Loss of regulation of protein synthesis and turnover underpins an attenuated stress response in senescent human mesenchymal stem cells.

Cells respond to stress by synthesizing chaperone proteins that seek to correct protein misfolding and maintain function. However, abrogation of protein homeostasis is a hallmark of aging, leading to loss of function and the formation of proteotoxic aggregates characteristic of pathology. Consequently, discovering the underlying molecular causes of this deterioration in proteostasis is key to designing effective interventions to disease or to maintaining cell health in regenerative medicine strategies. Here, we examined primary human mesenchymal stem cells, cultured to a point of replicative senescence and subjected to heat shock, as an in vitro model of the aging stress response. Multi -omics analysis showed how homeostasis components were reduced in senescent cells, caused by dysregulation of a functional network of chaperones, thereby limiting proteostatic competence. Time-resolved analysis of the primary response factors, including those regulating heat shock protein 70 kDa (HSPA1A), revealed that regulatory control is essentially translational. Senescent cells have a reduced capacity for chaperone protein translation and misfolded protein (MFP) turnover, driven by downregulation of ribosomal proteins and loss of the E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP (C-terminus of HSP70 interacting protein) which marks MFPs for degradation. This limits the cell's stress response and subsequent recovery. A kinetic model recapitulated these reduced capacities and predicted an accumulation of MFP, a hypothesis supported by evidence of systematic changes to the proteomic fold state. These results thus establish a specific loss of regulatory capacity at the protein, rather than transcript, level and uncover underlying systematic links between aging and loss of protein homeostasis.

Translation is an emerging constraint on protein homeostasis in ageing.

Proteins are molecular machines that provide structure and perform vital transport, signalling and enzymatic roles. Proteins expressed by cells require tight regulation of their concentration, folding, localisation, and modifications; however, this state of protein homeostasis is continuously perturbed by tissue-level stresses. While cells in healthy tissues are able to buffer against these perturbations, for example, by expression of chaperone proteins, protein homeostasis is lost in ageing, and can lead to protein aggregation characteristic of protein folding diseases. Here, we review reports of a progressive disconnect between transcriptomic and proteomic regulation during cellular ageing. We discuss how age-associated changes to cellular responses to specific stressors in the tissue microenvironment are exacerbated by loss of ribosomal proteins, ribosomal pausing, and mistranslation.

Epithelial disruption drives mesendoderm differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells by enabling TGF-ß protein sensing.

The processes of primitive streak formation and fate specification in the mammalian epiblast rely on complex interactions between morphogens and tissue organization. Little is known about how these instructive cues functionally interact to regulate gastrulation. We interrogated the interplay between tissue organization and morphogens by using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) downregulated for the morphogen regulator GLYPICAN-4, in which defects in tight junctions result in areas of disrupted epithelial integrity. Remarkably, this phenotype does not affect hiPSC stemness, but impacts on cell fate acquisition. Strikingly, cells within disrupted areas become competent to perceive the gastrulation signals BMP4 and ACTIVIN A, an in vitro surrogate for NODAL, and thus differentiate into mesendoderm. Yet, disruption of epithelial integrity sustains activation of BMP4 and ACTIVIN A downstream effectors and correlates with enhanced hiPSC endoderm/mesoderm differentiation. Altogether, our results disclose epithelial integrity as a key determinant of TGF-ß activity and highlight an additional mechanism guiding morphogen sensing and spatial cell fate change within an epithelium.

Cell Cycle Heterogeneity Can Generate Robust Cell Type Proportioning.

Cell-cell heterogeneity can facilitate lineage choice during embryonic development because it primes cells to respond to differentiation cues. However, remarkably little is known about the origin of heterogeneity or whether intrinsic and extrinsic variation can be controlled to generate reproducible cell type proportioning seen in vivo. Here, we use experimentation and modeling in D. discoideum to demonstrate that population-level cell cycle heterogeneity can be optimized to generate robust cell fate proportioning. First, cell cycle position is quantitatively linked to responsiveness to differentiation-inducing signals. Second, intrinsic variation in cell cycle length ensures cells are randomly distributed throughout the cell cycle at the onset of multicellular development. Finally, extrinsic perturbation of optimal cell cycle heterogeneity is buffered by compensatory changes in global signal responsiveness. These studies thus illustrate key regulatory principles underlying cell-cell heterogeneity optimization and the generation of robust and reproducible fate choice in development.