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Increased mechanosensitivity and nuclear stiffness in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria cells: effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors.

ABSTRACT: Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), reportedly a model for normal aging, is a genetic disorder in children marked by dramatic signs suggestive for premature aging. It is usually caused by de novo mutations in the nuclear envelope protein lamin A. Lamins are essential to maintaining nuclear integrity, and loss of lamin A/C results in increased cellular sensitivity to mechanical strain and defective mechanotransduction signaling. Since increased mechanical sensitivity in vascular cells could contribute to loss of smooth muscle cells and the development of arteriosclerosis--the leading cause of death in HGPS patients--we investigated the effect of mechanical stress on cells from HGPS patients. We found that skin fibroblasts from HGPS patients developed progressively stiffer nuclei with increasing passage number. Importantly, fibroblasts from HGPS patients had decreased viability and increased apoptosis under repetitive mechanical strain, as well as attenuated wound healing, and these defects preceded changes in nuclear stiffness. Treating fibroblasts with farnesyltransferase inhibitors restored nuclear stiffness in HGPS cells and accelerated the wound healing response in HGPS and healthy control cells by increasing the directional persistence of migrating cells. However, farnesyltransferase inhibitors did not improve cellular sensitivity to mechanical strain. These data suggest that increased mechanical sensitivity in HGPS cells is unrelated to changes in nuclear stiffness and that increased biomechanical sensitivity could provide a potential mechanism for the progressive loss of vascular smooth muscle cells under physiological strain in HGPS patients.

SUBMITTER: Verstraeten VL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2651412 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increased mechanosensitivity and nuclear stiffness in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria cells: effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors.

Verstraeten Valerie L R M VL Ji Julie Y JY Cummings Kiersten S KS Lee Richard T RT Lammerding Jan J

Aging cell 20080310 3

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), reportedly a model for normal aging, is a genetic disorder in children marked by dramatic signs suggestive for premature aging. It is usually caused by de novo mutations in the nuclear envelope protein lamin A. Lamins are essential to maintaining nuclear integrity, and loss of lamin A/C results in increased cellular sensitivity to mechanical strain and defective mechanotransduction signaling. Since increased mechanical sensitivity in vascular cells co ...[more]

PMID: 18331619

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Project description:PurposeChildren with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a rare premature aging disease, exhibit extraskeletal calcifications detected by radiographic analysis and on physical examination. The aim of this study was to describe the natural history and pathophysiology of these abnormal calcifications in HGPS, and to determine whether medications and/or supplements tested in clinical trials alter their development.MethodsChildren from two successive clinical trials administering 1) lonafarnib (n = 26) and 2) lonafarnib + pravastatin + zoledronic acid (n = 37) were studied at baseline (pre-therapy), one year on therapy, and at end-of-therapy (3.3-4.3 years after the baseline visit). Calcium supplementation (oral calcium carbonate) was administered during the first year of the second trial and was subsequently discontinued. Information on calcifications was obtained from physical examinations, radiographs, and serum and urinary biochemical measures. The mineral content of two skin-derived calcifications was determined by x-ray diffraction.ResultsExtraskeletal calcifications were detected radiographically in 12/39 (31%) patients at baseline. The odds of exhibiting calcifications increased with age (p = 0.045). The odds were unaffected by receipt of lonafarnib, pravastatin, and zoledronate therapies. However, administration of calcium carbonate supplementation, in conjunction with all three therapeutic agents, significantly increased the odds of developing calcifications (p = 0.009), with the odds plateauing after the supplement's discontinuation. Composition analysis of calcinosis cutis showed hydroxyapatite similar to bone. Although serum calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were within normal limits at baseline and on-therapy, PTH increased significantly after lonafarnib initiation (p < 0.001). Both the urinary calcium/creatinine ratio and tubular reabsorption of phosphate (TRP) were elevated at baseline in 22/39 (56%) and 31/37 (84%) evaluable patients, respectively, with no significant changes while on-therapy. The mean calcium × phosphorus product (Ca × Pi) was within normal limits, but plasma magnesium decreased over both clinical trials. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) was lower compared to age-matched controls (p = 0.03).ConclusionsExtraskeletal calcifications increased with age in children with HGPS and were composed of hydroxyapatite. The urinary calcium/creatinine ratio and TRP were elevated for age while FGF23 was decreased. Magnesium decreased and PTH increased after lonafarnib therapy which may alter the ability to mobilize calcium. These findings demonstrate that children with HGPS with normal renal function and an unremarkable Ca × Pi develop extraskeletal calcifications by an unidentified mechanism that may involve decreased plasma magnesium and FGF23. Calcium carbonate accelerated their development and is, therefore, not recommended for routine supplementation in these children.

Dataset Information

Increased mechanosensitivity and nuclear stiffness in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria cells: effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors.

Publications

Increased mechanosensitivity and nuclear stiffness in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria cells: effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors.

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