Search

Keloid and hypertrophic scars are skin fibrosis-associated disorders that exhibit an uncontrollable proliferation of fibroblasts and their subsequent contribution to the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the dermis. In this study, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we investigated the pivotal roles of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in modulating fibrotic phenotypes of keloid and hypertrophic dermal fibroblasts. Our initial findings revealed the molecular signatures of keloid dermal fibroblasts and showed the highest degree of skin fibrosis markers, ECM remodeling, anabolic collagen-cross-linking enzymes, such as lysyl oxidase (LOX) and four LOX-like family enzymes, migration ability, and cell–matrix traction force, at cell–matrix interfaces. Furthermore, we observed significant EGF-mediated downregulation of anabolic collagen-cross-linking enzymes, resulting in amelioration of fibrotic phenotypes and a decrease in cell motility measured according to the cell–matrix traction force. These findings offer insight into the important roles of EGF-mediated cell–matrix interactions at the cell–matrix interface, as well as ECM remodeling. Furthermore, the results suggest their contribution to the reduction of fibrotic phenotypes in keloid dermal fibroblasts, which could lead to the development of therapeutic modalities to prevent or reduce scar tissue formation.

The cell–cell/cell–matrix interactions between myoblasts and their extracellular microenvironment have been shown to play a crucial role in the regulation of in vitro myogenic differentiation and in vivo skeletal muscle regeneration. In this study, by harnessing the heparin-mimicking polymer, poly(sodium-4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), which has a negatively charged surface, we engineered an in vitro cell culture platform for the purpose of recapitulating in vivo muscle atrophy-like phenotypes. Our initial findings showed that heparin-mimicking moieties inhibited the fusion of mononucleated myoblasts into multinucleated myotubes, as indicated by the decreased gene and protein expression levels of myogenic factors, myotube fusion-related markers, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). We further elucidated the underlying molecular mechanism via transcriptome analyses, observing that the insulin/PI3K/mTOR and Wnt signaling pathways were significantly downregulated by heparin-mimicking moieties through the inhibition of FAK/Cav3. Taken together, the easy-to-adapt heparin-mimicking polymer-based in vitro cell culture platform could be an attractive platform for potential applications in drug screening, providing clear readouts of changes in insulin/PI3K/mTOR and Wnt signaling pathways.

Cells perceive the physical cues such as perturbations of extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, and translate these stimuli into biochemical signals controlling various aspects of cell behavior, which contribute to the physiological and pathological processes of multiple organs. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that during arterial stiffening, vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) sense the increase of ECM stiffness, which modulates the cellular phenotype through the regulation in DNA methyltransferases 1 (DNMT1) expression. Moreover, we hypothesized that the mechanisms involve intrinsic stiffening and deficiency in contractility of vascular SMCs. Substrate stiffening was mimicked in vitro with polyacrylamide gels. A contractile-to-synthetic phenotypic transition was induced by substrate stiffening in vascular SMCs through the down-regulation of DNMT1 expression. DNMT1 repression was also observed in the tunica media of mice aortas in an acute aortic injury model and a chronic kidney failure model, as well as in the tunica intima of human carotid arteries with calcified atherosclerotic lesions. DNMT1 inhibition facilitates arterial stiffening in vivo and promotes osteogenic transdifferentiation, calcification and cellular stiffening of vascular SMCs in vitro. These effects may be attributable, at least in part, to the role of DNMT1 in regulating the promoter activities of Transgelin (SM22α) and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and the functional contractility of SMCs. We conclude that DNMT1 is a critical regulator that negatively regulates arterial stiffening via maintaining the contractile phenotype of vascular SMCs. This research may facilitate elucidation of the complex crosstalk between vascular SMCs and their surrounding matrix in healthy and in pathological conditions and provide new insights into the implications for potential targeting of the phenotypic regulatory mechanisms in material-related therapeutic applications.

The Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases and their cognate ligands, the Ephrins, form a coordinated program of cell contact-mediated migration control, polarity establishment, and tissue architecture development. Specifically, the ligand Ephrin-A1 has been shown to regulate cell morphology and motility through the activation of EphA receptors, which signal to the PI3K pathway to induce cell retraction. MEFs with PI3K subunit p85β knockout (p85β−/−) exhibited markedly reduced cell retraction following Ephrin-A1 stimulation. Ephrin-A1 also serves as an inhibitory substrate for cell spreading and migration. Moreover, Ephrin-A1 treatment results in the dephosphorylation of paxillin and induces the reorganization of phospho-paxillin-containing focal adhesions. The Ephrin-A1 regulated paxillin dephosphorylation is phosphatase dependent, but p85β independent. The present study serves to demonstrate a novel molecular signaling pathways that regulate Ephrin-A1-regulated cell retraction and interaction to the substrate.

The traction forces exerted by an adherent cell on a substrate have been studied only in the two-dimensions (2D) tangential to substrate surface (Txy). We developed a novel technique to measure the three-dimensional (3D) traction forces exerted by live bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) on polyacrylamide deformable substrate. On 3D images acquired by confocal microscopy, displacements were determined with image-processing programs, and traction forces in tangential (XY) and normal (Z) directions were computed by finite element method (FEM). BAECs generated traction force in normal direction (Tz) with an order of magnitude comparable to Txy. Tz is upward at the cell edge and downward under the nucleus, changing continuously with a sign reversal between cell edge and nucleus edge. The method was evaluated regarding accuracy and precision of displacement measurements, effects of FE mesh size, displacement noises, and simple bootstrapping. These results provide new insights into cell-matrix interactions in terms of spatial and temporal variations in traction forces in 3D. This technique can be applied to study live cells to assess their biomechanical dynamics in conjunction with biochemical and functional activities, for investigating cellular functions in health and disease. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12195-009-0082-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ephrins, the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands, have been shown to be key players in guiding cell migration, polarization, and cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesions. Specifica...

The forces exerted by an adherent cell on a substrate were studied previously only in the two-dimensions (2D) tangential to the substrate surface. We used a novel technique to measure the three-dimensional (3D) stresses exerted by live bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) on polyacrylamide deformable substrate, with particular emphasis on the 3D forces of focal adhesions. On 3D images acquired by confocal microscopy, displacements were determined with imageprocessing programs, and stresses in tangential (XY) and normal (Z) directions were computed by finite element method (FEM). BAECs generated stress in normal direction (Tz) with an order of magnitude comparable to that in tangential direction (Txy). Tz is upward at the cell edge and downward under the nucleus, changing continuously with a sign reversal between cell edge and nucleus edge. With the use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled paxillin, the dynamics of this intracellular molecule were studied concurrently with the measurement of 3D forces. In the dynamic region, including the new lamellapodium forming region in the front and the retracting region in the rear, the tangential forces (Fxy) are correlated with the size of the focal adhesions (FAs) much more strongly than those in the stable region under the nucleus. In the dynamic region, normal force (Fz) was upward and positively correlated with FA size, while Fz in the stable region was downward and negatively correlated with FA size. These findings show the influence of the size of FAs on the 3D forces they exert on the substrate. This technique can be applied to study any adherent type of live cells to assess their biomechanical dynamics in conjunction with biochemical and functional activities, thus elucidating cellular functions in health and disease.