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Schwab M, de Trizio I, Ghobrial M, Shiu JY, Sürücü O, Girolamo F, Errede M, Yilmaz M, Haybaeck J, Moiraghi A, Monnier PP, Lawler SE, Greenfield JP, Radovanovic I, Frei K, Schlapbach R, Vogel V, Virgintino D, De Bock K, Wälchli T. Nucleolin promotes angiogenesis and endothelial metabolism along the onco-fetal axis in the human brain vasculature. JCI Insight 2023; 8:143071. [PMID: 36917178 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.143071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma is amongst the deadliest human cancers and is highly vascularized. Angiogenesis is very dynamic during brain development, almost quiescent in the adult brain but reactivated in vascular-dependent CNS pathologies including brain tumors. The onco-fetal axis describes the reactivation of fetal programs in tumors, but its relevance in endothelial- and perivascular cells of the human brain vasculature in glial brain tumors is unexplored. Nucleolin is a regulator of cell proliferation and angiogenesis, but its roles in the brain vasculature remain unknown. Here, we studied the expression of Nucleolin in the neurovascular unit in human fetal brains, adult brains and human gliomas in vivo and its effects on sprouting angiogenesis and endothelial metabolism in vitro. Nucleolin is highly expressed in endothelial- and perivascular cells during brain development, downregulated in the adult brain, and upregulated in glioma. Moreover, Nucleolin expression correlated with glioma malignancy in vivo. In culture, siRNA-mediated Nucleolin knock-down reduced human brain endothelial cell (HCMEC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) sprouting angiogenesis, proliferation, filopodia extension, and glucose metabolism. Furthermore, inhibition of Nucleolin with the aptamer AS1411 decreased brain endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. Mechanistically, Nucleolin knock-down in HCMECs and HUVECs uncovered regulation of angiogenesis involving VEGFR2 and of endothelial glycolysis. These findings identify Nucleolin as a neurodevelopmental factor reactivated in glioma that promotes sprouting angiogenesis and endothelial metabolism, characterizing Nucleolin as an onco-fetal protein. Our findings have potential implications in the therapeutic targeting of glioma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Schwab
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ignazio de Trizio
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Moheb Ghobrial
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jau-Ye Shiu
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Oguzkan Sürücü
- Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Center for Psychiatry Emmendingen, Emmendingen, Switzerland
| | | | - Mariella Errede
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Murat Yilmaz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | | | - Alessandro Moiraghi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hosptial Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Philippe P Monnier
- Genetics and Development, Toronto Western Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
| | - Sean E Lawler
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey P Greenfield
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Karl Frei
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ralph Schlapbach
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Viola Vogel
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Katrien De Bock
- Laboratory of Exercise and Health, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Errede M, Annese T, Petrosino V, Longo G, Girolamo F, de Trizio I, d'Amati A, Uccelli A, Kerlero de Rosbo N, Virgintino D. Microglia-derived CCL2 has a prime role in neocortex neuroinflammation. Fluids Barriers CNS 2022; 19:68. [PMID: 36042496 PMCID: PMC9429625 DOI: 10.1186/s12987-022-00365-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), several areas of demyelination are detectable in mouse cerebral cortex, where neuroinflammation events are associated with scarce inflammatory infiltrates and blood–brain barrier (BBB) impairment. In this condition, the administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) controls neuroinflammation, attenuating astrogliosis and promoting the acquisition of stem cell traits by astrocytes. To contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of EAE in gray matter and in the reverting effects of MSC treatment, the neocortex of EAE-affected mice was investigated by analyzing the cellular source(s) of chemokine CCL2, a molecule involved in immune cell recruitment and BBB-microvessel leakage. Methods The study was carried out by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and dual RNAscope IHC/in situ hybridization methods, using astrocyte, NG2-glia, macrophage/microglia, and microglia elective markers combined with CCL2. Results The results showed that in EAE-affected mice, hypertrophic microglia are the primary source of CCL2, surround the cortex neurons and the damaged BBB microvessels. In EAE-affected mice treated with MSCs, microgliosis appeared diminished very soon (6 h) after treatment, an observation that was long-lasting (tested after 10 days). This was associated with a reduced CCL2 expression and with apparently preserved/restored BBB features. In conclusion, the hallmark of EAE in the mouse neocortex is a condition of microgliosis characterized by high levels of CCL2 expression. Conclusions This finding supports relevant pathogenetic and clinical aspects of the human disease, while the demonstrated early control of neuroinflammation and BBB permeability exerted by treatment with MSCs may have important therapeutic implications. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12987-022-00365-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariella Errede
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Tiziana Annese
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, LUM University, Casamassima Bari, Italy
| | - Valentina Petrosino
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Giovanna Longo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Girolamo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Ignazio de Trizio
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio d'Amati
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy.,Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Pathology Section, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Uccelli
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Nicole Kerlero de Rosbo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.,TomaLab, Institute of Nanotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Virgintino
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience, and Sensory Organs, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza Giulio Cesare, Policlinics, 70124, Bari, Italy.
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Girolamo F, de Trizio I, Errede M, Longo G, d'Amati A, Virgintino D. Neural crest cell-derived pericytes act as pro-angiogenic cells in human neocortex development and gliomas. Fluids Barriers CNS 2021; 18:14. [PMID: 33743764 PMCID: PMC7980348 DOI: 10.1186/s12987-021-00242-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Central nervous system diseases involving the parenchymal microvessels are frequently associated with a ‘microvasculopathy’, which includes different levels of neurovascular unit (NVU) dysfunction, including blood–brain barrier alterations. To contribute to the understanding of NVU responses to pathological noxae, we have focused on one of its cellular components, the microvascular pericytes, highlighting unique features of brain pericytes with the aid of the analyses carried out during vascularization of human developing neocortex and in human gliomas. Thanks to their position, centred within the endothelial/glial partition of the vessel basal lamina and therefore inserted between endothelial cells and the perivascular and vessel-associated components (astrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs)/NG2-glia, microglia, macrophages, nerve terminals), pericytes fulfil a central role within the microvessel NVU. Indeed, at this critical site, pericytes have a number of direct and extracellular matrix molecule- and soluble factor-mediated functions, displaying marked phenotypical and functional heterogeneity and carrying out multitasking services. This pericytes heterogeneity is primarily linked to their position in specific tissue and organ microenvironments and, most importantly, to their ontogeny. During ontogenesis, pericyte subtypes belong to two main embryonic germ layers, mesoderm and (neuro)ectoderm, and are therefore expected to be found in organs ontogenetically different, nonetheless, pericytes of different origin may converge and colonize neighbouring areas of the same organ/apparatus. Here, we provide a brief overview of the unusual roles played by forebrain pericytes in the processes of angiogenesis and barriergenesis by virtue of their origin from midbrain neural crest stem cells. A better knowledge of the ontogenetic subpopulations may support the understanding of specific interactions and mechanisms involved in pericyte function/dysfunction, including normal and pathological angiogenesis, thereby offering an alternative perspective on cell subtype-specific therapeutic approaches. ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Girolamo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.
| | - Ignazio de Trizio
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.,Intensive Care Unit, Department of Intensive Care, Regional Hospital of Lugano, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Mariella Errede
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Giovanna Longo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Molecular Biology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio d'Amati
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.,Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Pathology Section, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Daniela Virgintino
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
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Girolamo F, de Trizio I, Errede M, Longo G, d’Amati A, Virgintino D. Neural crest cell-derived pericytes act as pro-angiogenic cells in human neocortex development and gliomas. Fluids Barriers CNS 2021. [DOI: 10.1186/s12987-021-00242-7 union select null--] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractCentral nervous system diseases involving the parenchymal microvessels are frequently associated with a ‘microvasculopathy’, which includes different levels of neurovascular unit (NVU) dysfunction, including blood–brain barrier alterations. To contribute to the understanding of NVU responses to pathological noxae, we have focused on one of its cellular components, the microvascular pericytes, highlighting unique features of brain pericytes with the aid of the analyses carried out during vascularization of human developing neocortex and in human gliomas. Thanks to their position, centred within the endothelial/glial partition of the vessel basal lamina and therefore inserted between endothelial cells and the perivascular and vessel-associated components (astrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs)/NG2-glia, microglia, macrophages, nerve terminals), pericytes fulfil a central role within the microvessel NVU. Indeed, at this critical site, pericytes have a number of direct and extracellular matrix molecule- and soluble factor-mediated functions, displaying marked phenotypical and functional heterogeneity and carrying out multitasking services. This pericytes heterogeneity is primarily linked to their position in specific tissue and organ microenvironments and, most importantly, to their ontogeny. During ontogenesis, pericyte subtypes belong to two main embryonic germ layers, mesoderm and (neuro)ectoderm, and are therefore expected to be found in organs ontogenetically different, nonetheless, pericytes of different origin may converge and colonize neighbouring areas of the same organ/apparatus. Here, we provide a brief overview of the unusual roles played by forebrain pericytes in the processes of angiogenesis and barriergenesis by virtue of their origin from midbrain neural crest stem cells. A better knowledge of the ontogenetic subpopulations may support the understanding of specific interactions and mechanisms involved in pericyte function/dysfunction, including normal and pathological angiogenesis, thereby offering an alternative perspective on cell subtype-specific therapeutic approaches.
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de Trizio I, Errede M, d'Amati A, Girolamo F, Virgintino D. Expression of P-gp in Glioblastoma: What we can Learn from Brain Development. Curr Pharm Des 2020; 26:1428-1437. [PMID: 32186270 DOI: 10.2174/1381612826666200318130625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
P-Glycoprotein (P-gp) is a 170-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein that works as an efflux pump and confers multidrug resistance (MDR) in normal tissues and tumors, including nervous tissues and brain tumors. In the developing telencephalon, the endothelial expression of P-gp, and the subcellular localization of the transporter at the luminal endothelial cell (EC) plasma membrane are early hallmarks of blood-brain barrier (BBB) differentiation and suggest a functional BBB activity that may complement the placental barrier function and the expression of P-gp at the blood-placental interface. In early fetal ages, P-gp has also been immunolocalized on radial glia cells (RGCs), located in the proliferative ventricular zone (VZ) of the dorsal telencephalon and now considered to be neural progenitor cells (NPCs). RG-like NPCs have been found in many regions of the developing brain and have been suggested to give rise to neural stem cells (NSCs) of adult subventricular (SVZ) neurogenic niches. The P-gp immunosignal, associated with RG-like NPCs during cortical histogenesis, progressively decreases in parallel with the last waves of neuroblast migrations, while 'outer' RGCs and the deriving astrocytes do not stain for the efflux transporter. These data suggest that in human glioblastoma (GBM), P-gp expressed by ECs may be a negligible component of tumor MDR. Instead, tumor perivascular astrocytes may dedifferentiate and resume a progenitor-like P-gp activity, becoming MDR cells and contribute, together with perivascular P-gpexpressing glioma stem-like cells (GSCs), to the MDR profile of GBM vessels. In conclusion, the analysis of Pgp immunolocalization during brain development may contribute to identify the multiple cellular sources in the GBM vessels that may be involved in P-gp-mediated chemoresistance and can be responsible for GBM therapy failure and tumor recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignazio de Trizio
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.,Department of Neurosurgery, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Regional Hospital Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Mariella Errede
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio d'Amati
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Girolamo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Daniela Virgintino
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
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Errede M, Mangieri D, Longo G, Girolamo F, de Trizio I, Vimercati A, Serio G, Frei K, Perris R, Virgintino D. Tunneling nanotubes evoke pericyte/endothelial communication during normal and tumoral angiogenesis. Fluids Barriers CNS 2018; 15:28. [PMID: 30290761 PMCID: PMC6173884 DOI: 10.1186/s12987-018-0114-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nanotubular structures, denoted tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have been described in recent times as involved in cell-to-cell communication between distant cells. Nevertheless, TNT-like, long filopodial processes had already been described in the last century as connecting facing, growing microvessels during the process of cerebral cortex vascularization and collateralization. Here we have investigated the possible presence and the cellular origin of TNTs during normal brain vascularization and also in highly vascularized brain tumors. METHODS We searched for TNTs by high-resolution immunofluorescence confocal microscopy, applied to the analysis of 20-µm, thick sections from lightly fixed, unembedded samples of both developing cerebral cortex and human glioblastoma (GB), immunolabeled for endothelial, pericyte, and astrocyte markers, and vessel basal lamina molecules. RESULTS The results revealed the existence of pericyte-derived TNTs, labeled by proteoglycan NG2/CSPG4 and CD146. In agreement with the described heterogeneity of these nanostructures, ultra-long (> 300 µm) and very thin (< 0.8 µm) TNTs were observed to bridge the gap between the wall of distant vessels, or were detected as short (< 300 µm) bridging cables connecting a vessel sprout with its facing vessel or two apposed vessel sprouts. The pericyte origin of TNTs ex vivo in fetal cortex and GB was confirmed by in vitro analysis of brain pericytes, which were able to form and remained connected by typical TNT structures. CONCLUSIONS None of the multiple roles described for TNTs can be excluded from a possible involvement during the processes of both normal and pathological vessel growth. A possible function, suggested by the pioneering studies made during cerebral cortex vascularization, is in cell searching and cell-to-cell recognition during the processes of vessel collateralization and vascular network formation. According to our results, it is definitely the pericyte-derived TNTs that seem to actively explore the surrounding microenvironment, searching for (site-to-site recognition), and connecting with (pericyte-to-pericyte and/or pericyte-to-endothelial cell communication), the targeted vessels. This idea implies that TNTs may have a primary role in the very early phases of both physiological and tumor angiogenesis in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariella Errede
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Domenica Mangieri
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Biomedical Unit 'E. Altomare', University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Giovanna Longo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Molecular Biology Laboratory, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Girolamo
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Ignazio de Trizio
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.,Department of Neurosurgery, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Regional Hospital Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Antonella Vimercati
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Gabriella Serio
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Division of Pathology, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy
| | - Karl Frei
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Perris
- COMT-Centre for Molecular and Translational Oncology & Department of Chemical and Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Daniela Virgintino
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University of Bari School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.
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