Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Uncovers Heterogenous Transcriptional Signatures in Macrophages during Efferocytosis
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE156234 | GEO | 2020/08/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Defects in apoptotic cell clearance, or efferocytosis, can cause inflammatory diseases and prevent tissue repair due in part, to a key role of efferocytosis in inducing a pro-repair transcriptional program in phagocytic cells like macrophages. While the cellular machinery and metabolic pathways involved in efferocytosis have been characterized, the precise efferocytic response of macrophages is dependent on the identity and macromolecular cues of apoptotic cells, and the complex tissue microenvironment in which efferocytosis occurs. Here, we find that macrophages undergoing active efferocytosis in mid-stage mouse skin wounds in vivo display a pro-repair gene program, while efferocytosis of apoptotic skin fibroblasts in vitro induces an immature/inflammatory transcription response. These data provide a resource for understanding how the skin wound niche influences macrophage efferocytosis and will be useful for future investigations that define the role of efferocytosis during tissue repair
2024-08-06 | GSE273754 | GEO
Project description:The efficient clearance of dead and dying cells, also known as efferocytosis, is critical to maintain tissue homeostasis. In the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME), this role is primarily fulfilled by professional bone marrow macrophages, but recent work has shown that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) act as a non-professional phagocyte within the BMME. However, little is known about the mechanism and impact of efferocytosis on MSCs in the BMME and on their function. To investigate this, we performed flow cytometric analysis of neutrophil uptake by ST2 cells, a murine bone marrow-derived stromal cell line, and in murine primary bone marrow-derived stromal cells. Transcriptional analysis showed that MSCs possess the necessary receptors and internal processing machinery to conduct efferocytosis, with Axl and Tyro3 serving as the main receptors, while MerTK was not expressed. Moreover, the expression of these receptors was modulated by efferocytic behavior, regardless of apoptotic target. MSCs derived from human bone marrow also demonstrated efferocytic behavior, showing that MSC efferocytosis is conserved. In all MSCs, efferocytosis impaired osteoblastic differentiation. Transcriptional analysis and functional assays identified downregulation in MSC mitochondrial function upon efferocytosis. Experimentally, efferocytosis induced mitochondrial fission in MSCs. Pharmacologic inhibition of mitochondrial fission in MSCs not only decreased efferocytic activity but also rescued osteoblastic differentiation, demonstrating that efferocytosis-mediated mitochondrial remodeling plays a critical role in regulating MSC differentiation. This work describes a novel function of MSCs as non-professional phagocytes within the BMME and demonstrates that efferocytosis by MSCs plays a key role in directing mitochondrial remodeling and MSC differentiation. Efferocytosis by MSCs may therefore be a novel mechanism of dysfunction and senescence. Since our data in human MSCs show that MSC efferocytosis is conserved, the consequences of MSC efferocytosis may impact the behavior of these cells in the human skeleton, including osteoporosis in aging.
2023-07-14 | GSE223279 | GEO
Project description:The efficient clearance of dead and dying cells, also known as efferocytosis, is critical to maintain tissue homeostasis. In the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME), this role is primarily fulfilled by professional bone marrow macrophages, but recent work has shown that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) act as a non-professional phagocyte within the BMME. However, little is known about the mechanism and impact of efferocytosis on MSCs in the BMME and on their function. To investigate this, we performed flow cytometric analysis of neutrophil uptake by ST2 cells, a murine bone marrow-derived stromal cell line, and in murine primary bone marrow-derived stromal cells. Transcriptional analysis showed that MSCs possess the necessary receptors and internal processing machinery to conduct efferocytosis, with Axl and Tyro3 serving as the main receptors, while MerTK was not expressed. Moreover, the expression of these receptors was modulated by efferocytic behavior, regardless of apoptotic target. MSCs derived from human bone marrow also demonstrated efferocytic behavior, showing that MSC efferocytosis is conserved. In all MSCs, efferocytosis impaired osteoblastic differentiation. Transcriptional analysis and functional assays identified downregulation in MSC mitochondrial function upon efferocytosis. Experimentally, efferocytosis induced mitochondrial fission in MSCs. Pharmacologic inhibition of mitochondrial fission in MSCs not only decreased efferocytic activity but also rescued osteoblastic differentiation, demonstrating that efferocytosis-mediated mitochondrial remodeling plays a critical role in regulating MSC differentiation. This work describes a novel function of MSCs as non-professional phagocytes within the BMME and demonstrates that efferocytosis by MSCs plays a key role in directing mitochondrial remodeling and MSC differentiation. Efferocytosis by MSCs may therefore be a novel mechanism of dysfunction and senescence. Since our data in human MSCs show that MSC efferocytosis is conserved, the consequences of MSC efferocytosis may impact the behavior of these cells in the human skeleton, including osteoporosis in aging.
2023-07-14 | GSE223281 | GEO
Project description:Apoptotic cell clearance (efferocytosis), a process essential for organismal homeostasis, is performed by phagocytes that inhabit a wide range of environments, including physiologic hypoxia. Here, we find macrophages, the predominant tissue-resident phagocyte, display enhanced efferocytosis under chronic hypoxia, characterized by increased internalization and accelerated degradation of apoptotic cells. Analysis of mRNA and protein programs revealed that chronic hypoxia induces two distinct but complimentary states in macrophages. The first, ‘primed’ state consists of concomitant induction of transcriptional and translational programs broadly associated with metabolism in apoptotic cell-naïve macrophages that persist during efferocytosis. The second, ‘poised’ state consists of transcription, but not translation, of phagocyte function programs in apoptotic cell-naïve macrophages that are subsequently translated during efferocytosis. We discovered that one such primed state consists of the efficient flux of glucose into a noncanonical pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) loop, whereby PPP-derived intermediates cycle back through the PPP to enhance production of NADPH. Mechanistically, we found that PPP-derived NADPH directly supports enhanced efferocytosis under chronic hypoxia via its role in phagolysosomal maturation, while simultaneously maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. Thus, macrophages adapt to chronic hypoxia by adopting states that both support cell fitness and ensure ability to rapidly and safely perform essential homeostatic functions.
2022-12-30 | GSE192969 | GEO
Project description:Clearance of apoptotic cancer cells by macrophages, known as efferocytosis, fuels the bone-metastatic growth of prostate cancer cells via pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive mechanisms that are still unclear. In this study, single-cell transcriptomics of bone marrow macrophages undergoing efferocytosis of apoptotic prostate cancer cells revealed a significant enrichment of a cellular response to hypoxia. Here we show that efferocytic macrophages promote HIF-1α stabilization under normoxic conditions through interaction with phosphorylated STAT3. Inflammatory cytokine gene expression analysis of efferocytic HIF-1α-mutant macrophages revealed a reduced expression of the pro-tumorigenic Mif. Furthermore, stabilization of HIF-1α using the HIF-prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitor, Roxadustat, enhanced MIF expression in macrophages. Finally, macrophages treated with recombinant MIF protein activated NF-κB (p65) signaling increased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Altogether, these findings suggest that the clearance of apoptotic cancer cell by tumor-associated macrophages triggers p-STAT3/HIF-1α/MIF signaling to enhance tumor-promoting inflammation in bone, suggesting this axis as a target for metastatic prostate cancer.
2022-12-14 | GSE180638 | GEO
Project description:Despite the importance of rapid adaptive responses for an efficient resolution of inflammation, which are commonly regulated on a post-transcriptional and specifically translational level, translational changes caused by efferocytosis remain largely elusive. To gain further insights into such gene regulatory principles, we analyzed translational changes in efferocytic and non-efferocytic bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) in the course of inflammation. Using total RNA-sequencing, we confirmed that efferocytosis induced a pro-resolution signature in LPS-stimulated, inflammatory macropahges. Interestingly though, while LPS-induced transcriptional changes appeared rather small between efferocytic and non-efferocytic macrophages, we observed considerable differences on the level of de novo synthesized proteins. We further identified translationally regulated targets showing reduced translation upon inflammatory stimulation, which was buffered upon efferocytosis. Herein, pro-resolving matrix metallopeptidase 12 (Mmp12) emerged as a novel translationally regulated candidate, which was translationally repressed during early inflammation and increased during the resolution phase. Functionally, the translational repression of Mmp12 was linked to increased spontaneous two-dimensional migration. In summary, we identified the novel translationally regulated target Mmp12 in the context of the resolution of inflammation in primary murine macrophages, which is associated with a modulation of spontaneous migration.
2023-12-13 | GSE245834 | GEO
Project description:The basic two-step terminal differentiation model of the medullary thymic epithelial cell (mTEC) lineage from immature MHCIIlo to mature MHCIIhi mTECs has recently been extended to include a third stage namely the post-Aire MHCIIlo subset as identified by lineage-tracing models. Yet, a suitable surface marker distinguishing the phenotypically overlapping pre- from the post-Aire immature MHCIIlo stage has been lacking. Here, we introduce the lectin Tetragonolobus purpureas agglutinin (TPA) as a novel cell surface marker that allows for such delineation. Based on our data, we derived the following sequence of mTEC differentiation: TPA- MHCIIlo → TPA- MHCIIhi → TPA+ MHCIIhi → TPA+ MHCIIlo. Surprisingly, in the steady-state postnatal thymus most immature TPA- pre-Aire rather than terminally differentiated post-Aire TPA+ MHCIIlo mTECs were marked for apoptosis at an exceptionally high rate of about 70 %. Hence, only the minor cycling fraction of the MHCIIlo subset (< 20 %) potentially qualified as mTEC precursors. FoxN1 expression inversely correlated with the fraction of slow cycling and apoptotic cells within the four TPA subsets. TPA further sub-divided human mTECs, though with different subset distribution. Our revised roadmap emphazises close parallels of terminal mTEC development with that of skin, undergoing an alternative route of cell death namely cornification rather than apoptosis. The high rate of apoptosis in immature pre-Aire mTECs points to a “quality control” step during early mTEC differentiation.
2017-07-28 | GSE84956 | GEO
Project description:Macrophages can adjust their phenotype and function in response to environmental cues, such as encountering apoptotic cells or pathogens. After tissue injury or inflammation, macrophages must successively engulf and process multiple apoptotic corpses (via efferocytosis) to achieve tissue homeostasis. How macrophages may rapidly adapt their transcription to achieve continued corpse uptake is incompletely understood. Transcriptional pause/release is an evolutionarily conserved process wherein RNA polymerase II (Pol II), after initiating transcription for 20-60 nucleotides, gets ‘paused’ for seconds to hours; paused Pol II then gets ‘released’ to complete transcription to make full-length mRNA. Here we show that macrophages, within minutes of corpse encounter, use transcriptional pause/release as a mechanism to unleash a rapid transcriptional response. For human and murine macrophages, the Pol II pause/release was crucial for continued efferocytosis of corpses in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, blocking Pol II pause/release did not impede FcR-mediated phagocytosis, yeast uptake, or bacterial phagocytosis. Integrating data from three complementary genomic approaches of PRO-seq, RNA-seq, and ATAC-seq on efferocytic macrophages at different time points, we found that Pol II pause/release controls expression of select transcription factors and downstream target genes. Further mechanistic studies on transcription factor Egr3, one of the genes prominently affected by pause/release, uncovered Egr3-related reprogramming of macrophage genes involved in cytoskeleton and corpse processing. Via lysosomal probes and a newly designed genetic fluorescent reporter, we identify a key role for pause/release in phagosome acidification during efferocytosis. Further, microglia from egr3-deficient zebrafish embryos displayed reduced phagocytosis of apoptotic neurons and fewer maturing endosomes, supporting a defect in corpse processing. Collectively, these data advance a novel concept that macrophages use Polymerase II pause/release as a mechanism to rapidly alter their transcriptional programs for efficient processing of the ingested apoptotic corpse and for successive efferocytosis.
2024-01-25 | GSE253574 | GEO
Project description:Macrophages can adjust their phenotype and function in response to environmental cues, such as encountering apoptotic cells or pathogens. After tissue injury or inflammation, macrophages must successively engulf and process multiple apoptotic corpses (via efferocytosis) to achieve tissue homeostasis. How macrophages may rapidly adapt their transcription to achieve continued corpse uptake is incompletely understood. Transcriptional pause/release is an evolutionarily conserved process wherein RNA polymerase II (Pol II), after initiating transcription for 20-60 nucleotides, gets ‘paused’ for seconds to hours; paused Pol II then gets ‘released’ to complete transcription to make full-length mRNA. Here we show that macrophages, within minutes of corpse encounter, use transcriptional pause/release as a mechanism to unleash a rapid transcriptional response. For human and murine macrophages, the Pol II pause/release was crucial for continued efferocytosis of corpses in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, blocking Pol II pause/release did not impede FcR-mediated phagocytosis, yeast uptake, or bacterial phagocytosis. Integrating data from three complementary genomic approaches of PRO-seq, RNA-seq, and ATAC-seq on efferocytic macrophages at different time points, we found that Pol II pause/release controls expression of select transcription factors and downstream target genes. Further mechanistic studies on transcription factor Egr3, one of the genes prominently affected by pause/release, uncovered Egr3-related reprogramming of macrophage genes involved in cytoskeleton and corpse processing. Via lysosomal probes and a newly designed genetic fluorescent reporter, we identify a key role for pause/release in phagosome acidification during efferocytosis. Further, microglia from egr3-deficient zebrafish embryos displayed reduced phagocytosis of apoptotic neurons and fewer maturing endosomes, supporting a defect in corpse processing. Collectively, these data advance a novel concept that macrophages use Polymerase II pause/release as a mechanism to rapidly alter their transcriptional programs for efficient processing of the ingested apoptotic corpse and for successive efferocytosis.
2024-01-25 | GSE253577 | GEO
Project description:Macrophages can adjust their phenotype and function in response to environmental cues, such as encountering apoptotic cells or pathogens. After tissue injury or inflammation, macrophages must successively engulf and process multiple apoptotic corpses (via efferocytosis) to achieve tissue homeostasis. How macrophages may rapidly adapt their transcription to achieve continued corpse uptake is incompletely understood. Transcriptional pause/release is an evolutionarily conserved process wherein RNA polymerase II (Pol II), after initiating transcription for 20-60 nucleotides, gets ‘paused’ for seconds to hours; paused Pol II then gets ‘released’ to complete transcription to make full-length mRNA. Here we show that macrophages, within minutes of corpse encounter, use transcriptional pause/release as a mechanism to unleash a rapid transcriptional response. For human and murine macrophages, the Pol II pause/release was crucial for continued efferocytosis of corpses in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, blocking Pol II pause/release did not impede FcR-mediated phagocytosis, yeast uptake, or bacterial phagocytosis. Integrating data from three complementary genomic approaches of PRO-seq, RNA-seq, and ATAC-seq on efferocytic macrophages at different time points, we found that Pol II pause/release controls expression of select transcription factors and downstream target genes. Further mechanistic studies on transcription factor Egr3, one of the genes prominently affected by pause/release, uncovered Egr3-related reprogramming of macrophage genes involved in cytoskeleton and corpse processing. Via lysosomal probes and a newly designed genetic fluorescent reporter, we identify a key role for pause/release in phagosome acidification during efferocytosis. Further, microglia from egr3-deficient zebrafish embryos displayed reduced phagocytosis of apoptotic neurons and fewer maturing endosomes, supporting a defect in corpse processing. Collectively, these data advance a novel concept that macrophages use Polymerase II pause/release as a mechanism to rapidly alter their transcriptional programs for efficient processing of the ingested apoptotic corpse and for successive efferocytosis.
2024-01-25 | GSE253576 | GEO