Defects in Assembly of the Extracellular Matrix Are Responsible for Altered Morphogenesis of a Candida albicans phr1 Mutant

Analysis of Candida albicans cells using antibodies directed against Gas1p/Ggp1p, Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog of Phr1p, revealed that Phr1p is a glycoprotein of about 88 kDa whose accumulation increases with the rise of external pH. This polypeptide is present both in the yeast form and during germ tube induction. In the Phr1⁻ cells at pH 8 the solubility of glucans in alkali is greatly affected. In the parental strain the alkali-soluble/-insoluble glucan ratio shows a 50% decrease at pH 8 with respect to pH 4.5, whereas in the null mutant it is unchanged, indicating the lack of a polymer cross-linker activity induced by the rise of pH. The mutant has a sixfold increase in chitin level and is hypersensitive to calcofluor. Consistently with a role of chitin in strengthening the cell wall, Phr1⁻ cells are more sensitive to nikkomycin Z than the parental strain.     

Topography of Extracellular Matrix Mediates Vascular Morphogenesis and Migration Speeds in Angiogenesis

The extracellular matrix plays a critical role in orchestrating the events necessary for wound healing, muscle repair, morphogenesis, new blood vessel growth, and cancer invasion. In this study, we investigate the influence of extracellular matrix topography on the coordination of multi-cellular interactions in the context of angiogenesis. To do this, we validate our spatio-temporal mathematical model of angiogenesis against empirical data, and within this framework, we vary the density of the matrix fibers to simulate different tissue environments and to explore the possibility of manipulating the extracellular matrix to achieve pro- and anti-angiogenic effects. The model predicts specific ranges of matrix fiber densities that maximize sprout extension speed, induce branching, or interrupt normal angiogenesis, which are independently confirmed by experiment. We then explore matrix fiber alignment as a key factor contributing to peak sprout velocities and in mediating cell shape and orientation. We also quantify the effects of proteolytic matrix degradation by the tip cell on sprout velocity and demonstrate that degradation promotes sprout growth at high matrix densities, but has an inhibitory effect at lower densities. Our results are discussed in the context of ECM targeted pro- and anti-angiogenic therapies that can be tested empirically.     

Morphogenesis in Volvox: analysis of critical variables.

Inversion, the process by which Volvox embryos turn inside out, was analyzed by a combination of geometrical and experimental techniques. It was shown that simple geometric figures are adequate to represent cell shapes during inversion and that cell volumes remain constant as cell shapes change and the embryo inverts. The first stage of inversion, phialopore opening, results from the release of compressive forces as the embryo withdraws from its surrounding vesicle during a two-stage contraction of each cell around its radial axis. Premature phialopore opening occurs when withdrawal of the embryo from the vesicle is elicited artificially by exposure to either calcium ionophore or hypertonic solutions. The major event of inversion, generation of negative curvature, requires both microtubule-driven elongation of cells (to produce a classical "flask" shape) and cytochalasin-sensitive active migration of cytoplasmic bridges to the outermost ends of flask cells. Colchicine, cyclic GMP and isobutyl methyl xanthine (individually) block both normal elongation and bridge migration; cytochalasin D blocks bridge migration selectively. Flask cell formation and bridge migration are adequate to account for the negative curvature observed. An asymmetric bending of flask cell stalks along the ring of maximum curvature accounts for the fact that the embryo is not constricted in a "purse-string" fashion as negative curvature is generated. Inversion of the posterior hemisphere involves an elastic snap-through resulting from a combination of compressive stresses generated by inversion of the anterior hemisphere and the circumferential restraint imposed by cells at the equator. We conclude that the observed changes in cell shape and the migration of cytoplasmic bridges are the result of an ordered process of membrane-cytoskeletal interactions, and both necessary and sufficient to account for the morphogenetic process of inversion in Volvox.     

Ontogeny of an Extracellular Matrix Component of Sea Urchins and its Role in Morphogenesis

A monoclonal antibody, Sp14, recognizes fibers that form a complex meshwork within the blastocoel of embryos of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus . The fibers first appear as the blastocoel begins to form and increase in density throughout development. Ultrastructural localizations using the immunoperoxidase method show bundles of 20 nm fibers that are continuous with the basal lamina and have an indistinct axial periodicity. Embryos treated with tunicamycin, β-D-xylopyranoside, β-aminoproprionitrile, proline analogues, or deprived of sulfate all form immunoreactive fibers although in some treatments the pattern formed is abnormal. Immunoreactivity of extracted fibers is not affected by digestion with chondroitinase ABC, hyaluronidase, collagenase or heparinase. However, proteinase K readily destroys immunoreactivity. Fibers will form in cultures of micromeres or mesenchyme 24 to 48 hr after plating with or without horse serum. In embryos in which the blastocoelar matrix has been altered by injection with Sp14, there is inhibition of the release of secondary mesenchyme from the tip of the archenteron and in some embryos supernumerary skeletal elements are formed. It is proposed that Sp14 recognizes a component of the blastocoelar extracellular matrix that is required for the migration of mesenchyme.     

Importance of Balance between Extracellular Matrix Synthesis and Degradation in Basement Membrane Formation

The epidermal basement membrane (BM) plays important roles in adhesion between epidermis and dermis and in controlling epidermal differentiation. In a skin-equivalent (SE), components of the epidermal BM such as laminin 5 and type IV and VII collagens were detected in conditioned media and in basal keratinocytes. Despite production of these BM components, however, BM was rarely observed at the dermal-epidermal junction. One possible explanation for the absence of BM in SEs is that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade newly synthesized extracellular matrices. In fact, several MMPs, such as MMPs-1, 2, 3, and 9, were observed to be present in conditioned media and some of them were in active forms. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 was not detected, although TIMP-1 was present. BM degradation activity presumably exceeds BM formation activity in the SE, resulting in the absence of lamina densa at the dermal-epidermal junction. Synthetic MMP inhibitors CGS27023A and MMP inhibitor I, which inhibit MMPs 1, 2, 3, and 9, markedly augmented deposition of laminin 5 and type IV and VII collagens at the dermal-epidermal junction, resulting in formation of continuous epidermal BM. These results suggest that the balance between synthesis and degradation of BM components is important for BM formation.     

基质金属蛋白酶与血管壁细胞外基质重建

细胞外基质（ECM）不仅维持血管壁的完整性,而且还为血管细胞传递增殖,迁移,分化和凋亡的调控信号,基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）及其内源性抑制剂（TIMP）通过调节ECM合成与降解之间的动态平衡,使ECM维持正常的结构与功能。在高血压,动脉粥样硬化与血管再狭窄的发生与发展过程中,MMP和TIMP的合成与分泌出现异常,由此所引起的ECM合成与降解失调使ECM迅速发生重建。     

A Feed-Forward Loop Coupling Extracellular BMP Transport and Morphogenesis in Drosophila Wing

A variety of extracellular factors regulate morphogenesis during development. However, coordination between extracellular signaling and dynamic morphogenesis is largely unexplored. We address the fundamental question by studying posterior crossvein (PCV) development in Drosophila as a model, in which long-range BMP transport from the longitudinal veins plays a critical role during the pupal stages. Here, we show that RhoGAP Crossveinless-C (Cv-C) is induced at the PCV primordial cells by BMP signaling and mediates PCV morphogenesis cell-autonomously by inactivating members of the Rho-type small GTPases. Intriguingly, we find that Cv-C is also required non-cell-autonomously for BMP transport into the PCV region, while a long-range BMP transport is guided toward ectopic wing vein regions by loss of the Rho-type small GTPases. We present evidence that low level of ß-integrin accumulation at the basal side of PCV epithelial cells regulated by Cv-C provides an optimal extracellular environment for guiding BMP transport. These data suggest that BMP transport and PCV morphogenesis are tightly coupled. Our study reveals a feed-forward mechanism that coordinates the spatial distribution of extracellular instructive cues and morphogenesis. The coupling mechanism may be widely utilized to achieve precise morphogenesis during development and homeostasis.     

Importance of MAP Kinases during Protoperithecial Morphogenesis in Neurospora crassa

In order to produce multicellular structures filamentous fungi combine various morphogenetic programs that are fundamentally different from those used by plants and animals. The perithecium, the female sexual fruitbody of Neurospora crassa, differentiates from the vegetative mycelium in distinct morphological stages, and represents one of the more complex multicellular structures produced by fungi. In this study we defined the stages of protoperithecial morphogenesis in the N. crassa wild type in greater detail than has previously been described; compared protoperithecial morphogenesis in gene-deletion mutants of all nine mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases conserved in N. crassa; confirmed that all three MAP kinase cascades are required for sexual development; and showed that the three different cascades each have distinctly different functions during this process. However, only MAP kinases equivalent to the budding yeast pheromone response and cell wall integrity pathways, but not the osmoregulatory pathway, were essential for vegetative cell fusion. Evidence was obtained for MAP kinase signaling cascades performing roles in extracellular matrix deposition, hyphal adhesion, and envelopment during the construction of fertilizable protoperithecia.     

CCL2促进肝再生中细胞外基质的形成

为阐明CC趋化因子配体2〔chemokine(C-C motif)ligand 2,CCL2〕对肝再生(liverregeneration,LR)的影响,构建CCL2的表达载体CCL2-N1及其干涉载体CCL2(255).为确定合适的转基因时间,观测内外源性CCL2的表达高峰.Rat Genome 230 2.0芯片、实时定量PCR和Western印迹显示,内源性CCL2的表达高峰在部分肝切除(partial hepatectomy,PH)后72 h.与CCL2融合表达的绿色荧光蛋白(green fluorescent protein,GFP)的表达和实时定量PCR显示,外源性CCL2的表达高峰在转基因后的24 h.所以,为使内源性和外源性CCL2的作用叠加,选择PH后48 h进行转基因.此时将CCL2-N1质粒转入大鼠体内,发现转基因后大鼠肝系数、增殖细胞核抗原(PCNA)表达量显著高于对照,透明质酸和层粘连蛋白含量显著升高.相反,干涉质粒CCL2(255)能降低肝系数,减少PCNA表达量,并且Ⅲ型前胶原肽、Ⅳ型胶原、透明质酸和层粘连蛋白含量与对照相比,有显著或极显著降低.综上所述,CCL2是肝再生相关基因,它能提高肝系数,可能通过调节细胞外基质(extracellular matrix,ECM)合成而促进肝脏再生.     

肌腱蛋白R(Tenascin-R)研究进展

肌腱蛋白R(tenascin-R, TN-R)是一种重要的细胞外基质糖蛋白(extracellular matrix,ECM).分布于中枢神经系统, 主要在髓鞘形成早期的少突胶质细胞中表达,成熟的胶质细胞及某些神经元(如脊髓,视网膜, 小脑和海马的中间神经元)也有表达.TN-R具有复杂的结构,由三种不同的结构域组成,从氨基端到羧基端依次为:类似于表皮生长因子的重复片段, 类似于Ⅲ型纤连蛋白重复片段,类似(血)纤维蛋白原片段组成.TN-R具有多种复杂的功能, 对神经元具有排斥作用,促进或抑制神经元突起的生长, 诱导神经元形态的极性化, 并和髓鞘的形成有关,TN-R结构的复杂性和功能的多样性提示,TN-R有多个受体存在,已经发现的受体有F3/F11,MAG,XL1,Xprocan等.     

细胞外基质在植物发育中的作用

植物细胞壁是由纤维素和果胶交联的多糖和蛋白质构成的既彼此独立,又相互作用的三维动力学网络。和动物的细胞外基质一样,植物细胞壁中的许多成分积极地参与植物细胞发育过程的调节,它们以某种方式将信息传递给细胞,调节细胞的行为,以便对各种外界环境作出相应的反应。因此细胞壁不再是一种环绕植物细胞的惰性结构,比起细胞壁,植物细胞外基质这一名词更能反映出这一动力学的特性。