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Schofield MM, Rzepski AT, Richardson-Solorzano S, Hammerstedt J, Shah S, Mirack CE, Herrick M, Parreno J. Targeting F-actin stress fibers to suppress the dedifferentiated phenotype in chondrocytes. Eur J Cell Biol 2024; 103:151424. [PMID: 38823166 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2024.151424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Actin is a central mediator of the chondrocyte phenotype. Monolayer expansion of articular chondrocytes on tissue culture polystyrene, for cell-based repair therapies, leads to chondrocyte dedifferentiation. During dedifferentiation, chondrocytes spread and filamentous (F-)actin reorganizes from a cortical to a stress fiber arrangement causing a reduction in cartilage matrix expression and an increase in fibroblastic matrix and contractile molecule expression. While the downstream mechanisms regulating chondrocyte molecular expression by alterations in F-actin organization have become elucidated, the critical upstream regulators of F-actin networks in chondrocytes are not completely known. Tropomyosin (TPM) and the RhoGTPases are known regulators of F-actin networks. The main purpose of this study is to elucidate the regulation of passaged chondrocyte F-actin stress fiber networks and cell phenotype by the specific TPM, TPM3.1, and the RhoGTPase, CDC42. Our results demonstrated that TPM3.1 associates with cortical F-actin and stress fiber F-actin in primary and passaged chondrocytes, respectively. In passaged cells, we found that pharmacological TPM3.1 inhibition or siRNA knockdown causes F-actin reorganization from stress fibers back to cortical F-actin and causes an increase in G/F-actin. CDC42 inhibition also causes formation of cortical F-actin. However, pharmacological CDC42 inhibition, but not TPM3.1 inhibition, leads to the re-association of TPM3.1 with cortical F-actin. Both TPM3.1 and CDC42 inhibition, as well as TPM3.1 knockdown, reduces nuclear localization of myocardin related transcription factor, which suppresses dedifferentiated molecule expression. We confirmed that TPM3.1 or CDC42 inhibition partially redifferentiates passaged cells by reducing fibroblast matrix and contractile expression, and increasing chondrogenic SOX9 expression. A further understanding on the regulation of F-actin in passaged cells may lead into new insights to stimulate cartilage matrix expression in cells for regenerative therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Sohan Shah
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, USA
| | - Chloe E Mirack
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, USA
| | - Marin Herrick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, USA
| | - Justin Parreno
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, USA.
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2
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Davis EER, Manzoni TJ, Bianchi VJ, Weber JF, Wu PH, Regmi SC, Waldman SD, Schmidt TA, Su AW, Kandel RA, Parreno J. Passaged Articular Chondrocytes From the Superficial Zone and Deep Zone Can Regain Zone-Specific Properties After Redifferentiation. Am J Sports Med 2024; 52:1075-1087. [PMID: 38419462 DOI: 10.1177/03635465241230031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bioengineered cartilage is a developing therapeutic to repair cartilage defects. The matrix must be rich in collagen type II and aggrecan and mechanically competent, withstanding compressive and shearing loads. Biomechanical properties in native articular cartilage depend on the zonal architecture consisting of 3 zones: superficial, middle, and deep. The superficial zone chondrocytes produce lubricating proteoglycan-4, whereas the deep zone chondrocytes produce collagen type X, which allows for integration into the subchondral bone. Zonal and chondrogenic expression is lost after cell number expansion. Current cell-based therapies have limited capacity to regenerate the zonal structure of native cartilage. HYPOTHESIS Both passaged superficial and deep zone chondrocytes at high density can form bioengineered cartilage that is rich in collagen type II and aggrecan; however, only passaged superficial zone-derived chondrocytes will express superficial zone-specific proteoglycan-4, and only passaged deep zone-derived chondrocytes will express deep zone-specific collagen type X. STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. METHODS Superficial and deep zone chondrocytes were isolated from bovine joints, and zonal subpopulations were separately expanded in 2-dimensional culture. At passage 2, superficial and deep zone chondrocytes were seeded, separately, in scaffold-free 3-dimensional culture within agarose wells and cultured in redifferentiation media. RESULTS Monolayer expansion resulted in loss of expression for proteoglycan-4 and collagen type X in passaged superficial and deep zone chondrocytes, respectively. By passage 2, superficial and deep zone chondrocytes had similar expression for dedifferentiated molecules collagen type I and tenascin C. Redifferentiation of both superficial and deep zone chondrocytes led to the expression of collagen type II and aggrecan in both passaged chondrocyte populations. However, only redifferentiated deep zone chondrocytes expressed collagen type X, and only redifferentiated superficial zone chondrocytes expressed and secreted proteoglycan-4. Additionally, redifferentiated deep zone chondrocytes produced a thicker and more robust tissue compared with superficial zone chondrocytes. CONCLUSION The recapitulation of the primary phenotype from passaged zonal chondrocytes introduces a novel method of functional bioengineering of cartilage that resembles the zone-specific biological properties of native cartilage. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The recapitulation of the primary phenotype in zonal chondrocytes could be a possible method to tailor bioengineered cartilage to have zone-specific expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth E R Davis
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Thomas J Manzoni
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Vanessa J Bianchi
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joanna F Weber
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Po Han Wu
- Department of Human Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Suresh C Regmi
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Stephen D Waldman
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tannin A Schmidt
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
| | - Alvin W Su
- Nemours Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nemours Children's Hospital, Wilmington, Delaware, USA
| | - Rita A Kandel
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Justin Parreno
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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Gonzalez-Nolde S, Schweiger CJ, Davis EER, Manzoni TJ, Hussein SMI, Schmidt TA, Cone SG, Jay GD, Parreno J. The Actin Cytoskeleton as a Regulator of Proteoglycan 4. Cartilage 2024:19476035231223455. [PMID: 38183234 DOI: 10.1177/19476035231223455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The superficial zone (SZ) of articular cartilage is responsible for distributing shear forces for optimal cartilage loading and contributes to joint lubrication through the production of proteoglycan 4 (PRG4). PRG4 plays a critical role in joint homeostasis and is chondroprotective. Normal PRG4 production is affected by inflammation and irregular mechanical loading in post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). THe SZ chondrocyte (SZC) phenotype, including PRG4 expression, is regulated by the actin cytoskeleton in vitro. There remains a limited understanding of the regulation of PRG4 by the actin cytoskeleton in native articular chondrocytes. The filamentous (F)-actin cytoskeleton is a potential node in crosstalk between mechanical stimulation and cytokine activation and the regulation of PRG4 in SZCs, therefore developing insights in the regulation of PRG4 by actin may identify molecular targets for novel PTOA therapies. MATERIALS AND METHODS A comprehensive literature search on PRG4 and the regulation of the SZC phenotype by actin organization was performed. RESULTS PRG4 is strongly regulated by the actin cytoskeleton in isolated SZCs in vitro. Biochemical and mechanical stimuli have been characterized to regulate PRG4 and may converge upon actin cytoskeleton signaling. CONCLUSION Actin-based regulation of PRG4 in native SZCs is not fully understood and requires further elucidation. Understanding the regulation of PRG4 by actin in SZCs requires an in vivo context to further potential of leveraging actin arrangement to arthritic therapeutics.
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Schofield MM, Rzepski A, Hammerstedt J, Shah S, Mirack C, Parreno J. Targeting F-actin stress fibers to suppress the dedifferentiated phenotype in chondrocytes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.08.570865. [PMID: 38106134 PMCID: PMC10723437 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.08.570865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Actin is a central mediator of the chondrocyte phenotype. Monolayer expansion of articular chondrocytes on tissue culture polystyrene, for cell-based repair therapies, leads to chondrocyte dedifferentiation. During dedifferentiation, chondrocytes spread and filamentous (F-)actin reorganizes from a cortical to a stress fiber arrangement causing a reduction in cartilage matrix expression and an increase in fibroblastic matrix and contractile molecule expression. While the downstream mechanisms regulating chondrocyte molecular expression by alterations in F-actin organization have become elucidated, the critical upstream regulators of F-actin networks in chondrocytes are not completely known. Tropomyosin (TPM) and the RhoGTPases are known regulators of F-actin networks. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the regulation of passaged chondrocyte F-actin stress fiber networks and cell phenotype by the specific TPM, TPM3.1, and the RhoGTPase, CDC42. Our results demonstrated that TPM3.1 associates with cortical F-actin and stress fiber F-actin in primary and passaged chondrocytes, respectively. In passaged cells, we found that TPM3.1 inhibition causes F-actin reorganization from stress fibers back to cortical F-actin and also causes an increase in G/F-actin. CDC42 inhibition also causes formation of cortical F-actin. However, CDC42 inhibition, but not TPM3.1 inhibition, leads to the re-association of TPM3.1 with cortical F-actin. Both TPM3.1 and CDC42 inhibition reduces nuclear localization of myocardin related transcription factor, which is known to suppress dedifferentiated molecule expression. We confirmed that TPM3.1 or CDC42 inhibition partially redifferentiates passaged cells by reducing fibroblast matrix and contractile expression, and increasing chondrogenic SOX9 expression. A further understanding on the regulation of F-actin in passaged cells may lead into new insights to stimulate cartilage matrix expression in cells for regenerative therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alissa Rzepski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware
| | | | - Sohan Shah
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware
| | - Chloe Mirack
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware
| | - Justin Parreno
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware
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5
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Szczesny SE, Corr DT. Tendon cell and tissue culture: Perspectives and recommendations. J Orthop Res 2023; 41:2093-2104. [PMID: 36794495 DOI: 10.1002/jor.25532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
The wide variety of cell and tissue culture systems used to study and engineer tendons can make it difficult to choose the best approach and "optimal" culture conditions to test a given hypothesis. Therefore, a breakout session was organized at the 2022 ORS Tendon Section Meeting that focused on establishing a set of guidelines for conducting cell and tissue culture studies of tendon. This paper summarizes the outcomes of that discussion and presents recommendations for future studies. In the case of studying tendon cell behavior, cell and tissue culture systems are reductionist models in which the culture conditions should be strictly defined to approximate the in vivo condition as closely as possible. In contrast, for tissue engineering tendon replacements, the culture conditions do not need to replicate native tendon, but the outcome measures for success should be narrowly defined for the specific clinical application. Common recommendations for both applications are that researchers should perform a baseline phenotypic characterization of the cells that are ultimately used for experimentation. For models of tendon cell behavior, culture conditions should be well justified by existing literature and meticulously reported, tissue explant viability should be assessed, and comparisons to in vivo conditions should be made to determine baseline physiological relevance. For tissue engineering applications, the functional/structural/compositional outcome targets should be defined by the specific tendons they seek to replace, with key biologic and material properties prioritized for construct assessment. Lastly, when engineering tendon replacements, researchers should utilize clinically approved cGMP materials to facilitate clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer E Szczesny
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David T Corr
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
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Mousavizadeh R, West VC, Inguito KL, Elliott DM, Parreno J. The application of mechanical load onto mouse tendons by magnetic restraining represses Mmp-3 expression. BMC Res Notes 2023; 16:127. [PMID: 37391824 PMCID: PMC10314558 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06413-z] [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: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Mechanical loading is crucial for tendon matrix homeostasis. Under-stimulation of tendon tissue promotes matrix degradation and ultimately tendon failure. In this study, we examined the expression of tendon matrix molecules and matrix-degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases) in stress-deprived tail tendons and compared to tendons that were mechanically loaded by a simple restraining method. DATA DESCRIPTION Isolated mouse tail fascicles were either floated or restrained by magnets in cell culture media for 24 h. The gene expression of tendon matrix molecules and matrix metalloproteinases in the tendon fascicles of mouse tails were examined by real-time RT-PCR. Stress deprivation of tail tendons increase Mmp3 mRNA levels. Restraining tendons represses these increases in Mmp3. The gene expression response to restraining was specific to Mmp3 at 24 h as we did not observe mRNA level changes in other matrix related genes that we examined (Col1, Col3, Tnc, Acan, and Mmp13). To elucidate, the mechanisms that may regulate load transmission in tendon tissue, we examined filamentous (F-)actin staining and nuclear morphology. As compared to stress deprived tendons, restrained tendons had greater staining for F-actin. The nuclei of restrained tendons are smaller and more elongated. These results indicate that mechanical loading regulates specific gene expression potentially through F-actin regulation of nuclear morphology. A further understanding on the mechanisms involved in regulating Mmp3 gene expression may lead to new strategies to prevent tendon degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rouhollah Mousavizadeh
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Valerie C West
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Kameron L Inguito
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Dawn M Elliott
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Justin Parreno
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
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Immortalized murine tenocyte cells: a novel and innovative tool for tendon research. Sci Rep 2023; 13:1566. [PMID: 36709227 PMCID: PMC9884217 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28318-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Primary tenocytes rapidly undergo senescence and a phenotypic drift upon in vitro monolayer culture, which limits tendon research. The Ink4a/Arf locus encodes the proteins p16Ink4a/Arf and p14ARF (p19ARF in mice) that regulate cell cycle progression and senescence. We here established an immortalized cell line using tenocytes isolated from Ink4a/Arf deficient mice (Ink4a/Arf-/-). These cells were investigated at three distinct time points, at low (2-5), intermediate (14-17) and high (35-44) passages. Wild-type cells at low passage (2-5) served as controls. Ink4a/Arf-/- tenocytes at all stages were comparable to wild-type cells regarding morphology, expression of tenogeneic genes (collagen type 1, 3 and 5, Scleraxis, Tenomodulin and Tenascin-C), and surface markers (CD29, CD44 and CD105) and form 3D tendon-like structures. Importantly, Ink4a/Arf-/- tenocytes maintained their phenotypic features and proliferation potential in culture for more than 40 passages and also following freeze-thaw cycles. In contrast, wild-type tenocytes underwent senescence starting in passage 6. These data define Ink4a/Arf-/- tenocytes as novel tool for in vitro tendon research and as valuable in vitro alternative to animal experiments.
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