Methionine metabolism regulates pluripotent stem cell pluripotency and differentiation through zinc mobilization.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) exhibit a unique feature that requires S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) for the maintenance of their pluripotency. Methionine deprivation in the medium causes a reduction in intracellular SAM, thus rendering PSCs in a state potentiated for differentiation. In this study, we find that methionine deprivation triggers a reduction in intracellular protein-bound Zn content and upregulation of Zn exporter SLC30A1 in PSCs. Culturing PSCs in Zn-deprived medium results in decreased intracellular protein-bound Zn content, reduced cell growth, and potentiated differentiation, which partially mimics methionine deprivation. PSCs cultured under Zn deprivation exhibit an altered methionine metabolism-related metabolite profile. We conclude that methionine deprivation potentiates differentiation partly by lowering cellular Zn content. We establish a protocol to generate functional pancreatic ß cells by applying methionine and Zn deprivation. Our results reveal a link between Zn signaling and methionine metabolism in the regulation of cell fate in PSCs.

Transcription factor scleraxis vitally contributes to progenitor lineage direction in wound healing of adult tendon in mice.

Tendon is a dense connective tissue that transmits high mechanical forces from skeletal muscle to bone. The transcription factor scleraxis (Scx) is a highly specific marker of both precursor and mature tendon cells (tenocytes). Mice lacking scx exhibit a specific and virtually complete loss of tendons during development. However, the functional contribution of Scx to wound healing in adult tendon has not yet been fully characterized. Here, using ScxGFP-tracking and loss-of-function systems, we show in an adult mouse model of Achilles tendon injury that paratenon cells, representing a stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1)-positive and Scx-negative progenitor subpopulation, display Scx induction, migrate to the wound site, and produce extracellular matrix (ECM) to bridge the defect, whereas resident tenocytes exhibit a delayed response. Scx induction in the progenitors is initiated by transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) signaling. scx-deficient mice had migration of Sca-1-positive progenitor cell to the lesion site but impaired ECM assembly to bridge the defect. Mechanistically, scx-null progenitors displayed higher chondrogenic potential with up-regulation of SRY-box 9 (Sox9) coactivator PPAR-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) in vitro, and knock-in analysis revealed that forced expression of full-length scx significantly inhibited Sox9 expression. Accordingly, scx-null wounds formed cartilage-like tissues that developed ectopic ossification. Our findings indicate a critical role of Scx in a progenitor-cell lineage in wound healing of adult mouse tendon. These progenitor cells could represent targets in strategies to facilitate tendon repair. We propose that this lineage-regulatory mechanism in tissue progenitors could apply to a broader set of tissues or biological systems in the body.

Kinetics of reactions at an interface: functionalisation of silicate glass with porphyrins via covalent bonds.

Porphyrins carrying either a primary alcohol, a tertiary alcohol or a primary bromide linker group were allowed to react with the surface silanol groups on silicate glass thermally at 80-240 °C to obtain a monolayer film. The kinetics of the reaction was analysed based on the pseudo-second order equation. The tertiary alcohol and the primary bromide reacted much slower than the primary alcohol. Arrhenius plots indicated that higher activation energies can account for the slower reaction of both tertiary alcohol and primary bromide linkers. The introduction of six dodecyl chains into hydroxyporphyrin accelerated the anchoring reaction by a factor of 50 owing to the larger frequency factor of the reaction, demonstrating that the dynamics of the interface is one of the dominant factors regulating the reaction kinetics.

Synthesis of para- or ortho-substituted triarylbilindiones and tetraarylbiladienones by coupled oxidation of tetraarylporphyrins.

Coupled oxidation of [tetraarylporphyrinato]iron(III) chloride carrying substituents in the ortho or para positions was performed by allowing the iron porphyrin to react with dioxygen, ascorbic acid, and pyridine to give biladienone as the major product and bilindione as a minor one. Efforts to find reaction conditions and workup procedures to obtain bilindione improved the yields of triarylbilindiones ranging between 2% and 19%. Electron-withdrawing substituents in the para position on the aryl groups increased the selectivity of bilindione relative to biladienone: the isolated yields of bilindione and biladienone were 2% and 85% (OMe), 6% and 44% (COOMe), and 7% and 28% (CN), respectively. Electronic effects of substituents affected both isolation procedures and the spectroscopic properties of bilindiones. Tri(4-methoxyphenyl)bilindione showed a red-shifted electronic absorption compared to unsubstituted and 4-methoxycarbonyl substituted analogues. This was ascribed to the destabilization of the HOMO-1 level by the methoxy groups.