Mesp1 controls the chromatin and enhancer landscapes essential for spatiotemporal patterning of early cardiovascular progenitors.

The mammalian heart arises from various populations of Mesp1-expressing cardiovascular progenitors (CPs) that are specified during the early stages of gastrulation. Mesp1 is a transcription factor that acts as a master regulator of CP specification and differentiation. However, how Mesp1 regulates the chromatin landscape of nascent mesodermal cells to define the temporal and spatial patterning of the distinct populations of CPs remains unknown. Here, by combining ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and ATAC-seq during mouse pluripotent stem cell differentiation, we defined the dynamic remodelling of the chromatin landscape mediated by Mesp1. We identified different enhancers that are temporally regulated to erase the pluripotent state and specify the pools of CPs that mediate heart development. We identified Zic2 and Zic3 as essential cofactors that act with Mesp1 to regulate its transcription-factor activity at key mesodermal enhancers, thereby regulating the chromatin remodelling and gene expression associated with the specification of the different populations of CPs in vivo. Our study identifies the dynamics of the chromatin landscape and enhancer remodelling associated with temporal patterning of early mesodermal cells into the distinct populations of CPs that mediate heart development.

Cortical Neurogenesis Requires Bcl6-Mediated Transcriptional Repression of Multiple Self-Renewal-Promoting Extrinsic Pathways.

During neurogenesis, progenitors switch from self-renewal to differentiation through the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic cues, but how these are integrated remains poorly understood. Here, we combine whole-genome transcriptional and epigenetic analyses with in vivo functional studies to demonstrate that Bcl6, a transcriptional repressor previously reported to promote cortical neurogenesis, acts as a driver of the neurogenic transition through direct silencing of a selective repertoire of genes belonging to multiple extrinsic pathways promoting self-renewal, most strikingly the Wnt pathway. At the molecular level, Bcl6 represses its targets through Sirt1 recruitment followed by histone deacetylation. Our data identify a molecular logic by which a single cell-intrinsic factor represses multiple extrinsic pathways that favor self-renewal, thereby ensuring robustness of neuronal fate transition.

Defining the earliest step of cardiovascular lineage segregation by single-cell RNA-seq.

Mouse heart development arises from Mesp1-expressing cardiovascular progenitors (CPs) that are specified during gastrulation. The molecular processes that control early regional and lineage segregation of CPs have been unclear. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of wild-type and Mesp1-null CPs in mice. We showed that populations of Mesp1 CPs are molecularly distinct and span the continuum between epiblast and later mesodermal cells, including hematopoietic progenitors. Single-cell transcriptome analysis of Mesp1-deficient CPs showed that Mesp1 is required for the exit from the pluripotent state and the induction of the cardiovascular gene expression program. We identified distinct populations of Mesp1 CPs that correspond to progenitors committed to different cell lineages and regions of the heart, identifying the molecular features associated with early lineage restriction and regional segregation of the heart at the early stage of mouse gastrulation.

Mesp1 controls the speed, polarity, and directionality of cardiovascular progenitor migration.

During embryonic development, Mesp1 marks the earliest cardiovascular progenitors (CPs) and promotes their specification, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cardiovascular differentiation. However, Mesp1 deletion in mice does not impair initial CP specification and early cardiac differentiation but induces cardiac malformations thought to arise from a defect of CP migration. Using inducible gain-of-function experiments during embryonic stem cell differentiation, we found that Mesp2, its closest homolog, was as efficient as Mesp1 at promoting CP specification, EMT, and cardiovascular differentiation. However, only Mesp1 stimulated polarity and directional cell migration through a cell-autonomous mechanism. Transcriptional analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that Mesp1 and Mesp2 activate common target genes that promote CP specification and differentiation. We identified two direct Mesp1 target genes, Prickle1 and RasGRP3, that are strongly induced by Mesp1 and not by Mesp2 and that control the polarity and the speed of cell migration. Altogether, our results identify the molecular interface controlled by Mesp1 that links CP specification and cell migration.

Early lineage restriction in temporally distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors during mammalian heart development.

Cardiac development arises from two sources of mesoderm progenitors, the first heart field (FHF) and the second (SHF). Mesp1 has been proposed to mark the most primitive multipotent cardiac progenitors common for both heart fields. Here, using clonal analysis of the earliest prospective cardiovascular progenitors in a temporally controlled manner during early gastrulation, we found that Mesp1 progenitors consist of two temporally distinct pools of progenitors restricted to either the FHF or the SHF. FHF progenitors were unipotent, whereas SHF progenitors were either unipotent or bipotent. Microarray and single-cell PCR with reverse transcription analysis of Mesp1 progenitors revealed the existence of molecularly distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors, consistent with their lineage and regional contribution. Together, these results provide evidence that heart development arises from distinct populations of unipotent and bipotent cardiac progenitors that independently express Mesp1 at different time points during their specification, revealing that the regional segregation and lineage restriction of cardiac progenitors occur very early during gastrulation.

ß-thymosins and hemocyte homeostasis in a crustacean.

Thymosin proteins are well known for their actin-binding activity. Thymosin beta 4 (Tß4) has been associated with biological activities in tissue repair and cell migration via interaction with ATP-synthase in vertebrates, while the information of similar thymosin functions in invertebrates is limited. We have shown previously that ATP-synthase is present on the surface of crayfish hematopoietic tissue (HPT) cells, and that astakine 1 (Ast1, an invertebrate cytokine) was found to interact with this ß-subunit of ATP synthase. Here, we identified five different ß-thymosins from Pacifastacus leniusculus, designated Pl-ß-thymosin1-5. The two dominant isoforms in brain, HPT and hemocytes, Pl-ß-thymosin1 and 2, were chosen for functional studies. Both isoforms could bind to the ß-subunit of ATP-synthase, and Pl-ß-thymosin1, but not Pl-ß-thymosin2, significantly increased extracellular ATP formation. Moreover, Pl-ß-thymosin1 stimulated HPT cell migration in vitro and Ast1 blocked this effect. Pl-ß-thymosin2 increased the circulating hemocyte number at an early stage after injection. Additionally, in vivo injection of Pl-ß-thymosin1 resulted in significant reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in crayfish HPT whereas Pl-ß-thymosin2 had a similar but transient effect. Both Pl-ß-thymosins induced the expression of Ast1 and superoxide dismutase (SOD) transcripts, while silencing of endogenous Pl-ß-thymosin 1 and 2 by RNAi resulted in significant reduction of the Ast1 and SOD transcripts. The diverse effects exhibited by Pl-ß-thymosin1 and Pl-ß-thymosin2 indicates that these proteins are involved in a complex interaction that regulates the hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

Invertebrate hematopoiesis: an anterior proliferation center as a link between the hematopoietic tissue and the brain.

During evolution, the innate and adaptive immune systems were developed to protect organisms from non-self substances. The innate immune system is phylogenetically more ancient and is present in most multicellular organisms, whereas adaptive responses are restricted to vertebrates. Arthropods lack the blood cells of the lymphoid lineage and oxygen-carrying erythrocytes, making them suitable model animals for studying the regulation of the blood cells of the innate immune system. Many crustaceans have a long life span and need to continuously synthesize blood cells, in contrast to many insects. The hematopoietic tissue (HPT) of Pacifastacus leniusculus provides a simple model for studying hematopoiesis, because the tissue can be isolated, and the proliferation of stem cells and their differentiation can be studied both in vivo and in vitro. Here, we demonstrate new findings of a physical link between the HPT and the brain. Actively proliferating cells were localized to an anterior proliferation center (APC) in the anterior part of the tissue near the area linking the HPT to the brain, whereas more differentiated cells were detected in the posterior part. The central areas of HPT expand in response to lipopolysaccharide-induced blood loss. Cells isolated from the APC divide rapidly and form cell clusters in vitro; conversely, the cells from the remaining HPT form monolayers, and they can be induced to differentiate in vitro. Our findings offer an opportunity to learn more about invertebrate hematopoiesis and its connection to the central nervous system, thereby obtaining new information about the evolution of different blood and nerve cell lineages.

Crustacean hematopoiesis and the astakine cytokines.

Major contributions to research in hematopoiesis in invertebrate animals have come from studies in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the freshwater crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus. These animals lack oxygen-carrying erythrocytes and blood cells of the lymphoid lineage, which participate in adaptive immune defense, thus making them suitable model animals to study the regulation of blood cells of the innate immune system. This review presents an overview of crustacean blood cell formation, the role of these cells in innate immunity, and how their synthesis is regulated by the astakine cytokines. Astakines are among the first invertebrate cytokines shown to be involved in hematopoiesis, and they can stimulate the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of hematopoietic tissue cells. The astakines and their vertebrate homologues, prokineticins, share similar functions in hematopoiesis; thus, studies of astakine-induced hematopoiesis in crustaceans may not only advance our understanding of the regulation of invertebrate hematopoiesis but may also provide new evolutionary perspectives about this process.

Invertebrate hematopoiesis: an astakine-dependent novel hematopoietic factor.

A novel factor, named crustacean hematopoietic factor (CHF), was identified from a library of suppression subtractive hybridization with the aim to find downstream genes of an invertebrate cytokine, astakine 1, in the freshwater crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus. CHF is a small cysteine-rich protein (∼9 kDa) with high similarity to the N-terminal region of vertebrate CRIM1 in containing an insulin growth factor binding protein variant motif with unknown function. CHF was found to be induced in primary cell cultures of crayfish hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells (precursors of crayfish blood cells) after treatment with astakine 1. Silencing of CHF did not affect the renewal of Hpt cells in vitro, but induced apoptosis of Hpt cells. CHF is exclusively expressed in the blood cell lineage of crayfish (Hpt cells and blood cells), and in vivo RNA interference experiments show that knockdown of this gene results in severe loss of blood cells and a higher apoptotic rate in Hpt. Our data further suggest that crayfish CHF is critical for the survival of hemocytes and Hpt cells by preventing their apoptosis, thus it plays an important role in hemocyte homeostasis in crayfish. Our study of CHF may also shed light on the function of this untypical insulin growth factor binding protein motif located in the N-terminal of vertebrate CRIM1.

Ancient cytokines, the role of astakines as hematopoietic growth factors.

Hematopoiesis is the process by which hemocytes mature and subsequently enter the circulation. Vertebrate prokineticins (PKs) are known to take part in this process, as are the invertebrate prokineticin domain proteins, astakines. In Pacifastacus leniusculus, astakine 1 is essential for the release of new hemocytes into the open circulatory system of these animals. In addition to astakine 1, we have now cloned a homologue of astakine 1 with an insert of 13 amino acids, named as astakine 2. Both crustacean astakines lack the N-terminal AVIT motif, which is present in vertebrate PKs, and hence receptor binding differs from that of vertebrate PKs. We have found astakine-like sequences in 19 different invertebrate species, and the sequences show that some motifs are conserved among invertebrate groups. Previously we showed that astakine 1 is directly involved in hematopoiesis, and now we show that astakine 1 and astakine 2 have different roles in hemocyte lineage differentiation. Astakine 1 can stimulate proliferation of hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells (precursor of hemocytes) as well as specifically induce differentiation of Hpt cells along the semigranular cell lineage, whereas astakine 2 plays a role in granular cell differentiation. Moreover, we discuss the impact of the putative structures of different astakines in comparison with the vertebrate prokineticins.

Identification and properties of a receptor for the invertebrate cytokine astakine, involved in hematopoiesis.

We have recently isolated an invertebrate cytokine from a freshwater crayfish, which we named astakine 1. Interestingly this protein is expressed exclusively in hemocytes and hematopoietic tissue and is essential for the release of new hemocytes into the open circulatory system of these animals. This astakine has a prokineticin (PK) domain but lacks the N-terminal AVIT amino acids and hence receptor binding may differ from vertebrate PKs. Accordingly, here we report that a receptor for astakine 1 on hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells is identical to the beta-subunit of F1ATP synthase. In this study we have used several different methods to clearly demonstrate that ATP-synthase is located on the plasma membrane of a subpopulation of Hpt cells and there may function as a receptor for astakine, whereas mature blood cells (hemocytes) do not have any ATP-synthase on the outside of their plasma membranes. Our results clearly show that ATP synthase beta subunits are present on the cell surface of Hpt cells and highlight the need for more detailed studies on intracellular traffic connections between mitochondria and other membrane compartments.

Transglutaminase activity in the hematopoietic tissue of a crustacean, Pacifastacus leniusculus, importance in hemocyte homeostasis.

BACKGROUND: Transglutaminases (TGases) form a group of enzymes that have many different substrates and among the most well known are fibrin for Factor XIIIa and the clotting protein in crustaceans. We also found that TGase is an abundant protein in the hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells of crayfish and hence we have studied the possible function of this enzyme in hematopoiesis. RESULTS: TGase is one of the most abundant proteins in the Hpt and its mRNA expression as well as enzyme activity is very high in the Hpt cells, lesser in the semi-granular hemocytes and very low in the granular cells. In cultured hematopoietic tissues, high activity was present in cells in the centre of the tissue, whereas cells migrating out of the tissue had very low TGase activity. RNAi experiments using dsRNA for TGase completely knocked down the transcript and as a result the cell morphology was changed and the cells started to spread intensely. If astakine, a cytokine directly involved in hematopoiesis, was added the cells started to spread and adopt a morphology similar to that observed after RNAi of TGase. Astakine had no effect on TGase expression, but after a prolonged incubation for one week with this invertebrate cytokine, TGase activity inside and outside the cells was completely lost. Thus it seems as if astakine addition to the Hpt cells and RNAi of TGase in the cell culture will lead to the same results, i.e. loss of TGase activity in the cells and they start to differentiate and spread. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that TGase is important for keeping the Hpt cells in an undifferentiated stage inside the hematopoietic tissue and if expression of TGase mRNA is blocked the cells start to differentiate and spread. This shows a new function for transglutaminase in preventing hematopoietic stem cells from starting to differentiate and migrate into the hemolymph, whereas their proliferation is unaffected. Astakine is also important for the hematopoiesis, since it induces hemocyte synthesis in the Hpt but now we also show that it in some unknown way participates in the differentiation of the Hpt cells.

Purification of properoxinectin, a myeloperoxidase homologue and its activation to a cell adhesion molecule.

Peroxidases are important mediators of innate immune reactions throughout the animal kingdom. In many arthropods a myeloperoxidase homologue, peroxinectin, is known to function as a cell adhesion factor and an opsonin. Here, we report in the freshwater crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus the isolation of properoxinectin, inactive in cell adhesion, and we also show that properoxinectin is produced in the mature blood cells whereas the hematopoietic tissue contains very little of this protein. Both properoxinectin and peroxinectin are catalytically active as peroxidases, at least when using low molecular weight substrates. The extracellular processing of properoxinectin into an active cell adhesion protein was found to involve proteolytic steps shared with the prophenoloxidase activating system to yield catalytically active phenoloxidase. Thus, the regulation of activities by two ancient metalloproteins, both potentially producing highly toxic substances aimed at pathogens, is carried out by limited proteolysis. The proteolytic processing is triggered in the presence of microbial compounds such as beta-glucans or lipopolysaccharide after the release of properoxinectin and prophenoloxidase activating serine proteinases from the blood cells.