Cell division and the maintenance of epithelial order

Local and global changes in cell density induce reorganisation of 3D packing in a proliferating epithelium

Tissue morphogenesis is intimately linked to the changes in shape and organisation of individual cells. In curved epithelia, cells can intercalate along their own apicobasal axes, adopting a shape named 'scutoid' that allows energy minimization in the tissue. Although several geometric and biophysical factors have been associated with this 3D reorganisation, the dynamic changes underlying scutoid formation in 3D epithelial packing remain poorly understood. Here, we use live imaging of the sea star embryo coupled with deep learning-based segmentation to dissect the relative contributions of cell density, tissue compaction and cell proliferation on epithelial architecture. We find that tissue compaction, which naturally occurs in the embryo, is necessary for the appearance of scutoids. Physical compression experiments identify cell density as the factor promoting scutoid formation at a global level. Finally, the comparison of the developing embryo with computational models indicates that the increase in the proportion of scutoids is directly associated with cell divisions. Our results suggest that apico-basal intercalations appearing immediately after mitosis may help accommodate the new cells within the tissue. We propose that proliferation in a compact epithelium induces 3D cell rearrangements during development.

Cell division-dependent dissemination following E-cadherin loss underlies initiation of diffuse-type gastric cancer

Loss of the cell-cell adhesion protein E-cadherin underlies the development of diffuse-type gastric cancer (DGC), which is characterized by the gradual accumulation of tumor cells originating from the gastric epithelium in the surrounding stroma. How E-cadherin deficiency drives DGC formation remains elusive. Therefore, we investigated the consequences of E-cadherin loss on gastric epithelial organization utilizing a human gastric organoid model and histological analyses of early-stage DGC lesions. E-cadherin depletion from gastric organoids recapitulates DGC initiation, with progressive loss of a single-layered architecture and detachment of individual cells. We found that E-cadherin deficiency in gastric epithelia does not lead to a general loss of epithelial cohesion but disrupts the spindle orientation machinery. This leads to a loss of planar cell division orientation and, consequently, daughter cells are positioned outside of the gastric epithelial layer. Although basally delaminated cells fail to detach and instead reintegrate into the epithelium, apically mispositioned daughter cells can trigger the gradual loss of the single-layered epithelial architecture. This impaired architecture hampers reintegration of mispositioned daughter cells and enables basally delaminated cells to disseminate into the surrounding matrix. Taken together, our findings describe how E-cadherin deficiency disrupts gastric epithelial architecture through displacement of dividing cells and provide new insights in the onset of DGC. © 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Lateral cell polarization drives organization of epithelia in sea anemone embryos and embryonic cell aggregates

One of the first organizing processes during animal development is the assembly of embryonic cells into epithelia. In certain animals, including Hydra and sea anemones, epithelia also emerge when cells from dissociated tissues are aggregated back together. Although cell adhesion is required to keep cells together, it is not clear whether cell polarization plays a role as epithelia emerge from disordered aggregates. Here, we demonstrate that lateral cell polarization is essential for epithelial organization in both embryos and aggregates of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Specifically, knock down of the lateral polarity protein Lgl disrupts epithelia in developing embryos and impairs the capacity of dissociated cells to epithelialize from aggregates. Cells in lgl mutant epithelia lose their columnar shape and have mispositioned mitotic spindles and ciliary basal bodies. Together, our data suggest that in Nematostella, Lgl is required to establish lateral cell polarity and position cytoskeletal organelles in cells of embryos and aggregates during de novo epithelial organization.

Interplay between the plasma membrane and cell-cell adhesion maintains epithelial identity for correct polarised cell divisions

Polarised epithelial cell divisions represent a fundamental mechanism for tissue maintenance and morphogenesis. Morphological and mechanical changes in the plasma membrane influence the organisation and crosstalk of microtubules and actin at the cell cortex, thereby regulating the mitotic spindle machinery and chromosome segregation. Yet, the precise mechanisms linking plasma membrane remodelling to cell polarity and cortical cytoskeleton dynamics to ensure accurate execution of mitosis in mammalian epithelial cells remain poorly understood. Here, we manipulated the density of mammary epithelial cells in culture, which led to several mitotic defects. Perturbation of cell-cell adhesion formation impairs the dynamics of the plasma membrane, affecting the shape and size of mitotic cells and resulting in defects in mitotic progression and the generation of daughter cells with aberrant architecture. In these conditions, F- actin-astral microtubule crosstalk is impaired, leading to mitotic spindle misassembly and misorientation, which in turn contributes to chromosome mis-segregation. Mechanistically, we identify S100 Ca2+-binding protein A11 (S100A11) as a key membrane-associated regulator that forms a complex with E-cadherin (CDH1) and the leucine-glycine-asparagine repeat protein LGN (also known as GPSM2) to coordinate plasma membrane remodelling with E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion and LGN-dependent mitotic spindle machinery. Thus, plasma membrane-mediated maintenance of mammalian epithelial cell identity is crucial for correct execution of polarised cell divisions, genome maintenance and safeguarding tissue integrity.

Local and global changes in cell density induce reorganisation of 3D packing in a proliferating epithelium

Tissue morphogenesis is intimately linked to the changes in shape and organisation of individual cells. In curved epithelia, cells can intercalate along their own apicobasal axes adopting a shape named "scutoid" that allows energy minimization in the tissue. Although several geometric and biophysical factors have been associated with this 3D reorganisation, the dynamic changes underlying scutoid formation in 3D epithelial packing remain poorly understood. Here we use live-imaging of the sea star embryo coupled with deep learning-based segmentation, to dissect the relative contributions of cell density, tissue compaction, and cell proliferation on epithelial architecture. We find that tissue compaction, which naturally occurs in the embryo, is necessary for the appearance of scutoids. Physical compression experiments identify cell density as the factor promoting scutoid formation at a global level. Finally, the comparison of the developing embryo with computational models indicates that the increase in the proportion of scutoids is directly associated with cell divisions. Our results suggest that apico-basal intercalations appearing just after mitosis may help accommodate the new cells within the tissue. We propose that proliferation in a compact epithelium induces 3D cell rearrangements during development.

Origin and development of primary animal epithelia

Epithelia are the first organized tissues that appear during development. In many animal embryos, early divisions give rise to a polarized monolayer, the primary epithelium, rather than a random aggregate of cells. Here, we review the mechanisms by which cells organize into primary epithelia in various developmental contexts. We discuss how cells acquire polarity while undergoing early divisions. We describe cases where oriented divisions constrain cell arrangement to monolayers including organization on top of yolk surfaces. We finally discuss how epithelia emerge in embryos from animals that branched early during evolution and provide examples of epithelia-like arrangements encountered in single-celled eukaryotes. Although divergent and context-dependent mechanisms give rise to primary epithelia, here we trace the unifying principles underlying their formation.

Assembly, dynamics and remodeling of epithelial cell junctions throughout development

Cell junctions play key roles in epithelial integrity. During development, when epithelia undergo extensive morphogenesis, these junctions must be remodeled in order to maintain mechanochemical barriers and ensure the cohesion of the tissue. In this Review, we present a comprehensive and integrated description of junctional remodeling mechanisms in epithelial cells during development, from embryonic to adult epithelia. We largely focus on Drosophila, as quantitative analyses in this organism have provided a detailed characterization of the molecular mechanisms governing cell topologies, and discuss the conservation of these mechanisms across metazoans. We consider how changes at the molecular level translate to tissue-scale irreversible deformations, exploring the composition and assembly of cellular interfaces to unveil how junctions are remodeled to preserve tissue homeostasis during cell division, intercalation, invagination, ingression and extrusion.

Human embryo live imaging reveals nuclear DNA shedding during blastocyst expansion and biopsy

Proper preimplantation development is essential to assemble a blastocyst capable of implantation. Live imaging has uncovered major events driving early development in mouse embryos; yet, studies in humans have been limited by restrictions on genetic manipulation and lack of imaging approaches. We have overcome this barrier by combining fluorescent dyes with live imaging to reveal the dynamics of chromosome segregation, compaction, polarization, blastocyst formation, and hatching in the human embryo. We also show that blastocyst expansion mechanically constrains trophectoderm cells, causing nuclear budding and DNA shedding into the cytoplasm. Furthermore, cells with lower perinuclear keratin levels are more prone to undergo DNA loss. Moreover, applying trophectoderm biopsy, a mechanical procedure performed clinically for genetic testing, increases DNA shedding. Thus, our work reveals distinct processes underlying human development compared with mouse and suggests that aneuploidies in human embryos may not only originate from chromosome segregation errors during mitosis but also from nuclear DNA shedding.

Mechanosensory feedback loops during chronic inflammation

Epithelial tissues are crucial to maintaining healthy organization and compartmentalization in various organs and act as a first line of defense against infection in barrier organs such as the skin, lungs and intestine. Disruption or injury to these barriers can lead to infiltration of resident or foreign microbes, initiating local inflammation. One often overlooked aspect of this response is local changes in tissue mechanics during inflammation. In this mini-review, we summarize known molecular mechanisms linking disruption of epithelial barrier function to mechanical changes in epithelial tissues. We consider direct mechanisms, such as changes in the secretion of extracellular matrix (ECM)-modulating enzymes by immune cells as well as indirect mechanisms including local activation of fibroblasts. We discuss how these mechanical changes can modulate local immune cell activity and inflammation and perturb epithelial homeostasis, further dysregulating epithelial barrier function. We propose that this two-way relationship between loss of barrier function and altered tissue mechanics can lead to a positive feedback loop that further perpetuates inflammation. We discuss this cycle in the context of several chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), liver disease and cancer, and we present the modulation of tissue mechanics as a new framework for combating chronic inflammation.

Neighbor cells restrain furrowing during epithelial cytokinesis

Cytokinesis challenges epithelial tissue homeostasis by generating forces that pull on neighboring cells via cell-cell junctions. Previous work has shown that junction reinforcement at the furrow in Xenopus laevis epithelia regulates the speed of furrowing1. This suggests the cytokinetic array that drives cell division is subject to resistive forces from epithelial neighbor cells. We show here that contractility factors accumulate in neighboring cells near the furrow during cytokinesis. Additionally, increasing neighbor cell stiffness, via ɑ-actinin overexpression, or contractility, through optogenetic Rho activation in one neighbor cell, slows or asymmetrically pauses furrowing, respectively. Notably, optogenetic stimulation of neighbor cell contractility on both sides of the furrow induces cytokinetic failure and binucleation. We conclude that forces from the cytokinetic array in the dividing cell are carefully balanced with restraining forces generated by neighbor cells, and neighbor cell mechanics regulate the speed and success of cytokinesis.

Systematic analysis of RhoGEF/GAP localizations uncovers regulators of mechanosensing and junction formation during epithelial cell division

Cell proliferation is central to epithelial tissue development, repair, and homeostasis. During cell division, small RhoGTPases control both actomyosin dynamics and cell-cell junction remodeling to faithfully segregate the genome while maintaining tissue polarity and integrity. To decipher the mechanisms of RhoGTPase spatiotemporal regulation during epithelial cell division, we generated a transgenic fluorescently tagged library for the 48 Drosophila Rho guanine exchange factors (RhoGEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), and we systematically characterized their endogenous distributions by time-lapse microscopy. Therefore, we unveiled candidate regulators of the interplay between actomyosin and junctional dynamics during epithelial cell division. Building on these findings, we established that the conserved RhoGEF Cysts and RhoGEF4 play sequential and distinct roles to couple cytokinesis with de novo junction formation. During ring contraction, Cysts via Rho1 participates in the neighbor mechanosensing response, promoting daughter-daughter cell membrane juxtaposition in preparation to de novo junction formation. Subsequently and upon midbody formation, RhoGEF4 via Rac acts in the dividing cell to ensure the withdrawal of the neighboring cell membranes, thus controlling de novo junction length and cell-cell arrangements upon cytokinesis. Altogether, our findings delineate how the RhoGTPases Rho and Rac are locally and temporally activated during epithelial cytokinesis, highlighting the RhoGEF/GAP library as a key resource to understand the broad range of biological processes regulated by RhoGTPases.

Epidermal growth factor receptor signaling protects epithelia from morphogenetic instability and tissue damage in Drosophila

Dying cells in the epithelia communicate with neighboring cells to initiate coordinated cell removal to maintain epithelial integrity. Naturally occurring apoptotic cells are mostly extruded basally and engulfed by macrophages. Here, we have investigated the role of Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) signaling in the maintenance of epithelial homeostasis. In Drosophila embryos, epithelial tissues undergoing groove formation preferentially enhanced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. In EGFR mutant embryos at stage 11, sporadic apical cell extrusion in the head initiates a cascade of apical extrusions of apoptotic and non-apoptotic cells that sweeps the entire ventral body wall. Here, we show that this process is apoptosis dependent, and clustered apoptosis, groove formation, and wounding sensitize EGFR mutant epithelia to initiate massive tissue disintegration. We further show that tissue detachment from the vitelline membrane, which frequently occurs during morphogenetic processes, is a key trigger for the EGFR mutant phenotype. These findings indicate that, in addition to cell survival, EGFR plays a role in maintaining epithelial integrity, which is essential for protecting tissues from transient instability caused by morphogenetic movement and damage.

Tension at intercellular junctions is necessary for accurate orientation of cell division in the epithelium plane

The direction in which a cell divides is set by the orientation of its mitotic spindle and is important for determining cell fate, controlling tissue shape, and maintaining tissue architecture. Divisions parallel to the epithelial plane sustain tissue expansion. By contrast, divisions perpendicular to the plane promote tissue stratification and lead to the loss of epithelial cells from the tissue-an event that has been suggested to promote metastasis. Much is known about the molecular machinery involved in orienting the spindle, but less is known about the contribution of mechanical factors, such as tissue tension, in ensuring spindle orientation in the plane of the epithelium. This is important as epithelia are continuously subjected to mechanical stresses. To explore this further, we subjected suspended epithelial monolayers devoid of extracellular matrix to varying levels of tissue tension to study the orientation of cell divisions relative to the tissue plane. This analysis revealed that lowering tissue tension by compressing epithelial monolayers or by inhibiting myosin contractility increased the frequency of out-of-plane divisions. Reciprocally, increasing tissue tension by elevating cell contractility or by tissue stretching restored accurate in-plane cell divisions. Moreover, a characterization of the geometry of cells within these epithelia suggested that spindles can sense tissue tension through its impact on tension at subcellular surfaces, independently of their shape. Overall, these data suggest that accurate spindle orientation in the plane of the epithelium relies on a threshold level of tension at intercellular junctions.

Mother cells control daughter cell proliferation in intestinal organoids to minimize proliferation fluctuations

During renewal of the intestine, cells are continuously generated by proliferation. Proliferation and differentiation must be tightly balanced, as any bias toward proliferation results in uncontrolled exponential growth. Yet, the inherently stochastic nature of cells raises the question how such fluctuations are limited. We used time-lapse microscopy to track all cells in crypts of growing mouse intestinal organoids for multiple generations, allowing full reconstruction of the underlying lineage dynamics in space and time. Proliferative behavior was highly symmetric between sister cells, with both sisters either jointly ceasing or continuing proliferation. Simulations revealed that such symmetric proliferative behavior minimizes cell number fluctuations, explaining our observation that proliferating cell number remained constant even as crypts increased in size considerably. Proliferative symmetry did not reflect positional symmetry but rather lineage control through the mother cell. Our results indicate a concrete mechanism to balance proliferation and differentiation with minimal fluctuations that may be broadly relevant for other tissues.

Contact-mediated signaling enables disorder-driven transitions in cellular assemblies

We show that, when cells communicate by contact-mediated interactions, heterogeneity in cell shapes and sizes leads to qualitatively distinct collective behavior in the tissue. For intercellular coupling that implements lateral inhibition, such disorder-driven transitions can substantially alter the asymptotic pattern of differentiated cells by modulating their fate choice through changes in the neighborhood geometry. In addition, when contact-induced signals influence inherent cellular oscillations, disorder leads to the emergence of functionally relevant partially-ordered dynamical states.

Importin α phosphorylation promotes TPX2 activation by GM130 to control astral microtubules and spindle orientation

Spindle orientation is important in multiple developmental processes as it determines cell fate and function. The orientation of the spindle depends on the assembly of a proper astral microtubule network. Here, we report that the spindle assembly factor TPX2 regulates astral microtubules. TPX2 in the spindle pole area is activated by GM130 (GOLGA2) on Golgi membranes to promote astral microtubule growth. GM130 relieves TPX2 inhibition by competing for importin α1 (KPNA2) binding. Mitotic phosphorylation of importin α at serine 62 (S62) by CDK1 switches its substrate preference from TPX2 to GM130, thereby enabling competition-based activation. Importin α S62A mutation impedes local TPX2 activation and compromises astral microtubule formation, ultimately resulting in misoriented spindles. Blocking the GM130-importin α-TPX2 pathway impairs astral microtubule growth. Our results reveal a novel role for TPX2 in the organization of astral microtubules. Furthermore, we show that the substrate preference of the important mitotic modulator importin α is regulated by CDK1-mediated phosphorylation.

Mud Loss Restricts Yki-Dependent Hyperplasia in Drosophila Epithelia

Tissue development demands precise control of cell proliferation and organization, which is achieved through multiple conserved signaling pathways and protein complexes in multicellular animals. Epithelia are a ubiquitous tissue type that provide diverse functions including physical protection, barrier formation, chemical exchange, and secretory activity. However, epithelial cells are also a common driver of tumorigenesis; thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms that control their growth dynamics is important in understanding not only developmental mechanisms but also disease. One prominent pathway that regulates epithelial growth is the conserved Hippo/Warts/Yorkie network. Hippo/Warts inactivation, or activating mutations in Yorkie that prevent its phosphorylation (e.g., YkiS168A), drive hyperplastic tissue growth. We recently reported that loss of Mushroom body defect (Mud), a microtubule-associated protein that contributes to mitotic spindle function, restricts YkiS168A-mediated growth in Drosophila imaginal wing disc epithelia. Here we show that Mud loss alters cell cycle progression and triggers apoptosis with accompanying Jun kinase (JNK) activation in YkiS168A-expressing discs. To identify additional molecular insights, we performed RNAseq and differential gene expression profiling. This analysis revealed that Mud knockdown in YkiS168A-expressing discs resulted in a significant downregulation in expression of core basement membrane (BM) and extracellular matrix (ECM) genes, including the type IV collagen gene viking. Furthermore, we found that YkiS168A-expressing discs accumulated increased collagen protein, which was reduced following Mud knockdown. Our results suggest that ECM/BM remodeling can limit untoward growth initiated by an important driver of tumor growth and highlight a potential regulatory link with cytoskeleton-associated genes.

Loss of the spectraplakin gene Short stop induces a DNA damage response in Drosophila epithelia

Epithelia are an eminent tissue type and a common driver of tumorigenesis, requiring continual precision in cell division to maintain tissue structure and genome integrity. Mitotic defects often trigger apoptosis, impairing cell viability as a tradeoff for tumor suppression. Identifying conditions that lead to cell death and understanding the mechanisms behind this response are therefore of considerable importance. Here we investigated how epithelia of the Drosophila wing disc respond to loss of Short stop (Shot), a cytoskeletal crosslinking spectraplakin protein that we previously found to control mitotic spindle assembly and chromosome dynamics. In contrast to other known spindle-regulating genes, Shot knockdown induces apoptosis in the absence of Jun kinase (JNK) activation, but instead leads to elevated levels of active p38 kinase. Shot loss leads to double-strand break (DSB) DNA damage, and the apoptotic response is exacerbated by concomitant loss of p53. DSB accumulation is increased by suppression of the spindle assembly checkpoint, suggesting this effect results from chromosome damage during error-prone mitoses. Consistent with DSB induction, we found that the DNA damage and stress response genes, Growth arrest and DNA damage (GADD45) and Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (Ask1), are transcriptionally upregulated as part of the shot-induced apoptotic response. Finally, co-depletion of Shot and GADD45 induced significantly higher rates of chromosome segregation errors in cultured cells and suppressed shot-induced mitotic arrest. Our results demonstrate that epithelia are capable of mounting molecularly distinct responses to loss of different spindle-associated genes and underscore the importance of proper cytoskeletal organization in tissue homeostasis.

A Cell Adhesion-Based Reconstitution Method for Studying Cell Polarity

Cell polarity is an evolutionarily conserved process of asymmetric spatial organization within cells and is essential to tissue structure, signal transduction, cell migration, and cell division. The establishment and maintenance of polarity typically involves extensive protein-protein interactions that can be made further intricate by cell cycle-dependent regulation. These aspects can make interpreting phenotypes within traditional in vivo genetic systems challenging due to pleiotropic effects in loss-of-function experiments. Minimal reconstitution methods offer investigators the advantage of stricter control of otherwise complex systems and allow for more direct assessment of the role of individual components to the process of interest. Here I provide a detailed protocol for a cell adhesion-based method of inducing cell polarity within non-polarized Drosophila S2 cells. This technique is simple, cost effective, moderate throughput, and amenable to RNAi-based loss-of-function studies. The ability to “plug-and-play” genes of interest allows investigators to easily assess the contribution of individual protein domains and post-translational modifications to their function. The system is ideally suited to test not only the requirement of individual components but also their sufficiency, and can provide important insight into the epistatic relationship among multiple components in a protein complex. Although designed for use within Drosophila cells, the general premise and protocol should be easily adapted to mammalian cell culture or other systems that may better suit the interests of potential users.

The Mechanics of Mitotic Cell Rounding

When animal cells enter mitosis, they round up to become spherical. This shape change is accompanied by changes in mechanical properties. Multiple studies using different measurement methods have revealed that cell surface tension, intracellular pressure and cortical stiffness increase upon entry into mitosis. These cell-scale, biophysical changes are driven by alterations in the composition and architecture of the contractile acto-myosin cortex together with osmotic swelling and enable a mitotic cell to exert force against the environment. When the ability of cells to round is limited, for example by physical confinement, cells suffer severe defects in spindle assembly and cell division. The requirement to push against the environment to create space for spindle formation is especially important for cells dividing in tissues. Here we summarize the evidence and the tools used to show that cells exert rounding forces in mitosis in vitro and in vivo, review the molecular basis for this force generation and discuss its function for ensuring successful cell division in single cells and for cells dividing in normal or diseased tissues.

Mesoscopic dynamic model of epithelial cell division with cell-cell junction effects

Cell division is central for embryonic development, tissue morphogenesis, and tumor growth. Experiments have evidenced that mitotic cell division is manipulated by the intercellular cues such as cell-cell junctions. However, it still remains unclear how these cortical-associated cues mechanically affect the mitotic spindle machinery, which determines the position and orientation of the cell division. In this paper, a mesoscopic dynamic cell division model is established to explore the integrated regulations of cortical polarity, microtubule pulling forces, cell deformability, and internal osmotic pressure. We show that the distributed pulling forces of astral microtubules play a key role in encoding the instructive cortical cues to orient and position the spindle of a dividing cell. The present model can not only predict the spindle orientation and position, but also capture the morphological evolution of cell rounding. The theoretical results agree well with relevant experiments both qualitatively and quantitatively. This work sheds light on the mechanical linkage between cell cortex and mitotic spindle, and holds potential in regulating cell division and sculpting tissue morphology.

CLDN6-mediates SB431542 action through MMPs to regulate the invasion, migration, and EMT of breast cancer cells

Our previous research confirmed the repression of SMADs signaling pathway inhibits the invasion, migration, and EMT in breast cancer MCF-7 and SKBR-3 cell lines by DNMT1 up-regulating CLDN6, but the mechanism is unclear. Western blot was performed to detect the expression of SMAD2, SMAD3, P-SMAD2, and P-SMAD3. Then RT-PCR was carried out to examine the expression of tight junctions and cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. According to the gene sequence of Claudin6, shRNA was linked with the green fluorescent protein-expressing eukaryotic expression vector pGC silencer TMΜ6/Neo/GFP, and it was transfected into breast cancer MCF-7 cells and SKBR-3 cells. RT-PCR and western blot were applied to verify the Claudin6 gene-silencing effect. We observed cellular morphology with inverted microscope, analyzed the capacity for clone formation, and detected transepithelial electrical resistance. The level of MMP2, and MMP9 in the cells treated with or without SB431542 and MCF-7-shGFP, MCF-7-shClaudin-6, SKBR-3-shGFP, and SKBR-3-shClaudin-6 cells pretreated with SB431542 were examined by RT-PCR and western blot. The expressions of Claudin-6, occludin, and cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin were enhanced by SB431542. SB431542 transformed mesenchymal cell morphology into epithelial cell morphology, inhibited capacity for clone formation, increased transepithelial electrical resistance, and downregulated the expression of MMP2 and MMP9. Knock down of Claudin6 can abolish SB431542 effects. We conclude that Claudin6 mediates the effects of SB431542 on the biologic phenotypes of the breast cancer cells we studied. We speculate Claudin6-mediated the SB431542 inhibition of invasion, migration, and EMT in breast cancer cells via MMP2/9.

Adherens junction remodelling during mitotic rounding of pseudostratified epithelial cells

Epithelial cells undergo cortical rounding at the onset of mitosis to enable spindle orientation in the plane of the epithelium. In cuboidal epithelia in culture, the adherens junction protein E-cadherin recruits Pins/LGN/GPSM2 and Mud/NuMA to orient the mitotic spindle. In the pseudostratified columnar epithelial cells of Drosophila, septate junctions recruit Mud/NuMA to orient the spindle, while Pins/LGN/GPSM2 is surprisingly dispensable. We show that these pseudostratified epithelial cells downregulate E-cadherin as they round up for mitosis. Preventing cortical rounding by inhibiting Rho-kinase-mediated actomyosin contractility blocks downregulation of E-cadherin during mitosis. Mitotic activation of Rho-kinase depends on the RhoGEF ECT2/Pebble and its binding partners RacGAP1/MgcRacGAP/CYK4/Tum and MKLP1/KIF23/ZEN4/Pav. Cell cycle control of these Rho activators is mediated by the Aurora A and B kinases, which act redundantly during mitotic rounding. Thus, in Drosophila pseudostratified epithelia, disruption of adherens junctions during mitosis necessitates planar spindle orientation by septate junctions to maintain epithelial integrity.

Simulations of sea urchin early development delineate the role of oriented cell division in the morula-to-blastula transition

The sea urchin morula to blastula transition has long been thought to require oriented cell divisions and blastomere adherence to the enveloping hyaline layer. In a computer simulation model, cell divisions constrained by a surface plane division rule are adequate to effect morphological transition. The hyaline membrane acts as an enhancer but is not essential. The model is consistent with the orientation of micromere divisions and the open blastulae of direct developing species. The surface plane division rule precedes overt epithelization of surface cells and acts to organize the developing epithelium. It is a universal feature of early metazoan development and simulations of non-echinoid cleavage patterns support its role throughout Metazoa. The surface plane division rule requires only local cues and cells need not reference global positional information or embryonic axes.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan Windpipe modulates Hedgehog signaling in Drosophila

Proteoglycans, a class of carbohydrate-modified proteins, often modulate growth factor signaling on the cell surface. However, the molecular mechanism by which proteoglycans regulate signal transduction is largely unknown. In this study, using a recently developed glycoproteomic method, we found that Windpipe (Wdp) is a novel chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) in Drosophila. Wdp is a single-pass transmembrane protein with leucin-rich repeat (LRR) motifs and bears three CS sugar chain attachment sites in the extracellular domain. Here we show that Wdp modulates the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. In the wing disc, overexpression of wdp inhibits Hh signaling, which is dependent on its CS chains and the LRR motifs. The wdp null mutant flies show a specific defect (supernumerary scutellar bristles) known to be caused by Hh overexpression. RNA interference knockdown and mutant clone analyses showed that loss of wdp leads to the up-regulation of Hh signaling. Altogether, our study demonstrates a novel role of CSPGs in regulating Hh signaling.

Cell-based simulations of biased epithelial lung growth

During morphogenesis, epithelial tubes elongate. In the case of the mammalian lung, biased elongation has been linked to a bias in cell shape and cell division, but it has remained unclear whether a bias in cell shape along the axis of outgrowth is sufficient for biased outgrowth and how it arises. Here, we use our 2D cell-based tissue simulation software [Formula: see text] to investigate the conditions for biased epithelial outgrowth. We show that the observed bias in cell shape and cell division can result in the observed bias in outgrowth only in the case of strong cortical tension, and comparison to biological data suggests that the cortical tension in epithelia is likely sufficient. We explore mechanisms that may result in the observed bias in cell division and cell shapes. To this end, we test the possibility that the surrounding tissue or extracellular matrix acts as a mechanical constraint that biases growth in the longitudinal direction. While external compressive forces can result in the observed bias in outgrowth, we find that they do not result in the observed bias in cell shapes. We conclude that other mechanisms must exist that generate the bias in lung epithelial outgrowth.

TRPS1 Is a Lineage-Specific Transcriptional Dependency in Breast Cancer

Perturbed epigenomic programs play key roles in tumorigenesis, and chromatin modulators are candidate therapeutic targets in various human cancer types. To define singular and shared dependencies on DNA and histone modifiers and transcription factors in poorly differentiated adult and pediatric cancers, we conducted a targeted shRNA screen across 59 cell lines of 6 cancer types. Here, we describe the TRPS1 transcription factor as a strong breast cancer-specific hit, owing largely to lineage-restricted expression. Knockdown of TRPS1 resulted in perturbed mitosis, apoptosis, and reduced tumor growth. Integrated analysis of TRPS1 transcriptional targets, chromatin binding, and protein interactions revealed that TRPS1 is associated with the NuRD repressor complex. These findings uncover a transcriptional network that is essential for breast cancer cell survival and propagation.

Witwicki et al. use a targeted shRNA screening strategy to identify transcriptional and epigenomic dependencies in poorly differentiated human cancers. TRPS1 is a lineage-specific transcription factor that is required for mitosis in breast cancer cells. TRPS1 is associated with the NuRD complex, and it regulates cell adhesion, cytoskeleton, and G2-M phase-related genes.

Iterative and Complex Asymmetric Divisions Control Cell Volume Differences in Ciona Notochord Tapering

The notochord of the invertebrate chordate Ciona forms a tapered rod at tailbud stages consisting of only 40 cylindrical cells in a single-file column. This tapered shape involves differences in notochord cell volume along the anterior-posterior axis. Here, we quantify sibling cell volume asymmetry throughout the developing notochord and find that there are distinctive patterns of unequal cleavage in all 4 bilateral pairs of A-line primary notochord founder cells and also in the B-line-derived secondary notochord founder cells. A quantitative model confirms that the observed patterns of unequal cleavage are sufficient to explain all the anterior-posterior variation in notochord cell volume. Many examples are known of cells that divide asymmetrically to give daughter cells of different size and fate. Here, by contrast, a series of subtle but iterative and finely patterned asymmetric divisions controls the shape of an entire organ. Quantitative 3D analysis of cell shape and spindle positioning allows us to infer multiple cellular mechanisms driving these unequal cleavages, including polarized displacements of the mitotic spindle, contributions from the shape of the mother cell, and late changes occurring between anaphase and abscission that potentially involve differential cortical contractility. We infer differential use of these mechanisms between different notochord blastomeres and also between different rounds of cell division. These results demonstrate a new role for asymmetric division in directly shaping a developing organ and point toward complex underlying mechanisms.

RhoGDIβ affects HeLa cell spindle orientation following UVC irradiation

The molecular signals that regulate mitotic spindle orientation to determine the proper division axis play a critical role in the development and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. However, deregulation of signaling events can result in spindle misorientation, which in turn can trigger developmental defects and cancer progression. Little is known about the cellular signaling pathway involved in the misorientation of proliferating cells that evade apoptosis after DNA damage. In this study, we found that perturbations to spindle orientation were induced in ultraviolet C (UVC)-irradiated surviving cells. N-terminal truncated Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor β (RhoGDIβ), which is produced by UVC irradiation, distorted the spindle orientation of HeLa cells cultured on Matrigel. The short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of RhoGDIβ significantly attenuated UVC-induced misorientation. Subsequent expression of wild-type RhoGDIβ, but not a noncleavable mutant, RhoGDIβ (D19A), again led to a relative increase in spindle misorientation in response to UVC. Our findings revealed that RhoGDIβ impacts spindle orientation in response to DNA damage.

Cell polarity oscillations in mitotic epithelia

Epithelial organization and function depend on coordinated cell polarity. In developing tissues, proliferative epithelia maintain whole tissue polarity as individual cells undergo symmetric divisions. However, recent work has shown that cells in diverse epithelia remodel their polarity in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Here, we discuss the different mechanisms that drive mitotic polarity oscillations and their implications for tissue morphogenesis.

Cell shape and intercellular adhesion regulate mitotic spindle orientation

Cell division orientation plays an essential role in tissue morphogenesis and cell fate decision. Recent studies showed that either cell shape or adhesion geometry can regulate the orientation of mitotic spindles and thereby the cell division orientation. However, how they together regulate the spindle orientation remains largely unclear. In this work, we use a general computational model to investigate the competitive mechanism of determining the spindle orientation between cell shape and intercellular adhesion in epithelial cells. We find the spindle orientation is dominated by the intercellular adhesion when the cell shape anisotropy is small, but dominated by the cell shape when the shape anisotropy is large. A strong adhesion and moderate adhesive size can ensure the planar division of epithelial cells with large apico-basal elongation. We also find the spindle orientation could be perpendicular to the adhesive region when only one side of the cell is adhered to an E-cadherin-coated matrix. But after the cell is compressed, the spindle orientation is governed by the cell shape and the spindle will be parallel to the adhesive region when the cell shape anisotropy is large. Finally, we demonstrate the competition between cell shape and tricellular junctions can also effectively regulate the spindle orientation.

Organelle Inheritance Control of Mitotic Entry and Progression: Implications for Tissue Homeostasis and Disease

The Golgi complex (GC), in addition to its well-known role in membrane traffic, is also actively involved in the regulation of mitotic entry and progression. In particular, during the G2 phase of the cell cycle, the Golgi ribbon is unlinked into isolated stacks. Importantly, this ribbon cleavage is required for G2/M transition, indicating that a “Golgi mitotic checkpoint” controls the correct segregation of this organelle. Then, during mitosis, the isolated Golgi stacks are disassembled, and this process is required for spindle formation. Moreover, recent evidence indicates that also proper mitotic segregation of other organelles, such as mitochondria, endosomes, and peroxisomes, is required for correct mitotic progression and/or spindle formation. Collectively, these observations imply that in addition to the control of chromosomes segregation, which is required to preserve the genetic information, the cells actively monitor the disassembly and redistribution of subcellular organelles in mitosis. Here, we provide an overview of the major structural reorganization of the GC and other organelles during G2/M transition and of their regulatory mechanisms, focusing on novel findings that have shed light on the basic processes that link organelle inheritance to mitotic progression and spindle formation, and discussing their implications for tissue homeostasis and diseases.

Effects of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae on barrier function and inflammatory response of pig tracheal epithelial cells

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen that causes porcine pleuropneumonia, a fatal respiratory disease responsible for high economic losses in the swine industry worldwide. With the objective to better understand the interactions between A. pleuropneumoniae and the porcine respiratory epithelium, we investigated the capacity of this pathogen to damage the epithelial barrier and induce an inflammatory response. We showed that A. pleuropneumoniae, even at a multiplicity of infection of 10, is able to break the tracheal epithelial barrier integrity as determined by monitoring the transepithelial electrical resistance and fluorescein-isothiocyanate-dextran transport. Immunofluorescence staining analysis suggested that A. pleuropneumoniae is affecting two important tight junction proteins (occludin, zonula occludens-1). As a consequence of the breakdown of the epithelial barrier integrity, A. pleuropneumoniae can translocate across a cell monolayer. We also showed that tracheal epithelial cells secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α) in response to a stimulation with this pathogen. In summary, A. pleuropneumoniae is able to induce damage to the porcine respiratory epithelial barrier. Challenging the epithelial cells with A. pleuropneumoniae was also associated with the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This better knowledge of the interactions between A. pleuropneumoniae and the epithelial cells may help to design novel strategies to prevent epithelium invasion by this bacterium along with other swine respiratory pathogens.

Local actin nucleation tunes centrosomal microtubule nucleation during passage through mitosis

Cells going through mitosis undergo precisely timed changes in cell shape and organisation, which serve to ensure the fair partitioning of cellular components into the two daughter cells. These structural changes are driven by changes in actin filament and microtubule dynamics and organisation. While most evidence suggests that the two cytoskeletal systems are remodelled in parallel during mitosis, recent work in interphase cells has implicated the centrosome in both microtubule and actin nucleation, suggesting the potential for regulatory crosstalk between the two systems. Here, by using both in vitro and in vivo assays to study centrosomal actin nucleation as cells pass through mitosis, we show that mitotic exit is accompanied by a burst in cytoplasmic actin filament formation that depends on WASH and the Arp2/3 complex. This leads to the accumulation of actin around centrosomes as cells enter anaphase and to a corresponding reduction in the density of centrosomal microtubules. Taken together, these data suggest that the mitotic regulation of centrosomal WASH and the Arp2/3 complex controls local actin nucleation, which may function to tune the levels of centrosomal microtubules during passage through mitosis.

Flexibility sustains epithelial tissue homeostasis

Epithelia surround our bodies and line most of our organs. Intrinsic homeostatic mechanisms replenish and repair these tissues in the face of wear and tear, wounds, and even the presence of accumulating mutations. Recent advances in cell biology, genetics, and live-imaging techniques have revealed that epithelial homeostasis represents an intrinsically flexible process at the level of individual epithelial cells. This homeostatic flexibility has important implications for how we think about the more dramatic cell plasticity that is frequently thought to be associated with pathological settings. In this review, we will focus on key emerging mechanisms and processes of epithelial homeostasis and elaborate on the known molecular mechanisms of epithelial cell interactions to illuminate how epithelia are maintained throughout an organism's lifetime.

Junctional tumor suppressors interact with 14-3-3 proteins to control planar spindle alignment

Nakajima et al. reveal a novel mechanism of planar spindle alignment through junctional tumor suppressors Scrib/Dlg and 14-3-3 proteins in the Drosophila wing disc epithelium. Their results suggest that 14-3-3 proteins interact with Scrib/Dlg to control planar spindle orientation and maintain epithelial architecture.

Proper orientation of the mitotic spindle is essential for cell fate determination, tissue morphogenesis, and homeostasis. During epithelial proliferation, planar spindle alignment ensures the maintenance of polarized tissue architecture, and aberrant spindle orientation can disrupt epithelial integrity. Nevertheless, in vivo mechanisms that restrict the mitotic spindle to the plane of the epithelium remain poorly understood. Here we show that the junction-localized tumor suppressors Scribbled (Scrib) and Discs large (Dlg) control planar spindle orientation via Mud and 14-3-3 proteins in the Drosophila wing disc epithelium. During mitosis, Scrib is required for the junctional localization of Dlg, and both affect mitotic spindle movements. Using coimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, we identify 14-3-3 proteins as Dlg-interacting partners and further report that loss of 14-3-3s causes both abnormal spindle orientation and disruption of epithelial architecture as a consequence of basal cell delamination and apoptosis. Combined, these biochemical and genetic analyses indicate that 14-3-3s function together with Scrib, Dlg, and Mud during planar cell division.

The maintenance of an oral epithelial barrier

Oral epithelial barrier consists of closely controlled structure of the stratified squamous epithelium, which is the gateway to human bodies and encounters a huge burden of microbial, airborne and dietary antigens, as well as masticatory damage. Once this barrier is destroyed, it will trigger bone loss, tissue damage and microbial dysbiosis and lead to diseases, such as periodontitis, oral mucosal diseases and oral cancer. Recently, increasing evidences showed that different factors including microorganism, saliva, proteins and immune components have been considered to play a critical role in the disruption of oral epithelial barrier. Herein, we discussed mechanisms governing the maintenance of oral epithelial barrier. Besides, the role of oral epithelial barrier failure in oral carcinogenesis will also be talked about.

E-cadherin expression pattern during zebrafish embryonic epidermis development

Background: E-cadherin is the major adhesion receptor in epithelial adherens junctions (AJs). On established epidermis, E-cadherin performs fine-tuned cell-cell contact remodeling to maintain tissue integrity, which is characterized by modulation of cell shape, size and packing density. In zebrafish, the organization and distribution of E-cadherin in AJs during embryonic epidermis development remain scarcely described.

Methods: Combining classical immunofluorescence, deconvolution microscopy and 3D-segmentation of AJs in epithelial cells, a quantitative approach was implemented to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of E-cadherin across zebrafish epidermis between 24 and 72 hpf.

Results: increasing levels of E-cadh protein parallel higher cell density and the appearance of hexagonal cells in the enveloping layer (EVL) as well as the establishments of new cell-cell contacts in the epidermal basal layer (EBL), being significantly between 31 and 48 hpf .

Conclusions: Increasing levels of E-cadherin in AJs correlates with extensive changes in cell morphology towards hexagonal packing during the epidermis morphogenesis.

Contrasting effects of acute and chronic stress on the transcriptome, epigenome, and immune response of Atlantic salmon

Stress experienced during early life may have lasting effects on the immune system, with impacts on health and disease dependent on the nature and duration of the stressor. The epigenome is especially sensitive to environmental stimuli during early life and represents a potential mechanism through which stress may cause long-lasting health effects. However, the extent to which the epigenome responds differently to chronic vs acute stressors is unclear, especially for non-mammalian species. We examined the effects of acute stress (cold-shock during embryogenesis) and chronic stress (absence of tank enrichment during larval-stage) on global gene expression (using RNA-seq) and DNA methylation (using RRBS) in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) four months after hatching. Chronic stress induced pronounced transcriptional differences, while acute stress caused few lasting transcriptional effects. However, both acute and chronic stress caused lasting and contrasting changes in the methylome. Crucially, we found that acute stress enhanced transcriptional immune response to a pathogenic challenge (bacterial lipopolysaccharide, LPS), while chronic stress suppressed it. We identified stress-induced changes in promoter and gene-body methylation that were associated with altered expression for a small proportion of immune-related genes, and evidence of wider epigenetic regulation within signalling pathways involved in immune response. Our results suggest that stress can affect immuno-competence through epigenetic mechanisms, and highlight the markedly different effects of chronic larval and acute embryonic stress. This knowledge could be used to harness the stimulatory effects of acute stress on immunity, paving the way for improved stress and disease management through epigenetic conditioning.

Stathmin Is Required for Normal Mouse Mammary Gland Development and Δ16HER2-Driven Tumorigenesis

Postnatal development of the mammary gland relies on the maintenance of oriented cell division and apicobasal polarity, both of which are often deregulated in cancer. The microtubule (MT) network contributes to control these processes; however, very little is known about the impact of altered MT dynamics in the development of a complex organ and on the role played by MT-interacting proteins such as stathmin. In this study, we report that female stathmin knock-out (STM KO) mice are unable to nurse their litters due to frank impairment of mammary gland development. In mouse mammary epithelial cells, loss of stathmin compromised the trafficking of polarized proteins and the achievement of proper apicobasal polarity. In particular, prolactin receptor internalization and localization was altered in STM KO mammary epithelial cells, leading to decreased protein stability and downmodulation of the Prl/PrlR/STAT5 signaling pathway. Absence of stathmin induced alterations in mitotic spindle orientation, accumulation of mitotic defects, and apoptosis, overall contributing to tissue disorganization and further decreasing the expansion of the mammary epithelial compartment. Loss of stathmin in MMTV-Δ16HER2 transgenic mice decreased the incidence and increased the latency of these very aggressive mammary carcinomas. Collectively, these data identify the essential mammary protein stathmin as protumorigenic and suggest it may serve as a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: Stathmin expression is critical to maintain oriented cell division and apicobasal polarity in normal mammary glands and to establish a protumorigenic program that eventually sustains HER2-positive breast cancer formation in mice.

Blood Vessel Epicardial Substance (BVES) in junctional signaling and cancer

Blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES) is a tight-junction associated protein that was originally discovered from a cDNA screen of the developing heart. Research over the last decade has shown that not only is BVES is expressed in cardiac and skeletal tissue, but BVES is also is expressed throughout the gastrointestinal epithelium. Mice lacking BVES sustain worse intestinal injury and inflammation. Furthermore, BVES is suppressed in gastrointestinal cancers, and mouse modeling has shown that loss of BVES promotes tumor formation. Recent work from multiple laboratories has revealed that BVES can regulate several molecular pathways, including cAMP, WNT, and promoting the degradation of the oncogene, c-Myc. This review will summarize our current understanding of how BVES regulates the intestinal epithelium and discuss how BVES functions at the molecular level to preserve epithelial phenotypes and suppress tumorigenesis.

Chromosome Segregation Fidelity in Epithelia Requires Tissue Architecture

Much of our understanding of chromosome segregation is based on cell culture systems. Here, we examine the importance of the tissue environment for chromosome segregation by comparing chromosome segregation fidelity across several primary cell types in native and nonnative contexts. We discover that epithelial cells have increased chromosome missegregation outside of their native tissues. Using organoid culture systems, we show that tissue architecture, specifically integrin function, is required for accurate chromosome segregation. We find that tissue architecture enhances the correction of merotelic microtubule-kinetochore attachments, and this is especially important for maintaining chromosome stability in the polyploid liver. We propose that disruption of tissue architecture could underlie the widespread chromosome instability across epithelial cancers. Moreover, our findings highlight the extent to which extracellular context can influence intrinsic cellular processes and the limitations of cell culture systems for studying cells that naturally function within a tissue.

Cell polarity: having and making sense of direction-on the evolutionary significance of the primary cilium/centrosome organ in Metazoa

Cell-autonomous polarity in Metazoans is evolutionarily conserved. I assume that permanent polarity in unicellular eukaryotes is required for cell motion and sensory reception, integration of these two activities being an evolutionarily constrained function. Metazoans are unique in making cohesive multicellular organisms through complete cell divisions. They evolved a primary cilium/centrosome (PC/C) organ, ensuring similar functions to the basal body/flagellum of unicellular eukaryotes, but in different cells, or in the same cell at different moments. The possibility that this innovation contributed to the evolution of individuality, in being instrumental in the early specification of the germ line during development, is further discussed. Then, using the example of highly regenerative organisms like planarians, which have lost PC/C organ in dividing cells, I discuss the possibility that part of the remodelling necessary to reach a new higher-level unit of selection in multi-cellular organisms has been triggered by conflicts among individual cell polarities to reach an organismic polarity. Finally, I briefly consider organisms with a sensorimotor organ like the brain that requires exceedingly elongated polarized cells for its activity. I conclude that beyond critical consequences for embryo development, the conservation of cell-autonomous polarity in Metazoans had far-reaching implications for the evolution of individuality.

Identification of TOEFAZ1-interacting proteins reveals key regulators of Trypanosoma brucei cytokinesis

The protist parasite Trypanosoma brucei is an obligate extracellular pathogen that retains its highly polarized morphology during cell division and has evolved a novel cytokinetic process independent of non-muscle myosin II. The polo-like kinase homolog TbPLK is essential for transmission of cell polarity during division and for cytokinesis. We previously identified a putative TbPLK substrate named Tip of the Extending FAZ 1 (TOEFAZ1) as an essential kinetoplastid-specific component of the T. brucei cytokinetic machinery. We performed a proximity-dependent biotinylation identification (BioID) screen using TOEFAZ1 as a means to identify additional proteins that are involved in cytokinesis. Using quantitative proteomic methods, we identified nearly 500 TOEFAZ1-proximal proteins and characterized 59 in further detail. Among the candidates, we identified an essential putative phosphatase that regulates the expression level and localization of both TOEFAZ1 and TbPLK, a previously uncharacterized protein that is necessary for the assembly of a new cell posterior, and a microtubule plus-end directed orphan kinesin that is required for completing cleavage furrow ingression. The identification of these proteins provides new insight into T. brucei cytokinesis and establishes TOEFAZ1 as a key component of this essential and uniquely configured process in kinetoplastids.

A general framework dedicated to computational morphogenesis Part I - Constitutive equations

In order to understand living organisms, considerable experimental efforts and resources have been devoted to correlate genes and their expressions with cell, tissue, organ and whole organisms' phenotypes. This data driven approach to knowledge discovery has led to many breakthrough in our understanding of healthy and diseased states, and is paving the way to improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Complementary to this data-driven approach, computational models of biological systems based on first principles have been developed in order to deepen our understanding of the multi-scale dynamics that drives normal and pathological biological functions. In this paper we describe the biological, physical and mathematical concepts that led to the design of a Computational Morphogenesis (CM) platform baptized Generic Modeling and Simulating Platform (GMSP). Its role is to generate realistic 3D multi-scale biological tissues from virtual stem cells and the intended target applications include in virtuo studies of normal and abnormal tissue (re)generation as well as the development of complex diseases such as carcinogenesis. At all space-scales of interest, biological agents interact with each other via biochemical, bioelectrical, and mechanical fields that operate in concert during embryogenesis, growth and adult life. The spatio-temporal dependencies of these fields can be modeled by physics-based constitutive equations that we propose to examine in relation to the landmark biological events that occur during embryogenesis.

Dynamic interplay of cell fate, polarity and force generation in ascidian embryos

A fundamental challenge in developmental biology is to understand how forces produced by individual cells are patterned in space and time and then integrated to produce stereotyped changes in tissue-level or embryo-level morphology. Ascidians offer a unique opportunity to address this challenge by studying how small groups of cells collectively execute complex, but highly stereotyped morphogenetic movements. Here we highlight recent progress and open questions in the study of ascidian morphogenesis, emphasizing the dynamic interplay of cell fate determination, cellular force generation and tissue-level mechanics.

Anemia and Adverse Outcomes in a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Population with a High Burden of Comorbidities. An Analysis from SPIROMICS

RATIONALE

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of morbidity and associated with a significant burden of comorbidities. Although anemia is associated with adverse outcomes in COPD, its contribution to outcomes in individuals with other comorbid chronic diseases is not well understood.

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the association of anemia with outcomes in a large, well-characterized COPD cohort, and attempts to understand the contribution of anemia to outcomes and phenotypes in individuals with other comorbidities.

METHODS

Participants with COPD from SPIROMICS (the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study) were analyzed in adjusted models to determine the associations of normocytic anemia with clinical outcomes, computed tomographic measures, and biomarkers. Analysis was additionally performed to understand the independence and possible interactions related to cardiac and metabolic comorbidities.

RESULTS

A total of 1,789 individuals with COPD from SPIROMICS had data on hemoglobin, and of these 7.5% (n = 135) were found to have normocytic anemia. Anemic participants were older with worse airflow obstruction, a higher proportion of them were African Americans, and they had a higher burden of cardiac and metabolic comorbidities. Anemia was strongly associated with 6-minute walk distance (β, -61.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], -85.11 to -37.75), modified Medical Research Council dyspnea questionnaire (β, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.11-0.44), and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (β, 3.90; 95% CI, 1.09-6.71), and these adjusted associations were stronger among those with two or more cardiac and metabolic comorbidities. Anemia was associated with higher levels of serum C-reactive protein, soluble receptor for advanced glycosylation end-products, and epithelial cadherin-1, findings that persisted when in those with a high burden of comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

Anemia is associated with worse exercise capacity, greater dyspnea, and greater disease severity among adults with COPD, particularly among those with comorbid chronic cardiac and metabolic diseases. The biomarkers found in anemic individuals suggest inflammation, lung tissue injury, and oxidative stress as possible pathways for the adverse correlations of anemia with outcomes in COPD; however, substantial further study is required to better understand these potential mechanisms. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01969344).

Proliferation-independent role of NF2 (merlin) in limiting biliary morphogenesis

The architecture of individual cells and cell collectives enables functional specification, a prominent example being the formation of epithelial tubes that transport fluid or gas in many organs. The intrahepatic bile ducts (IHBDs) form a tubular network within the liver parenchyma that transports bile to the intestine. Aberrant biliary 'neoductulogenesis' is also a feature of several liver pathologies including tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism of biliary tube morphogenesis in development or disease is not known. Elimination of the neurofibromatosis type 2 protein (NF2; also known as merlin or neurofibromin 2) causes hepatomegaly due to massive biliary neoductulogenesis in the mouse liver. We show that this phenotype reflects unlimited biliary morphogenesis rather than proliferative expansion. Our studies suggest that NF2 normally limits biliary morphogenesis by coordinating lumen expansion and cell architecture. This work provides fundamental insight into how biliary fate and tubulogenesis are coordinated during development and will guide analyses of disease-associated and experimentally induced biliary pathologies.