visualization-cell-cycle-variations-determination-nucleation

Visualization of Cell Cycle Variations and Determination of Nucleation in Postnatal Cardiomyocytes

Cardiomyocytes are prone to variations of the cell cycle, such as endoreduplication (continuing rounds of DNA synthesis without karyokinesis and ...

University of Bonn

The P2Y(2) receptor, which is activated by UTP, ATP, and dinucleotides, was studied as a prototypical nucleotide-activated GPCR. A combination of receptor mutagenesis, determination of its effects on potency and efficacy of agonists and antagonists, homology modeling, and chemical experiments was applied. R272 (extracellular loop EL3) was found to play a gatekeeper role, presumably responsible for recognition and orientation of the nucleotides. R272 is also directly involved in binding of dinucleotides, which behaved as partial agonists. Y118A (3.37) mutation led to dramatically reduced efficacy of agonists; it is part of the entry channel as well as the triphosphate binding site. While the Y114A (3.33) mutation did not have any effect on agonist activities, the antagonist Reactive Blue 2 (6) was completely inactive at that mutant. The disulfide bridge Cys25-Cys278 was found to be important for agonist potency but neither for agonist efficacy nor for antagonist potency.

Key determinants of nucleotide-activated G protein-coupled P2Y(2) receptor function revealed by chemical and pharmacological experiments, mutagenesis and homology modeling.

Current approaches to monitor and quantify cell division in live cells, and reliably distinguish between acytokinesis and endoreduplication, are limited and complicate determination of stem cell pool identities. Here we overcome these limitations by generating an in vivo reporter system using the scaffolding protein anillin fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein, to provide high spatiotemporal resolution of mitotic phase. This approach visualizes cytokinesis and midbody formation as hallmarks of expansion of stem and somatic cells, and enables distinction from cell cycle variations. High-resolution microscopy in embryonic heart and brain tissues of enhanced green fluorescent protein-anillin transgenic mice allows live monitoring of cell division and quantitation of cell cycle kinetics. Analysis of cell division in hearts post injury shows that border zone cardiomyocytes in the infarct respond with increasing ploidy, but not cell division. Thus, the enhanced green fluorescent protein-anillin system enables monitoring and measurement of cell division in vivo and markedly simplifies in vitro analysis in fixed cells.

Direct visualization of cell division using high-resolution imaging of M-phase of the cell cycle.

Even though the mammalian heart has been investigated for many years, there are still uncertainties in the fields of cardiac cell biology and regeneration with regard to exact fractions of cardiomyocytes (CMs) at different developmental stages, their plasticity after cardiac lesion and also their basal turnover rate. A main shortcoming is the accurate identification of CM and the demonstration of CM division. Therefore, an in vivo model taking advantage of a live reporter-based identification of CM nuclei and their cell cycle status is needed. In this technical report, we describe the generation and characterization of embryonic stem cells and transgenic mice expressing a fusion protein of human histone 2B and the red fluorescence protein mCherry under control of the CM specific αMHC promoter. This fluorescence label allows unequivocal identification and quantitation of CM nuclei and nuclearity in isolated cells and native tissue slices. In ventricles of adults, we determined a fraction of <20 % CMs and binucleation of 77-90 %, while in atria a CM fraction of 30 % and a binucleation index of 14 % were found. We combined this transgenic system with the CAG-eGFP-anillin transgene, which identifies cell division and established a novel screening assay for cell cycle-modifying substances in isolated, postnatal CMs. Our transgenic live reporter-based system enables reliable identification of CM nuclei and determination of CM fractions and nuclearity in heart tissue. In combination with CAG-eGFP-anillin-mice, the cell cycle status of CMs can be monitored in detail enabling screening for proliferation-inducing substances in vitro and in vivo.

Transgenic systems for unequivocal identification of cardiac myocyte nuclei and analysis of cardiomyocyte cell cycle status.

Epigenetic mechanisms are crucial for cell identity and transcriptional control. The heart consists of different cell types, including cardiac myocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and others. Therefore, cell type-specific analysis is needed to gain mechanistic insight into the regulation of gene expression in cardiac myocytes. Although cytosolic mRNA represents steady-state levels, nuclear mRNA more closely reflects transcriptional activity. To unravel epigenetic mechanisms of transcriptional control, cell type-specific analysis of nuclear mRNA and epigenetic modifications is crucial.

Deciphering the Epigenetic Code of Cardiac Myocyte Transcription.

Central questions such as cardiomyocyte subtype emergence during cardiogenesis or the availability of cardiomyocyte subtypes for cell replacement therapy require selective identification and purification of atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes. However, current methodologies do not allow for a transgene-free selective isolation of atrial or ventricular cardiomyocytes due to the lack of subtype specific cell surface markers.

Differential Expression Levels of Integrin α6 Enable the Selective Identification and Isolation of Atrial and Ventricular Cardiomyocytes.

The present work addresses the question of to what extent a geometrical support acts as a physiological determining template in the setup of artificial cardiac tissue. Surface patterns with alternating concave to convex transitions of cell size dimensions were used to organize and orientate human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hIPSC)-derived cardiac myocytes and mouse neonatal cardiac myocytes. The shape of the cells, as well as the organization of the contractile apparatus recapitulates the anisotropic line pattern geometry being derived from tissue geometry motives. The intracellular organization of the contractile apparatus and the cell coupling via gap junctions of cell assemblies growing in a random or organized pattern were examined. Cell spatial and temporal coordinated excitation and contraction has been compared on plain and patterned substrates. While the α-actinin cytoskeletal organization is comparable to terminally-developed native ventricular tissue, connexin-43 expression does not recapitulate gap junction distribution of heart muscle tissue. However, coordinated contractions could be observed. The results of tissue-like cell ensemble organization open new insights into geometry-dependent cell organization, the cultivation of artificial heart tissue from stem cells and the anisotropy-dependent activity of therapeutic compounds.

Tissue-Mimicking Geometrical Constraints Stimulate Tissue-Like Constitution and Activity of Mouse Neonatal and Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Myocytes.

Alexandra Raulf

Institute of Physiology I

University of Bonn

Visualization of Cell Cycle Variations and Determination of Nucleation in Postnatal Cardiomyocytes