Differential expression of Lutheran/BCAM regulates biliary tissue remodeling in ductular reaction during liver regeneration

A TGFβ-ECM-integrin signaling axis drives structural reconfiguration of the bile duct to promote polycystic liver disease

The formation of multiple cysts in the liver occurs in a number of isolated monogenic diseases or multisystemic syndromes, during which bile ducts develop into fluid-filled biliary cysts. For patients with polycystic liver disease (PCLD), nonsurgical treatments are limited, and managing life-long abdominal swelling, pain, and increasing risk of cyst rupture and infection is common. We demonstrate here that loss of the primary cilium on postnatal biliary epithelial cells (via the deletion of the cilia gene Wdr35) drives ongoing pathological remodeling of the biliary tree, resulting in progressive cyst formation and growth. The development of cystic tissue requires the activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signaling, which promotes the expression of a procystic, fibronectin-rich extracellular matrix and which itself is perceived by a changing profile of integrin receptors on the cystic epithelium. This signaling axis is conserved in liver cysts from patients with either autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease or autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease, indicating that there are common cellular mechanisms for liver cyst growth regardless of the underlying genetic cause. Cyst number and size can be reduced by inhibiting TGFβ signaling or integrin signaling in vivo. We suggest that our findings represent a therapeutic route for patients with polycystic liver disease, most of whom would not be amenable to surgery.

Type 2 inflammation drives an airway basal stem cell program through insulin receptor substrate signaling

BACKGROUND

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) is a type 2 (T2) inflammatory disease associated with an increased number of airway basal cells (BCs). Recent studies have identified transcriptionally distinct BCs, but the molecular pathways that support or inhibit human BC proliferation and differentiation are largely unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to determine the role of T2 cytokines in regulating airway BCs.

METHODS

Single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing of sinus and lung airway epithelial cells was analyzed. Human sinus BCs were stimulated with IL-4 and IL-13 in the presence and absence of inhibitors of IL-4R signaling. Confocal analysis of human sinus tissue and murine airway was performed. Murine BC subsets were sorted for RNA sequencing and functional assays. Fate labeling was performed in a murine model of tracheal injury and regeneration.

RESULTS

Two subsets of BCs were found in human and murine respiratory mucosa distinguished by the expression of basal cell adhesion molecule (BCAM). BCAM expression identifies airway stem cells among P63+KRT5+NGFR+ BCs. In the sinonasal mucosa, BCAMhi BCs expressing TSLP, IL33, CCL26, and the canonical BC transcription factor TP63 are increased in patients with CRSwNP. In cultured BCs, IL-4/IL-13 increases the expression of BCAM and TP63 through an insulin receptor substrate-dependent signaling pathway that is increased in CRSwNP.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings establish BCAM as a marker of airway stem cells among the BC pool and demonstrate that airway epithelial remodeling in T2 inflammation extends beyond goblet cell metaplasia to the support of a BC stem state poised to perpetuate inflammation.

Multiple Facets of Cellular Homeostasis and Regeneration of the Mammalian Liver

Liver regeneration occurs in response to diverse injuries and is capable of functionally reestablishing the lost parenchyma. This phenomenon has been known since antiquity, encapsulated in the Greek myth where Prometheus was to be punished by Zeus for sharing the gift of fire with humanity by having an eagle eat his liver daily, only to have the liver regrow back, thus ensuring eternal suffering and punishment. Today, this process is actively leveraged clinically during living donor liver transplantation whereby up to a two-thirds hepatectomy (resection or removal of part of the liver) on a donor is used for transplant to a recipient. The donor liver rapidly regenerates to recover the lost parenchymal mass to form a functional tissue. This astonishing regenerative process and unique capacity of the liver are examined in further detail in this review.

Laminin α5_CD239_Spectrin is a candidate association that compensates the linkage between the basement membrane and cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle fibers

•

Laminin α5_CD239_spectrin complex is a candidate linkage in sarcolemma.

•

The linkage molecules are expressed in embryonic and regenerative muscle fibers.

•

CD239 expression is upregulated by steroid therapy for muscular dystrophy.

•

The compensatory linkage may be a therapeutic target for muscular dystrophy.

The linkage between the basement membrane (BM) and cytoskeleton is crucial for muscle fiber stability and signal transduction. Mutations in the linkage molecules can cause various types of muscular dystrophies. The different severities and times of onset suggest that compensatory linkages occur at the sarcolemma. Cluster of differentiation 239 (CD239) binds to the α5 subunit of laminin-511 extracellularly and is connected to spectrin intracellularly, resulting in a linkage between the BM and cytoskeleton. In this study, we explored the linkage of laminin α5_CD239_spectrin in skeletal muscles. Although laminin α5, CD239, and spectrin were present in embryonic skeletal muscles, they disappeared in adult skeletal muscle tissues, except for the soleus and diaphragm. Laminin α5_CD239_spectrin was localized in the skeletal muscle tissues of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and congenital muscular dystrophy mouse models. The experimental regeneration of skeletal muscle increased the CD239-mediated linkage, indicating that it responds to regeneration, but not to genetic influence. Furthermore, in silico analysis showed that laminin α5_CD239_spectrin was upregulated by steroid therapy for muscular dystrophy. Therefore, CD239-mediated linkage may serve as a therapeutic target to prevent the progression of muscular dystrophy.

Prospect of in vitro Bile Fluids Collection in Improving Cell-Based Assay of Liver Function

The liver plays a pivotal role in the clearance of drugs. Reliable assays for liver function are crucial for various metabolism investigation, including toxicity, disease, and pre-clinical testing for drug development. Bile is an aqueous secretion of a functioning liver. Analyses of bile are used to explain drug clearance and related effects and are thus important for toxicology and pharmacokinetic research. Bile fluids collection is extensively performed in vivo, whereas this process is rarely reproduced as in the in vitro studies. The key to success is the technology involved, which needs to satisfy multiple criteria. To ensure the accuracy of subsequent chemical analyses, certain amounts of bile are needed. Additionally, non-invasive and continuous collections are preferable in view of cell culture. In this review, we summarize recent progress and limitations in the field. We highlight attempts to develop advanced liver cultures for bile fluids collection, including methods to stimulate the secretion of bile in vitro. With these strategies, researchers have used a variety of cell sources, extracellular matrix proteins, and growth factors to investigate different cell-culture environments, including three-dimensional spheroids, cocultures, and microfluidic devices. Effective combinations of expertise and technology have the potential to overcome these obstacles to achieve reliable in vitro bile assay systems.

Hes1 Is Essential in Proliferating Ductal Cell-Mediated Development of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is frequently driven by aberrant KRAS activation and develops in the liver with chronic inflammation. Although the Notch signaling pathway is critically involved in ICC development, detailed mechanisms of Notch-driven ICC development are still unknown. Here, we use mice whose Notch signaling is genetically engineered to show that the Notch signaling pathway, specifically the Notch/Hes1 axis, plays an essential role in expanding ductular cells in the liver with chronic inflammation or oncogenic Kras activation. Activation of Notch1 enhanced the development of proliferating ductal cells (PDC) in injured livers, while depletion of Hes1 led to suppression. In correlation with PDC expansion, ICC development was also regulated by the Notch/Hes1 axis and suppressed by Hes1 depletion. Lineage-tracing experiments using Epcam^creERT2 mice further confirmed that Hes1 plays a critical role in the induction of PDC and that ICC could originate from PDC. Analysis of human ICC specimens showed PDC in nonneoplastic background tissues, confirming HES1 expression in both PDC and ICC tumor cells. Our findings provide novel direct experimental evidence that Hes1 plays an essential role in the development of ICC via PDC. SIGNIFICANCE: This study contributes to the identification of the cells of origin that initiate ICC and suggests that HES1 may represent a therapeutic target in ICC.

The liver fibrosis niche: Novel insights into the interplay between fibrosis-composing mesenchymal cells, immune cells, endothelial cells, and extracellular matrix

Liver fibrosis is a hepatic wound-healing response caused by chronic liver diseases that include viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and cholestatic liver disease. Liver fibrosis eventually progresses to cirrhosis that is histologically characterized by an abnormal liver architecture that includes distortion of liver parenchyma, formation of regenerative nodules, and a massive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM). Despite intensive investigations into the underlying mechanisms of liver fibrosis, developments of anti-fibrotic therapies for liver fibrosis are still unsatisfactory. Recent novel experimental approaches, such as single-cell RNA sequencing and proteomics, have revealed the heterogeneity of ECM-producing cells (mesenchymal cells) and ECM-regulating cells (immune cells and endothelial cells). These approaches have accelerated the identification of fibrosis-specific subpopulations among these cell types. The ECM also consists of heterogenous components. Their production, degradation, deposition, and remodeling are dynamically regulated in liver fibrosis, further affecting the functions of cells responsible for fibrosis. These cellular and ECM elements cooperatively form a unique microenvironment: a fibrotic niche. Understanding the complex interplay between these elements could lead to a better understanding of underlying fibrosis mechanisms and to the development of effective therapies.

Tubular bile duct structure mimicking bile duct morphogenesis for prospective in vitro liver metabolite recovery

Background

Liver metabolites are used to diagnose disease and examine drugs in clinical pharmacokinetics. Therefore, development of an in vitro assay system that reproduces liver metabolite recovery would provide important benefits to pharmaceutical research. However, liver models have proven challenging to develop because of the lack of an appropriate bile duct structure for the accumulation and transport of metabolites from the liver parenchyma. Currently available bile duct models, such as the bile duct cyst-embedded extracellular matrix (ECM), lack any morphological resemblance to the tubular morphology of the living bile duct. Moreover, these systems cannot overcome metabolite recovery issues because they are established in isolated culture systems. Here, we successfully established a non-continuous tubular bile duct structure model in an open-culture system, which closely resembled an in vivo structure. This system was utilized to effectively collect liver metabolites separately from liver parenchymal cells.

Results

Triple-cell co-culture of primary rat hepatoblasts, rat biliary epithelial cells, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts was grown to mimic the morphogenesis of the bile duct during liver development. Overlaying the cells with ECM containing a Matrigel and collagen type I gel mixture promoted the development of a tubular bile duct structure. In this culture system, the expression of specific markers and signaling molecules related to biliary epithelial cell differentiation was highly upregulated during the ductal formation process. This bile duct structure also enabled the separate accumulation of metabolite analogs from liver parenchymal cells.

Conclusions

A morphogenesis-based culture system effectively establishes an advanced bile duct structure and improves the plasticity of liver models feasible for autologous in vitro metabolite-bile collection, which may enhance the performance of high-throughput liver models in cell-based assays.

Dual-platform affinity proteomics identifies links between the recurrence of ovarian carcinoma and proteins released into the tumor microenvironment

The peritoneal fluid (ascites), replete with abundant tumor-promoting factors and extracellular vesicles (EVs) reflecting the tumor secretome, plays an essential role in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) metastasis and immune suppression. A comprehensive picture of mediators impacting HGSC progression is, however, not available.

Methods: Proteins in ascites from HGSC patients were quantified by the aptamer-based SOMAscan affinity proteomic platform. SOMAscan data were analyzed by bioinformatic methods to reveal clinically relevant links and functional connections, and were validated using the antibody-based proximity extension assay (PEA) Olink platform. Mass spectrometry was used to identify proteins in extracellular microvesicles released by HGSC cells.

Results: Consistent with the clinical features of HGSC, 779 proteins in ascites identified by SOMAscan clustered into groups associated either with metastasis and a short relapse-free survival (RFS), or with immune regulation and a favorable RFS. In total, 346 proteins were linked to OC recurrence in either direction. Reanalysis of 214 of these proteins by PEA revealed an excellent median Spearman inter-platform correlation of ρ=0.82 for the 46 positively RFS-associated proteins in both datasets. Intriguingly, many proteins strongly associated with clinical outcome were constituents of extracellular vesicles. These include proteins either linked to a poor RFS, such as HSPA1A, BCAM and DKK1, or associated with a favorable outcome, such as the protein kinase LCK. Finally, based on these data we defined two protein signatures that clearly classify short-term and long-term relapse-free survivors.

Conclusion: The ascites secretome points to metastasis-promoting events and an anti-tumor response as the major determinants of the clinical outcome of HGSC. Relevant proteins include both bone fide secreted and vesicle-encapsulated polypeptides, many of which have previously not been linked to HGSC recurrence. Besides a deeper understanding of the HGSC microenvironment our data provide novel potential tools for HGSC patient stratification. Furthermore, the first large-scale inter-platform validation of SOMAscan and PEA will be invaluable for other studies using these affinity proteomics platforms.

Dimerization and phosphorylation of Lutheran/basal cell adhesion molecule are critical for its function in cell migration on laminin

Tumor cell migration depends on the interactions of adhesion proteins with the extracellular matrix. Lutheran/basal cell adhesion molecule (Lu/BCAM) promotes tumor cell migration by binding to laminin α5 chain, a subunit of laminins 511 and 521. Lu/BCAM is a type I transmembrane protein with a cytoplasmic domain of 59 (Lu) or 19 (Lu(v13)) amino acids. Here, using an array of techniques, including site-directed mutagenesis, immunoblotting, FRET, and proximity-ligation assays, we show that both Lu and Lu(v13) form homodimers at the cell surface of epithelial cancer cells. We mapped two small-XXX-small motifs in the transmembrane domain as potential sites for monomers docking and identified three cysteines in the cytoplasmic domain as being critical for covalently stabilizing dimers. We further found that Lu dimerization and phosphorylation of its cytoplasmic domain were concomitantly needed to promote cell migration. We conclude that Lu is the critical isoform supporting tumor cell migration on laminin 521 and that the Lu:Lu(v13) ratio at the cell surface may control the balance between cellular firm adhesion and migration.