ternary NEO1-RGMB-GDF5 assembly. Surprisingly, we show that all three RGMs inhibit GDF5 signaling, which is in stark contrast to RGM-mediated enhancement of signaling observed for other BMPs, like BMP2. Despite their opposite effect on GDF5 signaling, RGMs occupy the BMP type 1 receptor binding site similar to the observed interactions in RGM-BMP2 complexes. In the NEO1-RGMB-GDF5 complex, RGMB physically bridges NEO1 and GDF5, suggesting cross-talk between the GDF5 and NEO1 signaling pathways. Our crystal structures, combined with structure-guided mutagenesis of RGMs and BMP ligands, binding studies, and cellular assays suggest that RGMs inhibit GDF5 signaling by competing with GDF5 type 1 receptors. While our crystal structure analysis and in vitro binding data initially pointed towards a simple competition mechanism between RGMs and type 1 receptors as a possible basis for RGM-mediated GDF5 inhibition, further experiments utilizing BMP2-mimicking GDF5 variants clearly indicate a more complex mechanism that explains how RGMs can act as a functionality-changing switch for two structurally and biochemically similar signaling molecules.

Nodal regulates ovarian functions in zebrafish

Nodal, a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily, plays critical roles during embryo development. Several studies suggest that Nodal also regulates reproduction. The objective of this study was to investigate if Nodal is expressed in zebrafish ovary and if it is involved in the regulation of ovarian functions. Using real-time PCR, we detected two Nodal homologs, nodal-related (ndr)1, and ndr2 in zebrafish ovarian follicles. We further compared the mRNA levels of ndr1, ndr2, and their receptors between maturational incompetent early vitellogenic follicles (stage IIIa) and mid- to late-vitellogenic follicles (stage IIIb) which are capable of undergoing maturation when they are induced by hormones. We found that mRNAs for ndr1 and ndr2, as well as a type I receptor, acvr1ba, were significantly increased in follicular cells isolated from stage IIIb follicles. In primary cultures of ovarian follicular cells, treatment with recombinant human Nodal inhibited cell proliferation. On the other hand, Nodal increased the mRNA levels of two steroidogenic enzymes hsd3b2 and cyp17a1, as well as paqr8, which encodes the membrane progestin receptor-β (mPR-β). Conversely, knockdown of ndr1 and ndr2 using siRNAs decreased the mRNA levels of hsd3b2, cyp17a1, and paqr8. Finally, treatment of Nodal significantly induced oocyte maturation. Taken together, these findings suggest that Nodal exerts multiple effects on zebrafish ovary to regulate follicle growth, steroidogenesis, and oocyte maturation.

Foxh1/Nodal Defines Context-Specific Direct Maternal Wnt/β-Catenin Target Gene Regulation in Early Development

Although Wnt/β-catenin signaling is generally conserved and well understood, the regulatory mechanisms controlling context-specific direct Wnt target gene expression in development and disease are still unclear. The onset of zygotic gene transcription in early embryogenesis represents an ideal, accessible experimental system to investigate context-specific direct Wnt target gene regulation. We combine transcriptomics using RNA-seq with genome-wide β-catenin association using ChIP-seq to identify stage-specific direct Wnt target genes. We propose coherent feedforward regulation involving two distinct classes of direct maternal Wnt target genes, which differ both in expression and persistence of β-catenin association. We discover that genomic β-catenin association overlaps with Foxh1-associated regulatory sequences and demonstrate that direct maternal Wnt target gene expression requires Foxh1 function and Nodal/Tgfβ signaling. Our results support a new paradigm for direct Wnt target gene co-regulation with context-specific mechanisms that will inform future studies of embryonic development and more widely stem cell-mediated homeostasis and human disease.

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Combining RNA-seq and β-catenin ChIP-seq identifies direct Wnt target genes

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Two distinct classes of direct maternal Wnt/β-catenin target genes can be discerned

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We propose coherent feedforward regulation of gene expression of the second class

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Maternal Wnt target gene expression of both classes requires Nodal/Foxh1 signaling

The lateral plate mesoderm

The lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) forms the progenitor cells that constitute the heart and cardiovascular system, blood, kidneys, smooth muscle lineage and limb skeleton in the developing vertebrate embryo. Despite this central role in development and evolution, the LPM remains challenging to study and to delineate, owing to its lineage complexity and lack of a concise genetic definition. Here, we outline the processes that govern LPM specification, organization, its cell fates and the inferred evolutionary trajectories of LPM-derived tissues. Finally, we discuss the development of seemingly disparate organ systems that share a common LPM origin.

Summary: The lateral plate mesoderm is the origin of several major cell types and organ systems in the vertebrate body plan. How this mesoderm territory emerges and partitions into its downstream fates provides clues about vertebrate development and evolution.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 regulates zebrafish body axis organization via Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway

Pericellular and extracellular proteoglycans play an important role in modulating morphogen gradients and signal transductions. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (Cspg4) is a membrane spanning proteoglycan expressed in immature progenitor cells and cancer cells. Cspg4 participates in cellular events such as proliferation, migration and signal transduction, and these events are generally important for embryo development. In this study, we characterized Cspg4 for its roles in zebrafish embryonic development. Our results demonstrated that cspg4 was maternally expressed from 0 to 3 hours post fertilization (hpf) and expressed in the anterior and posterior embryo end after 9 hpf. Knocking-down cspg4 resulted in a shorter anterior-posterior axis than control embryo, which could be rescued by co-injecting wnt11 mRNA suggesting that Cspg4 regulates body axis organization through modulating the Wnt/planar cell polarity signaling pathway. In addition, overexpressing cspg4 caused cyclopia. The Cspg4 transmembrane domain mutant embryo phenocopied the global over-expression of cspg4 mRNA and led to cyclopia with a very low penetrance. Our results demonstrated that the quantitatively and spatially accurate distribution of Cspg4 is critical for body axis and midline development during gastrulation.

PI3K in stemness regulation: from development to cancer

The PI3K/AKT pathway is a key target in oncology where most efforts are focussed on phenotypes such as cell proliferation and survival. Comparatively, little attention has been paid to PI3K in stemness regulation, despite the emerging link between acquisition of stem cell-like features and therapeutic failure in cancer. The aim of this review is to summarise current known and unknowns of PI3K-dependent stemness regulation, by integrating knowledge from the fields of developmental, signalling and cancer biology. Particular attention is given to the role of the PI3K pathway in pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and the emerging parallels to dedifferentiated cancer cells with stem cell-like features. Compelling evidence suggests that PI3K/AKT signalling forms part of a 'core molecular stemness programme' in both mouse and human PSCs. In cancer, the oncogenic PIK3CAH1047R variant causes constitutive activation of the PI3K pathway and has recently been linked to increased stemness in a dose-dependent manner, similar to observations in mouse PSCs with heterozygous versus homozygous Pten loss. There is also evidence that the stemness phenotype may become 'locked' and thus independent of the original PI3K activation, posing limitations for the success of PI3K monotherapy in cancer. Ongoing therapeutic developments for PI3K-associated cancers may therefore benefit from a better understanding of the pathway's two-layered and highly context-dependent regulation of cell growth versus stemness.

H3K18ac Primes Mesendodermal Differentiation upon Nodal Signaling

Cellular responses to transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) depend on cell context. Here, we explored how TGF-β/nodal signaling crosstalks with the epigenome to promote mesendodermal differentiation. We find that expression of a group of mesendodermal genes depends on both TRIM33 and nodal signaling in embryoid bodies (EBs) but not in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Only in EBs, TRIM33 binds these genes in the presence of expanded H3K18ac marks. Furthermore, the H3K18ac landscape at mesendodermal genes promotes TRIM33 recruitment. We reveal that HDAC1 binds to active gene promoters and interferes with TRIM33 recruitment to mesendodermal gene promoters. However, the TRIM33-interacting protein p300 deposits H3K18ac and further enhances TRIM33 recruitment. ATAC-seq data demonstrate that TRIM33 primes mesendodermal genes for activation by maintaining chromatin accessibility at their regulatory regions. Altogether, our study suggests that HDAC1 and p300 are key factors linking the epigenome through TRIM33 to the cell context-dependent nodal response during mesendodermal differentiation.

TGF-β family ligands exhibit distinct signalling dynamics that are driven by receptor localisation

Growth factor-induced signal transduction pathways are tightly regulated at multiple points intracellularly, but how cells monitor levels of extracellular ligand and translate this information into appropriate downstream responses remains unclear. Understanding signalling dynamics is thus a key challenge in determining how cells respond to external cues. Here, we demonstrate that different TGF-β family ligands, namely activin A and BMP4, signal with distinct dynamics, which differ profoundly from those of TGF-β itself. The signalling dynamics are driven by differences in the localisation and internalisation of receptors for each ligand, which in turn determine the capability of cells to monitor levels of extracellular ligand. By using mathematical modelling, we demonstrate that the distinct receptor behaviours and signalling dynamics observed may be primarily driven by differences in ligand-receptor affinity. Furthermore, our results provide a clear rationale for the different mechanisms of pathway regulation found in vivo for each of these growth factors.

Malignant Melanoma: Autoimmunity and Supracellular Messaging as New Therapeutic Approaches

OPINION STATEMENT

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, with a high mortality rate in the absence of a safe and curable therapy. As a consequence, several procedures have been tested over time, with the most recent (immunological and targeted) therapies proving to be effective in some patients. Unfortunately, these new treatment options continue to generate debate related to the therapeutic strategy (intended to maximize the long-term results of patients with melanoma), not only about the monotherapy configuration but also regarding association/succession between distinct therapeutic procedures. As an example, targeted therapy with BRAF inhibitors proved to be effective in advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma. However, such treatments with BRAF inhibitors lead to therapy resistance in half of patients after approximately 6 months. Even if most benign nevi incorporate oncogenic BRAF mutations, they rarely become melanoma; therefore, targeted therapy with BRAF inhibitors should be viewed as an incomplete or perfectible therapy. Another example is related to the administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors/ICIs (anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies), which are successfully used in metastatic melanoma. It is currently believed that CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade would favor a strong immune response against cancer cells. The main side effects of ICIs are represented by the development of immune-related adverse events, which in some cases can be lethal. These ICI side effects would thus be not only therapeutically counterproductive but also potentially dangerous. Surprisingly, a subset of immune-related adverse events (especially autoimmune toxicity) seems to be clearly correlated with better therapeutic results, perhaps due to an additional therapeutic effect (currently insufficiently studied/exploited). Contrary to the classical approach of cancer (considered until now an uncontrolled division of cells), a very recent and comprehensive theory describes malignancy as a supracellular disease. Cancerous disease would therefore be a disturbed supracellular process (embryogenesis, growth, development, regeneration, etc.), which imposes/coordinates an increased rhythm of cell division, angiogenesis, immunosuppression, etc. Melanoma is presented from such a supracellular perspective to be able to explain the beneficial role of autoimmunity in cancer (autoimmune abortion/rejection of the melanoma-embryo phenotype) and to create premises to better optimize the newly emerging therapeutic options. Finally, it is suggested that the supracellular evolution of malignancy implies complex supracellular messaging (between the cells and host organism), which would be interfaced especially by the extracellular matrix and noncoding RNA. Therefore, understanding and manipulating supracellular messaging in cancer could open new treatment perspectives in the form of digitized (supracellular) therapy.

Nodal and BMP dispersal during early zebrafish development

The secreted TGF-β superfamily signals Nodal and BMP coordinate the patterning of vertebrate embryos. Nodal specifies endoderm and mesoderm during germ layer formation, and BMP specifies ventral fates and patterns the dorsal/ventral axis. Five major models have been proposed to explain how the correct distributions of Nodal and BMP are achieved within tissues to orchestrate embryogenesis: source/sink, transcriptional determination, relay, self-regulation, and shuttling. Here, we discuss recent experiments probing these signal dispersal models, focusing on early zebrafish development.