Autocrine IL-6 drives cell and extracellular matrix anisotropy in scar fibroblasts

Fibrosis is associated with dramatic changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) architecture of unknown etiology. Here we exploit keloid scars as a paradigm to understand fibrotic ECM organization. We reveal that keloid patient fibroblasts uniquely produce a globally aligned ECM network in 2-D culture as observed in scar tissue. ECM anisotropy develops after rapid initiation of a fibroblast supracellular actin network, suggesting that cell alignment initiates ECM patterning. Keloid fibroblasts produce elevated levels of IL-6, and autocrine IL-6 production is both necessary and sufficient to induce cell and ECM alignment, as evidenced by ligand stimulation of normal dermal fibroblasts and treatment of keloid fibroblasts with the function blocking IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody, tocilizumab. Downstream of IL-6, supracellular organization of keloid fibroblasts is controlled by activation of cell-cell adhesion. Adhesion formation inhibits contact-induced cellular overlap leading to nematic organization of cells and an alignment of focal adhesions. Keloid fibroblasts placed on isotropic ECM align the pre-existing matrix, suggesting that focal adhesion alignment leads to active anisotropic remodeling. These results show that IL-6-induced fibroblast cooperativity can control the development of a nematic ECM, highlighting both IL-6 signaling and cell-cell adhesions as potential therapeutic targets to inhibit this common feature of fibrosis.

A workflow for rapid unbiased quantification of fibrillar feature alignment in biological images

Measuring the organisation of the cellular cytoskeleton and the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) is currently of wide interest as changes in both local and global alignment can highlight alterations in cellular functions and material properties of the extracellular environment. Different approaches have been developed to quantify these structures, typically based on fibre segmentation or on matrix representation and transformation of the image, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here we present AFT-Alignment by Fourier Transform, a workflow to quantify the alignment of fibrillar features in microscopy images exploiting 2D Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT). Using pre-existing datasets of cell and ECM images, we demonstrate our approach and compare and contrast this workflow with two other well-known ImageJ algorithms to quantify image feature alignment. These comparisons reveal that AFT has a number of advantages due to its grid-based FFT approach. 1) Flexibility in defining the window and neighbourhood sizes allows for performing a parameter search to determine an optimal length scale to carry out alignment metrics. This approach can thus easily accommodate different image resolutions and biological systems. 2) The length scale of decay in alignment can be extracted by comparing neighbourhood sizes, revealing the overall distance that features remain anisotropic. 3) The approach is ambivalent to the signal source, thus making it applicable for a wide range of imaging modalities and is dependent on fewer input parameters than segmentation methods. 4) Finally, compared to segmentation methods, this algorithm is computationally inexpensive, as high-resolution images can be evaluated in less than a second on a standard desktop computer. This makes it feasible to screen numerous experimental perturbations or examine large images over long length scales. Implementation is made available in both MATLAB and Python for wider accessibility, with example datasets for single images and batch processing. Additionally, we include an approach to automatically search parameters for optimum window and neighbourhood sizes, as well as to measure the decay in alignment over progressively increasing length scales.

A developmental basis for the anatomical diversity of dermis in homeostasis and wound repair

The dermis has disparate embryonic origins; abdominal dermis develops from lateral plate mesoderm, dorsal dermis from paraxial mesoderm and facial dermis from neural crest. However, the cell and molecular differences and their functional implications have not been described. We hypothesise that the embryonic origin of the dermis underpins regional characteristics of skin, including its response to wounding. We have compared abdomen, back and cheek, three anatomical sites representing the distinct embryonic tissues from which the dermis can arise, during homeostasis and wound repair using RNA sequencing, histology and fibroblast cultures. Our transcriptional analyses demonstrate differences between body sites that reflect their diverse origins. Moreover, we report histological and transcriptional variations during a wound response, including site differences in ECM composition, cell migration and proliferation, and re‐enactment of distinct developmental programmes. These findings reveal profound regional variation in the mechanisms of tissue repair. © 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Persistent and polarized global actin flow is essential for directionality during cell migration

Cell migration is hypothesized to involve a cycle of behaviours beginning with leading edge extension. However, recent evidence suggests that the leading edge may be dispensable for migration, raising the question of what actually controls cell directionality. Here, we exploit the embryonic migration of Drosophila macrophages to bridge the different temporal scales of the behaviours controlling motility. This approach reveals that edge fluctuations during random motility are not persistent and are weakly correlated with motion. In contrast, flow of the actin network behind the leading edge is highly persistent. Quantification of actin flow structure during migration reveals a stable organization and asymmetry in the cell-wide flowfield that strongly correlates with cell directionality. This organization is regulated by a gradient of actin network compression and destruction, which is controlled by myosin contraction and cofilin-mediated disassembly. It is this stable actin-flow polarity, which integrates rapid fluctuations of the leading edge, that controls inherent cellular persistence.

Heterotypic contact inhibition of locomotion can drive cell sorting between epithelial and mesenchymal cell populations

Interactions between different cell types can induce distinct contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL) responses that are hypothesised to control population-wide behaviours during embryogenesis. However, our understanding of the signals that lead to cell-type specific repulsion and the precise capacity of heterotypic CIL responses to drive emergent behaviours is lacking. Using a new model of heterotypic CIL, we show that fibrosarcoma cells, but not fibroblasts, are actively repelled by epithelial cells in culture. We show that knocking down EphB2 or ERK in fibrosarcoma cells specifically leads to disruption of the repulsion phase of CIL in response to interactions with epithelial cells. We also examine the population-wide effects when these various cell combinations are allowed to interact in culture. Unlike fibroblasts, fibrosarcoma cells completely segregate from epithelial cells and inhibiting their distinct CIL response by knocking down EphB2 or ERK family proteins also disrupts this emergent sorting behaviour. These data suggest that heterotypic CIL responses, in conjunction with processes such as differential adhesion, may aid the sorting of cell populations.

Summary: Active cell repulsion, driven by ephrin and ERK signalling, is required for fibrosarcoma cells to segregate from epithelial cells in culture.

Tissue stiffening promotes keratinocyte proliferation via activation of epidermal growth factor signaling

Tissue biomechanics regulate a wide range of cellular functions, but the influences on epidermal homeostasis and repair remain unclear. Here, we examined the role of extracellular matrix stiffness on human keratinocyte behavior using elastomeric substrates with defined mechanical properties. Increased matrix stiffness beyond normal physiologic levels promoted keratinocyte proliferation but did not alter the ability to self-renew or terminally differentiate. Activation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling mediated the proliferative response to matrix stiffness and depended on focal adhesion assembly and cytoskeletal tension. Comparison of normal skin with keloid scar tissue further revealed an up-regulation of EGF signaling within the epidermis of stiffened scar tissue. We conclude that matrix stiffness regulates keratinocyte proliferation independently of changes in cell fate and is mediated by EGF signaling. These findings provide mechanistic insights into how keratinocytes sense and respond to their mechanical environment and suggest that matrix biomechanics may play a role in the pathogenesis keloid scar formation.