Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Alleviate Hepatic Fibrosis Phenotypes In Vitro.

Exposure to metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can result in inadvertent NP accumulation in body tissues. While their subsequent cellular interactions can lead to unintended consequences and are generally regarded as detrimental for health, they can on occasion mediate biologically beneficial effects. Among NPs, cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NP) possess strong antioxidant properties and have shown to alleviate certain pathological conditions. Herein, we show that the presence of cubic 25 nm CeO2 NP was able to reduce TGF-ß-mediated activation in the cultured hepatic stellate cell line LX2 by reducing oxidative stress levels and TGF-ß-mediated signalling. These cells displayed reduced classical liver fibrosis phenotypes, such as diminished fibrogenesis, altered matrix degradation, decreased cell motility, modified contractability and potentially lowered autophagy. These findings demonstrate that CeO2 NP may be able to ameliorate hepatic fibrosis and suggest a possible therapeutic pathway for an otherwise difficult-to-treat condition.

All Roads Lead to the Liver: Metal Nanoparticles and Their Implications for Liver Health.

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are frequently encountered in daily life, and concerns have been raised about their toxicity and safety. Among which, they naturally accumulate in the liver after introduction into the body, independent of the route of administration. Some NPs exhibit intrinsic pharmaceutical effects that are related to their physical parameters, and their inadvertent accumulation in the liver can exert strong effects on liver function and structure. Even as such physiological consequences are often categorically dismissed as toxic and deleterious, there are cell type-specific and NP-specific biological responses that elicit distinctive pharmacological consequences that can be harnessed for good. By limiting the scope of discussion to metallic NPs, this work attempts to provide a balanced perspective on their safety in the liver, and discusses both possible therapeutic benefits and potential accidental liver damage arising from their interaction with specific parenchymal and nonparenchymal cell types in the liver.

Cavin-2 regulates the activity and stability of endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) in angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis is a highly regulated process for formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Angiogenesis is dysregulated in various pathologies, including age-related macular degeneration, arthritis, and cancer. Inhibiting pathological angiogenesis therefore represents a promising therapeutic strategy for treating these disorders, highlighting the need to study angiogenesis in more detail. To this end, identifying the genes essential for blood vessel formation and elucidating their function are crucial for a complete understanding of angiogenesis. Here, focusing on potential candidate genes for angiogenesis, we performed a morpholino-based genetic screen in zebrafish and identified Cavin-2, a membrane-bound phosphatidylserine-binding protein and critical organizer of caveolae (small microdomains in the plasma membrane), as a regulator of angiogenesis. Using endothelial cells, we show that Cavin-2 is required for in vitro angiogenesis and also for endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We noted a high level of Cavin-2 expression in the neovascular tufts in the mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy, suggesting a role for Cavin-2 in pathogenic angiogenesis. Interestingly, we also found that Cavin-2 regulates the production of nitric oxide (NO) in endothelial cells by controlling the stability and activity of the endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) and that Cavin-2 knockdown cells produce much less NO than WT cells. Also, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, and electron microscopy analyses indicated that Cavin-2 is secreted in endothelial microparticles (EMPs) and is required for EMP biogenesis. Taken together, our results indicate that in addition to its function in caveolae biogenesis, Cavin-2 plays a critical role in endothelial cell maintenance and function by regulating eNOS activity.

Mutations in CCDC11, which encodes a coiled-coil containing ciliary protein, causes situs inversus due to dysmotility of monocilia in the left-right organizer.

In vertebrates, establishment of left-right (LR) asymmetry is dependent on cilia-driven fluid flow within the LR organizer. Mutations in CCDC11 disrupt LR asymmetry in humans, but how the gene functions in LR patterning is presently unknown. We describe a patient with situs inversus totalis carrying homozygous loss-of-function mutations in CCDC11. We show that CCDC11 is an axonemal protein in respiratory cilia, but is largely dispensable for their structure and motility. To investigate the role of CCDC11 in LR development, we studied the zebrafish homolog of the gene. Like in human respiratory cilia, loss of Ccdc11 causes minor defects in the motility of zebrafish kidney cilia, although the protein localizes to their axonemes and base. By contrast, Ccdc11 localizes exclusively to the basal bodies of cilia within Kupffer's vesicle, the organ of laterality of teleost fishes, and within the spinal canal. Moreover, the rotational motion of the cilia in these tissues of ccdc11-deficient embryos was strongly impaired. Our findings demonstrate that CCDC11 has a conserved essential function in cilia of the vertebrate LR organizer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ciliary component, which has a differential localization and function in different kinds of motile cilia.

Extracellular Vesicle Proteome of Breast Cancer Patients with and Without Cognitive Impairment Following Anthracycline-based Chemotherapy: An Exploratory Study.

Cognitive impairment due to cancer and its therapy is a major concern among cancer patients and survivors. Extracellular vesicle (EVs) composition altered by cancer and chemotherapy may affect neurological processes such as neuroplasticity, potentially impacting the cognitive abilities of cancer patients and survivors. We investigated the EV proteome of breast cancer patients with and without cognitive impairment following anthracycline-based chemotherapy from longitudinally collected plasma. EVs were cup-shaped and positive for Flotillin-1 and TSG-101. We identified 517 differentially expressed EV proteins between the cognitive impaired and non-impaired groups during and post-chemotherapy. The observed decreased expression of p2X purinoceptor, cofilin-1, ADAM 10, and dynamin-1 in the plasma EVs of the cognitive impaired group may suggest alterations in the mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity. The reduced expression of tight junction proteins among cognitive-impaired patients may imply weakening of the blood-brain barrier. These EV protein signatures may serve as a fingerprint that underscores the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in cancer patients and survivors.

Gold-substituted Silver-intensified Peroxidase Immunolabeling for FIB-SEM Imaging.

Modern electron microscopy offers a wide variety of tools to investigate the ultrastructural organization of cells and tissues and to accurately pinpoint intracellular localizations of macromolecules of interest. New volumetric electron microscopy techniques and new instrumentation provide unique opportunities for high-throughput analysis of comparatively large volumes of tissue and their complete reconstitution in three-dimensional (3D) electron microscopy. However, due to a variety of technical issues such as the limited penetration of label into the tissue, low antigen preservation, substantial electron density of secondary detection reagents, and many others, the adaptation of immuno-detection techniques for use with such 3D imaging methods as focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) has been challenging. Here, we describe a sample preparation method for 3D FIB-SEM, which results in an optimal preservation and staining of ultrastructural details at a resolution necessary for tracing immunolabeled neuronal structures and detailed reconstruction of synapses. This technique is applicable to neuronal and non-neuronal cells, tissues, and a wide variety of antigens.

Evaluating the insecticide resistance potential of eight Drosophila melanogaster cytochrome P450 genes by transgenic over-expression.

In Drosophila melanogaster, the increased expression of Cyp6g1 results in resistance to chemically unrelated insecticides including DDT, neonicotinoids and insect growth regulator insecticides. To determine the insecticide resistance capacity of other D. melanogaster cytochrome P450s, we used the GAL4/UAS system to express individual P450s in the midgut, Malpighian tubules and fat body of transgenic flies. Drosophila over-expressing Cyp6g1, Cyp6g2, Cyp6t3, Cyp6a2, Cyp6a8, Cyp6a19, Cyp6a23 and Cyp12d1 were screened for resistance to four insecticides--DDT, nitenpyram, dicyclanil and diazinon. Increased survival on insecticides is detected for Cyp6g1 (DDT, nitenpyram and dicyclanil), Cyp6g2 (nitenpyram and diazinon) and Cyp12d1 (DDT and dicyclanil) over-expression lines. No increased survival on any insecticide was detected for flies over-expressing either Cyp6a2, Cyp6a8, Cyp6t3, Cyp6a19 or Cyp6a23.

CXCR4 identifies transitional bone marrow premonocytes that replenish the mature monocyte pool for peripheral responses.

It is well established that Ly6Chi monocytes develop from common monocyte progenitors (cMoPs) and reside in the bone marrow (BM) until they are mobilized into the circulation. In our study, we found that BM Ly6Chi monocytes are not a homogenous population, as current data would suggest. Using computational analysis approaches to interpret multidimensional datasets, we demonstrate that BM Ly6Chi monocytes consist of two distinct subpopulations (CXCR4hi and CXCR4lo subpopulations) in both mice and humans. Transcriptome studies and in vivo assays revealed functional differences between the two subpopulations. Notably, the CXCR4hi subset proliferates and is immobilized in the BM for the replenishment of functionally mature CXCR4lo monocytes. We propose that the CXCR4hi subset represents a transitional premonocyte population, and that this sequential step of maturation from cMoPs serves to maintain a stable pool of BM monocytes. Additionally, reduced CXCR4 expression on monocytes, upon their exit into the circulation, does not reflect its diminished role in monocyte biology. Specifically, CXCR4 regulates monocyte peripheral cellular activities by governing their circadian oscillations and pulmonary margination, which contributes toward lung injury and sepsis mortality. Together, our study demonstrates the multifaceted role of CXCR4 in defining BM monocyte heterogeneity and in regulating their function in peripheral tissues.

The Ubiquitin Ligase CBLC Maintains the Network Organization of the Golgi Apparatus.

The Golgi apparatus plays a pivotal role in the sorting and post-translational modifications of secreted and membrane proteins. In mammalian cells, the Golgi is organized in stacks of cisternae linked together to form a network with a ribbon shape. Regulation of Golgi ribbon formation is poorly understood. Here we find in an image-based RNAi screen that depletion of the ubiquitin-ligase CBLC induces Golgi fragmentation. Depletions of the close homologues CBL and CBLB do not induce any visible defects. In CBLC-depleted cells, Golgi stacks appear relatively unperturbed at both the light and electron microscopy levels, suggesting that CBLC controls mostly network organization. CBLC partially localizes on Golgi membranes and this localization is enhanced after activation of the SRC kinase. Inhibition of SRC reverts CBLC depletion effects, suggesting interplay between the two. CBLC's regulation of Golgi network requires its ubiquitin ligase activity. However, SRC levels are not significantly affected by CBLC, and CBLC knockdown does not phenocopy SRC activation, suggesting that CBLC's action at the Golgi is not direct downregulation of SRC. Altogether, our results demonstrate a role of CBLC in regulating Golgi ribbon by antagonizing the SRC tyrosine kinase.

ZO-1 and ZO-2 are required for extra-embryonic endoderm integrity, primitive ectoderm survival and normal cavitation in embryoid bodies derived from mouse embryonic stem cells.

The Zonula Occludens proteins ZO-1 and ZO-2 are cell-cell junction-associated adaptor proteins that are essential for the structural and regulatory functions of tight junctions in epithelial cells and their absence leads to early embryonic lethality in mouse models. Here, we use the embryoid body, an in vitro peri-implantation mouse embryogenesis model, to elucidate and dissect the roles ZO-1 and ZO-2 play in epithelial morphogenesis and de novo tight junction assembly. Through the generation of individual or combined ZO-1 and ZO-2 null embryoid bodies, we show that their dual deletion prevents tight junction formation, resulting in the disorganization and compromised barrier function of embryoid body epithelial layers. The disorganization is associated with poor microvilli development, fragmented basement membrane deposition and impaired cavity formation, all of which are key epithelial tissue morphogenetic processes. Expression of Podocalyxin, which positively regulates the formation of microvilli and the apical membrane, is repressed in embryoid bodies lacking both ZO-1 and ZO-2 and this correlates with an aberrant submembranous localization of Ezrin. The null embryoid bodies thus give an insight into how the two ZO proteins influence early mouse embryogenesis and possible mechanisms underlying the embryonic lethal phenotype.

Induction of a detoxification gene in Drosophila melanogaster requires an interaction between tissue specific enhancers and a novel cis-regulatory element.

Organisms induce the expression of detoxification enzymes such as cytochrome P450s to deal with xenobiotics encountered in the environment. Research using cell culture systems has identified some of the cis-regulatory elements (CREs) and transcription factors involved in the induction of P450 genes in response to xenobiotic challenges. It was recently found that the CREs required for the basal expression of some P450s are distinct from the CREs involved in their induction. How these CREs mediate induction to xenobiotics in a tissue specific manner is not known. In this paper we show that, in Drosophila melanogaster, the induction response of the P450 gene Cyp6g1 to the xenobiotic Phenobarbital (PB) requires the presence of both tissue specific enhancers and a distinct CRE. The CRE does not drive gene expression but is required for the induction response. Site-directed mutagenesis of sequences within the CRE, sequences similar to mouse PB induction sequences, reduces the level of induction by PB, suggesting some degree of mechanistic conservation between flies and mice. This CRE may represent a unique class of CREs that has no inherent role in the basal transcriptional activity of genes, but is required for induction responses. Variations within this class of CREs may explain the variability of gene induction responses.