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Grau-Bové X, Subirana L, Meister L, Soubigou A, Neto A, Elek A, Naranjo S, Fornas O, Gomez-Skarmeta JL, Tena JJ, Irimia M, Bertrand S, Sebé-Pedrós A, Escriva H. An amphioxus neurula stage cell atlas supports a complex scenario for the emergence of vertebrate head mesoderm. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4550. [PMID: 38811547 PMCID: PMC11136973 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48774-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
The emergence of new structures can often be linked to the evolution of novel cell types that follows the rewiring of developmental gene regulatory subnetworks. Vertebrates are characterized by a complex body plan compared to the other chordate clades and the question remains of whether and how the emergence of vertebrate morphological innovations can be related to the appearance of new embryonic cell populations. We previously proposed, by studying mesoderm development in the cephalochordate amphioxus, a scenario for the evolution of the vertebrate head mesoderm. To further test this scenario at the cell population level, we used scRNA-seq to construct a cell atlas of the amphioxus neurula, stage at which the main mesodermal compartments are specified. Our data allowed us to validate the presence of a prechordal-plate like territory in amphioxus. Additionally, the transcriptomic profile of somite cell populations supports the homology between specific territories of amphioxus somites and vertebrate cranial/pharyngeal and lateral plate mesoderm. Finally, our work provides evidence that the appearance of the specific mesodermal structures of the vertebrate head was associated to both segregation of pre-existing cell populations, and co-option of new genes for the control of myogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Grau-Bové
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lucie Subirana
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Lydvina Meister
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Anaël Soubigou
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Ana Neto
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Anamaria Elek
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Silvia Naranjo
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Oscar Fornas
- Flow Cytometry Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Gomez-Skarmeta
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Juan J Tena
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Manuel Irimia
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Stéphanie Bertrand
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.
- Institut universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
| | - Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Hector Escriva
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.
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Li-Bao L, Díaz-Díaz C, Raiola M, Sierra R, Temiño S, Moya FJ, Rodriguez-Perales S, Santos E, Giovinazzo G, Bleckwehl T, Rada-Iglesias Á, Spitz F, Torres M. Regulation of Myc transcription by an enhancer cluster dedicated to pluripotency and early embryonic expression. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3931. [PMID: 38729993 PMCID: PMC11087473 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48258-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
MYC plays various roles in pluripotent stem cells, including the promotion of somatic cell reprogramming to pluripotency, the regulation of cell competition and the control of embryonic diapause. However, how Myc expression is regulated in this context remains unknown. The Myc gene lies within a ~ 3-megabase gene desert with multiple cis-regulatory elements. Here we use genomic rearrangements, transgenesis and targeted mutation to analyse Myc regulation in early mouse embryos and pluripotent stem cells. We identify a topologically-associated region that homes enhancers dedicated to Myc transcriptional regulation in stem cells of the pre-implantation and early post-implantation embryo. Within this region, we identify elements exclusively dedicated to Myc regulation in pluripotent cells, with distinct enhancers that sequentially activate during naive and formative pluripotency. Deletion of pluripotency-specific enhancers dampens embryonic stem cell competitive ability. These results identify a topologically defined enhancer cluster dedicated to early embryonic expression and uncover a modular mechanism for the regulation of Myc expression in different states of pluripotency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Li-Bao
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Covadonga Díaz-Díaz
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Morena Raiola
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Rocío Sierra
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Susana Temiño
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco J Moya
- Molecular Cytogenetics and Genome Editing Unit, Human Cancer Genetics Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Rodriguez-Perales
- Molecular Cytogenetics and Genome Editing Unit, Human Cancer Genetics Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - Elisa Santos
- Pluripotent Cell Technology Unit, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, CNIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Giovanna Giovinazzo
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
- Pluripotent Cell Technology Unit, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, CNIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Tore Bleckwehl
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Álvaro Rada-Iglesias
- Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC), CSIC/University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Francois Spitz
- Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Miguel Torres
- Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain.
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Wymeersch FJ, Wilson V, Tsakiridis A. Understanding axial progenitor biology in vivo and in vitro. Development 2021; 148:148/4/dev180612. [PMID: 33593754 DOI: 10.1242/dev.180612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The generation of the components that make up the embryonic body axis, such as the spinal cord and vertebral column, takes place in an anterior-to-posterior (head-to-tail) direction. This process is driven by the coordinated production of various cell types from a pool of posteriorly-located axial progenitors. Here, we review the key features of this process and the biology of axial progenitors, including neuromesodermal progenitors, the common precursors of the spinal cord and trunk musculature. We discuss recent developments in the in vitro production of axial progenitors and their potential implications in disease modelling and regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip J Wymeersch
- Laboratory for Human Organogenesis, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Valerie Wilson
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Anestis Tsakiridis
- Centre for Stem Cell Biology, Department of Biomedical Science, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN UK .,Neuroscience Institute, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK
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An In Vitro Human Segmentation Clock Model Derived from Embryonic Stem Cells. Cell Rep 2020; 28:2247-2255.e5. [PMID: 31461642 PMCID: PMC6814198 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.07.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Defects in somitogenesis result in vertebral malformations at birth known as spondylocostal dysostosis (SCDO). Somites are formed with a species-specific periodicity controlled by the “segmentation clock,” which comprises a group of oscillatory genes in the presomitic mesoderm. Here, we report that a segmentation clock model derived from human embryonic stem cells shows many hallmarks of the mammalian segmentation clock in vivo, including a dependence on the NOTCH and WNT signaling pathways. The gene expression oscillations are highly synchronized, displaying a periodicity specific to the human clock. Introduction of a point of mutation into HES7, a specific mutation previously associated with clinical SCDO, eliminated clock gene oscillations, successfully reproducing the defects in the segmentation clock. Thus, we provide a model for studying the previously inaccessible human segmentation clock to better understand the mechanisms contributing to congenital skeletal defects. The segmentation clock is a molecular oscillator regulating the tempo of somite formation in a species-specific manner. Chu et al. report an embryonic-stem-cell-derived model system displaying a human-specific gene oscillation periodicity, which can shed light on human somitogenesis and model skeletal developmental disorders.
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Melnik S, Werth N, Boeuf S, Hahn EM, Gotterbarm T, Anton M, Richter W. Impact of c-MYC expression on proliferation, differentiation, and risk of neoplastic transformation of human mesenchymal stromal cells. Stem Cell Res Ther 2019; 10:73. [PMID: 30836996 PMCID: PMC6402108 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-019-1187-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from bone marrow (MSC) represent an attractive source of adult stem cells for regenerative medicine. However, thorough research is required into their clinical application safety issues concerning a risk of potential neoplastic degeneration in a process of MSC propagation in cell culture for therapeutic applications. Expansion protocols could preselect MSC with elevated levels of growth-promoting transcription factors with oncogenic potential, such as c-MYC. We addressed the question whether c-MYC expression affects the growth and differentiation potential of human MSC upon extensive passaging in cell culture and assessed a risk of tumorigenic transformation caused by MSC overexpressing c-MYC in vivo. METHODS MSC were subjected to retroviral transduction to induce expression of c-MYC, or GFP, as a control. Cells were expanded, and effects of c-MYC overexpression on osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and chondrogenesis were monitored. Ectopic bone formation properties were tested in SCID mice. A potential risk of tumorigenesis imposed by MSC with c-MYC overexpression was evaluated. RESULTS C-MYC levels accumulated during ex vivo passaging, and overexpression enabled the transformed MSC to significantly overgrow competing control cells in culture. C-MYC-MSC acquired enhanced biological functions of c-MYC: its increased DNA-binding activity, elevated expression of the c-MYC-binding partner MAX, and induction of antagonists P19ARF/P16INK4A. Overexpression of c-MYC stimulated MSC proliferation and reduced osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. Surprisingly, c-MYC overexpression also caused an increased COL10A1/COL2A1 expression ratio upon chondrogenesis, suggesting a role in hypertrophic degeneration. However, the in vivo ectopic bone formation ability of c-MYC-transduced MSC remained comparable to control GFP-MSC. There was no indication of tumor growth in any tissue after transplantation of c-MYC-MSC in mice. CONCLUSIONS C-MYC expression promoted high proliferation rates of MSC, attenuated but not abrogated their differentiation capacity, and did not immediately lead to tumor formation in the tested in vivo mouse model. However, upregulation of MYC antagonists P19ARF/P16INK4A promoting apoptosis and senescence, as well as an observed shift towards a hypertrophic collagen phenotype and cartilage degeneration, point to lack of safety for clinical application of MSC that were manipulated to overexpress c-MYC for their better expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svitlana Melnik
- Research Center for Experimental Orthopaedics, Center for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nadine Werth
- Research Center for Experimental Orthopaedics, Center for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stephane Boeuf
- Research Center for Experimental Orthopaedics, Center for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Hahn
- Research Center for Experimental Orthopaedics, Center for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tobias Gotterbarm
- Department of Orthopedics, Kepler University Hospital, Linz, Austria
| | - Martina Anton
- Institutes of Molecular Immunology and Experimental Oncology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Wiltrud Richter
- Research Center for Experimental Orthopaedics, Center for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany.
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Rodrigo Albors A, Halley PA, Storey KG. Lineage tracing of axial progenitors using Nkx1-2CreER T2 mice defines their trunk and tail contributions. Development 2018; 145:dev.164319. [PMID: 30201686 PMCID: PMC6198475 DOI: 10.1242/dev.164319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The vertebrate body forms by continuous generation of new tissue from progenitors at the posterior end of the embryo. The study of these axial progenitors has proved to be challenging in vivo largely because of the lack of unique molecular markers to identify them. Here, we elucidate the expression pattern of the transcription factor Nkx1-2 in the mouse embryo and show that it identifies axial progenitors throughout body axis elongation, including neuromesodermal progenitors and early neural and mesodermal progenitors. We create a tamoxifen-inducible Nkx1-2CreERT2 transgenic mouse and exploit the conditional nature of this line to uncover the lineage contributions of Nkx1-2-expressing cells at specific stages. We show that early Nkx1-2-expressing epiblast cells contribute to all three germ layers, mostly neuroectoderm and mesoderm, excluding notochord. Our data are consistent with the presence of some self-renewing axial progenitors that continue to generate neural and mesoderm tissues from the tail bud. This study identifies Nkx1-2-expressing cells as the source of most trunk and tail tissues in the mouse and provides a useful tool to genetically label and manipulate axial progenitors in vivo. Summary: Changing lineage contributions of axial progenitors to the developing mouse embryo are revealed using a tamoxifen-inducible Cre line under the control of the endogenous Nkx1-2 promoter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Rodrigo Albors
- Neural Development Group, Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Pamela A Halley
- Neural Development Group, Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Kate G Storey
- Neural Development Group, Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
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