Hematopoietic progenitors from early murine fetal liver possess hepatic differentiation potential

Dlk1 maintains adult mice long-term HSCs by activating Notch signaling to restrict mitochondrial metabolism

BACKGROUND

Adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) homeostasis is critically important in maintaining lifelong hematopoiesis. However, how adult HSCs orchestrate its homeostasis remains not fully understood. Imprinted gene Dlk1 has been shown to play critical role in mouse embryonic hematopoiesis and in regulation of stem cells, but its physiological roles in adult HSCs are unknown.

METHODS

We performed gene expression analysis of Dlk1, and constructed conditional Dlk1 knockout (KO) mice by crossing Mx1 cre mice with Dlk^flox/flox mice. Western blot and quantitative PCR were used to detect Dlk1 KO efficiency. Flow cytometry was performed to investigate the effects of Dlk1 KO on HSCs, progenitors and linage cells in primary mice. Competitive HSCs transplantation and secondary transplantation was used to examine the effects of Dlk1 KO on long-term hematopoietic repopulation potential of HSCs. RNA-Seq and cell metabolism assays was used to determine the underlying mechanisms.

RESULTS

Dlk1 was highly expressed in adult mice long-term HSCs (LT-HSCs) relative to progenitors and mature lineage cells. Dlk1 KO in adult mice HSCs drove HSCs enter active cell cycle, and expanded phenotypical LT-HSCs, but undermined its long-term hematopoietic repopulation potential. Dlk1 KO resulted in an increase in HSCs' metabolic activity, including glucose uptake, ribosomal translation, mitochondrial metabolism and ROS production, which impaired HSCs function. Further, Dlk1 KO in adult mice HSCs attenuated Notch signaling, and re-activation of Notch signaling under Dlk1 KO decreased the mitochondrial activity and ROS production, and rescued the changes in frequency and absolute number of HSCs. Scavenging ROS by antioxidant N-acetylcysteine could inhibit mitochondrial metabolic activity, and rescue the changes in HSCs caused by Dlk1 KO.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that Dlk1 played an essential role in maintaining HSC homeostasis, which is realized by governing cell cycle and restricting mitochondrial metabolic activity.

Biofabricated 3D in vitro model of fibrosis-induced abnormal hepatoblast/biliary progenitors' expansion of the developing liver

Congenital disorders of the biliary tract are the primary reason for pediatric liver failure and ultimately for pediatric liver transplant needs. Not all causes of these disorders are well understood, but it is known that liver fibrosis occurs in many of those afflicted. The goal of this study is to develop a simple yet robust model that recapitulates physico-mechanical and cellular aspects of fibrosis mediated via hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and their effects on biliary progenitor cells. Liver organoids were fabricated by embedding various HSCs, with distinctive abilities to generate mild to severe fibrotic environments, together with undifferentiated liver progenitor cell line, HepaRG, within a collagen I hydrogel. The fibrotic state of each organoid was characterized by examination of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling through quantitative image analysis, rheometry, and qPCR. In tandem, the phenotype of the liver progenitor cell and cluster formation was assessed through histology. Activated HSCs (aHSCs) created a more severe fibrotic state, exemplified by a more highly contracted and rigid ECM, as well higher relative expression of TGF-β, TIMP-1, LOXL2, and COL1A2 as compared to immortalized HSCs (LX-2). Within the more severe fibrotic environment, generated by the aHSCs, higher Notch signaling was associated with an expansion of CK19+ cells as well as the formation of larger, more densely populated cell biliary like-clusters as compared to mild and non-fibrotic controls. The expansion of CK19+ cells, coupled with a severely fibrotic environment, are phenomena found within patients suffering from a variety of congenital liver disorders of the biliary tract. Thus, the model presented here can be utilized as a novel in vitro testing platform to test drugs and identify new targets that could benefit pediatric patients that suffer from the biliary dysgenesis associated with a multitude of congenital liver diseases.

Complement C1q mediates the expansion of periportal hepatic progenitor cells in senescence-associated inflammatory liver

Most hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) develop in patients with chronic hepatitis, which creates a microenvironment for the growth of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) at the periportal area and subsequent development of HCCs. We investigated the signal from the inflammatory liver for this pathogenic process in the hepatic conditional β-catenin knockout mouse model. Senescent β-catenin-depleted hepatocytes in aged mice create an inflammatory microenvironment that stimulates periportal HPC expansion but arrests differentiation, which predisposes mice to the development of liver tumors. The release of complement C1q from macrophages in the inflammatory niche was identified as the unorthodox signal that activated the β-catenin pathway in periportal HPCs and was responsible for their expansion and de-differentiation. C1q inhibitors blocked the β-catenin pathway in both the expanding HPCs and the liver tumors but spared its orthodox pathway in pericentral normal hepatocytes. This mechanism has been validated in human liver specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that C1q- mediated activation of β-catenin pathway in periportal HPCs is a previously unrecognized mechanism for replenishing hepatocytes in the inflammatory liver and, if unchecked, for promoting hepatocarcinogenesis. C1q may become a new target for blocking carcinogenesis in patients with chronic hepatitis.

Functional Blood Progenitor Markers in Developing Human Liver Progenitors

In the early fetal liver, hematopoietic progenitors expand and mature together with hepatoblasts, the liver progenitors of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. Previous analyses of human fetal livers indicated that both progenitors support each other's lineage maturation and curiously share some cell surface markers including CD34 and CD133. Using the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) system, we demonstrate that virtually all hESC-derived hepatoblast-like cells (Hep cells) transition through a progenitor stage expressing CD34 and CD133 as well as GATA2, an additional hematopoietic marker that has not previously been associated with human hepatoblast development. Dynamic expression patterns for CD34, CD133, and GATA2 in hepatoblasts were validated in human fetal livers collected from the first and second trimesters of gestation. Knockdown experiments demonstrate that each gene also functions to regulate hepatic fate mostly in a cell-autonomous fashion, revealing unprecedented roles of fetal hematopoietic progenitor markers in human liver progenitors.

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Co-expression of hematopoietic markers CD34, CD133, and GATA2 in hESC-Hep cells

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Function of CD34, CD133, and GATA2 in hepatic specification of hESC-Hep cells

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Co-expression of CD34, CD133, and GATA2 in hepatoblasts from human fetal livers

Prenatal acetaminophen affects maternal immune and endocrine adaptation to pregnancy, induces placental damage, and impairs fetal development in mice

Acetaminophen (APAP; ie, Paracetamol or Tylenol) is generally self-medicated to treat fever or pain and recommended to pregnant women by their physicians. Recent epidemiological studies reveal an association between prenatal APAP use and an increased risk for asthma. Our aim was to identify the effects of APAP in pregnancy using a mouse model. Allogeneically mated C57Bl/6J females were injected i.p. with 50 or 250 mg/kg APAP or phosphate-buffered saline on gestation day 12.5; nonpregnant females served as controls. Tissue samples were obtained 1 or 4 days after injection. APAP-induced liver toxicity was mirrored by significantly increased plasma alanine aminotransferase levels. In uterus-draining lymph nodes of pregnant dams, the frequencies of mature dendritic cells and regulatory T cells significantly increased on 250 mg/kg APAP. Plasma progesterone levels significantly decreased in dams injected with APAP, accompanied by a morphologically altered placenta. Although overall litter sizes and number of fetal loss remained unaltered, a reduced fetal weight and a lower frequency of hematopoietic stem cells in the fetal liver were observed on APAP treatment. Our data provide strong evidence that prenatal APAP interferes with maternal immune and endocrine adaptation to pregnancy, affects placental function, and impairs fetal maturation and immune development. The latter may have long-lasting consequences on children's immunity and account for the increased risk for asthma observed in humans.

Perspective on liver regeneration by bone marrow-derived stem cells-a scientific realization or a paradox

Bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells are reported to have cellular plasticity, which provoked many investigators to use of these cells in the regeneration of nonhematopoietic tissues. However, adult stem cell plasticity contradicts our classic understanding on progressive restriction of the developmental potential of a cell type. Many alternate mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon; the working hypotheses for elucidating the cellular plasticity of BM-derived stem cells are on the basis of direct differentiation and/or fusion between donor and recipient cells. This review dissects the different outcomes of the investigations on liver regeneration, which were performed with the use of BM-derived stem cells in experimental animals, and reveals some critical factors to explain cellular plasticity. It has been hypothesized that the competent BM-derived stem/progenitor cells, under the influence of liver-regenerating cues, can directly differentiate into hepatic cells. This differentiation takes place as a result of genetic reprogramming, which may be possible in the chemically induced acute liver injury model or at the stage of fetal liver development. Cellular plasticity emerges as an important phenomenon in cell-based therapies for the treatment of many liver diseases in which tissue regeneration is necessary.