Effect of RGD functionalization and stiffness modulation of polyelectrolyte multilayer films on muscle cell differentiation

International audienceSkeletal muscle tissue engineering holds promise for the replacement of muscle damaged by injury and for the treatment of muscle diseases. Although arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) substrates have been widely explored in tissue engineering, there have been no studies aimed at investigating the combined effects of RGD nanoscale presentation and matrix stiffness on myogenesis. In the present work we use polyelectrolyte multilayer films made of poly(L-lysine) (PLL) and poly(L-glutamic) acid (PGA) as substrates of tunable stiffness that can be functionalized by a RGD adhesive peptide to investigate important events in myogenesis, including adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. C2C12 myoblasts were used as cellular models. RGD presentation on soft films and increasing film stiffness could both induce cell adhesion, but the integrins involved in adhesion were different in the case of soft and stiff films. Soft films with RGD peptide appeared to be the most appropriate substrate for myogenic differentiation, while the stiff PLL/PGA films induced significant cell migration and proliferation and inhibited myogenic differentiation. ROCK kinase was found to be involved in the myoblast response to the different films. Indeed, its inhibition was sufficient to rescue differentiation on stiff films, but no significant changes were observed on stiff films with the RGD peptide. These results suggest that different signaling pathways may be activated depending on the mechanical and biochemical properties of multilayer films. This study emphasizes the advantage of soft PLL/PGA films presenting the RGD peptide in terms of myogenic differentiation. This soft RGD-presenting film may be further used as a coating of various polymeric scaffolds for muscle tissue engineering

TrioGEF1 controls Rac- and Cdc42-dependent cell structures through the direct activation of rhoG.

International audienceRho GTPases regulate the morphology of cells stimulated by extracellular ligands. Their activation is controlled by guanine exchange factors (GEF) that catalyze their binding to GTP. The multidomain Trio protein represents an emerging class of &Rgr; regulators that contain two GEF domains of distinct specificities. We report here the characterization of Rho signaling pathways activated by the N-terminal GEF domain of Trio (TrioD1). In fibroblasts, TrioD1 triggers the formation of particular cell structures, similar to those elicited by RhoG, a GTPase known to activate both Rac1 and Cdc42Hs. In addition, the activity of TrioD1 requires the microtubule network and relocalizes RhoG at the active sites of the plasma membrane. Using a classical in vitro exchange assay, TrioD1 displays a higher GEF activity on RhoG than on Rac1. In fibroblasts, expression of dominant negative RhoG mutants totally abolished TrioD1 signaling, whereas dominant negative Rac1 and Cdc42Hs only led to partial and complementary inhibitions. Finally, expression of a Rho Binding Domain that specifically binds RhoG(GTP) led to the complete abolition of TrioD1 signaling, which strongly supports Rac1 not being activated by TrioD1 in vivo. These data demonstrate that Trio controls a signaling cascade that activates RhoG, which in turn activates Rac1 and Cdc42Hs

Control of the Proliferation/Differentiation Balance in Skeletal Myoblasts by Integrin and Syndecan Targeting Peptides

International audienceControlling the different steps of cell differentiation in vitro using bioactive surfaces may be useful in view of future cell therapies. Substrates presenting peptides, which are minimal fragments of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins may be used for this purpose. In this work, we used polyelectrolyte multilayer films presenting two peptides derived from different muscle ECM proteins to target syndecan or/and integrin receptors. We showed that the presence of laminin-derived peptide to target syndecan-1 promotes lamellipodia formation, increases migration speed, directionality, and cell proliferation but impaired myotube formation. The cellular effects of L2synd are under the control of Rac1 and Cdc42 activities and involved beta 1 integrin in contrast to RGD-containing peptide, which enabled adhesion via beta 3 integrins and muscle cell differentiation. Our results show that peptides grafted onto multilayered films can guide the proliferation/differentiation balance and reveal crosstalk between different adhesion receptors

Expression and activity of serum response factor is required for expression of the muscle-determining factor MyoD in both dividing and differentiating mouse C2C12 myoblasts.

To understand the mechanism by which the serum response factor (SRF) is involved in the process of skeletal muscle differentiation, we have assessed the effect of inhibiting SRF activity or synthesis on the expression of the muscle-determining factor MyoD. Inhibition of SRF activity in mouse myogenic C2C12 cells through microinjection of either the SRE oligonucleotide (which acts by displacing SRF proteins from the endogenous SRE sequences), purified SRF-DB (a 30-kDa portion of SRF containing the DNA-binding domain of SRF, which acts as a dominant negative mutant in vivo), or purified anti-SRF antibodies rapidly prevents the expression of MyoD. Moreover, the rapid shutdown of MyoD expression after in vivo inhibition of SRF activity is observed not only in proliferating myoblasts but also in myoblasts cultured under differentiating conditions. Additionally, by using a cellular system expressing a glucocorticoid-inducible antisense-SRF (from aa 74 to 244) we have shown that blocking SRF expression by dexamethasone induction of antisense SRF results in the lack of MyoD expression as probed by both immunofluorescence and Northern blot analysis. Taken together these data demonstrate that SRF expression and activity are required for the expression of the muscle-determining factor MyoD

Trio Controls the Mature Organization of Neuronal Clusters in the Hindbrain

International audienceDuring the embryonic development of the hindbrain, movements of neuronal clusters allow the formation of mature “pools”, in particular for inferior olivary (ION) and facial motor (fMN) nuclei. The cellular mechanisms of neuron clustering remain uncharacterized. We report that the absence of the Rho–guanine exchange factor Trio, which can activate both RhoG and Rac1 in vivo, prevents the proper formation of ION and fMN subnuclei. Rac1, but not RhoG, appears to be a downstream actor in Trio-induced lamellation. In addition, we report that Cadherin-11 is expressed by a subset of neurons through the overall period of ION and fMN parcellations, and defects observed in trio mutant mice are located specifically in Cadherin-11-expressing regions. Moreover, endogenous Cadherin-11 is found in a complex with Trio when lamellation occurs. Altogether, those results establish a link between Trio activity, the subsequent Rac1 activation, and neuronal clusters organization, as well as a possible recruitment of the Cadherin-11 adhesive receptor to form a complex with Trio

Comparative analysis of cellular and tissular expression of c-fos in human keratinocytes: evidence of its role in cell differentiation

Recent studies on normal and pathological skin have suggested a role of the c-fos proto-oncogene in keratinocyte differentiation. To further elucidate this question we have used keratinocyte and skin culture models to study in vitro regulation of c-fos expression and attempted to correlate it with the keratinocyte maturation process. Our results show that c-fos expression is prolonged in keratinocyte monolayers both at the mRNA and protein level. Extracellular calcium which stimulate keratinocyte differentiation is able to induce c-fos expression in the presence of growth factors. However this c-fos expression cannot be maintained by these factors as seen in normal human skin in vivo. Conversely, spontaneous expression of c-fos can be seen in reconstituted skin when the neo-epidermis has completed its differentiation. All these data strongly support a role of c-fos as a switch between the early and late phases of keratinocyte differentiation allowing them to be definitively committed to their elimination process. Additionally, a differential regulation of c-fos seems to exist between keratinocyte culture and reconstituted epidermis, suggesting that tissular and serum factors are involved in the prolonged c-fos expression observed in human epidermis

Comparative analysis of cellular and tissular expression of c-fos in human keratinocytes: evidence of its role in cell differentiation

Recent studies on normal and pathological skin have suggested a role of the c-fos proto-oncogene in keratinocyte differentiation. To further elucidate this question we have used keratinocyte and skin culture models to study in vitro regulation of c-fos expression and attempted to correlate it with the keratinocyte maturation process. Our results show that c-fos expression is prolonged in keratinocyte monolayers both at the mRNA and protein level. Extracellular calcium which stimulate keratinocyte differentiation is able to induce c-fos expression in the presence of growth factors. However this c-fos expression cannot be maintained by these factors as seen in normal human skin in vivo. Conversely, spontaneous expression of c-fos can be seen in reconstituted skin when the neo-epidermis has completed its differentiation. All these data strongly support a role of c-fos as a switch between the early and late phases of keratinocyte differentiation allowing them to be definitively committed to their elimination process. Additionally, a differential regulation of c-fos seems to exist between keratinocyte culture and reconstituted epidermis, suggesting that tissular and serum factors are involved in the prolonged c-fos expression observed in human epidermis