Live cell imaging reveals marked variability in myoblast proliferation and fate

Bioactive Catalytic Nanocompartments Integrated into Cell Physiology and Their Amplification of a Native Signaling Cascade

Bioactive nanomaterials have the potential to overcome the limitations of classical pharmacological approaches by taking advantage of native pathways to influence cell behavior, interacting with them and eliciting responses. Herein, we propose a cascade system mediated by two catalytic nanocompartments (CNC) with biological activity. Activated by nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible nitric oxidase synthase (iNOS), soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) produces cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), a second messenger that modulates a broad range of physiological functions. As alterations in cGMP signaling are implicated in a multitude of pathologies, its signaling cascade represents a viable target for therapeutic intervention. Following along this line, we encapsulated iNOS and sGC in two separate polymeric compartments that function in unison to produce NO and cGMP. Their action was tested in vitro by monitoring the derived changes in cytoplasmic calcium concentrations of HeLa and differentiated C2C12 myocytes, where the produced second messenger influenced the cellular homeostasis.

Influence of salinomycin treatment on division and movement of individual cancer cells cultured in normoxia or hypoxia evaluated with time-lapse digital holographic microscopy

Most studies on new cancer drugs are based on population-derived data, where the absence of response of a small population may pass unnoticed. Thus, individual longitudinal tracking of cells is important for the future development of efficient cancer treatments. We have used digital holographic microscopy to track individual JIMT-1 human breast cancer cells and L929 mouse fibroblast cultivated in normoxia or hypoxia. In addition, JIMT-1 cells were treated with salinomycin, a cancer stem cell targeting compound. Three-day time-lapse movies were captured and individual cells were analysed with respect to cell division (cell cycle length) and cell movement. Comparing population-doubling time derived from population-based growth curves and individual cell cycle time data from time-lapse movies show that the former hide a sub-population of dividing cells. Salinomycin treatment increased the motility of cells, however, this motility did not result in an increased distant migration i.e. the cells increased their local movement. MCF-7 breast cancer cells showed similar motility behaviour as salinomycin-treated JIMT-1 cells. We suggest that combining features, such as motility and migration, can be used to distinguish cancer cells with mesenchymal (JIMT-1) and epithelial (MCF-7) features. The data clearly emphasize the importance of longitudinal cell tracking to understand the biology of individual cells under different conditions.

Quantification of growth factor signaling and pathway cross talk by live-cell imaging

Peptide growth factors stimulate cellular responses through activation of their transmembrane receptors. Multiple intracellular signaling cascades are engaged following growth factor-receptor binding, leading to short- and long-term biological effects. Each receptor-activated signaling pathway does not act in isolation but rather interacts at different levels with other pathways to shape signaling networks that are distinctive for each growth factor. To gain insights into the specifics of growth factor-regulated interactions among different signaling cascades, we developed a HeLa cell line stably expressing fluorescent live-cell imaging reporters that are readouts for two major growth factor-stimulated pathways, Ras-Raf-Mek-ERK and phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase-Akt. Incubation of cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) resulted in rapid, robust, and sustained ERK signaling but shorter-term activation of Akt. In contrast, hepatocyte growth factor induced sustained Akt signaling but weak and short-lived ERK activity, and insulin-like growth factor-I stimulated strong long-term Akt responses but negligible ERK signaling. To address potential interactions between signaling pathways, we employed specific small-molecule inhibitors. In cells incubated with EGF or platelet-derived growth factor-AA, Raf activation and the subsequent stimulation of ERK reduced Akt signaling, whereas Mek inhibition, which blocked ERK activation, enhanced Akt and turned transient effects into sustained responses. Our results reveal that individual growth factors initiate signaling cascades that vary markedly in strength and duration and demonstrate in living cells the dramatic effects of cross talk from Raf and Mek to PI 3-kinase and Akt. Our data further indicate how specific growth factors can encode distinct cellular behaviors by promoting complex interactions among signaling pathways.

Quantifying intrinsic and extrinsic control of single-cell fates in cancer and stem/progenitor cell pedigrees with competing risks analysis

The molecular control of cell fate and behaviour is a central theme in biology. Inherent heterogeneity within cell populations requires that control of cell fate is studied at the single-cell level. Time-lapse imaging and single-cell tracking are powerful technologies for acquiring cell lifetime data, allowing quantification of how cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors control single-cell fates over time. However, cell lifetime data contain complex features. Competing cell fates, censoring, and the possible inter-dependence of competing fates, currently present challenges to modelling cell lifetime data. Thus far such features are largely ignored, resulting in loss of data and introducing a source of bias. Here we show that competing risks and concordance statistics, previously applied to clinical data and the study of genetic influences on life events in twins, respectively, can be used to quantify intrinsic and extrinsic control of single-cell fates. Using these statistics we demonstrate that 1) breast cancer cell fate after chemotherapy is dependent on p53 genotype; 2) granulocyte macrophage progenitors and their differentiated progeny have concordant fates; and 3) cytokines promote self-renewal of cardiac mesenchymal stem cells by symmetric divisions. Therefore, competing risks and concordance statistics provide a robust and unbiased approach for evaluating hypotheses at the single-cell level.

Unraveling Growth Factor Signaling and Cell Cycle Progression in Individual Fibroblasts

Cultured cells require the actions of growth factors to enter the cell cycle, but how individual members of a population respond to the same stimulus remains unknown. Here we have employed continuous monitoring by live cell imaging in a dual-reporter cell model to investigate the regulation of short-term growth factor signaling (protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) activity) and longer-term progression through the cell cycle (cyclin-dependent kinase 2 activity). In the total population, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)-enhanced cell cycle entry by >5-fold compared with serum-free medium (from 13.5 to 78%), but at the single cell level we observed a broad distribution in the timing of G1 exit (4-24 h, mean ∼12 h) that did not vary with either the amount or duration of IGF-I treatment. Cells that failed to re-enter the cell cycle exhibited similar responses to IGF-I in terms of integrated Akt activity and migration distance compared with those that did. We made similar observations with EGF, PDGF-AA, and PDGF-BB. As potential thresholds of growth factor-mediated cell cycle progression appeared to be heterogeneous within the population, the longer-term proliferative outcomes of individual cells to growth factor stimulation could not be predicted based solely on acute Akt signaling responses, no matter how robust these might be. Thus, although we could define a relationship at the population level between growth factor-induced Akt signaling dynamics and cell cycle progression, we could not predict the fate of individual cells.

Mapping growth-factor-modulated Akt signaling dynamics

Growth factors alter cellular behavior through shared signaling cascades, raising the question of how specificity is achieved. Here, we have determined how growth factor actions are encoded into Akt signaling dynamics by real-time tracking of a fluorescent sensor. In individual cells, Akt activity was encoded in an analog pattern, with similar latencies (∼2 min) and half-maximal peak response times (range of 5-8 min). Yet, different growth factors promoted dose-dependent and heterogeneous changes in signaling dynamics. Insulin treatment caused sustained Akt activity, whereas EGF or PDGF-AA promoted transient signaling; PDGF-BB produced sustained responses at higher concentrations, but short-term effects at low doses, actions that were independent of the PDGF-α receptor. Transient responses to EGF were caused by negative feedback at the receptor level, as a second treatment yielded minimal responses, whereas parallel exposure to IGF-I caused full Akt activation. Small-molecule inhibitors reduced PDGF-BB signaling to transient responses, but only decreased the magnitude of IGF-I actions. Our observations reveal distinctions among growth factors that use shared components, and allow us to capture the consequences of receptor-specific regulatory mechanisms on Akt signaling.