Cell-fate plasticity, adhesion and cell sorting complementarily establish a sharp midbrain-hindbrain boundary.

The formation and maintenance of sharp boundaries between groups of cells play a vital role during embryonic development as they serve to compartmentalize cells with similar fates. Some of these boundaries also act as organizers, with the ability to induce specific cell fates and morphogenesis in the surrounding cells. The midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) is such an organizer: it acts as a lineage restriction boundary to prevent the intermingling of cells with different developmental fates. However, the mechanisms underlying the lineage restriction process remain unclear. Here, using novel fluorescent knock-in reporters, live imaging, Cre/lox-mediated lineage tracing, atomic force microscopy-based cell adhesion assays and mutant analysis, we analyze the process of lineage restriction at the MHB and provide mechanistic details. Specifically, we show that lineage restriction occurs by the end of gastrulation, and that the subsequent formation of sharp gene expression boundaries in the developing MHB occur through complementary mechanisms, i.e. cell-fate plasticity and cell sorting. Furthermore, we show that cell sorting at the MHB involves differential adhesion among midbrain and hindbrain cells that is mediated by N-cadherin and Eph-ephrin signaling.

Ephrin-mediated restriction of ERK1/2 activity delimits the number of pigment cells in the Ciona CNS.

Recent evidence suggests that ascidian pigment cells are related to neural crest-derived melanocytes of vertebrates. Using live-imaging, we determine a revised cell lineage of the pigment cells in Ciona intestinalis embryos. The neural precursors undergo successive rounds of anterior-posterior (A-P) oriented cell divisions, starting at the blastula 64-cell stage. A previously unrecognized fourth A-P oriented cell division in the pigment cell lineage leads to the generation of the post-mitotic pigment cell precursors. We provide evidence that MEK/ERK signals are required for pigment cell specification until approximately 30min after the final cell division has taken place. Following each of the four A-P oriented cell divisions, ERK1/2 is differentially activated in the posterior sister cells, into which the pigment cell lineage segregates. Eph/ephrin signals are critical during the third A-P oriented cell division to spatially restrict ERK1/2 activation to the posterior daughter cell. Targeted inhibition of Eph/ephrin signals results in, at neurula stages, anterior expansion of both ERK1/2 activation and a pigment cell lineage marker and subsequently, at larval stages, supernumerary pigment cells. We discuss the implications of these findings with respect to the evolution of the vertebrate neural crest.

[Eph family receptors as therapeutic targets].

Anti-angiogenic therapy is currently a commonly accepted and rapidly developing approach in oncology and other pathologies linked to aberrant neovascularization. Discovery and validation of additional molecular targets in angiogenesis is needed due to the limitations of the existing clinical therapeutics inhibiting activity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors. A brief review of normal and pathological biological functions of the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases and their ephrin ligands is presented, and the approaches to developing therapeutics with anti- and pro-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity based on selective molecular modulation of Eph-ephrin signaling pairs are discussed. Functional roles of Eph-kinases and ephrins in such mechanisms of cancerogenesis as cell proliferation and invasion are also addressed.

Drug-gut microbiota metabolic interactions: the case of UniPR1331, selective antagonist of the Eph-ephrin system, in mice.

The interest on the role of gut microbiota in the biotransformation of drugs and xenobiotics has grown over the last decades and a deeper understanding of the mutual interactions is expected to help future improvements in the fields of drug development, toxicological risk assessment and precision medicine. In this paper, a microbiome drug metabolism case is presented, involving a lipophilic small molecule, N-(3ß-hydroxy-Δ5-cholen-24-oyl)-l-tryptophan, UniPR1331, active as antagonist of the Eph-ephrin system and effective in vivo in a murine orthotopic model of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Following the administration of a single 30 mg/kg dose (p.o.) to mice, maximal plasma levels were reached 30 min after dosing and rapidly declined thereafter. To explain the observed in vivo behaviour, in vitro phase I and II metabolism assays were conducted employing mouse and human liver subcellular fractions and profiling main metabolites by means of tandem (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) and high resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-HR-MS). In the presence of in vitro mouse liver fractions, UniPR1331 showed a low phase I metabolic clearance, despite the identification of a 3-oxo and several hydroxylated metabolites. Conversely, after oral administration of UniPR1331 to mice, a novel isobaric metabolite was detected that (i) was subjected, as parent UniPR1331, to enterohepatic circulation (ii) had not been previously identified in vitro in mouse liver microsomes and (iii) was not observed forming after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of UniPR1331. An in vitro faecal fermentation assay produced the same chemical entity supporting a major role of gut microbiota in the in vivo clearance of UniPR1331.

Reverse signaling via a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-linked ephrin prevents midline crossing by migratory neurons during embryonic development in Manduca.

We have investigated whether reverse signaling via a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked ephrin controls the behavior of migratory neurons in vivo. During the formation of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the moth Manduca, approximately 300 neurons [enteric plexus (EP) cells] migrate onto the midgut via bilaterally paired muscle bands but avoid adjacent midline regions. As they migrate, the EP cells express a single ephrin ligand (MsEphrin; a GPI-linked ligand), whereas the midline cells express the corresponding Eph receptor (MsEph). Blocking endogenous MsEphrin-MsEph receptor interactions in cultured embryos resulted in aberrant midline crossing by the neurons and their processes. In contrast, activating endogenous MsEphrin on the EP cells with dimeric MsEph-Fc constructs inhibited their migration and outgrowth, supporting a role for MsEphrin-dependent reverse signaling in this system. In short-term cultures, blocking endogenous MsEph receptors allowed filopodia from the growth cones of the neurons to invade the midline, whereas activating neuronal MsEphrin led to filopodial retraction. MsEphrin-dependent signaling may therefore guide the migratory enteric neurons by restricting the orientation of their leading processes. Knocking down MsEphrin expression in the EP cells with morpholino antisense oligonucleotides also induced aberrant midline crossing, consistent with the effects of blocking endogenous MsEphrin-MsEph interactions. Unexpectedly, this treatment enhanced the overall extent of migration, indicating that MsEphrin-dependent signaling may also modulate the general motility of the EP cells. These results demonstrate that MsEphrin-MsEph receptor interactions normally prevent midline crossing by migratory neurons within the developing ENS, an effect that is most likely mediated by reverse signaling through this GPI-linked ephrin ligand.

Δ(5)-Cholenoyl-amino acids as selective and orally available antagonists of the Eph-ephrin system.

The Eph receptor-ephrin system is an emerging target for the development of novel anti-angiogenic therapies. Research programs aimed at developing small-molecule antagonists of the Eph receptors are still in their initial stage as available compounds suffer from pharmacological drawbacks, limiting their application in vitro and in vivo. In the present work, we report the design, synthesis and evaluation of structure-activity relationships of a class of Δ(5)-cholenoyl-amino acid conjugates as Eph-ephrin antagonists. As a major achievement of our exploration, we identified N-(3ß-hydroxy-Δ(5)-cholen-24-oyl)-L-tryptophan (UniPR1331) as the first small molecule antagonist of the Eph-ephrin system effective as an anti-angiogenic agent in endothelial cells, bioavailable in mice by the oral route and devoid of biological activity on G protein-coupled and nuclear receptors targeted by bile acid derivatives.

Eph as a target in inflammation.

Evidence to show that the Eph/ephrin system is involved in inflammation induced by infection, injury, inflammatory diseases, and atherosclerosis has been increased. Although the roles of the Eph/ephrin system in both neural and vascular development as well as cell motility are well documented, its involvement in inflammatory processes has not yet been elucidated in detail. Moreover, the soluble form of artificially oligomerized or dimerized Fc-fused ephrin-A1 has been widely used in in vitro and/or in vivo studies to activate the EphA receptors, whereas its physiological functions as a membrane-anchored protein remain largely unknown. Recent studies using clinical samples reported that the overexpression of Ephs and ephrins in some tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma positively correlated with both malignancy of tumors and the poor prognosis of cancer patients. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying malignancy of tumors are not fully understood. The author herein summarizes the molecular mechanisms of the Eph/ephrin system involved in the immune system and inflammatory processes. Especially, the author focuses on inflammation-induced physiological changes in vascular endothelial cells leading to vascular hyper-permeability and described them in this review. The author also introduces those that contribute to ephrin-A1-mediated lung metastasis.

Therapeutic perspectives of Eph-ephrin system modulation.

Eph receptors are the largest class of kinase receptors and, together with their ligands ephrins, they have a primary role in embryogenesis. Their expression has been found deregulated in several cancer tissues and, in many cases, abnormal levels of these proteins have been correlated to a poor prognosis. Recently, the Eph-ephrin system was found to be deregulated in other pathological processes, involving the nervous and cardiovascular systems. The increasing body of evidence supports the Eph-ephrin system as a target not only for the treatment of solid tumors, but also to face other critical diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and diabetes driving current efforts toward the development of pharmacological tools potentially able to treat these pathologies.

Meigo governs dendrite targeting specificity by modulating ephrin level and N-glycosylation.

Neural circuit assembly requires precise dendrite and axon targeting. We identified an evolutionarily conserved endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein, Meigo, from a mosaic genetic screen in Drosophila melanogaster. Meigo was cell-autonomously required in olfactory receptor neurons and projection neurons to target their axons and dendrites to the lateral antennal lobe and to refine projection neuron dendrites into individual glomeruli. Loss of Meigo induced an unfolded protein response and reduced the amount of neuronal cell surface proteins, including Ephrin. Ephrin overexpression specifically suppressed the projection neuron dendrite refinement defect present in meigo mutant flies, and ephrin knockdown caused a similar projection neuron dendrite refinement defect. Meigo positively regulated the level of Ephrin N-glycosylation, which was required for its optimal function in vivo. Thus, Meigo, an ER-resident protein, governs neuronal targeting specificity by regulating ER folding capacity and protein N-glycosylation. Furthermore, Ephrin appears to be an important substrate that mediates Meigo's function in refinement of glomerular targeting.

Eph/ephrin signaling as a potential therapeutic target after central nervous system injury.

Recent work indicates that the expression of Eph and ephrin proteins is upregulated after injury in the central nervous system (CNS). Although to date, much of the interest in these protein families in the nervous system has been on their roles during development, their presence in the adult CNS at multiple time points after injury suggest that they play significant roles in key aspects of the nervous system's response to damage. Several fundamental features of Eph and ephrin biology, such as bidirectional signaling, promiscuity of ligand-receptor binding, and potential cis regulation of function, present challenges for the formulation of rational and effective Eph/ephrin based strategies for CNS axon regeneration. However, recent work that have identified specific functions for individual Ephs and ephrins in injury-induced phenomena such as axon sprouting, cellular remodeling, and scar formation has begun to tease apart their contributions and may provide a number of potential entry points for beneficial therapeutic intervention.