Breast adenocarcinoma cells adhere stronger to brain pericytes than to endothelial cells.

Most of the malignancies detected within the brain parenchyma are of metastatic origin. As the brain lacks classical lymphatic circulation, the primary way for metastasis relies on hematogenous routes. Dissemination of metastatic cells to the brain implies attachment to the luminal surface of brain endothelial cells, transmigration through the vessel wall, and adhesion to the brain surface of the vasculature. During this process, tumor cells must interact with brain endothelial cells and later on with pericytes. Physical interaction between tumor cells and brain vascular cells might be crucial in the successful extravasation of metastatic cells through blood vessels and later in their survival within the brain environment. Therefore, we applied single-cell force spectroscopy to investigate the nanoscale adhesive properties of living breast adenocarcinoma cells to brain endothelial cells and pericytes. We found target cell type-dependent adhesion characteristics, i.e. increased adhesion of the tumor cells to pericytes in comparison to endothelial cells, which underlines the existence of metastatic potential-related nanomechanical differences relying partly on membrane tether dynamics. Varying adhesion strength of the tumor cells to different cell types of brain vessels presumably reflects the transitory adhesion to endothelial cells before extravasation and the long-lasting strong interaction with pericytes during survival and proliferation in the brain. Our results highlight the importance of specific mechanical interactions between tumor cells and host cells during metastasis formation.

Improving dental epithelial junction on dental implants with bioengineered peptides.

Introduction: The functionalization of titanium (Ti) and titanium alloys (Ti6Al4V) implant surfaces via material-specific peptides influence host/biomaterial interaction. The impact of using peptides as molecular linkers between cells and implant material to improve keratinocyte adhesion is reported. Results: The metal binding peptides (MBP-1, MBP-2) SVSVGMKPSPRP and WDPPTLKRPVSP were selected via phage display and combined with laminin-5 or E-cadherin epithelial cell specific peptides (CSP-1, CSP-2) to engineer four metal-cell specific peptides (MCSPs). Single-cell force spectroscopy and cell adhesion experiments were performed to select the most promising candidate. In vivo tests using the dental implant for rats showed that the selected bi functional peptide not only enabled stable cell adhesion on the trans-gingival part of the dental implant but also arrested the unwanted apical migration of epithelial cells. Conclusion: The results demonstrated the outstanding performance of the bioengineered peptide in improving epithelial adhesion to Ti based implants and pointed towards promising new opportunities for applications in clinical practice.

Breast adenocarcinoma-derived exosomes lower first-contact de-adhesion strength of adenocarcinoma cells to brain endothelial layer.

Despite of advances in modern therapeutics, one of the most feared complications of cancer are brain metastases, which often cause life impairing profound neurological symptoms and premature death. Breast adenocarcinoma is among the leading "sources" of brain metastases. Since the central nervous system lacks a classical lymphatic circulation, invading metastatic cells can reach the brain parenchyma only through haematogenous routes and must breach the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The key step before the transmigration of metastatic cells through the highly regulated interface of the BBB is the establishment of firm adhesion between the tumor cell and the cerebral endothelial layer. Using atomic force microscopy, as a high resolution force spectrograph, direct measurements of intercellular interactions was performed between living adenocarcinoma cells and a confluent endothelial layer pre-treated with carcinoma cell-derived exosomes. By immobilization of a living adenocarcinoma cell to an atomic force microscope's cantilever, intercellular de-adhesions were directly measured by single cell force spectroscopy (SCFS) at quasi-physiological conditions. De-adhesion dynamics and strength was characterized by several different calculated parameters, involving aspects of both membrane and cell surface related factors. Our results indicate that de-adhesion strength was lower in case of exosome pre-treated endothelial cells as compared to non-treated controls. Breast adenocarcinoma-derived exosomes have direct effect on de-adhesion pattern of brain endothelium.

Sustained maternal smoking-associated changes in the physico-chemical properties of fetal RBC membranes might serve as early markers for vascular comorbidities.

Maternal smoking-induced congenital heart and microvascular defects are closely associated with the impaired functioning of the in-utero feto-placental circulation system. Current groundbreaking facts revealed intimate crosstalk between circulating red blood cells (RBCs) and the vascular endothelium. Thus, RBCs have become the protagonists under varied pathological and adverse pro-oxidative cellular stress conditions. We isolated and screened fetal RBCs from the arterial cord blood of neonates, born to non-smoking (RBC-NS) and smoking mothers (RBC-S), assuming that parameters of fetal RBCs are blueprints of conditions experienced in-utero. Using atomic force microscopy and mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics in the RBC-S population we revealed induced membrane stiffness, loss in intrinsic plastic activities and several abnormalities in their membrane-lipid composition, that could consequently result in perturbed hemodynamic flow movements. Altogether, these features are indicative of the outcome of neonatal microvascular complications and suggest unavailability for the potential rescue mechanism in cases of vascular endothelium impairment due to altered membrane integrity and rheological properties.

Failure in the compensatory mechanism in red blood cells due to sustained smoking during pregnancy.

Decrease in the bioavailability of vasoactive nitric oxide (NO), derived from the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3), underlines vascular endothelial damage. Our expanding knowledge on mature red blood cells (RBCs) makes it supposable that RBCs might contribute to vascular function and integrity via their active NO synthetizing system (RBC-NOS3). This "rescue" mechanism of RBCs could be especially important during pregnancy with smoking habit, when smoking acts as an additional stressor and causes active change in the redox status. In this study RBC populations of 82 non-smoking (RBC-NS) and 75 smoking (RBC-S) pregnant women were examined. Morphological variants were followed by confocal microscopy and quantified by a microscopy based intelligent analysis software. Fluorescence activated cell sorting was used to examine the translational and posttranslational regulation of RBC-NOS, Arginase-1 and the formation of the major product of lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. To survey the rheological parameters of RBCs like elasticity and plasticity atomic force microscopy-based measurement was applied. Significant morphological and functional differences of RBCs were found between the non-smoking and smoking groups. The phenotypic variations in RBC-S population, even the characteristic biconcave disc-shaped cells, could be connected to impaired NOS3 activation and are compromised in their physiological properties. Membrane lipid studies reveal an elevated lipid oxidation state well paralleled with the changed elastic and plastic activities. These features can form a basic tool in the prenatal health screening conditions; hence the compensatory mechanism of RBC-S population completely fails to sense and rescue the acute oxidative stress conditions.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide acts against neovascularization in retinal pigment epithelial cells.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) could influence the neovascularization processes in hyperosmotic and oxidative stress in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Hyperosmotic conditions and oxidative stress were induced by 200 mM sucrose and 250 µM hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ), respectively. Morphology and elasticity of adult retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells were measured by atomic force microscopy, while the investigation of junctional molecules, such as occludin and ZO-1, was carried out using immunofluorescence. For cell viability measurement, the MTT test was used. The effect of PACAP on the key angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, angiogenin, and endothelin-1, was measured by an angiogenesis array and flow cytometry. Hyperosmotic stress-induced reorganization of the cytoskeleton and impairment of the junctions decreased cell viability and upregulated several angiogenic factors. In oxidative stress, we found that opening of the junctions decreased viability and upregulated the expression of angiogenic factors. PACAP was shown to be protective in both conditions. Retinal pigment epithelium cells play an important role in several diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Therefore, protecting retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with PACAP could be a novel and potential treatment in these diseases.

Cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes expressing ALS-causing SOD1 mutant selectively trigger death of spinal motoneurons.

Adaptive immune response is part of the dynamic changes that accompany motoneuron loss in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). CD4+ T cells that regulate a protective immunity during the neurodegenerative process have received the most attention. CD8+ T cells are also observed in the spinal cord of patients and ALS mice although their contribution to the disease still remains elusive. Here, we found that activated CD8+ T lymphocytes infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS) of a mouse model of ALS at the symptomatic stage. Selective ablation of CD8+ T cells in mice expressing the ALS-associated superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1)G93A mutant decreased spinal motoneuron loss. Using motoneuron-CD8+ T cell coculture systems, we found that mutant SOD1-expressing CD8+ T lymphocytes selectively kill motoneurons. This cytotoxicity activity requires the recognition of the peptide-MHC-I complex (where MHC-I represents major histocompatibility complex class I). Measurement of interaction strength by atomic force microscopy-based single-cell force spectroscopy demonstrated a specific MHC-I-dependent interaction between motoneuron and SOD1G93A CD8+ T cells. Activated mutant SOD1 CD8+ T cells produce interferon-γ, which elicits the expression of the MHC-I complex in motoneurons and exerts their cytotoxic function through Fas and granzyme pathways. In addition, analysis of the clonal diversity of CD8+ T cells in the periphery and CNS of ALS mice identified an antigen-restricted repertoire of their T cell receptor in the CNS. Our results suggest that self-directed immune response takes place during the course of the disease, contributing to the selective elimination of a subset of motoneurons in ALS.

Rho-Kinase Inhibition Ameliorates Dasatinib-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction and Pulmonary Hypertension.

The multi-kinase inhibitor dasatinib is used for treatment of imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia, but is prone to induce microvascular dysfunction. In lung this can manifest as capillary leakage with pleural effusion, pulmonary edema or even pulmonary arterial hypertension. To understand how dasatinib causes endothelial dysfunction we examined the effects of clinically relevant concentrations of dasatinib on both human pulmonary arterial macro- and microvascular endothelial cells (ECs). The effects of dasatinib was compared to imatinib and nilotinib, two other clinically used BCR/Abl kinase inhibitors that do not inhibit Src. Real three-dimensional morphology and high resolution stiffness mapping revealed softening of both macro- and microvascular ECs upon dasatinib treatment, which was not observed in response to imatinib. In a dose-dependent manner, dasatinib decreased transendothelial electrical resistance/impedance and caused a permeability increase as well as disruption of tight adherens junctions in both cell types. In isolated perfused and ventilated rat lungs, dasatinib increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure, which was accompanied by a gain in lung weight. The Rho-kinase inhibitor Y27632 partly reversed the dasatinib-induced changes in vitro and ex vivo, presumably by acting downstream of Src. Co-administration of the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y27632 completely blunted the increased pulmonary pressure in response to dasatinib. In conclusion, a dasatinib-induced permeability increase in human pulmonary arterial macro- and microvascular ECs might explain many of the adverse effects of dasatinib in patients. Rho-kinase inhibition might be suitable to ameliorate these effects.

De-adhesion dynamics of melanoma cells from brain endothelial layer.

Metastasis formation is a complex and not entirely understood process. The poorest prognosis and the most feared complications are associated to brain metastases. Melanoma derived brain metastases show the highest prevalence. Due to the lack of classical lymphatic drainage, in the process of brain metastases formation the haematogenous route is of primordial importance. The first and crucial step in this multistep process is the establishment of firm adhesion between the blood travelling melanoma cells and the tightly connected layer of the endothelium, which is the fundamental structure of the blood-brain barrier. This study compares the de-adhesion properties and dynamics of three melanoma cells types (WM35, A2058 and A375) to a confluent layer of brain micro-capillary endothelial cells. Cell type dependent adhesion characteristics are presented, pointing towards the existence of metastatic potential related nanomechanical aspects. Apparent mechanical properties such as elasticity, maximal adhesion force, number, size and distance of individual rupture events showed altered values pointing towards cell type dependent aspects. Our results underline the importance of mechanical details in case of intercellular interactions. Nevertheless, it suggests that in adequate circumstances elastic and adhesive characterizations might be used as biomarkers.

Foe or friend? Janus-faces of the neurovascular unit in the formation of brain metastases.

Despite the potential obstacle represented by the blood-brain barrier for extravasating malignant cells, metastases are more frequent than primary tumors in the central nervous system. Not only tightly interconnected endothelial cells can hinder metastasis formation, other cells of the brain microenvironment (like astrocytes and microglia) can also be very hostile, destroying the large majority of metastatic cells. However, malignant cells that are able to overcome these harmful mechanisms may benefit from the shielding and even support provided by cerebral endothelial cells, astrocytes and microglia, rendering the brain a sanctuary site against anti-tumor strategies. Thus, cells of the neurovascular unit have a Janus-faced attitude towards brain metastatic cells, being both destructive and protective. In this review, we present the main mechanisms of brain metastasis formation, including those involved in extravasation through the brain vasculature and survival in the cerebral environment.

Expression of pattern recognition receptors and activation of the non-canonical inflammasome pathway in brain pericytes.

Cerebral pericytes are mural cells embedded in the basement membrane of capillaries. Increasing evidence suggests that they play important role in controlling neurovascular functions, i.e. cerebral blood flow, angiogenesis and permeability of the blood-brain barrier. These cells can also influence neuroinflammation which is highly regulated by the innate immune system. Therefore, we systematically tested the pattern recognition receptor expression of brain pericytes. We detected expression of NOD1, NOD2, NLRC5, NLRP1-3, NLRP5, NLRP9, NLRP10 and NLRX mRNA in non-treated cells. Among the ten known human TLRs, TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, TLR6 and TLR10 were found to be expressed. Inflammatory mediators induced the expression of NLRA, NLRC4 and TLR9 and increased the levels of NOD2, TLR2, inflammasome-forming caspases and inflammasome-cleaved interleukins. Oxidative stress, on the other hand, upregulated expression of TLR10 and NLRP9. Activation of selected pattern recognition receptors can lead to inflammasome assembly and caspase-dependent secretion of IL-1ß. TNF-α and IFN-γ increased the levels of pro-IL-1ß and pro-caspase-1 proteins; however, no canonical activation of NLRP1, NLRP2, NLRP3 or NLRC4 inflammasomes could be observed in human brain vascular pericytes. On the other hand, we could demonstrate secretion of active IL-1ß in response to non-canonical inflammasome activation, i.e. intracellular LPS or infection with E. coli bacteria. Our in vitro results indicate that pericytes might have an important regulatory role in neuroinflammation.

Direct mapping of melanoma cell - endothelial cell interactions.

The most life-threatening aspect of cancer is metastasis; cancer patient mortality is mainly due to metastasis. Among all metastases, presence of brain metastasis is one with the poorest prognosis; the median survival time can be counted in months. Therefore, prevention or decreasing their incidence would be highly desired both by patients and physicians. Metastatic cells invading the brain must breach the cerebral vasculature, primarily the blood-brain barrier. The key step in this process is the establishment of firm adhesion between the cancer cell and the cerebral endothelial layer. Using the atomic force microscope, a high-resolution force spectrograph, our aim was to explore the connections among the cell morphology, cellular mechanics, and biological function in the process of transendothelial migration of metastatic cancer cells. By immobilization of a melanoma cell to an atomic force microscope's cantilever, intercellular adhesion was directly measured at quasi-physiological conditions. Hereby, we present our latest results by using this melanoma-decorated probe. Binding characteristics to a confluent layer of brain endothelial cells was directly measured by means of single-cell force spectroscopy. Adhesion dynamics and strength were characterized, and we present data about spatial distribution of elasticity and detachment strength. These results highlight the importance of cellular mechanics in brain metastasis formation and emphasize the enormous potential toward exploration of intercellular dynamic-related processes.

Elasto-mechanical properties of living cells.

The possibility to directly measure the elasticity of living cell has emerged only in the last few decades. In the present study the elastic properties of two cell lines were followed. Both types are widely used as cell barrier models (e.g. blood-brain barrier). During time resolved measurement of the living cell elasticity a continuous quasi-periodic oscillation of the elastic modulus was observed. Fast Fourier transformation of the signals revealed that a very limited number of three to five Fourier terms fitted the signal in the case of human cerebral endothelial cells. In the case of canine kidney epithelial cells more than 8 Fourier terms did not result a good fit. Calculating the correlation between nucleus and periphery of the signals revealed a higher correlation factor for the endothelial cells compared to the epithelial cells.

Transmigration characteristics of breast cancer and melanoma cells through the brain endothelium: Role of Rac and PI3K.

Brain metastases are common and devastating complications of both breast cancer and melanoma. Although mammary carcinoma brain metastases are more frequent than those originating from melanoma, this latter has the highest tropism to the brain. Using static and dynamic in vitro approaches, here we show that melanoma cells have increased adhesion to the brain endothelium in comparison to breast cancer cells. Moreover, melanoma cells can transmigrate more rapidly and in a higher number through brain endothelial monolayers than breast cancer cells. In addition, melanoma cells have increased ability to impair tight junctions of cerebral endothelial cells. We also show that inhibition of Rac or PI3K impedes adhesion of breast cancer cells and melanoma cells to the brain endothelium. In addition, inhibition of Rac or PI3K inhibits the late phase of transmigration of breast cancer cells and the early phase of transmigration of melanoma cells. On the other hand, the Rac inhibitor EHT1864 impairs the junctional integrity of the brain endothelium, while the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 has no damaging effect on interendothelial junctions. We suggest that targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway may represent a novel opportunity in preventing the formation of brain metastases of melanoma and breast cancer.

Interaction of cysteine-rich cationic antimicrobial peptides with intact bacteria and model membranes.

Antimicrobial peptides are small proteins that exhibit a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Their chemical structure allows them to interact (attach and insert) with membranes. The fine details about this interaction and their mode of action are not fully clarified yet. In order to better understand this mechanism, we have performed in situ atomic force microscopy studies using two types of nodule specific cysteine-rich NCR peptides on Escherichia coli bacteria and on natural purple membrane. On intact bacteria, both NCR247 and NCR335 caused increase in the surface roughness, indicating the damage of the bacterial cell envelope. In case of the tightly packed purple membrane, it is clear that the peptides prefer to disrupt the border of the disks indicating a strong lipid preference of the interaction. These results verify the concept that the first target of NCR peptides is probably the bacterial cell envelope, especially the lipid matrix.

DAAM is required for thin filament formation and Sarcomerogenesis during muscle development in Drosophila.

During muscle development, myosin and actin containing filaments assemble into the highly organized sarcomeric structure critical for muscle function. Although sarcomerogenesis clearly involves the de novo formation of actin filaments, this process remained poorly understood. Here we show that mouse and Drosophila members of the DAAM formin family are sarcomere-associated actin assembly factors enriched at the Z-disc and M-band. Analysis of dDAAM mutants revealed a pivotal role in myofibrillogenesis of larval somatic muscles, indirect flight muscles and the heart. We found that loss of dDAAM function results in multiple defects in sarcomere development including thin and thick filament disorganization, Z-disc and M-band formation, and a near complete absence of the myofibrillar lattice. Collectively, our data suggest that dDAAM is required for the initial assembly of thin filaments, and subsequently it promotes filament elongation by assembling short actin polymers that anneal to the pointed end of the growing filaments, and by antagonizing the capping protein Tropomodulin.

Role of Rho/ROCK signaling in the interaction of melanoma cells with the blood-brain barrier.

We have investigated the role of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway in the interaction of metastatic melanoma cells with the brain endothelium. ROCK inhibition induced a shift of melanoma cells to the mesenchymal phenotype, increased the number of melanoma cells attached to the brain endothelium, and strengthened the adhesion force between melanoma and endothelial cells. Inhibition of ROCK raised the number of melanoma cells migrating through the brain endothelial monolayer and promoted the formation of parenchymal brain metastases in vivo. We have shown that inhibition of the Rho/ROCK pathway in melanoma, but not in brain endothelial cells, is responsible for this phenomenon. Our results indicate that the mesenchymal type of tumor cell movement is primordial in the transmigration of melanoma cells through the blood-brain barrier.

Double-stranded RNA attenuates the barrier function of human pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

Circulating RNA may result from excessive cell damage or acute viral infection and can interact with vascular endothelial cells. Despite the obvious clinical implications associated with the presence of circulating RNA, its pathological effects on endothelial cells and the governing molecular mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. We analyzed the effects of double stranded RNA on primary human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (hPAECs). The effect of natural and synthetic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) on hPAECs was investigated using trans-endothelial electric resistance, molecule trafficking, calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis, gene expression and proliferation studies. Furthermore, the morphology and mechanical changes of the cells caused by synthetic dsRNA was followed by in-situ atomic force microscopy, by vascular-endothelial cadherin and F-actin staining. Our results indicated that exposure of hPAECs to synthetic dsRNA led to functional deficits. This was reflected by morphological and mechanical changes and an increase in the permeability of the endothelial monolayer. hPAECs treated with synthetic dsRNA accumulated in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Additionally, the proliferation rate of the cells in the presence of synthetic dsRNA was significantly decreased. Furthermore, we found that natural and synthetic dsRNA modulated Ca(2+) signaling in hPAECs by inhibiting the sarco-endoplasmic Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) which is involved in the regulation of the intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis and thus cell growth. Even upon synthetic dsRNA stimulation silencing of SERCA3 preserved the endothelial monolayer integrity. Our data identify novel mechanisms by which dsRNA can disrupt endothelial barrier function and these may be relevant in inflammatory processes.

Adhesion and stress relaxation forces between melanoma and cerebral endothelial cells.

Mechanical parameters play a crucial role in proper cellular functions. This article examines the process of the appearance and breaking of adhesion forces during contact between the confluent cerebral endothelial cell layer and a melanoma cell attached to a tipless cantilever. This adhesion is the initial phase of melanoma transmigration through the endothelial cell layer. Taking the force measurement, if the contact was prolonged for several seconds, a decrease in the load force was observed, which corresponds to stress relaxation of the cells. The dependence of adhesion force and stress relaxation on dwell time showed a saturation-like behavior. These stress relaxation curves could be fitted with the sum of two exponentials, suggesting that two independent processes take place simultaneously. The breakup of the adhesion during the retraction of the cantilever with the attached melanoma cell is not continuous but shows jumps. Between living endothelial and melanoma cells, a minimum jump size of about 20 pN could be determined. The minimum jump is independent of the dwell time and load force. It seems to be the elementary binding force between these two cell types. In case of fixed endothelial cells, the adhesion force was strongly decreased and the jumps disappeared, whereas the stress relaxation did not show considerable change upon fixation.

Spatial and temporal dependence of the cerebral endothelial cells elasticity.

The reliable determination of the mechanical properties of a living cell is one of the most important challenges of the atomic force microscopic measurements. In the present study the spatial and temporal dependency of the force measurements on cerebral endothelial cells was investigated. Besides imaging the cells, two different sequences of force measurements were applied: Acquisition of force curves in short time at several points across the cell surface investigating spatial dependence of the elasticity. Acquisition of force curves for long time at a previously determined place, over the cell nucleus, which provides the temporal stability/variation of the measured forces/values. Three different stages of endothelial cell cultures of the hCMEC/D3 cells were used: sub-confluent living, confluent living, and confluent fixed cells. The Young's modulus was calculated from the force curves using the Hertz model and the results were plotted against time or location correspondingly. The rational of using the three stage of culture was to clarify whether the observed effect belongs to the individual cell, to the ensemble of cells or just to some, not living cell component. In case of sub-confluent cells the results revealed a softer nuclear region compared to the periphery, while an attenuated oscillation like fluctuation in time, with a period of about 10-30 min, was observed. Confluent living cells showed similar tendencies to the sub-confluent cells, but the changes were larger and the temporal oscillations had longer period. The spatial dependency of the elasticity on confluent cells was confirmed by force-volume measurement too. In case of fixed cells neither spatial nor temporal differences were observed between the nuclear and peripheral region, however the Young's modulus and the error of the measurement was larger, compared to the sub-confluent living cells.