Visual experience is not necessary for the development of face-selectivity in the lateral fusiform gyrus.

The fusiform face area responds selectively to faces and is causally involved in face perception. How does face-selectivity in the fusiform arise in development, and why does it develop so systematically in the same location across individuals? Preferential cortical responses to faces develop early in infancy, yet evidence is conflicting on the central question of whether visual experience with faces is necessary. Here, we revisit this question by scanning congenitally blind individuals with fMRI while they haptically explored 3D-printed faces and other stimuli. We found robust face-selective responses in the lateral fusiform gyrus of individual blind participants during haptic exploration of stimuli, indicating that neither visual experience with faces nor fovea-biased inputs is necessary for face-selectivity to arise in the lateral fusiform gyrus. Our results instead suggest a role for long-range connectivity in specifying the location of face-selectivity in the human brain.

Perceiving social interactions in the posterior superior temporal sulcus.

Primates are highly attuned not just to social characteristics of individual agents, but also to social interactions between multiple agents. Here we report a neural correlate of the representation of social interactions in the human brain. Specifically, we observe a strong univariate response in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) to stimuli depicting social interactions between two agents, compared with (i) pairs of agents not interacting with each other, (ii) physical interactions between inanimate objects, and (iii) individual animate agents pursuing goals and interacting with inanimate objects. We further show that this region contains information about the nature of the social interaction-specifically, whether one agent is helping or hindering the other. This sensitivity to social interactions is strongest in a specific subregion of the pSTS but extends to a lesser extent into nearby regions previously implicated in theory of mind and dynamic face perception. This sensitivity to the presence and nature of social interactions is not easily explainable in terms of low-level visual features, attention, or the animacy, actions, or goals of individual agents. This region may underlie our ability to understand the structure of our social world and navigate within it.

Identification of extant vertebrate Myxine glutinosa VWF: evolutionary conservation of primary hemostasis.

Hemostasis in vertebrates involves both a cellular and a protein component. Previous studies in jawless vertebrates (cyclostomes) suggest that the protein response, which involves thrombin-catalyzed conversion of a soluble plasma protein, fibrinogen, into a polymeric fibrin clot, is conserved in all vertebrates. However, similar data are lacking for the cellular response, which in gnathostomes is regulated by von Willebrand factor (VWF), a glycoprotein that mediates the adhesion of platelets to the subendothelial matrix of injured blood vessels. To gain evolutionary insights into the cellular phase of coagulation, we asked whether a functional vwf gene is present in the Atlantic hagfish, Myxine glutinosa We found a single vwf transcript that encodes a simpler protein compared with higher vertebrates, the most striking difference being the absence of an A3 domain, which otherwise binds collagen under high-flow conditions. Immunohistochemical analyses of hagfish tissues and blood revealed Vwf expression in endothelial cells and thrombocytes. Electron microscopic studies of hagfish tissues demonstrated the presence of Weibel-Palade bodies in the endothelium. Hagfish Vwf formed high-molecular-weight multimers in hagfish plasma and in stably transfected CHO cells. In functional assays, botrocetin promoted VWF-dependent thrombocyte aggregation. A search for vwf sequences in the genome of sea squirts, the closest invertebrate relatives of hagfish, failed to reveal evidence of an intact vwf gene. Together, our findings suggest that VWF evolved in the ancestral vertebrate following the divergence of the urochordates some 500 million years ago and that it acquired increasing complexity though sequential insertion of functional modules.

A role of stochastic phenotype switching in generating mosaic endothelial cell heterogeneity.

Previous studies have shown that biological noise may drive dynamic phenotypic mosaicism in isogenic unicellular organisms. However, there is no evidence for a similar mechanism operating in metazoans. Here we show that the endothelial-restricted gene, von Willebrand factor (VWF), is expressed in a mosaic pattern in the capillaries of many vascular beds and in the aorta. In capillaries, the mosaicism is dynamically regulated, with VWF switching between ON and OFF states during the lifetime of the animal. Clonal analysis of cultured endothelial cells reveals that dynamic mosaic heterogeneity is controlled by a low-barrier, noise-sensitive bistable switch that involves random transitions in the DNA methylation status of the VWF promoter. Finally, the hearts of VWF-null mice demonstrate an abnormal endothelial phenotype as well as cardiac dysfunction. Together, these findings suggest a novel stochastic phenotype switching strategy for adaptive homoeostasis in the adult vasculature.

PGC-1α induces SPP1 to activate macrophages and orchestrate functional angiogenesis in skeletal muscle.

RATIONALE: Mechanisms of angiogenesis in skeletal muscle remain poorly understood. Efforts to induce physiological angiogenesis hold promise for the treatment of diabetic microvascular disease and peripheral artery disease but are hindered by the complexity of physiological angiogenesis and by the poor angiogenic response of aged and patients with diabetes mellitus. To date, the best therapy for diabetic vascular disease remains exercise, often a challenging option for patients with leg pain. Peroxisome proliferation activator receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), a powerful regulator of metabolism, mediates exercise-induced angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. OBJECTIVE: To test whether, and how, PGC-1α can induce functional angiogenesis in adult skeletal muscle. METHODS AND RESULTS: Here, we show that muscle PGC-1α robustly induces functional angiogenesis in adult, aged, and diabetic mice. The process involves the orchestration of numerous cell types and leads to patent, nonleaky, properly organized, and functional nascent vessels. These findings contrast sharply with the disorganized vasculature elicited by induction of vascular endothelial growth factor alone. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that PGC-1α induces the secretion of secreted phosphoprotein 1 and the recruitment of macrophages. Secreted phosphoprotein 1 stimulates macrophages to secrete monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, which then activates adjacent endothelial cells, pericytes, and smooth muscle cells. In contrast, induction of PGC-1α in secreted phosphoprotein 1(-/-) mice leads to immature capillarization and blunted arteriolarization. Finally, adenoviral delivery of PGC-1α into skeletal muscle of either young or old and diabetic mice improved the recovery of blood flow in the murine hindlimb ischemia model of peripheral artery disease. CONCLUSIONS: PGC-1α drives functional angiogenesis in skeletal muscle and likely recapitulates the complex physiological angiogenesis elicited by exercise.

FOXO1-mediated activation of Akt plays a critical role in vascular homeostasis.

RATIONALE: Forkhead box-O transcription factors (FoxOs) transduce a wide range of extracellular signals, resulting in changes in cell survival, cell cycle progression, and several cell type-specific responses. FoxO1 is expressed in many cell types, including endothelial cells (ECs). Previous studies have shown that Foxo1 knockout in mice results in embryonic lethality at E11 because of impaired vascular development. In contrast, somatic deletion of Foxo1 is associated with hyperproliferation of ECs. Thus, the precise role of FoxO1 in the endothelium remains enigmatic. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of endothelial-specific knockout and overexpression of FoxO1 on vascular homeostasis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We show that EC-specific disruption of Foxo1 in mice phenocopies the full knockout. Although endothelial expression of FoxO1 rescued otherwise Foxo1-null animals, overexpression of constitutively active FoxO1 resulted in increased EC size, occlusion of capillaries, elevated peripheral resistance, heart failure, and death. Knockdown of FoxO1 in ECs resulted in marked inhibition of basal and vascular endothelial growth factor-induced Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that in mice, endothelial expression of FoxO1 is both necessary and sufficient for embryonic development. Moreover, FoxO1-mediated feedback activation of Akt maintains growth factor responsive Akt/mTORC1 activity within a homeostatic range.

Role of RNA splicing in mediating lineage-specific expression of the von Willebrand factor gene in the endothelium.

We previously demonstrated that the first intron of the human von Willebrand factor (vWF) is required for gene expression in the endothelium of transgenic mice. Based on this finding, we hypothesized that RNA splicing plays a role in mediating vWF expression in the vasculature. To address this question, we used transient transfection assays in human endothelial cells and megakaryocytes with intron-containing and intronless human vWF promoter-luciferase constructs. Next, we generated knockin mice in which LacZ was targeted to the endogenous mouse vWF locus in the absence or presence of the native first intron or heterologous introns from the human ß-globin, mouse Down syndrome critical region 1, or hagfish coagulation factor X genes. In both the in vitro assays and the knockin mice, the loss of the first intron of vWF resulted in a significant reduction of reporter gene expression in endothelial cells but not megakaryocytes. This effect was rescued to varying degrees by the introduction of a heterologous intron. Intron-mediated enhancement of expression was mediated at a posttranscriptional level. Together, these findings implicate a role for intronic splicing in mediating lineage-specific expression of vWF in the endothelium.

Copper Sensing with a Prion Protein Modified Nanopipette.

Protein-metal interactions determine and regulate many biological functions. Nanopipettes functionalized with peptide moieties can be used as sensors for metal ions in solution.

Erg is a crucial regulator of endocardial-mesenchymal transformation during cardiac valve morphogenesis.

During murine embryogenesis, the Ets factor Erg is highly expressed in endothelial cells of the developing vasculature and in articular chondrocytes of developing bone. We identified seven isoforms for the mouse Erg gene. Four share a common translational start site encoded by exon 3 (Ex3) and are enriched in chondrocytes. The other three have a separate translational start site encoded by Ex4 and are enriched in endothelial cells. Homozygous Erg(ΔEx3/ΔEx3) knockout mice are viable, fertile and do not display any overt phenotype. By contrast, homozygous Erg(ΔEx4/ΔEx4) knockout mice are embryonic lethal, which is associated with a marked reduction in endocardial-mesenchymal transformation (EnMT) during cardiac valve morphogenesis. We show that Erg is required for the maintenance of the core EnMT regulatory factors that include Snail1 and Snail2 by binding to their promoter and intronic regions.

Vascular bed-specific regulation of the von Willebrand factor promoter in the heart and skeletal muscle.

A region of the human von Willebrand factor (VWF) gene between -2812 and the end of the first intron (termed vWF2) was previously shown to direct expression in the endothelium of capillaries and a subset of larger blood vessels in the heart and skeletal muscle. Here, our goal was to delineate the DNA sequences responsible for this effect. A series of constructs containing deletions or mutations of vWF2 coupled to LacZ were targeted to the Hprt locus of mice, and the resulting animals were analyzed for reporter gene expression. The findings demonstrate that DNA sequences between -843 and -620 are necessary for expression in capillary but not large vessel endothelium in heart and skeletal muscle. Further, expression of VWF in capillaries and larger vessels of both tissues required the presence of a native or heterologous intron. In vitro assays implicated a role for ERG-binding ETS motif at -56 in mediating basal expression of VWF. In Hprt-targeted mice, mutation of the ETS consensus motif resulted in loss of LacZ expression in the endothelium of the heart and skeletal muscle. Together, these data indicate that distinct DNA modules regulate vascular bed-specific expression of VWF.

Differential roles for ETS, CREB, and EGR binding sites in mediating VEGF receptor 1 expression in vivo.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) is a marker for endothelial-specific gene expression. We previously reported that the human VEGFR1 promoter (between -748 and +284) contains information for expression in the intact endothelium of transgenic mice. The objective of this study was to dissect the cis-regulatory elements underlying VEGFR1 promoter activity in vitro and in vivo. In primary endothelial cells, binding sites for E74-like factor 1 (ELF-1; between -49 and -52), cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding (CREB; between -74 and -81), and early growth response factor 1/3 (EGR-1/3; between -16 to -25) were shown to play a positive role in gene transcription, whereas a putative E26 transformation-specificsequence (ETS) motif between -36 and -39 had a net negative effect on promoter activity. When targeted to the Hprt locus of mice, mutations of the ELF-1 binding site and the CRE element reduced promoter activity in the embryonic vasculature and resulted in a virtual loss of expression in adult endothelium. Postnatally, the EGR binding site mutant displayed significantly reduced promoter activity in a subset of vascular beds. In contrast, mutation of the -39 ETS site resulted in increased LacZ staining in multiple vascular beds. Together, these results provide new insights into the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of VEGFR1.

A GABP-binding element in the Robo4 promoter is necessary for endothelial expression in vivo.

We recently demonstrated that the 3-kb 5'-flanking region of the human ROBO4 gene directs endothelial cell-specific expression in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, a GA-binding protein (GABP)-binding motif at -119 was necessary for mediating promoter activity in vitro. The goal of the present study was to confirm the functional relevance of the -119 GABP-binding site in vivo. To that end, the Hprt locus of mice was targeted with a Robo4-LacZ transgenic cassette in which the GABP site was mutated. In other studies, the GABP mutation was introduced into the endogenous mouse Robo4 locus in which LacZ was knocked-in. Compared with their respective controls, the mutant promoters displayed a significant reduction in activity in embryoid bodies, embryos, and adult animals. Together, these data provide strong support for the role of the GABP-binding motif in mediating Robo4 expression in the intact endothelium.

A three-kilobase fragment of the human Robo4 promoter directs cell type-specific expression in endothelium.

Robo4, a member of the roundabout family, is expressed exclusively in endothelial cells and has been implicated in endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. Here we report the cloning and characterization of the human Robo4 promoter. The 3-kb 5'-flanking region directs endothelial cell-specific expression in vitro. Deletion and mutation analyses revealed the functional importance of two 12-bp palindromic DNA sequences at -2528 and -2941, 2 SP1 consensus motifs at -42 and -153, and an ETS consensus motif at -119. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays using supershifting antibodies, the SP1 motifs bound SP1 protein, whereas the ETS site bound a heterodimeric member of the ETS family, GA binding protein (GABP). These DNA-protein interactions were confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Transfection of primary human endothelial cells with small interfering RNA against GABP and SP1 resulted in a significant (approximately 50%) reduction in endogenous Robo4 mRNA expression. The 3-kb Robo4 promoter was coupled to LacZ, and the resulting cassette was introduced into the Hprt locus of mice by homologous recombination. Reporter gene activity was observed in the vasculature of adult organs (particularly in microvessels), tumor xenografts, and embryos, where it colocalized with the endothelial cell-specific marker CD31. LacZ mRNA levels in adult tissues and tumors correlated with mRNA levels for endogenous Robo4, CD31, and vascular endothelial cadherin. Moreover, the pattern of reporter gene expression was similar to that observed in mice in which LacZ was knocked into the endogenous Robo4 locus. Together, these data suggest that 3-kb upstream promoter of human Robo4 contains information for cell type-specific expression in the intact endothelium.

Mapping critical biological motifs and biosynthetic pathways of heparan sulfate.

Heparan sulfate (HS) interacts with numerous proteins at the cell surface and orchestrates myriad biological events. Unraveling the mechanisms of these events at the molecular level calls for the structural analysis of these negatively charged and highly heterogeneous biopolymers. However, HS is often available only in small quantities, and the task of structural analysis necessitates the use of ultra-sensitive methods, such as mass spectrometry. Sequence heterogeneity within HS chains required us to identify critical functional groups and their spacing to determine structure-function relationships for HS. We carried out structural analysis of HS isolated from wild type, 3-OST-1, 3-OST-3A, or 3-OST-5 sulfotransferase-transduced Chinese hamster ovary cells and also from various tissues. In the context of tissue-specific HS, the data allowed us to map the biosynthetic pathways responsible for the placement of critical groups. As a means of determining the distance between critical groups within a motif, we determined the spacing of the rare GlcNAc-GlcA disaccharide sequence in the completely desulfated re-N-sulfated porcine intestinal heparin. These disaccharides are biosynthetic regulatory markers for 3-OST-1 modification and the partial structure of the antithrombin III binding site. They occur only at the distance of hexasaccharide, octasaccharide, decasaccharide, or dodecasaccharide. Thus this approach allowed us to map both the biosynthetic pathways for generating critical functional groups and their spacing within HS. Our new strategy removes two obstacles to rapid progress in this field of research.

Determining heparan sulfate structure in the vicinity of specific sulfotransferase recognition sites by mass spectrometry.

Sulfated motifs on heparan sulfate (HS) are involved in various extracellular processes from cell signaling to enzymatic regulation, but the structures of these motifs are obscure. We have developed a strategy to determine the structure of sulfotransferase recognition sites which constitute these motifs. Stable isotope is first introduced into specific sites on HS with HS sulfotransferases and the modified HS is then digested into oligosaccharides of differing sizes. The overlapping oligosaccharides containing the introduced stable isotope are identified by changes in the m/z profiles by mass spectrometry, and their relationships are elucidated. In this way, the HS structures in the vicinity of the sulfotransferase recognition site are quickly determined and groups on precursor structures of HS that direct the action of HS sulfotransferases are pinpointed.

Enzymatic synthesis of antithrombin III-binding heparan sulfate pentasaccharide.

Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans are crucial to numerous biological processes and pathological conditions, but to date only a few HS structures have been synthesized and characterized with regard to structure-function relationships. Because HS proteoglycans are highly diverse in structure, there are substantial limitations on their synthesis by classical chemical means, and thus new methods to rapidly assemble bioactive HS structures are needed. Here we report the biosynthesis of bioactive HS oligosaccharides using an engineered set of cloned enzymes that mimics the Golgi apparatus in vitro. We rapidly and efficiently assembled the antithrombin III-binding pentasaccharide in just 6 steps, in contrast to the approximately 60 steps needed for its chemical synthesis, with an overall yield at least twofold greater and a completion time at least 100 times faster than for the chemical process.

Rapid two-step synthesis of mitrin from heparosan: a replacement for heparin.

We have engineered a two-step enzymatic synthesis of Mitrin which is a more potent and homogeneous anticoagulant than the current animal-derived heparin. This engineered heparin may have advantages of being free from animal-derived pathogens and may also have reduced side effects such as heparin induced thrombocytopenia. This approach can also be extended to tailor heparin-based drugs with improved therapeutic characteristics to treat other disorders or infections in which heparin-like molecules play a major role.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of classical and non-classical anticoagulant heparan sulfate polysaccharides.

Heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides interact with numerous proteins at the cell surface and orchestrate many different biological functions. Though many functions of HS are well established, only a few specific structures can be attributed to HS functions. The extreme diversity of HS makes chemical synthesis of specific bioactive HS structures a cumbersome and tedious undertaking that requires laborious and careful functional group manipulations. Now that many of the enzymes involved in HS biosynthesis are characterized, we show in this study how one can rapidly and easily assemble bioactive HS structures with a set of cloned enzymes. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this new approach to rapidly assemble antithrombin III-binding classical and non-classical anticoagulant polysaccharide structures for the first time.

Normal levels of anticoagulant heparan sulfate are not essential for normal hemostasis.

Endothelial cell production of anticoagulant heparan sulfate (HS(act)) is controlled by the Hs3st1 gene, which encodes the rate-limiting enzyme heparan sulfate 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 (3-OST-1). In vitro, HS(act) dramatically enhances the neutralization of coagulation proteases by antithrombin. The in vivo role of HS(act) was evaluated by generating Hs3st1(-/-) knockout mice. Hs3st1(-/-) animals were devoid of 3-OST-1 enzyme activity in plasma and tissue extracts. Nulls showed dramatic reductions in tissue levels of HS(act) but maintained wild-type levels of tissue fibrin accumulation under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Given that vascular HS(act) predominantly occurs in the subendothelial matrix, mice were subjected to a carotid artery injury assay in which ferric chloride administration induces de-endothelialization and occlusive thrombosis. Hs3st1(-/-) and Hs3st1(+/+) mice yielded indistinguishable occlusion times and comparable levels of thrombin.antithrombin complexes. Thus, Hs3st1(-/-) mice did not show an obvious procoagulant phenotype. Instead, Hs3st1(-/-) mice exhibited genetic background-specific lethality and intrauterine growth retardation, without evidence of a gross coagulopathy. Our results demonstrate that the 3-OST-1 enzyme produces the majority of tissue HS(act). Surprisingly, this bulk of HS(act) is not essential for normal hemostasis in mice. Instead, 3-OST-1-deficient mice exhibited unanticipated phenotypes suggesting that HS(act) or additional 3-OST-1-derived structures may serve alternate biologic roles.

The involvement of heparan sulfate (HS) in FGF1/HS/FGFR1 signaling complex.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling begins with the formation of a ternary complex of FGF, FGF receptor (FGFR), and heparan sulfate (HS). Multiple models have been proposed for the ternary complex. However, major discrepancies exist among those models, and none of these models have evaluated the functional importance of the interacting regions on the HS chains. To resolve the discrepancies, we measured the size and molar ratio of HS in the complex and showed that both FGF1 and FGFR1 simultaneously interact with HS; therefore, a model of 2:2:2 FGF1.HS.FGFR1 was shown to fit the data. Using genetic and biochemical methods, we generated HSs that were defective in FGF1 and/or FGFR1 binding but could form the signaling ternary complex. Both genetically and chemically modified HSs were subsequently assessed in a BaF3 cell mitogenic activity assay. The ability of HS to support the ternary complex formation was found to be required for FGF1-stimulated cell proliferation. Our data also proved that specific critical groups and sites on HS support complex formation. Furthermore, the molar ratio of HS, FGF1, and FGFR1 in the ternary complex was found to be independent of the size of HS, which indicates that the selected model can take place on the cell surface proteoglycans. Finally, a mechanism for the FGF.FGFR signaling complex formation on cell membrane was proposed, where FGF and FGFR have their own binding sites on HS and a distinct ternary complex formation site is directly responsible for mitogenic activity.