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Anselmi C, Caicci F, Bocci T, Guidetti M, Priori A, Giusti V, Levy T, Raveh T, Voskoboynik A, Weissman IL, Manni L. Multiple Forms of Neural Cell Death in the Cyclical Brain Degeneration of A Colonial Chordate. Cells 2023; 12:1041. [PMID: 37048113 PMCID: PMC10093557 DOI: 10.3390/cells12071041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Human neuronal loss occurs through different cellular mechanisms, mainly studied in vitro. Here, we characterized neuronal death in B. schlosseri, a marine colonial tunicate that shares substantial genomic homology with mammals and has a life history in which controlled neurodegeneration happens simultaneously in the brains of adult zooids during a cyclical phase named takeover. Using an ultrastructural and transcriptomic approach, we described neuronal death forms in adult zooids before and during the takeover phase while comparing adult zooids in takeover with their buds where brains are refining their structure. At takeover, we found in neurons clear morphologic signs of apoptosis (i.e., chromatin condensation, lobed nuclei), necrosis (swollen cytoplasm) and autophagy (autophagosomes, autolysosomes and degradative multilamellar bodies). These results were confirmed by transcriptomic analyses that highlighted the specific genes involved in these cell death pathways. Moreover, the presence of tubulovesicular structures in the brain medulla alongside the over-expression of prion disease genes in late cycle suggested a cell-to-cell, prion-like propagation recalling the conformational disorders typical of some human neurodegenerative diseases. We suggest that improved understanding of how neuronal alterations are regulated in the repeated degeneration-regeneration program of B. schlosseri may yield mechanistic insights relevant to the study of human neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Anselmi
- Hopkins Marine Station, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Federico Caicci
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Tommaso Bocci
- “Aldo Ravelli” Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Guidetti
- “Aldo Ravelli” Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Priori
- “Aldo Ravelli” Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Tom Levy
- Hopkins Marine Station, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Tal Raveh
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Ayelet Voskoboynik
- Hopkins Marine Station, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Irving L. Weissman
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lucia Manni
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Peronato A, Drago L, Rothbächer U, Macor P, Ballarin L, Franchi N. Complement system and phagocytosis in a colonial protochordate. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 103:103530. [PMID: 31669308 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2019.103530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In the present work, we investigated, in the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri, the role of complement C3 (BsC3) in phagocytosis. We studied the modulation of BsC3 transcription in the course of the colonial blastogenetic cycle, with particular reference to the takeover, when apoptotic cells in the tissues of old zooids are cleared by circulating phagocytes. In situ hybridisation with BsC3 riboprobes labelled only morula cells, the most abundant haemocytes. Anti-hC3 antibody recognised morula cells and also phagocytes when haemocytes were previously incubated with zymosan. The inhibition of C3 activation prevented the labelling of phagocytes. In phagocytosis assays with haemocytes from colonies injected with anti-hC3 antibody or bsc3 iRNA, the capability to ingest target cells was significantly (p < 0.001) reduced. Therefore, our results strongly support a key role of BsC3 in phagocytosis and open to new investigations on the nature of the receptors of the products of BsC3 activation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Drago
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Macor
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy
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Manni L, Anselmi C, Cima F, Gasparini F, Voskoboynik A, Martini M, Peronato A, Burighel P, Zaniolo G, Ballarin L. Sixty years of experimental studies on the blastogenesis of the colonial tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. Dev Biol 2018; 448:293-308. [PMID: 30217596 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In the second half of the eighteenth century, Schlosser and Ellis described the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri garnering the interest of scientists around the world. In the 1950's scientists began to study B. schlosseri and soon recognized it as an important model organism for the study of developmental biology and comparative immunology. In this review, we summarize the history of B. schlosseri studies and experiments performed to characterize the colony life cycle and bud development. We describe experiments performed to analyze variations in bud productivity, zooid growth and bilateral asymmetry (i.e., the situs viscerum), and discuss zooid and bud removal experiments that were used to study the cross-talk between consecutive blastogenetic generations and vascular budding. We also summarize experiments that demonstrated that the ability of two distinct colonies to fuse or reject is controlled by a single polymorphic gene locus (BHF) with multiple, codominantly expressed alleles. Finally, we describe how the ability to fuse and create chimeras was used to show that within a chimera somatic and germline stem cells compete to populate niches and regenerate tissue or germline organs. Starting from the results of these 60 years of study, we can now use new technological advances to expand the study of B. schlosseri traits and understand functional relationships between its genome and life history phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Manni
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Ayelet Voskoboynik
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, United States
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Dolmatov IY, Afanasyev SV, Boyko AV. Molecular mechanisms of fission in echinoderms: Transcriptome analysis. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0195836. [PMID: 29649336 PMCID: PMC5897022 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Echinoderms are capable of asexual reproduction by fission. An individual divides into parts due to changes in the strength of connective tissue of the body wall. The structure of connective tissue and the mechanisms of variations in its strength in echinoderms remain poorly studied. An analysis of transcriptomes of individuals during the process of fission provides a new opportunity to understand the mechanisms of connective tissue mutability. In the holothurian Cladolabes schmeltzii, we have found a rather complex organization of connective tissue. Transcripts of genes encoding a wide range of structural proteins of extracellular matrix, as well as various proteases and their inhibitors, have been discovered. All these molecules may constitute a part of the mechanism of connective tissue mutability. According to our data, the extracellular matrix of echinoderms is substantially distinguished from that of vertebrates by the lack of elastin, fibronectins, and tenascins. In case of fission, a large number of genes of transcription factors and components of different signaling pathways are expressed. Products of these genes are probably involved in regulation of asexual reproduction, connective tissue mutability, and preparation of tissues for subsequent regeneration. It has been shown that holothurian tensilins are a special group of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, which has formed within the class Holothuroidea and is absent from other echinoderms. Our data can serve a basis for the further study of the mechanisms of extracellular matrix mutability, as well as the mechanisms responsible for asexual reproduction in echinoderms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Yu. Dolmatov
- A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
- Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
- * E-mail:
| | - Sergey V. Afanasyev
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexey V. Boyko
- A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
- Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
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Miccoli A, Dalla Valle L, Carnevali O. The maternal control in the embryonic development of zebrafish. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 245:55-68. [PMID: 27013380 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 03/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The maternal control directing the very first hours of life is of pivotal importance for ensuring proper development to the growing embryo. Thanks to the finely regulated inheritance of maternal factors including mRNAs and proteins produced during oogenesis and stored into the mature oocyte, the embryo is sustained throughout the so-called maternal-to-zygotic transition, a period in development characterized by a species-specific length in time, during which critical biological changes regarding cell cycle and zygotic transcriptional activation occur. In order not to provoke any kind of persistent damage, the process must be delicately balanced. Surprisingly, our knowledge as to the possible effects of beneficial bacteria regarding the modulation of the quality and/or quantity of both maternally-supplied and zygotically-transcribed mRNAs, is very limited. To date, only one group has investigated the consequences of the parentally-supplied Lactobacillus rhamnosus on the storage of mRNAs into mature oocytes, leading to an altered maternal control process in the F1 generation. Particular attention was called on the monitoring of several biomarkers involved in autophagy, apoptosis and axis patterning, while data on miRNA generation and pluripotency maintenance are herein presented for the first time, and can assist in laying the ground for further investigations in this field. In this review, the reader is supplied with the current knowledge on the above-mentioned biological process, first by drawing the general background and then by emphasizing the most important findings that have highlighted their focal role in normal animal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Miccoli
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | | | - Oliana Carnevali
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
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