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Hachem Z, Hadrian C, Aldbaisi L, Alkaabi M, Wan LQ, Fan J. Asymmetrical positioning of cell organelles reflects the cell chirality of mouse myoblast cells. APL Bioeng 2024; 8:016119. [PMID: 38495528 PMCID: PMC10942803 DOI: 10.1063/5.0189401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Cell chirality is crucial for the chiral morphogenesis of biological tissues, yet its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Cell organelle polarization along multiple axes in a cell body, namely, apical-basal, front-rear, and left-right, is known to direct cell behavior such as orientation, rotation, and migration. Among these axes, the left-right bias holds significant sway in determining the chiral directionality of these behaviors. Normally, mouse myoblast (C2C12) cells exhibit a strong counterclockwise chirality on a ring-shaped micropattern, whereas they display a clockwise dominant chirality under Latrunculin A treatment. To investigate the relationship between multicellular chirality and organelle positioning in single cells, we studied the left-right positioning of cell organelles under distinct cell chirality in single cells via micropatterning technique, fluorescent microscopy, and imaging analysis. We found that on a "T"-shaped micropattern, a C2C12 cell adopts a triangular shape, with its nucleus-centrosome axis pointing toward the top-right direction of the "T." Several other organelles, including the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, actin filaments, and microtubules, showed a preference to polarize on one side of the axis, indicating the universality of the left-right asymmetrical organelle positioning. Interestingly, upon reversing cell chirality with Latrunculin A, the organelles correspondingly reversed their left-right positioning bias, as suggested by the consistently biased metabolism and contractile properties at the leading edge. This left-right asymmetry in organelle positioning may help predict cell migration direction and serve as a potential marker for identifying cell chirality in biological models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeina Hachem
- Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA
| | - Courtney Hadrian
- Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA
| | - Lina Aldbaisi
- Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA
| | - Muslim Alkaabi
- Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA
| | | | - Jie Fan
- Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA
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Zhang H, Rahman T, Lu S, Adam AP, Wan LQ. Helical vasculogenesis driven by cell chirality. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj3582. [PMID: 38381835 PMCID: PMC10881055 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The cellular helical structure is well known for its crucial role in development and disease. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism governing this phenomenon remains largely unexplored, particularly in recapitulating it in well-controlled engineering systems. Leveraging advanced microfluidics, we present compelling evidence of the spontaneous emergence of helical endothelial tubes exhibiting robust right-handedness governed by inherent cell chirality. To strengthen our findings, we identify a consistent bias toward the same chirality in mouse vascular tissues. Manipulating endothelial cell chirality using small-molecule drugs produces a dose-dependent reversal of the handedness in engineered vessels, accompanied by non-monotonic changes in vascular permeability. Moreover, our three-dimensional cell vertex model provides biomechanical insights into the chiral morphogenesis process, highlighting the role of cellular torque and tissue fluidity in its regulation. Our study unravels an intriguing mechanism underlying vascular chiral morphogenesis, shedding light on the broader implications and distinctive perspectives of tubulogenesis within biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haokang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Tasnif Rahman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Shuhan Lu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA
| | - Alejandro Pablo Adam
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA
| | - Leo Q. Wan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
- Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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Why Sports Should Embrace Bilateral Asymmetry: A Narrative Review. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14101993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Asymmetry is ubiquitous in nature and humans have well-established bilateral asymmetries in their structures and functions. However, there are (mostly unsubstantiated) claims that bilateral asymmetries may impair sports performance or increase injury risk. (2) Objective: To critically review the evidence of the occurrence and effects of asymmetry and sports performance. (3) Development: Asymmetry is prevalent across several sports regardless of age, gender, or competitive level, and can be verified even in apparently symmetric actions (e.g., running and rowing). Assessments of bilateral asymmetries are highly task-, metric-, individual-, and sport-specific; fluctuate significantly in time (in magnitude and, more importantly, in direction); and tend to be poorly correlated among themselves, as well as with general performance measures. Assessments of sports-specific performance is mostly lacking. Most studies assessing bilateral asymmetries do not actually assess the occurrence of injuries. While injuries tend to accentuate bilateral asymmetries, there is no evidence that pre-existing asymmetries increase injury risk. While training programs reduce certain bilateral asymmetries, there is no evidence that such reductions result in increased sport-specific performance or reduced injury risk. (4) Conclusions: Bilateral asymmetries are prevalent in sports, do not seem to impair performance, and there is no evidence that suggests that they increase injury risk.
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Zhang H, Ronaldson-Bouchard K, Vunjak-Novakovic G, Wan LQ. A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality. J Vis Exp 2022:10.3791/63105. [PMID: 35343954 PMCID: PMC9008871 DOI: 10.3791/63105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Chirality is an intrinsic cellular property, which depicts the asymmetry in terms of polarization along the left-right axis of the cell. As this unique property attracts increasing attention due to its important roles in both development and disease, a standardized quantification method for characterizing cell chirality would advance research and potential applications. In this protocol, we describe a multicellular chirality characterization assay that utilizes micropatterned arrays of cells. Cellular micropatterns are fabricated on titanium/gold-coated glass slides via microcontact printing. After seeding on the geometrically defined (e.g., ring-shaped), protein-coated islands, cells directionally migrate and form a biased alignment toward either the clockwise or the counterclockwise direction, which can be automatically analyzed and quantified by a custom-written MATLAB program. Here we describe in detail the fabrication of micropatterned substrates, cell seeding, image collection, and data analysis and show representative results obtained using the NIH/3T3 cells. This protocol has previously been validated in multiple published studies and is an efficient and reliable tool for studying cell chirality in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haokang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
| | | | - Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University; Department of Medicine, Columbia University
| | - Leo Q Wan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;
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Zhang J, He X, Zhou Z, Chen X, Shao J, Huang D, Dong L, Lin J, Wang H, Weng W, Cheng K. The osteogenic response to chirality-patterned surface potential distribution of CFO/P(VDF-TrFE) membranes. Biomater Sci 2022; 10:4576-4587. [PMID: 35791864 DOI: 10.1039/d2bm00186a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) has demonstrated an ability to promote osteogenesis, and the biomaterials with a chirality-patterned topological surface could enhance cellular osteogenic differentiation. In this work, we created a chirality-patterned...
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiamin Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Xuzhao He
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Zhiyuan Zhou
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Xiaoyi Chen
- Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Province Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Jiaqi Shao
- The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Donghua Huang
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Lingqing Dong
- Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Province Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Jun Lin
- The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Huiming Wang
- Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Province Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
| | - Wenjian Weng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Kui Cheng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
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Zhang H, Wan LQ. Cell Chirality as a Novel Measure for Cytotoxicity. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2022; 6:e2101088. [PMID: 34796704 PMCID: PMC9008805 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202101088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cytotoxicity assessment has great importance in both research and pharmaceutical development. The mainstream in vitro cytotoxicity assays are mostly biochemical assays that evaluate a specific cellular activity such as proliferation and apoptosis. Few assays assess toxicity by characterizing overall functional outcomes in cellular physiology such as multicellular morphogenesis. The intrinsic cellular chiral bias (also known as cell chirality, left-right asymmetry, or handedness), which determines cellular polarization along the left-right axis, is demonstrated to play important roles in development and disease. This chiral property of cells gives insights not only into functions of individual cells, such as motility and polarity but also into emerging behaviors of cell clusters, such as collective cell migration. Therefore, cell chirality characterization can be potentially used as a biomarker for assessing the overall effects of pharmaceutical drugs and environmental factors on the health of the cell. In this review article, the current in vitro techniques for cell chirality characterization and their applications are discussed and the advantages and limitations of these cell chirality assays as potential tools for detecting cytotoxicity are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haokang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Leo Q Wan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
- Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
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Rahman T, Zhang H, Fan J, Wan LQ. Cell chirality in cardiovascular development and disease. APL Bioeng 2020; 4:031503. [PMID: 32903894 PMCID: PMC7449703 DOI: 10.1063/5.0014424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The cardiovascular system demonstrates left-right (LR) asymmetry: most notably, the LR asymmetric looping of the bilaterally symmetric linear heart tube. Similarly, the orientation of the aortic arch is asymmetric as well. Perturbations to the asymmetry have been associated with several congenital heart malformations and vascular disorders. The source of the asymmetry, however, is not clear. Cell chirality, a recently discovered and intrinsic LR asymmetric cellular morphological property, has been implicated in the heart looping and vascular barrier function. In this paper, we summarize recent advances in the field of cell chirality and describe various approaches developed for studying cell chirality at multi- and single-cell levels. We also examine research progress in asymmetric cardiovascular development and associated malformations. Finally, we review evidence connecting cell chirality to cardiac looping and vascular permeability and provide thoughts on future research directions for cell chirality in the context of cardiovascular development and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tasnif Rahman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
| | - Haokang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
| | - Jie Fan
- Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
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Bao Y, Wu S, Chu LT, Kwong HK, Hartanto H, Huang Y, Lam ML, Lam RHW, Chen TH. Early Committed Clockwise Cell Chirality Upregulates Adipogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 4:e2000161. [PMID: 32864891 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202000161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Cell chirality is observed with diverse forms and coordinates various left-right (LR) asymmetry in tissue morphogenesis. To give rise to such diversity, cell chirality may be coupled with cell differentiation. Here, using micropatterned human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), an early committed clockwise (CW) cell chirality that can itself upregulate the adipogenic differentiation is reported. hMSC chirality enables a positively tilted chiral orientation on micropatterned stripes. When cultured as single cells on circular micropatterns, an anticlockwise (ACW)-biased nucleus rotation and swirling pattern of actin filament are observed. Interestingly, with adipogenic induction for 3-6 days, such chirality is reversed to negative chiral orientation and CW-biased rotation, which is earlier than the maturation of other differentiation markers, and consistently expressed in terminally differentiated adipocytes. Using latrunculin A (LatA), cytochalasin D (CD), and nocodazole (Noco) that forces a CW-biased actin filament and nucleus rotation resembling the early differentiated chirality upon adipogenic induction, an upregulation of adipogenic differentiation is found. The result demonstrates that the early differentiated chirality may serve as a mechanical precursor to engage the lineage commitment, suggesting a feedback mechanism of chiral actin in regulating cell differentiation and LR morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanye Bao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Siying Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Lok Ting Chu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Hoi Kwan Kwong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Hogi Hartanto
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Yaozhun Huang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Miu Ling Lam
- School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Raymond H W Lam
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Ting-Hsuan Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Fan J, Zhang H, Rahman T, Stanton DN, Wan LQ. Cell organelle-based analysis of cell chirality. Commun Integr Biol 2019; 12:78-81. [PMID: 31143366 PMCID: PMC6527183 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2019.1605277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The maintenance of tight endothelial junctions requires the establishment of proper cell polarity, which includes not only the apicobasal and front-rear polarity but also the left-right (L-R) polarity. The cell possesses an intrinsic mechanism of orienting the L-R axis with respect to the other axes, following a left-hand or right-hand rule, termed cell chirality. We have previously reported that endothelial cells exhibit a clockwise or rightward bias on ring-shaped micropatterns. Now we further characterize the chirality of individual endothelial cells on micropatterns by analyzing the L-R positioning of the cell centroid relative to the nucleus-centrosome axis. Our results show that the centroids of endothelial cells preferably polarized towards the right side of the nucleus-centrosome axis. This bias is consistent with cell chirality characterized by other methods. These results suggest that the positioning of cell organelles is intrinsically L-R biased inside individual cells. This L-R bias provides an opportunity for determining cell chirality in situ, even in vivo, without the limitations of using isolated cells in in vitro engineered platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Fan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.,Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Haokang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Tasnif Rahman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Diana N Stanton
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Leo Q Wan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.,Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.,Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
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