In Situ Cell Signalling of the Hippo-YAP/TAZ Pathway in Reaction to Complex Dynamic Loading in an Intervertebral Disc Organ Culture.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Croft AS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8707270 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Mechanical loading has been shown to affect cell viability and matrix maintenance in the intervertebral disc (IVD) but there is no investigation on how cells survive mechanical stress and whether the IVD cells perceive mechanical loading as stress and respond by expression of heat shock proteins. This study investigates the stress response in the IVD in response to compressive loading. Bovine caudal disc organ culture was used to study the effect of physiological range static loading and dynamic loading. Cell activity, gene expression and immunofluorescence staining were used to analyze the cell response. Cell activity and cytoskeleton of the cells did not change significantly after loading. In gene expression analysis, significant up-regulation of heat shock protein-70 (HSP70) was observed in nucleus pulposus after two hours of loading. However, the expression of the matrix remodeling genes did not change significantly after loading. Similarly, expressions of stress response and matrix remodeling genes changed with application and removal of the dynamic loading. The results suggest that stress response was induced by physiological range loading without significantly changing cell activity and upregulating matrix remodeling. This study provides direct evidence on loading induced stress response in IVD cells and contributes to our understanding in the mechanoregulation of intervertebral disc cells.
| S-EPMC5006975 | biostudies-literature
Project description:[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161615.].
| S-EPMC5119852 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The Hippo pathway senses cellular conditions and regulates YAP/TAZ to control cellular and tissue homeostasis, while TBK1 is central for cytosolic nucleic acid sensing and antiviral defence. The correlation between cellular nutrient/physical status and host antiviral defence is interesting but not well understood. Here we find that YAP/TAZ act as natural inhibitors of TBK1 and are vital for antiviral physiology. Independent of transcriptional regulation and through the transactivation domain, YAP/TAZ associate directly with TBK1 and abolish virus-induced TBK1 activation, by preventing TBK1 Lys63-linked ubiquitylation and the binding of adaptors/substrates. Accordingly, YAP/TAZ deletion/depletion or cellular conditions inactivating YAP/TAZ through Lats1/2 kinases relieve TBK1 suppression and boost antiviral responses, whereas expression of the transcriptionally inactive YAP dampens cytosolic RNA/DNA sensing and weakens the antiviral defence in cells and zebrafish. Thus, we describe a function of YAP/TAZ and the Hippo pathway in innate immunity, by linking cellular nutrient/physical status to antiviral host defence.
| S-EPMC5398908 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a significant contributor to low back pain. The IVD is a fibrocartilaginous joint that serves to transmit and dampen loads in the spine. The IVD consists of a proteoglycan-rich nucleus pulposus (NP) and a collagen-rich annulus fibrosis (AF) sandwiched by cartilaginous end-plates. Together with the adjacent vertebrae, the vertebrae-IVD structure forms a functional spine unit (FSU). These microstructures contain unique cell types as well as unique extracellular matrices. Whole organ culture of the FSU preserves the native extracellular matrix, cell differentiation phenotypes, and cellular-matrix interactions. Thus, organ culture techniques are particularly useful for investigating the complex biological mechanisms of the IVD. Here, we describe a high-throughput approach for culturing whole lumbar mouse FSUs that provides an ideal platform for studying disease mechanisms and therapies for the IVD. Furthermore, we describe several applications that utilize this organ culture method to conduct further studies including contrast-enhanced microCT imaging and three-dimensional high-resolution finite element modeling of the IVD.
| S-EPMC5495460 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Skin cancers are by far the most frequently diagnosed human cancers. The closely related transcriptional co-regulator proteins YAP and TAZ (WWTR1) have emerged as important drivers of tumour initiation, progression and metastasis in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. YAP/TAZ serve as an essential signalling hub by integrating signals from multiple upstream pathways. In this review, we summarize the roles of YAP/TAZ in skin physiology and tumorigenesis and discuss recent efforts of therapeutic interventions that target YAP/TAZ in in both preclinical and clinical settings, as well as their prospects for use as skin cancer treatments.
| S-EPMC9804452 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe goal of this study is to characterize transcriptome changes and gene regulation networks in an organ culture system that mimics early post-traumatic intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration.MethodsTo mimic a traumatic insult, bovine caudal IVDs underwent one strike loading. The control group was cultured under physiological loading. At 24 hours after one strike or physiological loading, RNA was extracted from nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) tissue. High throughput next generation RNA sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the one strike loading group and the control group. Gene Ontology (GO) functional and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed to analyze DEGs and pathways. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was analyzed with cytoscape software. DEGs were verified using qRT-PCR. Degenerated human IVD tissue was collected for immunofluorescence staining to verify the expression of DEGs in human disc tissue.ResultsOne strike loading resulted in significant gene expression changes compared with physiological loading. In total 253 DEGs were found in NP tissue and 208 DEGs in AF tissue. Many of the highly dysregulated genes have known functions in disc degeneration and extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis. ACTB, ACTG, PFN1, MYL12B in NP tissue and FGF1, SPP1 in AF tissue were verified by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence imaging. The identified DEGs were involved in focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, PI3K-AKT, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways. Three clusters of PPI networks were identified. GO enrichment revealed that these DEGs were mainly involved in inflammatory response, the ECM and growth factor signaling and protein folding biological process.ConclusionOur study revealed different DEGs, pathways, biological process and PPI networks involved in post-traumatic IVD degeneration. These findings will advance the understanding of the pathogenesis of IVD degeneration, and help to identify novel biomarkers for the disease diagnosis.
| S-EPMC8479529 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. The proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has shown markedly higher expression in degenerated human disc tissue compared with healthy controls. Anti-inflammatory treatment targeting TNF-α has shown to alleviate discogenic pain in patients with low back pain. Therefore, in vitro and ex vivo inflammatory models utilizing TNF-α provide relevant experimental conditions for drug development in disc degeneration research. The current method article addressed several specific questions related to the model establishment. (a) The effects of bovine and human recombinant TNF-α on bovine nucleus pulposus (NP) cells were compared. (b) The required dose for an inflammatory IVD organ culture model with intradiscal TNF-α injection was studied. (c) The effect of TNF-α blocking at different stages of inflammation was evaluated. Outcomes revealed that bovine and human recombinant TNF-α induced equivalent inflammatory effects in bovine NP cells. A bovine whole IVD inflammatory model was established by intradiscal injection of 100 ng TNF-α/ cm3 disc volume, as indicated by increased nitric oxide, glycosaminoglycan, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 8 (IL-8) release in culture media, and upregulation of MMP3, ADAMTS4, IL-8, IL-6, and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression in NP tissue. However, results in human NP cells showed that the time point of anti-inflammatory treatment was crucial to achieve significant effects. Furthermore, anticatabolic therapy in conjunction with TNF-α inhibition would be required to slow down the pathologic cascade of disc degeneration.
| S-EPMC7524256 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common bone cancer in canines. Both transforming growth factor beta (TGF?) and Hippo pathway mediators have important roles in bone development, stemness, and cancer progression. The role of Hippo signalling effectors TAZ and YAP has never been addressed in canine OSA. Further, the cooperative role of TGF? and Hippo signalling has yet to be explored in osteosarcoma. To address these gaps, this study investigated the prognostic value of TAZ and YAP alone and in combination with pSmad2 (a marker of active TGF? signalling), as well as the involvement of a TGF?-Hippo signalling crosstalk in tumourigenic properties of OSA cells in vitro. An in-house trial tissue microarray (TMA) which contained 16 canine appendicular OSA cases undergoing standard care and accompanying follow-up was used to explore the prognostic role of TAZ, YAP and pSmad2. Published datasets were used to test associations between TAZ and YAP mRNA levels, metastasis, and disease recurrence. Small interfering RNAs specific to TAZ and YAP were utilized in vitro alone or in combination with TGF? treatment to determine their role in OSA viability, proliferation and migration. RESULTS:Patients with low levels of both YAP and pSmad2 when evaluated in combination had a significantly longer time to metastasis (log-rank test, p?=?0.0058) and a longer overall survival (log rank test, p?=?0.0002). No similar associations were found for TAZ and YAP mRNA levels. In vitro, TAZ knockdown significantly decreased cell viability, proliferation, and migration in metastatic cell lines, while YAP knockdown significantly decreased viability in three cell lines, and migration in two cell lines, derived from either primary tumours or their metastases. The impact of TGF? signaling activation on these effects was cell line-dependent. CONCLUSIONS:YAP and pSmad2 have potential prognostic value in canine appendicular osteosarcoma. Inhibiting YAP and TAZ function could lead to a decrease in viability, proliferation, and migratory capacity of canine OSA cells. Assessment of YAP and pSmad2 in larger patient cohorts in future studies are needed to further elucidate the role of TGF?-Hippo signalling crosstalk in canine OSA progression.
| S-EPMC6258471 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human intervertebral disc tissue was obtained from patients (average age 51 yrs) undergoing surgery for lumbar interbody fusion (n=3) or lumbar disc herniation (n=1). Cells were isolated by sequential pronase-collagenase digestion [3]. Cells were passaged twice in monolayer and suspended at a density of 2 x 106 cells/ml in 1.2% alginate (low viscosity, Sigma Chemical, St Louis, MO) dissolved in 150 mM NaCl. Alginate beads were formed by dropwise addition of the alginate from a 22 gauge needle into 102 mM CaCl2, followed by 10 minutes of curing, as described previously [13, 27]. Cell-gel beads were incubated in cell culture media consisting of Ham’s F-12 medium (Gibco BRL, Grand Island, NY), supplemented with 10% FBS (HyClone, Logan, UT), 25 μg/ml ascorbic acid (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, and 1 μg/ml Fungizone at 5% CO2 and 37° C. After 24 h, the cell culture medium was removed via pipette and exchanged for one of three osmotically active solutions, representing iso-osmotic, hyper-osmotic and hypo-osmotic media [12, 23, 34]. The iso-osmotic solution consisted of a defined cell culture medium (Ham’s F-12 with supplements as described above; 293 mOsm/kg H2O). The hypo-osmotic solution consisted of the same cell culture media diluted with de-ionized water to a final osmolarity of 250 mOsm/kg H2O. The hyper-osmotic solution consisted of the same cell culture media supplemented with sucrose to a final osmolarity of 450 mOsm/kg H20. The osmolarity of all solution formulations was determined using a freezing-point osmometer (Advanced Laboratory Wide Range 3W2, Advanced Instrument, Needham Heights, MA) as described previously [12]. Cell-alginate beads were cultured for a 4 hour period under one of these conditions, after which the cells were released from alginate in a dissolving buffer (55 mM Na-citrate and 150 mM NaCl), lysed and stored at –80°C. Intervertebral disc (IVD) cells experience a broad range of physical stimuli under physiologic conditions, including alterations in their osmotic environment. In this study, the gene expression profile of human IVD cells was quantified with gene array technology following exposure to varying osmolarity in order to capture the biological responses for a broad set of targets. A total of 42 genes were identified in IVD cells as significantly changed following culture under hyper-osmotic conditions, while a total of 18 genes were identified as significantly changed under hypo-osmotic conditions. Gene expression patterns were verified using RT-PCR. Genes identified in this study include those related to cytoskeleton remodeling and stabilization (ephrin-B2, sarcoglycan beta, IQGAP1), as well as membrane transport (ion transporter SLC21A12, osmolyte tranporter SLC5A3, monocarboxylic acid SLC16A6, and amino acid transporter SLC7A8). An unexpected finding was the differential regulation of the gene for the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor by hyper-osmotic stimuli that may be indicative of a physiological response of IVD cells to physical stimuli important in regulating discogenic pain. Keywords = intervertebral disc Keywords = osmotic stimuli Keywords: other
2004-08-07 | GSE1648 | GEO
Project description:The Hippo pathway plays important roles in wound healing, tissue repair and regeneration, and in the treatment of degenerative diseases, by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis in mammals. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is one of the major causes of low back pain, a widespread issue associated with a heavy economic burden. However, the mechanism underlying how the Hippo pathway regulates IDD is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that the Hippo pathway is involved in natural IDD. Activation and dephosphorylation of yes-associated protein (YAP) were observed in younger rat discs, and decreased gradually with age. Surprisingly, Hippo pathway suppression was accompanied by overexpression of YAP, caused by acute disc injury, suggesting a limited ability for self-repair in IDD. We also demonstrated that YAP is inhibited by cell-to-cell contact via the Hippo pathway in vitro. Phosphorylation by large tumor suppressor kinases 1/2 (LATS1/2) led to cytoplasmic translocation and inactivation of YAP. YAP dephosphorylation was mainly localized in the nucleus and regulated by the Hippo pathway, whereas YAP dephosphorylation occurred in the cytoplasm and was associated with nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) senescence. Moreover, NPCs were transfected with shYAP and it accelerates the premature senescence of cells by interfered Hippo pathway through YAP. Therefore, our results indicate that the Hippo pathway plays an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of intervertebral discs and controlling NPC proliferation.
| S-EPMC5788631 | biostudies-literature