RESUMO
During both embryonic development and adult tissue regeneration, changes in chromatin structure driven by master transcription factors lead to stimulus-responsive transcriptional programs. A thorough understanding of how stem cells in the skeleton interpret mechanical stimuli and enact regeneration would shed light on how forces are transduced to the nucleus in regenerative processes. Here we develop a genetically dissectible mouse model of mandibular distraction osteogenesis-which is a process that is used in humans to correct an undersized lower jaw that involves surgically separating the jaw bone, which elicits new bone growth in the gap. We use this model to show that regions of newly formed bone are clonally derived from stem cells that reside in the skeleton. Using chromatin and transcriptional profiling, we show that these stem-cell populations gain activity within the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signalling pathway, and that inhibiting FAK abolishes new bone formation. Mechanotransduction via FAK in skeletal stem cells during distraction activates a gene-regulatory program and retrotransposons that are normally active in primitive neural crest cells, from which skeletal stem cells arise during development. This reversion to a developmental state underlies the robust tissue growth that facilitates stem-cell-based regeneration of adult skeletal tissue.
Assuntos
Regeneração Óssea , Mandíbula/citologia , Mandíbula/fisiologia , Crista Neural/citologia , Osteogênese por Distração , Células-Tronco/citologia , Animais , Cromatina/genética , Cromatina/metabolismo , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Proteína-Tirosina Quinases de Adesão Focal/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteína-Tirosina Quinases de Adesão Focal/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Masculino , Mandíbula/cirurgia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Retroelementos/genética , Transdução de Sinais , Células-Tronco/metabolismo , Transcrição GênicaRESUMO
Targeted genetic dissection of tissues to identify precise cell populations has vast biological and therapeutic applications. Here we develop an approach, through the packaging and delivery of 4-hydroxytamoxifen liposomes (LiTMX), that enables localized induction of CreERT2 recombinase in mice. Our method permits precise, in vivo, tissue-specific clonal analysis with both spatial and temporal control. This technology is effective using mice with both specific and ubiquitous Cre drivers in a variety of tissue types, under conditions of homeostasis and post-injury repair, and is highly efficient for lineage tracing and genetic analysis. This methodology is directly and immediately applicable to the developmental biology, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and cancer biology fields.