Deciphering early human pancreas development at the single-cell level.

Understanding pancreas development can provide clues for better treatments of pancreatic diseases. However, the molecular heterogeneity and developmental trajectory of the early human pancreas are poorly explored. Here, we performed large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing of human embryonic pancreas tissue obtained from first-trimester embryos. We unraveled the molecular heterogeneity, developmental trajectories and regulatory networks of the major cell types. The results reveal that dorsal pancreatic multipotent cells in humans exhibit different gene expression patterns than ventral multipotent cells. Pancreato-biliary progenitors that generate ventral multipotent cells in humans were identified. Notch and MAPK signals from mesenchymal cells regulate the differentiation of multipotent cells into trunk and duct cells. Notably, we identified endocrine progenitor subclusters with different differentiation potentials. Although the developmental trajectories are largely conserved between humans and mice, some distinct gene expression patterns have also been identified. Overall, we provide a comprehensive landscape of early human pancreas development to understand its lineage transitions and molecular complexity.

Metaxins are core components of mitochondrial transport adaptor complexes.

Trafficking of mitochondria into dendrites and axons plays an important role in the physiology and pathophysiology of neurons. Mitochondrial outer membrane protein Miro and adaptor proteins TRAKs/Milton link mitochondria to molecular motors. Here we show that metaxins MTX-1 and MTX-2 contribute to mitochondrial transport into both dendrites and axons of C. elegans neurons. MTX1/2 bind to MIRO-1 and kinesin light chain KLC-1, forming a complex to mediate kinesin-1-based movement of mitochondria, in which MTX-1/2 are essential and MIRO-1 plays an accessory role. We find that MTX-2, MIRO-1, and TRAK-1 form another distinct adaptor complex to mediate dynein-based transport. Additionally, we show that failure of mitochondrial trafficking in dendrites causes age-dependent dendrite degeneration. We propose that MTX-2 and MIRO-1 form the adaptor core for both motors, while MTX-1 and TRAK-1 specify each complex for kinesin-1 and dynein, respectively. MTX-1 and MTX-2 are also required for mitochondrial transport in human neurons, indicative of their evolutionarily conserved function.

miR-51 regulates GABAergic synapses by targeting Rab GEF GLO-4 and lysosomal trafficking-related GLO/AP-3 pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans.

A deficit of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) transmission will lead to epilepsy and other cognitive disorders. Recent evidence has shown that neuronal miRNAs affect various synapses, including GABAergic synapses. However, the miRNAs that control GABAergic synapses remain not fully understood. Here, we identified miR-51, a member of Caenorhabditis elegans miR-99/100 family, as a key regulator of GABAergic synapses. Loss of mir-51 increased PTZ (Pentylenetetrazole) and aldicarb hypersensitivities, and decreased the number of GABAergic synapses and abundance of GABAA receptors. A Rab guaninenucleotide exchange factor (GEF) GLO-4, a well-known component in lysosomal trafficking-related GLO-4/GLO-1/AP-3 (GLO/AP-3) pathway, was discovered to be the direct target of miR-51. Rescue experiments showed that GLO-4 expressed in GABAergic motor neurons functioned as a suppressor of miR-51. Disruption of glo-1 or AP-3 gene apm-3 attenuated the defects of GABAergic synapse in mir-51 mutants, suggesting miR-51 regulated GABAergic synapses through GLO/AP-3 pathway. The present study implies the essential roles of miRNAs on the nervous pathologies characterized by mis-regulated GABA signaling, such as epilepsy.

The unfolded protein response is necessary but not sufficient to compensate for defects in disulfide isomerization.

Pdi1p (protein-disulfide isomerase) is a folding assistant of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that catalyzes disulfide formation and the isomerization of incorrect disulfides. Its disulfide forming activity is its essential function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A truncation mutant (Pdi1a') that is competent in disulfide formation but deficient in catalyzing isomerization has only a small effect on growth, although the maturation of isomerase-requiring substrates (carboxypeptidase Y) is impaired (Xiao, R., Wilkinson, B., Solovyov, A., Winther, J. R., Holmgren, A., Lundstrom-Ljung, J., and Gilbert, H. F. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 49780-49786). We show here that there are multiple ways to compensate for defects in disulfide formation and isomerization in the ER. Genes of the unfolded protein response are induced, and deletions of the nonessential IRE1 or HAC1 genes are synthetically lethal. Diploid synthetic lethality analysis by microarray (dSLAM) using PDIa' and a temperature-sensitive mutant of PDIa' as query mutations reveals a group of 130 synthetically lethal genes. Only 10 of these correspond to genes clearly associated with the unfolded protein response. More than half are involved in vesicle traffic, not only out of and into the ER but anterograde and retrograde traffic from most cellular compartments. This suggests that defects in protein maturation in one intracellular compartment may be compensated for by adjusting vesicular traffic patterns throughout the cell.

Intracellular butyryl phosphate and acetyl phosphate concentrations in Clostridium acetobutylicum and their implications for solvent formation.

It has been suggested (L. H. Harris, R. P. Desai, N. E. Welker, and E. T. Papoutsakis, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 67:1-11, 2000) that butyryl phosphate (BuP) is a regulator of solventogenesis in Clostridium acetobutylicum. Here, we determined BuP and acetyl phosphate (AcP) levels in fermentations of C. acetobutylicum wild type (WT), degenerate strain M5, a butyrate kinase (buk) mutant, and a phosphotransacetylase (pta) mutant. A sensitive method was developed to measure BuP and AcP in the same sample. Compared to the WT, the buk mutant had higher levels of BuP and AcP; the BuP levels were high during the early exponential phase, and there was a peak corresponding to solvent production. Consistent with this, solvent formation was initiated significantly earlier and was much stronger in the buk mutant than in all other strains. For all strains, initiation of butanol formation corresponded to a BuP peak concentration that was more than 60 to 70 pmol/g (dry weight), and higher and sustained levels corresponded to higher butanol formation fluxes. The BuP levels never exceeded 40 to 50 pmol/g (dry weight) in strain M5, which produces no solvents. The BuP profiles were bimodal, and there was a second peak midway through solventogenesis that corresponded to carboxylic acid reutilization. AcP showed a delayed single peak during late solventogenesis corresponding to acetate reutilization. As expected, in the pta mutant the AcP levels were very low, yet this strain exhibited strong butanol production. These data suggest that BuP is a regulatory molecule that may act as a phosphodonor of transcriptional factors. DNA array-based transcriptional analysis of the buk and M5 mutants demonstrated that high BuP levels corresponded to downregulation of flagellar genes and upregulation of solvent formation and stress genes.

Expression of a cloned cyclopropane fatty acid synthase gene reduces solvent formation in Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824.

The cyclopropane fatty acid synthase gene (cfa) of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was cloned and overexpressed under the control of the clostridial ptb promoter. The function of the cfa gene was confirmed by complementation of an Escherichia coli cfa-deficient strain in terms of fatty acid composition and growth rate under solvent stress. Constructs expressing cfa were introduced into C. acetobutylicum hosts and cultured in rich glucose broth in static flasks without pH control. Overexpression of the cfa gene in the wild type and in a butyrate kinase-deficient strain increased the cyclopropane fatty acid content of early-log-phase cells as well as initial acid and butanol resistance. However, solvent production in the cfa-overexpressing strain was considerably decreased, while acetate and butyrate levels remained high. The findings suggest that overexpression of cfa results in changes in membrane properties that dampen the full induction of solventogenesis. The overexpression of a marR homologous gene preceding the cfa gene in the clostridial genome resulted in reduced cyclopropane fatty acid accumulation.