Liver receptor homolog-1 (NR5A2) orchestrates hepatic inflammation and TNF-induced cell death.

The nuclear receptor liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) has been shown to promote apoptosis resistance in various tissues and disease contexts; however, its role in liver cell death remains unexplored. Hepatocyte-specific deletion of LRH-1 causes mild steatosis and inflammation but unexpectedly shields female mice from tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced hepatocyte apoptosis and associated hepatitis. LRH-1-deficient hepatocytes show markedly attenuated estrogen receptor alpha and elevated nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activity, while LRH-1 overexpression inhibits NF-κB activity. This inhibition relies on direct physical interaction of LRH-1's ligand-binding domain and the Rel homology domain of NF-κB subunit RelA. Mechanistically, increased transcription of anti-apoptotic NF-κB target genes and the proteasomal degradation of pro-apoptotic BCL-2 interacting mediator of cell death prevent mitochondrial apoptosis and ultimately protect mice from TNF-induced liver damage. Collectively, our study emphasizes LRH-1 as a critical, sex-dependent regulator of cell death and inflammation in the healthy and diseased liver.

Immune escape of colorectal tumours via local LRH-1/Cyp11b1-mediated synthesis of immunosuppressive glucocorticoids.

Control of tumour development and growth by the immune system critically defines patient fate and survival. What regulates the escape of colorectal tumours from destruction by the immune system remains currently unclear. Here, we investigated the role of intestinal synthesis of glucocorticoids in the tumour development during an inflammation-induced mouse model of colorectal cancer. We demonstrate that the local synthesis of immunoregulatory glucocorticoids has dual roles in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and tumour development. In the inflammation phase, LRH-1/Nr5A2-regulated and Cyp11b1-mediated intestinal glucocorticoid synthesis prevents tumour development and growth. In established tumours, however, tumour-autonomous Cyp11b1-mediated glucocorticoid synthesis suppresses anti-tumour immune responses and promotes immune escape. Transplantation of glucocorticoid synthesis-proficient colorectal tumour organoids into immunocompetent recipient mice resulted in rapid tumour growth, whereas transplantation of Cyp11b1-deleted and glucocorticoid synthesis-deficient tumour organoids was characterized by reduced tumour growth and increased immune cell infiltration. In human colorectal tumours, high expression of steroidogenic enzymes correlated with the expression of other immune checkpoints and suppressive cytokines, and negatively correlated with overall patients' survival. Thus, LRH-1-regulated tumour-specific glucocorticoid synthesis contributes to tumour immune escape and represents a novel potential therapeutic target.

LRH-1/NR5A2 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor to regulate glucocorticoid resistance.

Nuclear receptors are transcription factors with important functions in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Targeting glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity using glucocorticoids is a cornerstone in the treatment of patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), and resistance to GC-induced cell death is associated with poor outcome and a high risk for relapse. Next to ligand-binding, heterodimerization with other transcription factors presents an important mechanism for the regulation of GR activity. Here, we describe a GC-induced direct association of the Liver Receptor Homolog-1 (LRH-1) with the GR in the nucleus, which results in reciprocal inhibition of transcriptional activity. Pharmacological and molecular interference with LRH-1 impairs proliferation and survival in T-ALL and causes a profound sensitization to GC-induced cell death, even in GC-resistant T-ALL. Our data illustrate that direct interaction between GR and LRH-1 critically regulates glucocorticoid sensitivity in T-ALL opening up new perspectives for developing innovative therapeutic approaches to treat GC-resistant T-ALL.

Dynamics of neuroeffector coupling at cardiac sympathetic synapses.

KEY POINTS: The present study demonstrates, by in vitro and in vivo analyses, the novel concept that signal transmission between sympathetic neurons and the heart, underlying the physiological regulation of cardiac function, operates in a quasi-synaptic fashion. This is a result of the direct coupling between neurotransmitter releasing sites and effector cardiomyocyte membranes. ABSTRACT: Cardiac sympathetic neurons (SNs) finely tune the rate and strength of heart contractions to match blood demand, both at rest and during acute stress, through the release of noradrenaline (NE). Junctional sites at the interface between the two cell types have been observed, although whether direct neurocardiac coupling has a role in heart physiology has not been clearly demonstrated to date. We investigated the dynamics of SN/cardiomyocyte intercellular signalling, both by fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based imaging of cAMP in co-cultures, as a readout of cardiac ß-adrenergic receptor activation, and in vivo, using optogenetics in transgenic mice with SN-specific expression of Channelrhodopsin-2. We demonstrate that SNs and cardiomyocytes interact at specific sites in the human and rodent heart, as well as in co-cultures. Accordingly, neuronal activation elicited intracellular cAMP increases only in directly contacted myocytes and cell-cell coupling utilized a junctional extracellular signalling domain with an elevated NE concentration. In the living mouse, optogenetic activation of cardiac SNs innervating the sino-atrial node resulted in an instantaneous chronotropic effect, which shortened the heartbeat interval with single beat precision. Remarkably, inhibition of the optogenetically elicited chronotropic responses required a high dose of propranolol (20-50 mg kg-1 ), suggesting that sympathetic neurotransmission in the heart occurs at a locally elevated NE concentration. Our in vitro and in vivo data suggest that the control of cardiac function by SNs occurs via direct intercellular coupling as a result of the establishment of a specific junctional site.

Uptake of a fluorescent methyl-ß-cyclodextrin via clathrin-dependent endocytosis.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are widely used both in pharmaceutical applications to improve drug bioavailability and in cell biology as cholesterol-depleting and -delivering agents. Recently, it was shown that ß-CD covalently coupled to fluorescent dextran polymers accumulates in cholesterol-enriched lysosomal storage organelles of human fibroblasts (Rosenbaum et al., 2010). By employing a methyl-ßCD tagged with fluorescein (FMßCD), we have characterized the cellular trafficking of the CD in mammalian cell lines and its distribution into the endocytic compartments within the first minutes following addition to cells. FMßCD enters mammalian cells via endocytosis. The colocalization of FMßCD with transferrin-containing endosomes and the inhibition of FMßCD internalization by chlorpromazine or by an antisense RNA against clathrin heavy chain indicate that FMßCD is taken up via receptor-mediated, clathrin-dependent endocytosis. These results not only highlight the possibility of using CDs to target drugs intracellularly, but also warn about potential unwanted effects on cell physiology other than cholesterol extraction/loading at high concentrations, high temperatures and prolonged incubation times.

Bioinformatic and mutational analysis of channelrhodopsin-2 protein cation-conducting pathway.

Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) is a light-gated cation channel widely used as a biotechnological tool to control membrane depolarization in various cell types and tissues. Although several ChR2 variants with modified properties have been generated, the structural determinants of the protein function are largely unresolved. We used bioinformatic modeling of the ChR2 structure to identify the putative cationic pathway within the channel, which is formed by a system of inner cavities that are uniquely present in this microbial rhodopsin. Site-directed mutagenesis combined with patch clamp analysis in HeLa cells was used to determine key residues involved in ChR2 conductance and selectivity. Among them, Gln-56 is important for ion conductance, whereas Ser-63, Thr-250, and Asn-258 are previously unrecognized residues involved in ion selectivity and photocurrent kinetics. This study widens the current structural information on ChR2 and can assist in the design of new improved variants for specific biological applications.

Lateral distribution of the transmembrane domain of influenza virus hemagglutinin revealed by time-resolved fluorescence imaging.

Influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) has been suggested to be enriched in liquid-ordered lipid domains named rafts, which represent an important step in virus assembly. We employed Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) via fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to study the interaction of the cytoplasmic and transmembrane domain (TMD) of HA with agly co sylphos pha tidyl ino si tol (GPI)-anchored peptide, an established marker for rafts in the exoplasmic leaflet of living mammalian plasma membranes. Cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) was fused to GPI, whereas the HA sequence was tagged with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) on its exoplasmic site (TMD-HA-YFP), avoiding any interference of fluorescent proteins with the proposed role of the cytoplasmic domain in lateral organization of HA. Constructs were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) for which cholesterol-sensitive lipid nanodomains and their dimension in the plasma membrane have been described (Sharma, P., Varma, R., Sarasij, R. C., Ira, Gousset, K., Krishnamoorthy, G., Rao, M., and Mayor, S. (2004) Cell 116, 577-589). Upon transfection in CHO-K1 cells, TMD-HA-YFP is partially expressed as a dimer. Only dimers are targeted to the plasma membrane. Clustering of TMD-HA-YFP with GPI-CFP was observed and shown to be reduced upon cholesterol depletion, a treatment known to disrupt rafts. No indication for association of TMD-HA-YFP with GPI-CFP was found when palmitoylation, an important determinant of raft targeting, was suppressed. Clustering of TMD-HA-YFP and GPI-CFP was also observed in purified plasma membrane suspensions by homoFRET. We concluded that the pal mit oy lated TMD-HA alone is sufficient to recruit HA to cholesterol-sensitive nanodomains. The corresponding construct of the spike protein E2 of Semliki Forest virus did not partition preferentially in such domains.

Functional implications of the influence of ABCA1 on lipid microenvironment at the plasma membrane: a biophysical study.

The ABCA1 transporter orchestrates cellular lipid homeostasis by promoting the release of cholesterol to plasmatic acceptors. The molecular mechanism is, however, unknown. We report here on the biophysical analysis in living HeLa cells of the ABCA1 lipid microenvironment at the plasma membrane. The modifications of membrane attributes induced by ABCA1 were assessed at both the outer and inner leaflet by monitoring either the lifetime of membrane inserted fluorescent lipid analogues by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) or, respectively, the membrane translocation of cationic sensors. Analysis of the partitioning of dedicated probes in plasma membrane blebs vesiculated from these cells allowed visualization of ABCA1 partitioning into the liquid disordered-like phase and corroborated the idea that ABCA1 destabilizes the lipid arrangement at the membrane. Specificity was demonstrated by comparison with cells expressing an inactive transporter. The physiological relevance of these modifications was finally demonstrated by the reduced membrane mobility and function of transferrin receptors under the influence of an active ABCA1. Collectively, these data assess that the control of both transversal and lateral lipid distribution at the membrane is the primary function of ABCA1 and positions the effluxes of cholesterol from cell membranes downstream to the redistribution of the sterol into readily extractable membrane pools.

Detection of lipid domains in model and cell membranes by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of fluorescent lipid analogues.

The presence of lipid domains in cellular membranes and their characteristic features are still an issue of dividing discussion. Several recent studies implicate lipid domains in plasma membranes of mammalian cells as short lived and in the submicron range. Measuring the fluorescence lifetime of appropriate lipid analogues is a proper approach to detect domains with such properties. Here, the sensitivity of the fluorescence lifetime of1-palmitoyl-2-[6-[(7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]-hexanoyl]-sn-glycero-3-phospholipid (C6-NBD-phospholipid) analogues has been employed to characterize lipid domains in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and the plasma membrane of mammalian cells by fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). Fluorescence decay of C6-NBD-phosphatidylcholine is characterized by a short and long lifetime. For GUVs forming microscopically visible lipid domains the longer lifetime in the liquid disordered (ld) and the liquid ordered (lo) phase was clearly distinct, being approximately 7 ns and 11 ns, respectively. Lifetimes were not sensitive to variation of cholesterol concentration of domain-forming GUVs indicating that the lipid composition and physical properties of those lipid domains are well defined entities. Even the existence of submicroscopic domains can be detected by FLIM as demonstrated for GUVs of palmitoyloleoyl phosphatidylcholine/N-palmitoyl-d-sphingomyelin/cholesterol mixtures. A broad distribution of the long lifetime was found for C6-NBD-phosphatidylcholine inserted in the plasma membrane of HepG2 and HeLa cells centered around 11 ns. FLIM studies on lipid domains forming giant vesicles derived from the plasma membrane of HeLa cells may suggest that a variety of submicroscopic lipid domains exists in the plasma membrane of intact cells.