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Arce FT, Younger S, Gaber AA, Mascarenhas JB, Rodriguez M, Dudek SM, Garcia JGN. Lamellipodia dynamics and microrheology in endothelial cell paracellular gap closure. Biophys J 2023; 122:4730-4747. [PMID: 37978804 PMCID: PMC10754712 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.11.016] [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: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) form a semipermeable barrier separating vascular contents from the interstitium, thereby regulating the movement of water and molecular solutes across small intercellular gaps, which are continuously forming and closing. Under inflammatory conditions, however, larger EC gaps form resulting in increased vascular leakiness to circulating fluid, proteins, and cells, which results in organ edema and dysfunction responsible for key pathophysiologic findings in numerous inflammatory disorders. In this study, we extend our earlier work examining the biophysical properties of EC gap formation and now address the role of lamellipodia, thin sheet-like membrane projections from the leading edge, in modulating EC spatial-specific contractile properties and gap closure. Micropillars, fabricated by soft lithography, were utilized to form reproducible paracellular gaps in human lung ECs. Using time-lapse imaging via optical microscopy, rates of EC gap closure and motility were measured with and without EC stimulation with the barrier-enhancing sphingolipid, sphingosine-1-phosphate. Peripheral ruffle formation was ubiquitous during gap closure. Kymographs were generated to quantitatively compare the lamellipodia dynamics of sphingosine-1-phosphate-stimulated and -unstimulated ECs. Utilizing atomic force microscopy, we characterized the viscoelastic behavior of EC lamellipodia. Our results indicate decreased stiffness and increased liquid-like behavior of expanding lamellipodia compared with regions away from the cellular edge (lamella and cell body) during EC gap closure, results in sync with the rapid kinetics of protrusion/retraction motion. We hypothesize this dissipative EC behavior during gap closure is linked to actomyosin cytoskeletal rearrangement and decreased cross-linking during lamellipodia expansion. In summary, these studies of the kinetic and mechanical properties of EC lamellipodia and ruffles at gap boundaries yield insights into the mechanisms of vascular barrier restoration and potentially a model system for examining the druggability of lamellipodial protein targets to enhance vascular barrier integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Teran Arce
- The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida, Jupiter, Florida.
| | - Scott Younger
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Amir A Gaber
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | | | - Marisela Rodriguez
- The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida, Jupiter, Florida; Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Steven M Dudek
- Department of Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Joe G N Garcia
- The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida, Jupiter, Florida.
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2
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Belvitch P, Casanova N, Sun X, Camp SM, Sammani S, Brown ME, Mascarhenas J, Lynn H, Adyshev D, Siegler J, Desai A, Seyed-Saadat L, Rizzo A, Bime C, Shekhawat GS, Dravid VP, Reilly JP, Jones TK, Feng R, Letsiou E, Meyer NJ, Ellis N, Garcia JGN, Dudek SM. A cortactin CTTN coding SNP contributes to lung vascular permeability and inflammatory disease severity in African descent subjects. Transl Res 2022; 244:56-74. [PMID: 35181549 PMCID: PMC9119916 DOI: 10.1016/j.trsl.2022.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The cortactin gene (CTTN), encoding an actin-binding protein critically involved in cytoskeletal dynamics and endothelial cell (EC) barrier integrity, contains single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with severe asthma in Black patients. As loss of lung EC integrity is a major driver of mortality in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), sepsis, and the acute chest syndrome (ACS), we speculated CTTN SNPs that alter EC barrier function will associate with clinical outcomes from these types of conditions in Black patients. In case-control studies, evaluation of a nonsynonymous CTTN coding SNP Ser484Asn (rs56162978, G/A) in a severe sepsis cohort (725 Black subjects) revealed significant association with increased risk of sepsis mortality. In a separate cohort of sickle cell disease (SCD) subjects with and without ACS (177 SCD Black subjects), significantly increased risk of ACS and increased ACS severity (need for mechanical ventilation) was observed in carriers of the A allele. Human lung EC expressing the cortactin S484N transgene exhibited: (i) delayed EC barrier recovery following thrombin-induced permeability; (ii) reduced levels of critical Tyr486 cortactin phosphorylation; (iii) inhibited binding to the cytoskeletal regulator, nmMLCK; and (iv) attenuated EC barrier-promoting lamellipodia dynamics and biophysical responses. ARDS-challenged Cttn+/- heterozygous mice exhibited increased lung vascular permeability (compared to wild-type mice) which was significantly attenuated by IV delivery of liposomes encargoed with CTTN WT transgene but not by CTTN S484N transgene. In summary, these studies suggest that the CTTN S484N coding SNP contributes to severity of inflammatory injury in Black patients, potentially via delayed vascular barrier restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Belvitch
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Nancy Casanova
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Xiaoguang Sun
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Sara M Camp
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Saad Sammani
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | | | - Joseph Mascarhenas
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Heather Lynn
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Djanybek Adyshev
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Jessica Siegler
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ankit Desai
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Laleh Seyed-Saadat
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Alicia Rizzo
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Christian Bime
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Gajendra S Shekhawat
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Vinayak P Dravid
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - John P Reilly
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Lung Biology Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Tiffanie K Jones
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Lung Biology Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Rui Feng
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Eleftheria Letsiou
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Nuala J Meyer
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Lung Biology Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Nathan Ellis
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Joe G N Garcia
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Steven M Dudek
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
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3
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Rizzo AN, Belvitch P, Demeritte R, Garcia JGN, Letsiou E, Dudek SM. Arg mediates LPS-induced disruption of the pulmonary endothelial barrier. Vascul Pharmacol 2020; 128-129:106677. [PMID: 32240815 DOI: 10.1016/j.vph.2020.106677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating disease process that involves dysregulated inflammation and decreased alveolar-capillary barrier function. Despite increased understanding of the pathophysiology, no effective targeted therapies exist to treat ARDS. Recent preclinical studies suggest that the multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib, which targets the Abl kinases c-Abl and Arg, has the potential to restore endothelial dysfunction caused by inflammatory agonists. Prior work demonstrates that imatinib attenuates LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-induced vascular leak and inflammation; however, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain incompletely understood. In the current study, we demonstrate that imatinib inhibits LPS-induced increase in the phosphorylation of CrkL, a specific substrate of Abl kinases, in human pulmonary endothelial cells. Specific silencing of Arg, and not c-Abl, attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary vascular permeability as measured by electrical cellular impedance sensing (ECIS) and gap formation assays. In addition, direct activation of Abl family kinases with the small molecule activator DPH resulted in endothelial barrier disruption that was attenuated by Arg siRNA. In complementary studies to characterize the mechanisms by which Arg mediates endothelial barrier function, Arg silencing was found to inhibit LPS-induced disruption of adherens junctions and phosphorylation of myosin light chains (MLC). Overall, these results characterize the mechanisms by which imatinib protects against LPS-induced endothelial barrier disruption and suggest that Arg inhibition may represent a novel strategy to enhance endothelial barrier function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia N Rizzo
- Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States of America
| | - Patrick Belvitch
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Regaina Demeritte
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Joe G N Garcia
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America
| | - Eleftheria Letsiou
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Steven M Dudek
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America.
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4
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Jin YH, Lu MC, Wang Y, Shan WX, Wang XY, You QD, Jiang ZY. Azo-PROTAC: Novel Light-Controlled Small-Molecule Tool for Protein Knockdown. J Med Chem 2020; 63:4644-4654. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b02058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hui Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Meng-Chen Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Wen-Xin Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xuan-Yu Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Qi-Dong You
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Zheng-Yu Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiang Su Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
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