Modeling Fibrosis in Three-Dimensional Organoids Reveals New Epithelial Restraints on Fibroblasts.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chanda D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6827065 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundFallopian tube secretory epithelial cells (FTSECs) have been implicated as a cell-of-origin for high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer. However, there are relatively few in vitro models of this tissue type available for use in studies of FTSEC biology and malignant transformation. In vitro three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models aim to recreate the architecture and geometry of tissues in vivo and restore the complex network of cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions that occur throughout the surface of the cell membrane.ResultsWe have established and characterized 3D spheroid culture models of primary FTSECs. FTSEC spheroids contain central cores of hyaline matrix surrounded by mono- or multi-layer epithelial sheets. We found that 3D culturing alters the molecular characteristics of FTSECs compared to 2D cultures of the same cells. Gene expression profiling identified more than a thousand differentially expressed genes between 3D and 2D cultures of the same FTSEC lines. Pathways significantly under-represented in 3D FTSEC cultures were associated with cell cycle progression and DNA replication. This was also reflected in the reduced proliferative indices observed in 3D spheroids stained for the proliferation marker MIB1. Comparisons with gene expression profiles of fresh fallopian tube tissues revealed that 2D FTSEC cultures clustered with follicular phase tubal epithelium, whereas 3D FTSEC cultures clustered with luteal phase samples.ConclusionsThis 3D model of fallopian tube secretory epithelial cells will advance our ability to study the underlying biology and etiology of fallopian tube tissues and the pathogenesis of high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer.
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Project description:Maternal alcohol exposure during pregnancy can substantially impact the development of the fetus, causing a range of symptoms, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), such as cognitive dysfunction and psychiatric disorders, with the pathophysiology and mechanisms largely unknown. Recently developed human cerebral organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells are similar to fetal brains in the aspects of development and structure. These models allow more relevant in vitro systems to be developed for studying FASDs than animal models. Modeling binge drinking using human cerebral organoids, we sought to quantify the downstream toxic effects of alcohol (ethanol) on neural pathology phenotypes and signaling pathways within the organoids. The results revealed that alcohol exposure resulted in unhealthy organoids at cellular, subcellular, bioenergetic metabolism, and gene expression levels. Alcohol induced apoptosis on organoids. The apoptotic effects of alcohol on the organoids depended on the alcohol concentration and varied between cell types. Specifically, neurons were more vulnerable to alcohol-induced apoptosis than astrocytes. The alcohol-treated organoids exhibit ultrastructural changes such as disruption of mitochondria cristae, decreased intensity of mitochondrial matrix, and disorganized cytoskeleton. Alcohol exposure also resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic stress in the organoids as evidenced by (1) decreased mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates being linked to basal respiration, ATP production, proton leak, maximal respiration and spare respiratory capacity, and (2) increase of non-mitochondrial respiration in alcohol-treated organoids compared with control groups. Furthermore, we found that alcohol treatment affected the expression of 199 genes out of 17,195 genes analyzed. Bioinformatic analyses showed the association of these dysregulated genes with 37 pathways related to clinically relevant pathologies such as psychiatric disorders, behavior, nervous system development and function, organismal injury and abnormalities, and cellular development. Notably, 187 of these genes are critically involved in neurodevelopment, and/or implicated in nervous system physiology and neurodegeneration. Furthermore, the identified genes are key regulators of multiple pathways linked in networks. This study extends for the first time animal models of binge drinking-related FASDs to a human model, allowing in-depth analyses of neurotoxicity at tissue, cellular, subcellular, metabolism, and gene levels. Hereby, we provide novel insights into alcohol-induced pathologic phenotypes, cell type-specific vulnerability, and affected signaling pathways and molecular networks, that can contribute to a better understanding of the developmental neurotoxic effects of binge drinking during pregnancy.
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Project description:HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is characterized by neuroinflammation and glial activation that, together with the release of viral proteins, trigger a pathogenic cascade resulting in synaptodendritic damage and neurodegeneration that lead to cognitive impairment. However, the molecular events underlying HIV neuropathogenesis remain elusive, mainly due to lack of brain-representative experimental systems to study HIV-CNS pathology. To fill this gap, we developed a three-dimensional (3D) human brain organoid (hBORG) model containing major cell types important for HIV-1 neuropathogenesis; neurons and astrocytes along with incorporation of HIV-infected microglia. Both infected and uninfected microglia infiltrated into hBORGs resulting in a triculture system (MG-hBORG) that mirrors the multicellular network observed in HIV-infected human brain. Moreover, the MG-hBORG model supported productive viral infection and exhibited increased inflammatory response by HIV-infected MG-hBORGs, releasing tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1β) and thereby mimicking the chronic neuroinflammatory environment observed in HIV-infected individuals. This model offers great promise for basic understanding of how HIV-1 infection alters the CNS compartment and induces pathological changes, paving the way for discovery of biomarkers and new therapeutic targets.
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Project description:We performed transcriptomic studies using microarray assays and conducted bioinformatics analyses to identify signaling pathways associated with ethanol-induced brain injury in cerebral organoids A human message RNA (mRNA) Expression Microarray assay (V4.0) and data analysis services were provided by Arraystar Inc. (Rockville, MD) to assess and compare the global abundance of 17,195 mRNAs across iPSC-derived 2-month cerebral organoids treated with and without ethanol.
2021-07-13 | GSE154934 | GEO
Project description:Renal cell carcinomas arise from the nephron but are heterogeneous in disease biology, clinical behavior, prognosis, and response to systemic therapy. Development of patient-specific in vitro models that efficiently and faithfully reproduce the in vivo phenotype may provide a means to develop personalized therapies for this diverse carcinoma. Studies to maintain and model tumor phenotypes in vitro were conducted with emerging three-dimensional culture techniques and natural scaffolding materials. Human renal cell carcinomas were individually characterized by histology, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative PCR to establish the characteristics of each tumor. Isolated cells were cultured on renal extracellular matrix and compared to a novel polysaccharide scaffold to assess cell-scaffold interactions, development of organoids, and maintenance of gene expression signatures over time in culture. Renal cell carcinomas cultured on renal extracellular matrix repopulated tubules or vessel lumens in renal pyramids and medullary rays, but cells were not observed in glomeruli or outer cortical regions of the scaffold. In the polysaccharide scaffold, renal cell carcinomas formed aggregates that were loosely attached to the scaffold or free-floating within the matrix. Molecular analysis of cell-scaffold constructs including immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR demonstrated that individual tumor phenotypes could be sustained for up to 21 days in culture on both scaffolds, and in comparison to outcomes in two-dimensional monolayer cultures. The use of three-dimensional scaffolds to engineer a personalized in vitro renal cell carcinoma model provides opportunities to advance understanding of this disease.
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Project description:During mammalian preimplantation, cells of the inner cell mass (ICM) adopt either an embryonic or an extraembryonic fate. This process is tightly regulated in space and time and has been studied previously in mouse embryos and embryonic stem cell models. Current research suggests that cell fates are arranged in a salt-and-pepper pattern of random cell positioning or a spatially alternating pattern. However, the details of the three-dimensional patterns of cell fate specification have not been investigated in the embryo nor in in vitro systems. We developed ICM organoids as a, to our knowledge, novel three-dimensional in vitro stem cell system to model mechanisms of fate decisions that occur in the ICM. ICM organoids show similarities to the in vivo system that arise regardless of the differences in geometry and total cell number. Inspecting ICM organoids and mouse embryos, we describe a so far unknown local clustering of cells with identical fates in both systems. These findings are based on the three-dimensional quantitative analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of NANOG and GATA6 expression in combination with computational rule-based modeling. The pattern identified by our analysis is distinct from the current view of a salt-and-pepper pattern. Our investigation of the spatial distributions both in vivo and in vitro dissects the contributions of the different parts of the embryo to cell fate specifications. In perspective, our combination of quantitative in vivo and in vitro analyses can be extended to other mammalian organisms and thus creates a powerful approach to study embryogenesis.
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Project description:We developed an in vitro model of pulmonary fibrosis using alveolar organoids, consisting of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived alveolar epithelial cells and human lung fibroblasts. In this model, fibroblasts were activated by bleomysin (BLM) treatment in an epithelial cell-dependent manner simillar to the pathogenic mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis.
2021-11-19 | GSE172121 | GEO
Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis is pathologic remodeling of lung tissue that can result in difficulty breathing, reduced quality of life, and a poor prognosis for patients. Fibrosis occurs as a result of insult to lung tissue, though mechanisms of this response are not well-characterized. The disease is driven in part by dysregulation of fibroblast proliferation and differentiation into myofibroblast cells, as well as pro-fibrotic mediator-driven epithelial cell apoptosis. The most well-characterized pro-fibrotic mediator associated with pulmonary fibrosis is TGF-β1. Excessive synthesis of, and sensitivity to, pro-fibrotic mediators as well as insufficient production of and sensitivity to anti-fibrotic mediators has been credited with enabling fibroblast accumulation. Available treatments neither halt nor reverse lung damage. In this study we have two aims: to identify molecular and cellular scale mechanisms driving fibroblast proliferation and differentiation as well as epithelial cell survival in the context of fibrosis, and to predict therapeutic targets and strategies. We combine in vitro studies with a multi-scale hybrid agent-based computational model that describes fibroblasts and epithelial cells in co-culture. Within this model TGF-β1 represents a pro-fibrotic mediator and we include detailed dynamics of TGF-β1 receptor ligand signaling in fibroblasts. PGE2 represents an anti-fibrotic mediator. Using uncertainty and sensitivity analysis we identify TGF-β1 synthesis, TGF-β1 activation, and PGE2 synthesis among the key mechanisms contributing to fibrotic outcomes. We further demonstrate that intervention strategies combining potential therapeutics targeting both fibroblast regulation and epithelial cell survival can promote healthy tissue repair better than individual strategies. Combinations of existing drugs and compounds may provide significant improvements to the current standard of care for pulmonary fibrosis. Thus, a two-hit therapeutic intervention strategy may prove necessary to halt and reverse disease dynamics.
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