Transferrin receptor facilitates TGF-β and BMP signaling activation to control craniofacial morphogenesis

AKT Mediates Adiponectin-Dependent Regulation of VSMC Phenotype

Adiponectin (adipoq), the most abundant hormone in circulation, has many beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, in part by preserving the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, the lack of adiponectin or its receptor and treatment with recombinant adiponectin have shown contradictory effects on plaque in mice. RNA sequence of Adipoq+/+ and adipoq-/- VSMCs from male aortas identified a critical role for adiponectin in AKT signaling, the extracellular matrix (ECM), and TGF-β signaling. Upregulation of AKT activity mediated proliferation and migration of adipoq-/- cells. Activation of AMPK with metformin or AdipoRon reduced AKT-dependent proliferation and migration of adipoq-/- cells but did not improve the expression of contractile genes. Adiponectin deficiency impaired oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), increased expression of glycolytic enzymes, and elevated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) (superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide). Anti-atherogenic mechanisms targeted the ECM in adipoq-/- cells, downregulating MMP2 and 9 and upregulating decorin (DCN) and elastin (ELN). In vivo, the main sex differences in protein expression in aortas involved a more robust upregulation of MMP3 in females than males. Females also showed a reduction in DCN, which was not affected in males. Our study uncovered the AKT/MAPK/TGF-β network as a central regulator of VSMC phenotype.

Transferrin promotes chondrogenic differentiation in condylar growth through inducing autophagy via ULK1-ATG16L1 axis

Skeletal mandibular hypoplasia (SMH) is one of the most common skeletal craniofacial deformities in orthodontics, which was often accompanied by impaired chondrogenesis and increasing apoptosis of condylar chondrocytes. Therefore, protecting chondrocytes from apoptosis and promoting chondrogenesis in condylar growth is vital for treatment of SMH patients. Transferrin (TF) was highly expressed in condylar cartilage of newborn mice and was gradually declined as the condyle ceased growing. Interestingly, serum level of TF in SMH patients was significantly lower than normal subjects. Hence, the aim of our study was to investigate the effect of TF on survival and differentiation of chondrocytes and condylar growth. First, we found that TF protected chondrogenic cell line ATDC5 cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis and promoted proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation in vitro. Second, TF promoted chondrogenic differentiation and survival through activating autophagic flux. Inhibiting autophagic flux markedly blocked the effects of TF. Third, TF significantly activated ULK1-ATG16L1 axis. Silencing either transferrin receptor (TFRC), ULK1/2 or ATG16 significantly blocked the autophagic flux induced by TF, as well as its effect on anti-apoptosis and chondrogenic differentiation. Furthermore, we established an organoid culture model of mandible ex vivo and found that TF significantly promoted condylar growth. Taken together, our study unraveled a novel function of TF in condylar growth that TF protected chondrocytes from hypoxia-induced apoptosis and promoted chondrogenic differentiation through inducing autophagy via ULK1-ATG16L1 axis, which demonstrated that TF could be a novel growth factor of condylar growth and shed new light on developing treatment strategy of SMH patients.

HWJMSC-derived extracellular vesicles ameliorate IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury through regulation of the BMP2/RUNX2 axis via up-regulation TFRC

Articular osteochondral injury is a common and frequently occurring disease in orthopedics that is caused by aging, disease, and trauma. The cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a crucial mediator of the inflammatory response, which exacerbates damage during chronic disease and acute tissue injury. Human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cell (HWJMSC) extracellular vesicles (HWJMSC-EVs) have been shown to promote cartilage regeneration. The study aimed to investigate the influence and mechanisms of HWJMSC-EVs on the viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle of IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. HWJMSC-EVs were isolated by Ribo™ Exosome Isolation Reagent kit. Nanoparticle tracking analysis was used to determine the size and concentration of HWJMSC-EVs. We characterized HWJMSC-EVs by western blot and transmission electron microscope. The differentiation, viability, and protein level of chondrocytes were measured by Alcian blue staining, Cell Counting Kit-8, and western blot, respectively. Flow cytometer was used to determine apoptosis and cell cycle of chondrocytes. The results showed that HWJMSCs relieved IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury by inhibiting apoptosis and elevating viability and cell cycle of chondrocyte, which was reversed with exosome inhibitor (GW4869). HWJMSC-EVs were successfully extracted and proven to be uptake by chondrocytes. HWJMSC-EVs ameliorate IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury by inhibiting cell apoptosis and elevating viability and cycle of cell, but these effects were effectively reversed by knockdown of transferrin receptor (TFRC). Notably, using bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) pathway agonist and inhibitor suggested that HWJMSC-EVs ameliorate IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury through activating the BMP2 pathway via up-regulation TFRC. Furthermore, over-expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) reversed the effects of BMP2 pathway inhibitor promotion of IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury. These results suggested that HWJMSC-EVs ameliorate IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury by regulating the BMP2/RUNX2 axis via up-regulation TFRC. HWJMSC-EVs may play a new insight for early medical interventions in patients with articular osteochondral injury.

Iron contributes to photoreceptor degeneration and Müller glia proliferation in the zebrafish light-treated retina

Zebrafish possess the ability to completely regenerate the retina following injury, however little is understood about the damage signals that contribute to inducing Müller glia reprogramming and proliferation to regenerate lost neurons. Multiple studies demonstrated that iron contributes to various retinal injuries, however no link has been shown between iron and zebrafish retinal regeneration. Here we demonstrate that Müller glia exhibit transcriptional changes following injury to regulate iron levels within the retina, allowing for increased iron uptake and decreased export. The response of the zebrafish retina to intravitreal iron injection was then characterized, showing that ferrous, and not ferric, iron induces retinal cell death. Additionally, iron chelation resulted in decreased numbers of TUNEL-positive photoreceptors and fewer proliferating Müller glia. Despite the contribution of iron to retinal cell death, inhibition of ferroptosis did not significantly reduce cell death following light treatment. Finally, we demonstrate that both the anti-ferroptotic protein Glutathione peroxidase 4b and the Transferrin receptor 1b are required for Müller glia proliferation following light damage. Together these findings show that iron contributes to cell death in the light-damaged retina and is essential for inducing the Müller glia regeneration response.

Gene regulatory network from cranial neural crest cells to osteoblast differentiation and calvarial bone development

Calvarial bone is one of the most complex sequences of developmental events in embryology, featuring a uniquely transient, pluripotent stem cell-like population known as the cranial neural crest (CNC). The skull is formed through intramembranous ossification with distinct tissue lineages (e.g. neural crest derived frontal bone and mesoderm derived parietal bone). Due to CNC's vast cell fate potential, in response to a series of inductive secreted cues including BMP/TGF-β, Wnt, FGF, Notch, Hedgehog, Hippo and PDGF signaling, CNC enables generations of a diverse spectrum of differentiated cell types in vivo such as osteoblasts and chondrocytes at the craniofacial level. In recent years, since the studies from a genetic mouse model and single-cell sequencing, new discoveries are uncovered upon CNC patterning, differentiation, and the contribution to the development of cranial bones. In this review, we summarized the differences upon the potential gene regulatory network to regulate CNC derived osteogenic potential in mouse and human, and highlighted specific functions of genetic molecules from multiple signaling pathways and the crosstalk, transcription factors and epigenetic factors in orchestrating CNC commitment and differentiation into osteogenic mesenchyme and bone formation. Disorders in gene regulatory network in CNC patterning indicate highly close relevance to clinical birth defects and diseases, providing valuable transgenic mouse models for subsequent discoveries in delineating the underlying molecular mechanisms. We also emphasized the potential regenerative alternative through scientific discoveries from CNC patterning and genetic molecules in interfering with or alleviating clinical disorders or diseases, which will be beneficial for the molecular targets to be integrated for novel therapeutic strategies in the clinic.

PRDM paralogs antagonistically balance Wnt/β-catenin activity during craniofacial chondrocyte differentiation

Cranial neural crest cell (NCC)-derived chondrocyte precursors undergo a dynamic differentiation and maturation process to establish a scaffold for subsequent bone formation, alterations in which contribute to congenital birth defects. Here, we demonstrate that transcription factor and histone methyltransferase proteins Prdm3 and Prdm16 control the differentiation switch of cranial NCCs to craniofacial cartilage. Loss of either paralog results in hypoplastic and disorganized chondrocytes due to impaired cellular orientation and polarity. We show that these proteins regulate cartilage differentiation by controlling the timing of Wnt/β-catenin activity in strikingly different ways: Prdm3 represses whereas Prdm16 activates global gene expression, although both act by regulating Wnt enhanceosome activity and chromatin accessibility. Finally, we show that manipulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pharmacologically or generating prdm3-/-;prdm16-/- double mutants rescues craniofacial cartilage defects. Our findings reveal upstream regulatory roles for Prdm3 and Prdm16 in cranial NCCs to control Wnt/β-catenin transcriptional activity during chondrocyte differentiation to ensure proper development of the craniofacial skeleton.

Investigating the molecular control of deer antler extract on articular cartilage

BACKGROUND

Deer antler is considered as a precious traditional Chinese medicinal material and has been widely used to reinforce kidney's yang, nourish essence, and strengthen bone function. The most prominent bioactive components in deer antler are water-soluble proteins that play potential roles in bone formation and repair. The aim of this study was to explore the molecular control and therapeutic targets of deer antler extract (DAE) on articular cartilage.

METHODS

DAE was prepared as previously described. All rats were randomly divided into Blank group and DAE group (10 rats per group) after 7-day adaptive feeding. The rats in DAE group were orally administrated with DAE at a dose of 0.2 g/kg per day for 3 weeks, and the rats in Blank group were fed with drinking water. Total RNA was isolated from the articular cartilage of knee joints. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiment combined with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) verification assay was carried out to explore the molecular control and therapeutic targets of DAE on articular cartilage.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that DAE significantly increased the expression levels of functional genes involved in cartilage formation, growth, and repair and decreased the expression levels of susceptibility genes involved in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis.

CONCLUSIONS

DAE might serve as a candidate supplement for maintaining cartilage homeostasis and preventing cartilage degeneration and inflammation. These effects were possibly achieved by accelerating the expression of functional genes involved in chondrocyte commitment, survival, proliferation, and differentiation and suppressing the expression of susceptibility genes involved in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis. Thus, our findings will contribute towards deepening the knowledge about the molecular control and therapeutic targets of DAE on the treatment of cartilage-related diseases.

Extracellular vesicles derived from head and neck squamous cells carcinoma inhibit NLRP3 inflammasomes

The content of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can regulate the tumor microenvironment and functionally acts in favor of cancer aggressiveness. To better elucidate the role of EVs in the interplay between immune system and tumor microenvironment, the purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of head and neck squamous cells carcinoma (HNSCC)-derived EVs on the modulation of inflammasomes - mediators of pyroptosis and secretion of inflammatory factors by macrophages. Our results showed that macrophages treated with the Vesicular Secretome Fraction (VSF) isolated from patient-derived HNSCC presented a reduction in the secretion of mature IL-1β and caspase-1 without affecting cell viability. An analysis of the protein content of HNSCC-derived VSF by antibody array revealed that some of the most expressed proteins share a correlation with Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) activity. Since TGF-β is related to the inhibition of the NF-kB-related pathways, including those required for the priming phase of the inflammasomes, we sought to evalute the interference of the VSF in the induction of inflammasome components. In fact, HNSCC-derived VSF inhibited the induction of pro-IL-1β and pro-caspase-1 proteins and NLRP3 gene expression during the priming phase of inflammasome activation. Thus, our findings contribute to a better understanding of how tumor-derived EVs modulate inflammatory response by demonstrating their role in inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes.

•

Vesicular Secretome Fraction (VSF) from HNSCC inhibits macrophage responses to the NLRP3 inflammasomes agonists.

•

HNSCC-derived VSF is enriched with proteins correlated with the Transforming Growth Factor-b pathway.

•

HNSCC-derived VSF affects the priming phase of inflammasome activation.

Diverse Fate of an Enigmatic Structure: 200 Years of Meckel's Cartilage

Meckel's cartilage was first described by the German anatomist Johann Friedrich Meckel the Younger in 1820 from his analysis of human embryos. Two hundred years after its discovery this paper follows the development and largely transient nature of the mammalian Meckel's cartilage, and its role in jaw development. Meckel's cartilage acts as a jaw support during early development, and a template for the later forming jaw bones. In mammals, its anterior domain links the two arms of the dentary together at the symphysis while the posterior domain ossifies to form two of the three ear ossicles of the middle ear. In between, Meckel's cartilage transforms to a ligament or disappears, subsumed by the growing dentary bone. Several human syndromes have been linked, directly or indirectly, to abnormal Meckel's cartilage formation. Herein, the evolution, development and fate of the cartilage and its impact on jaw development is mapped. The review focuses on developmental and cellular processes that shed light on the mechanisms behind the different fates of this cartilage, examining the control of Meckel's cartilage patterning, initiation and maturation. Importantly, human disorders and mouse models with disrupted Meckel's cartilage development are highlighted, in order to understand how changes in this cartilage impact on later development of the dentary and the craniofacial complex as a whole. Finally, the relative roles of tissue interactions, apoptosis, autophagy, macrophages and clast cells in the removal process are discussed. Meckel's cartilage is a unique and enigmatic structure, the development and function of which is starting to be understood but many interesting questions still remain.

The Interactivity between TGFβ and BMP Signaling in Organogenesis, Fibrosis, and Cancer

The Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) and Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) pathways intersect at multiple signaling hubs and cooperatively or counteractively participate to bring about cellular processes which are critical not only for tissue morphogenesis and organogenesis during development, but also for adult tissue homeostasis. The proper functioning of the TGFβ/BMP pathway depends on its communication with other signaling pathways and any deregulation leads to developmental defects or diseases, including fibrosis and cancer. In this review we explore the cellular and physio-pathological contexts in which the synergism or antagonism between the TGFβ and BMP pathways are crucial determinants for the normal developmental processes, as well as the progression of fibrosis and malignancies.

Infection of Rat Osteoblasts with Junin Virus Promotes the Expression of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 6, an Osteogenic Differentiation Inducer

BACKGROUND

The arenavirus Junin virus (JUNV), causative agent of the argentine hemorrhagic fever, is able to modulate several signaling pathways involved in cell survival and multiplication.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to characterize the infection of rat osteoblasts (OBCs) with JUNV and its consequence on the modulation of osteogenic genes expression, thus studying the ability of this virus to induce cell differentiation. In addition, we evaluated the effect of purinergic agonists on viral replication.

METHOD

Quantification of infectivity by plaque forming unit (PFU) assay, synthesis of viral proteins by western blot and immunofluorescence, and expression of osteogenic differentiation markers (ODM) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were employed.

RESULTS

Infection of OBCs with JUNV (MOI 0.01 PFU/cell) showed a peak of infectivity, reaching 1.5 × 105 PFU/mL at the second day post-infection (p.i.). A marked restriction in multiplication was detected at day 7 p.i. that did not impair the establishment of a persistent stage of infection in OBCs. Analysis of mRNAs corresponding to ODM such as alkaline phosphatase, bone sialo-protein, and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) 4 and 6 revealed that only the levels of BMP-6 were significantly higher in infected cells. Treatment with the purinergic agonists ATPγS, UTP, ADP, or UDP diminished viral titer and reduced the expression of the viral nucleoprotein. Also, treatment with 10 μM ATPγS reduced the stimulation of BMP-6 expression induced by the infection.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate that JUNV is capable of infecting OBCs and point out BMP-6 as a key factor during this process.

The prion protein is embedded in a molecular environment that modulates transforming growth factor β and integrin signaling

At times, it can be difficult to discern if a lack of overlap in reported interactions for a protein-of-interest reflects differences in methodology or biology. In such instances, systematic analyses of protein-protein networks across diverse paradigms can provide valuable insights. Here, we interrogated the interactome of the prion protein (PrP), best known for its central role in prion diseases, in four mouse cell lines. Analyses made use of identical affinity capture and sample processing workflows. Negative controls were generated from PrP knockout lines of the respective cell models, and the relative levels of peptides were quantified using isobaric labels. The study uncovered 26 proteins that reside in proximity to PrP. All of these proteins are predicted to have access to the outer face of the plasma membrane, and approximately half of them were not reported to interact with PrP before. Strikingly, although several proteins exhibited profound co-enrichment with PrP in a given model, except for the neural cell adhesion molecule 1, no protein was highly enriched in all PrP-specific interactomes. However, Gene Ontology analyses revealed a shared association of the majority of PrP candidate interactors with cellular events at the intersection of transforming growth factor β and integrin signaling.

Crossing the Iron Gate: Why and How Transferrin Receptors Mediate Viral Entry

Because both the host and pathogen require iron, the innate immune response carefully orchestrates control over iron metabolism to limit its availability during times of infection. Nutritional iron deficiency can impair host immunity, while iron overload can cause oxidative stress to propagate harmful viral mutations. An emerging enigma is that many viruses use the primary gatekeeper of iron metabolism, the transferrin receptor, as a means to enter cells. Why and how this iron gate is a viral target for infection are the focus of this review.

GWAS reveals loci associated with velopharyngeal dysfunction

Velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) occurs when the muscular soft palate (velum) and lateral pharyngeal walls are physically unable to separate the oral and nasal cavities during speech production leading to hypernasality and abnormal speech reduction. Because VPD is often associated with overt or submucous cleft palate, it could be present as a subclinical phenotype in families with a history of orofacial clefting. A key assumption to this model is that the overt and subclinical manifestations of the orofacial cleft phenotype exist on a continuum and therefore share common etiological factors. We performed a genome-wide association study in 976 unaffected relatives of isolated CP probands, 54 of whom had VPD. Five loci were significantly (p < 5 × 10^-8) associated with VPD: 3q29, 9p21.1, 12q21.31, 16p12.3 and 16p13.3. An additional 15 loci showing suggestive evidence of association with VPD were observed. Several genes known to be involved in orofacial clefting and craniofacial development are located in these regions, such as TFRC, PCYT1A, BNC2 and FREM1. Although further research is necessary, this could be an indication for a potential shared genetic architecture between VPD and cleft palate, and supporting the hypothesis that VPD is a subclinical phenotype of orofacial clefting.