The first human induced pluripotent stem cell line of Kashin-Beck disease reveals involvement of heparan sulfate proteoglycan biosynthesis and PPAR pathway

High antigen-presenting CAF levels correlate with reduced glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-heparan sulfate/heparin metabolism in immune cells and poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Insights from bulk and single-cell transcriptome profiling

In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the tumor microenvironment (TME) is characterized by a significant accumulation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which play a pivotal role in the host response against tumor cells. While fibroblasts are known to be crucial in the metabolic reprogramming of the TME, the specific metabolic alterations induced by these cells remain largely undefined. Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing, we have identified a distinct subpopulation of antigen-presenting CAF (apCAF) within ESCC tumors. Our findings reveal that apCAF contribute to adverse patient outcomes by remodeling the tumor metabolic environment. Notably, apCAF modulate the glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-heparan sulfate/heparin metabolism pathway in T cells, B cells, and macrophages. Disruption of this pathway may facilitate immune evasion by the tumor. These insights underscore the critical role of CAFs in shaping the metabolic landscape of the TME and lay the groundwork for developing therapeutic strategies aimed at enhancing anti-tumor immunity.

Activation of Notch Signaling Pathway is involved in Extracellular Matrix Degradation in human induced pluripotent stem cells chondrocytes induced by HT-2 toxin

Notch signaling regulates cartilage formation and homeostasis. Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD), an endemic osteochondropathy, is characterized by severe cartilage degradation. The etiology of KBD is related to the exposure of HT-2 toxin, a mycotoxin and primary metabolite of T-2 toxin. This study aims to explore the role of HT-2 toxin in the Notch signaling regulation and extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism of hiPSCs-Chondrocytes. Immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were employed to investigate the expression of Notch pathway molecules in KBD articular cartilage and primary chondrocytes. hiPSCs-Chondrocytes, derived from hiPSCs, were treated with 100 ng/mL HT-2 toxin and the γ-secretase inhibitor (DAPT) for 48h, respectively. The markers related to the Notch signaling pathway and ECM were assessed using qRT-PCR and Western blot. Notch pathway dysregulation was prominent in KBD cartilage. HT-2 toxin exposure caused cytotoxicity in hiPSCs-Chondrocytes, and activated Notch signaling by increasing the mRNA and protein levels of NOTCH1 and HES1. HT-2 toxin also upregulated ECM catabolic enzymes and downregulated ECM components (COL2A1 and ACAN), indicating ECM degradation. DAPT-mediated Notch signaling inhibition suppressed the mRNA and protein level of ADAMTS5 expression while enhancing ECM component expression in hiPSCs-Chondrocytes. This study suggests that HT-2 toxin may induce ECM degradation in hiPSCs-Chondrocytes through activating Notch signaling.

Low concentrations of saracatinib promote definitive endoderm differentiation through inhibition of FAK-YAP signaling axis

Optimizing the efficiency of definitive endoderm (DE) differentiation is necessary for the generation of diverse organ-like structures. In this study, we used the small molecule inhibitor saracatinib (SAR) to enhance DE differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. SAR significantly improved DE differentiation efficiency at low concentrations. The interaction between SAR and Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) was explored through RNA-seq and molecular docking simulations, which further supported the inhibition of DE differentiation by p-FAK overexpression in SAR-treated cells. In addition, we found that SAR inhibited the nuclear translocation of Yes-associated protein (YAP), a downstream effector of FAK, which promoted DE differentiation. Moreover, the addition of SAR enabled a significant reduction in activin A (AA) from 50 to 10 ng/mL without compromising DE differentiation efficiency. For induction of the pancreatic lineage, 10 ng/ml AA combined with SAR at the DE differentiation stage yielded a comparative number of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitor cells to those obtained by 50 ng/ml AA treatment. Our study highlights SAR as a potential modulator that facilitates the cost-effective generation of DE cells and provides insight into the orchestration of cell fate determination.

Regulation of Oxygen Tension as a Strategy to Control Chondrocytic Phenotype for Cartilage Tissue Engineering and Regeneration

Cartilage defects and osteoarthritis are health problems which are major burdens on health care systems globally, especially in aging populations. Cartilage is a vulnerable tissue, which generally faces a progressive degenerative process when injured. This makes it the 11th most common cause of global disability. Conservative methods are used to treat the initial phases of the illness, while orthopedic management is the method used for more progressed phases. These include, for instance, arthroscopic shaving, microfracturing and mosaicplasty, and joint replacement as the final treatment. Cell-based implantation methods have also been developed. Despite reports of successful treatments, they often suffer from the non-optimal nature of chondrocyte phenotype in the repair tissue. Thus, improved strategies to control the phenotype of the regenerating cells are needed. Avascular tissue cartilage relies on diffusion for nutrients acquisition and the removal of metabolic waste products. A low oxygen content is also present in cartilage, and the chondrocytes are, in fact, well adapted to it. Therefore, this raises an idea that the regulation of oxygen tension could be a strategy to control the chondrocyte phenotype expression, important in cartilage tissue for regenerative purposes. This narrative review discusses the aspects related to oxygen tension in the metabolism and regulation of articular and growth plate chondrocytes and progenitor cell phenotypes, and the role of some microenvironmental factors as regulators of chondrocytes.

Involvement of Yes-Associated Protein 1 Activation in the Matrix Degradation of Human-Induced-Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Chondrocytes Induced by T-2 Toxin and Deoxynivalenol Alone and in Combination

T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol (DON) are two prevalent mycotoxins that cause cartilage damage in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in chondrocytes is a significant pathological feature of KBD. It has been shown that the Hippo pathway is involved in cartilage ECM degradation. This study aimed to examine the effect of YAP, a major regulator of the Hippo pathway, on the ECM degradation in the hiPS-derived chondrocytes (hiPS-Ch) model of KBD. The hiPS-Ch injury models were established via treatment with T-2 toxin/DON alone or in combination. We found that T-2 toxin and DON inhibited the proliferation of hiPS-Ch in a dose-dependent manner; significantly increased the levels of YAP, SOX9, and MMP13; and decreased the levels of COL2A1 and ACAN (all p values < 0.05). Immunofluorescence revealed that YAP was primarily located in the nuclei of hiPS-Ch, and its expression level increased with toxin concentrations. The inhibition of YAP resulted in the dysregulated expression of chondrogenic markers (all p values < 0.05). These findings suggest that T-2 toxin and DON may inhibit the proliferation of, and induce the ECM degradation, of hiPS-Ch mediated by YAP, providing further insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to cartilage damage caused by toxins.

Analysis of N-glycosylation protein of Kashin-Beck disease chondrocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells based on label-free strategies with LC-MS/MS

We aimed to compare N-glycosylation proteins in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) chondrocytes and normal chondrocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). KBD and normal iPSCs were reprogrammed from human KBD and normal dermal fibroblasts, respectively. Subsequently, chondrocytes were differentiated from KBD and normal iPSCs separately. Immunofluorescence was utilized to assay the protein markers of iPSCs and chondrocytes. Differential N-glycosylation proteins were screened using label-free strategies with LC-MS/MS. Bioinformatics analyses were utilized to interpret the functions of differential N-glycosylation proteins. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that both KBD-iPSCs and normal-iPSCs strongly expressed pluripotency markers OCT4 and NANOG. Meanwhile, chondrocyte markers collagen II and SOX9 are presented in KBD-iPSC-chondrocytes and normal-iPSC-chondrocytes. We obtained 87 differential N-glycosylation sites which corresponded to 68 differential proteins, which were constructed into 1 cluster. We obtained collagen type I trimer and 9 other biological processes; polysaccharide binding and 9 other molecular functions; regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II and 9 other cellular components from GO; the Pl3K-Akt signaling pathway and 9 other KEGG pathways; peroxisome and 7 other subcellular locations; and integrin alpha chain, C-terminal cytoplasmic region, conserved site and 9 other classifications of domain annotations, and 2 networks. FGFR3 and LRP1 are expressed at higher levels in KBD-iPSC-chondrocytes, while the expressions of COL2A1, TIMP1, UNC5B, NOG, LEPR, and ITGA1 were down-regulated in KBD-iPSC-chondrocytes. The differential expressions of these N-glycosylation proteins may lead to the abnormal function of KBD chondrocytes.

Autophagy Dysfunction in ALS: from Transport to Protein Degradation

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). Since the identification of the first ALS mutation in 1993, more than 40 genes have been associated with the disorder. The most frequent genetic causes of ALS are represented by mutated genes whose products challenge proteostasis, becoming unable to properly fold and consequently aggregating into inclusions that impose proteotoxic stress on affected cells. In this context, increasing evidence supports the central role played by autophagy dysfunctions in the pathogenesis of ALS. Indeed, in early stages of disease, high levels of proteins involved in autophagy are present in ALS MNs; but at the same time, with neurodegeneration progression, autophagy-mediated degradation decreases, often as a result of the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates in affected cells. Autophagy is a complex multistep pathway that has a central role in maintaining cellular homeostasis. Several proteins are involved in its tight regulation, and importantly a relevant fraction of ALS-related genes encodes products that directly take part in autophagy, further underlining the relevance of this key protein degradation system in disease onset and progression. In this review, we report the most relevant findings concerning ALS genes whose products are involved in the several steps of the autophagic pathway, from phagophore formation to autophagosome maturation and transport and finally to substrate degradation.