VE-cadherin and claudin-5: it takes two to tango

Endothelial barrier function requires the adhesive activity of VE-cadherin and claudin-5, which are key components of adherens and tight endothelial junctions, respectively. Emerging evidence suggests that VE-cadherin controls claudin-5 expression by preventing the nuclear accumulation of FoxO1 and -catenin, which repress the claudin-5 promoter. This indicates that a crosstalk mechanism operates between these junctional structures

Retinal Vessel Phenotype In Patients With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

International audiencePURPOSE: To characterize the phenotype of retinal vessels using central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE), tortuosity and fractal dimension (FD) in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) subjects. METHODS: This prospective case-control multicentre study included 61 POAG subjects and 61 controls matched for age, systemic hypertension and body mass index. Fundus images of the right eye were acquired using a non-mydriatic camera. Central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), CRVE, arteriole-to-venule ratio, FD and tortuosity of the vascular network were measured using VAMPIRE software (Vessel Assessment and Measurement Platform for Images of the Retina). Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients underwent 24.2 sita-standard visual field and peri-papillary optical coherence tomography (OCT) examinations. Data were expressed as median and interquartile range (75-25th percentiles). RESULTS: The control group was comparable to the POAG group for sex ratio, refraction and intraocular pressure. The mean CRAE and the mean CRVE were significantly lower in the POAG group than in the control group [150.5 (137.9; 157.1) mum versus 161.3 (154.0; 168.4) mum and 204.8 (190.1; 218.1) mum versus 233.5 (222.3; 246.9) mum, respectively; p < 0.001] and for fractal parameters as well. No significant difference was found for tortuosity between the two groups. There was a significant correlation between CRAE and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness (r = 0.27; p = 0.03). VAMPIRE parameters were not correlated with visual field indices. CONCLUSION: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) was associated with a narrowing of arterial and venous retinal vessels, a higher arteriole-to-venule ratio and lower values of FD. The relationship between CRAE and RNFL thickness needs further investigation

Power laws in microrheology experiments on living cells: comparative analysis and modelling

We compare and synthesize the results of two microrheological experiments on the cytoskeleton of single cells. In the first one, the creep function J(t) of a cell stretched between two glass plates is measured after applying a constant force step. In the second one, a micrometric bead specifically bound to transmembrane receptors is driven by an oscillating optical trap, and the viscoelastic coefficient $G_e(\omega)$ is retrieved. Both $J(t)$ and $G_e(\omega)$ exhibit power law behavior: $J(t)= A(t/t_0)^\alpha$ and $\bar G_e(\omega)\bar = G_0 (\omega/\omega_0)^\alpha$, with the same exponent $\alpha\approx 0.2$. This power law behavior is very robust ; $\alpha$ is distributed over a narrow range, and shows almost no dependance on the cell type, on the nature of the protein complex which transmits the mechanical stress, nor on the typical length scale of the experiment. On the contrary, the prefactors $A_0$ and $G_0$appear very sensitive to these parameters. Whereas the exponents $\alpha$ are normally distributed over the cell population, the prefactors $A_0$ and $G_0$ follow a log-normal repartition. These results are compared with other data published in the litterature. We propose a global interpretation, based on a semi-phenomenological model, which involves a broad distribution of relaxation times in the system. The model predicts the power law behavior and the statistical repartition of the mechanical parameters, as experimentally observed for the cells. Moreover, it leads to an estimate of the largest response time in the cytoskeletal network: $\tau_m \approx 1000$ s.Comment: 47 pages, 14 figures // v2: PDF file is now Acrobat Reader 4 (and up) compatible // v3: Minor typos corrected - The presentation of the model have been substantially rewritten (p. 17-18), in order to give more details - Enhanced description of protocols // v4: Minor corrections in the text : the immersion angles are estimated and not measured // v5: Minor typos corrected. Two references were clarifie

Mtss1 promotes cell-cell junction assembly and stability through the small GTPase Rac1

Cell-cell junctions are an integral part of epithelia and are often disrupted in cancer cells during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is a main driver of metastatic spread. We show here that Metastasis suppressor-1 (Mtss1; Missing in Metastasis, MIM), a member of the IMD-family of proteins, inhibits cell-cell junction disassembly in wound healing or HGF-induced scatter assays by enhancing cell-cell junction strength. Mtss1 not only makes cells more resistant to cell-cell junction disassembly, but also accelerates the kinetics of adherens junction assembly. Mtss1 drives enhanced junction formation specifically by elevating Rac-GTP. Lastly, we show that Mtss1 depletion reduces recruitment of F-actin at cell-cell junctions. We thus propose that Mtss1 promotes Rac1 activation and actin recruitment driving junction maintenance. We suggest that the observed loss of Mtss1 in cancers may compromise junction stability and thus promote EMT and metastasis

Adherens junctions remain dynamic

One of the four principal categories of cell-cell junctions that hold together and shape distinct tissues and organs in vertebrates, adherens junctions (AJs) form cell-cell contacts that connect transmembrane proteins with cytoskeletal actin filaments to provide architectural strength, aid in morphogenesis, and help to maintain proper tissue homeostasis. The classical organization of AJs, consisting of transmembrane cadherins and cytoplasmically attached β-catenins and α-catenins assembled together into a multiprotein complex, was once thought obligatory to craft a robust and stable connection to actin-based cytoskeletal elements, but this architecture has since been challenged and questioned to exist. In a stimulating paper published in a recent issue of BMC Biology, Millán et al. provide convincing evidence that in confluent vascular endothelial cells a novel dynamic vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin-based AJ type exists that interacts with and physically connects prominent bundles of tension-mediating actin filaments, stress fibers, between neighboring cells. Stress fibers were known previously to link to integrin-based focal adhesion complexes but not to cell-cell adhesion mediating AJs. These new findings, together with previous results support the concept that different AJ subtypes, sharing the same transmembrane cadherin types, can assemble in various configurations to either increase barrier function and promote physical cell-cell adhesion, or to lessen cell-cell adhesion and promote cell separation and migration

Environmental factors modulate the distribution of elasmobranchs in southern Mozambique

Investigating the spatiotemporal ecology of elasmobranchs is an important precursor to their effective management. Understanding long-term patterns in the movement and habitat use of threatened species can improve management plans so that they yield increased conservation benefits. We investigated the spatiotemporal and environmental drivers that underpin the abundance and distribution of elasmobranchs around reef habitats in southern Mozambique to highlight reefs that are important (“hotspots”) to the regional elasmobranch community. Visual belt transects (n = 738), supported by video recordings, were completed on 16 reef sites off the coast of southern Mozambique from 2018 to 2022. Nine elasmobranch species were encountered annually (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus, Stegostoma tigrinum, Neotrygon caeruleopunctata, Pateobatis jenkinsii, Taeniurops meyeni, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula alfredi, Mobula birostris) and 11 individual environmental and spatiotemporal parameters (horizontal water visibility, tidal range and state, moon illumination, temperature on the reef, cloud cover, time of day, day of the year, transect distance from shore, transect depth, and the region that the transect occurred in) were measured. All species, (bar P. jenkinsii) were significantly more abundant around certain reefs in the sampled region. Total counts for most species were highest in the austral summer however two species’ (M. birostris and S. tigrinum) were most abundant in the winter months. The tidal state, tidal range, and moon illumination correlated significantly with the numbers of each of the nine elasmobranch species. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) indicated that species’ responses to the measured parameters grouped taxonomically. Environmental influences resulted in strong seasonal patterns of reef use by large-bodied and pelagic elasmobranch species (e.g. manta rays). The measured environmental parameters also resulted in daily, monthly, and seasonal patterns of abundance of reef-resident stingray and shark species. Banning extraction of elasmobranch species around the reefs where they aggregate and reflecting species distributions within fisheries regulations may significantly benefit the regional elasmobranch community

Placenta Growth Factor-1 Exerts Time-Dependent Stabilization of Adherens Junctions Following VEGF-Induced Vascular Permeability

Increased vascular permeability is an early event characteristic of tissue ischemia and angiogenesis. Although VEGF family members are potent promoters of endothelial permeability the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) is hotly debated. Here we investigated PlGF isoforms 1 and 2 and present in vitro and in vivo evidence that PlGF-1, but not PlGF-2, can inhibit VEGF-induced permeability but only during a critical window post-VEGF exposure. PlGF-1 promotes VE-cadherin expression via the trans-activating Sp1 and Sp3 interaction with the VE-cadherin promoter and subsequently stabilizes transendothelial junctions, but only after activation of endothelial cells by VEGF. PlGF-1 regulates vascular permeability associated with the rapid localization of VE-cadherin to the plasma membrane and dephosphorylation of tyrosine residues that precedes changes observed in claudin 5 tyrosine phosphorylation and membrane localization. The critical window during which PlGF-1 exerts its effect on VEGF-induced permeability highlights the importance of the translational significance of this work in that PLGF-1 likely serves as an endogenous anti-permeability factor whose effectiveness is limited to a precise time point following vascular injury. Clinical approaches that would pattern nature's approach would thus limit treatments to precise intervals following injury and bring attention to use of agents only during therapeutic windows

Rickettsiae Induce Microvascular Hyperpermeability via Phosphorylation of VE-Cadherins: Evidence from Atomic Force Microscopy and Biochemical Studies

The most prominent pathophysiological effect of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial infection of microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) is an enhanced vascular permeability, promoting vasogenic cerebral edema and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, which are responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality in severe cases. To date, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which SFG Rickettsia increase EC permeability are largely unknown. In the present study we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the interactive forces between vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and human cerebral microvascular EC infected with R. montanensis, which is genetically similar to R. rickettsii and R. conorii, and displays a similar ability to invade cells, but is non-pathogenic and can be experimentally manipulated under Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) conditions. We found that infected ECs show a significant decrease in VE-cadherin-EC interactions. In addition, we applied immunofluorescent staining, immunoprecipitation phosphorylation assay, and an in vitro endothelial permeability assay to study the biochemical mechanisms that may participate in the enhanced vascular permeability as an underlying pathologic alteration of SFG rickettsial infection. A major finding is that infection of R. montanensis significantly activated tyrosine phosphorylation of VE-cadherin beginning at 48 hr and reaching a peak at 72 hr p.i. In vitro permeability assay showed an enhanced microvascular permeability at 72 hr p.i. On the other hand, AFM experiments showed a dramatic reduction in VE-cadherin-EC interactive forces at 48 hr p.i. We conclude that upon infection by SFG rickettsiae, phosphorylation of VE-cadherin directly attenuates homophilic protein–protein interactions at the endothelial adherens junctions, and may lead to endothelial paracellular barrier dysfunction causing microvascular hyperpermeability. These new approaches should prove useful in characterizing the antigenically related SFG rickettsiae R. conorii and R. rickettsii in a BSL3 environment. Future studies may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies to inhibit the VE-cadherin-associated microvascular hyperpermeability in SFG rickettsioses