RESUMO
Hydra vulgaris (Hv) has a high regenerative potential and negligible senescence, as its stem cell populations divide continuously. In contrast, the cold-sensitive H. oligactis (Ho_CS) rapidly develop an aging phenotype under stress, with epithelial stem cells deficient for autophagy, unable to maintain their self-renewal. Here we tested in aging, non-aging and regenerating Hydra the activity and regulation of the ULK1 kinase involved in autophagosome formation. In vitro kinase assays show that human ULK1 activity is activated by Hv extracts but repressed by Ho_CS extracts, reflecting the ability or inability of their respective epithelial cells to initiate autophagosome formation. The factors that keep ULK1 inactive in Ho_CS remain uncharacterized. Hv_Basel1 animals exposed to the ULK1 inhibitor SBI-0206965 no longer regenerate their head, indicating that the sustained autophagy flux recorded in regenerating Hv_AEP2 transgenic animals expressing the DsRed-GFP-LC3A autophagy tandem sensor is necessary. The SBI-0206965 treatment also alters the contractility of intact Hv_Basel1 animals, and leads to a progressive reduction of animal size in Hv_AEP2, similarly to what is observed in ULK1(RNAi) animals. We conclude that the evolutionarily-conserved role of ULK1 in autophagy initiation is crucial to maintain a dynamic homeostasis in Hydra, which supports regeneration efficiency and prevents aging.
Assuntos
Autofagossomos/enzimologia , Proteína Homóloga à Proteína-1 Relacionada à Autofagia/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células , Autorrenovação Celular , Senescência Celular , Células Epiteliais/enzimologia , Hydra/enzimologia , Células-Tronco/enzimologia , Animais , Animais Geneticamente Modificados , Autofagossomos/efeitos dos fármacos , Autofagossomos/genética , Autofagia , Proteína Homóloga à Proteína-1 Relacionada à Autofagia/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteína Homóloga à Proteína-1 Relacionada à Autofagia/genética , Proteína Beclina-1/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Autorrenovação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Senescência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Epiteliais/efeitos dos fármacos , Feminino , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Hydra/efeitos dos fármacos , Hydra/genética , Masculino , Fosforilação , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Interferência de RNA , Transdução de Sinais , Células-Tronco/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Hydra are freshwater polyps widely studied for their amazing regenerative capacity, adult stem cell populations, low senescence and value as ecotoxicological marker. Many wild-type strains of H. vulgaris have been collected worldwide and maintained effectively under laboratory conditions by asexual reproduction, while stable transgenic lines have been continuously produced since 2006. Efforts are now needed to ensure the genetic characterization of all these strains, which despite similar morphologies, show significant variability in their response to gene expression silencing procedures, pharmacological treatments or environmental conditions. Here, we established a rapid and reliable procedure at the single polyp level to produce via PCR amplification of three distinct microsatellite sequences molecular signatures that distinguish between Hydra strains and species. The TG-rich region of an uncharacterized gene (ms-c25145) helps to distinguish between Eurasian H. vulgaris-Pallas strains (Hm-105, Basel1, Basel2 and reg-16), between Eurasian and North American H. vulgaris strains (H. carnea, AEP), and between the H. vulgaris and H. oligactis species. The AT-rich microsatellite sequences located in the AIP gene (Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interaction Protein, ms-AIP) also differ between Eurasian and North American H. vulgaris strains. Finally, the AT-rich microsatellite located in the Myb-Like cyclin D-binding transcription factor1 gene (ms-DMTF1) gene helps to distinguish certain transgenic AEP lines. This study shows that the analysis of microsatellite sequences, which is capable of tracing genomic variations between closely related lineages of Hydra, provides a sensitive and robust tool for characterizing the Hydra strains.
Assuntos
Hydra/genética , Repetições de Microssatélites/genética , Tipagem Molecular/métodos , Animais , Animais Geneticamente Modificados/genética , Modelos Animais , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Polimorfismo Genético , Reprodutibilidade dos TestesRESUMO
Polyps of the cnidarian Hydra maintain their adult anatomy through two developmental organizers, the head organizer located apically and the foot organizer basally. The head organizer is made of two antagonistic cross-reacting components, an activator, driving apical differentiation and an inhibitor, preventing ectopic head formation. Here we characterize the head inhibitor by comparing planarian genes down-regulated when ß-catenin is silenced to Hydra genes displaying a graded apical-to-basal expression and an up-regulation during head regeneration. We identify Sp5 as a transcription factor that fulfills the head inhibitor properties: leading to a robust multiheaded phenotype when knocked-down in Hydra, acting as a transcriptional repressor of Wnt3 and positively regulated by Wnt/ß-catenin signaling. Hydra and zebrafish Sp5 repress Wnt3 promoter activity while Hydra Sp5 also activates its own expression, likely via ß-catenin/TCF interaction. This work identifies Sp5 as a potent feedback loop inhibitor of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, a function conserved across eumetazoan evolution.