methods-for-imaging-intracellular-ph-follicle-stem-cell-lineage-live

Methods for Imaging Intracellular pH of the Follicle Stem Cell Lineage in Live <em>Drosophila</em> Ovarian Tissue

Changes in intracellular pH (pHi) play important roles in the regulation of many cellular functions, including metabolism, proliferation, and ...

University of California, San Francisco

Photodynamic cancer therapy is still limited in its efficiency because of a lack of targeted methods avoiding non-specific toxicity. To overcome this we developed a system that is solely effective upon cellular uptake and intracellular activation by incorporating redox-sensitive chemistry. We used a nanoprecipitation method to obtain human serum albumin nanoparticles (HSA NP) with a diameter of 295 ± 5 nm and decorated them with the photosensitizer (PS) chlorin e6 (Ce6). The NP were stabilized using a redox-sensitive cross-linker to create a smart drug delivery system that is activated only upon NP disintegration in the reducing intracellular environment. Indeed, our drug delivery NP broke down in an environment emulating the reducing intracellular environment with 10 mM glutathione, but not under extracellular conditions. In contrast, the control cross-linked with glutaraldehyde did not break down in the reducing environment. Upon NP disintegration Ce6 fluorescence doubled as the result of diminished self-quenching. While the Ce6-HSA NP did not produce a significant amount of singlet oxygen upon irradiation, NP disintegration restored singlet oxygen production to about half of the value generated by the free Ce6. In vitro experiments with HeLa cells showed that the smart system was able to kill up to 81% of the cells while the glutaraldehyde cross-linked control only killed 56% of them at a drug concentration of 10 ng/ml. Also, Ce6 immobilization in HSA NP prevented dark toxicity in three different cell lines. For the first time, we demonstrate that it is possible to design a smart NP drug delivery system delivering a PS drug to cancer cells while avoiding toxicity prior to the uptake and irradiation. This finding may provide a means of designing more efficient PDT in cancer treatment.

Redox-sensitive cross-linking enhances albumin nanoparticle function as delivery system for photodynamic cancer therapy.

Despite extensive knowledge about the transcriptional regulation of stem cell differentiation, less is known about the role of dynamic cytosolic cues. We report that an increase in intracellular pH (pHi) is necessary for the efficient differentiation of Drosophila adult follicle stem cells (FSCs) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). We show that pHi increases with differentiation from FSCs to prefollicle cells (pFCs) and follicle cells. Loss of the Drosophila Na(+)-H(+) exchanger DNhe2 lowers pHi in differentiating cells, impairs pFC differentiation, disrupts germarium morphology, and decreases fecundity. In contrast, increasing pHi promotes excess pFC cell differentiation toward a polar/stalk cell fate through suppressing Hedgehog pathway activity. Increased pHi also occurs with mESC differentiation and, when prevented, attenuates spontaneous differentiation of naive cells, as determined by expression of microRNA clusters and stage-specific markers. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized role of pHi dynamics for the differentiation of two distinct types of stem cell lineages, which opens new directions for understanding conserved regulatory mechanisms.

Marimar Benitez

Departments of Anatomy and OB/GYN-RS

University of California, San Francisco

Methods for Imaging Intracellular pH of the Follicle Stem Cell Lineage in Live Drosophila Ovarian Tissue

Marimar Benitez

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Departments of Anatomy and OB/GYN-RS

University of California, San Francisco

Methods for Imaging Intracellular pH of the Follicle Stem Cell Lineage in Live Drosophila Ovarian Tissue

Departments of Anatomy and OB/GYN-RS