Pathways of Hope

In part two of Fr. Jett’s lecture, he discusses the ways in which we can respond to the ecological problems that we face. Speaker: Fr Jose Ramon T Villarin SJ, is an atmospheric scientist, Jesuit, and outgoing President of the Ateneo De Manila University (2010-2020). Before being elected as University President, he was president of Xavier University-Ateneo De Cagayan. His research and contribution in the field of climate change earned him a seat as the lead reviewer of the UN Convention on Climate Change.https://archium.ateneo.edu/magisterial-lectures/1026/thumbnail.jp

The Pope, The Poor, The Planet

Fr. Jett discusses the complex nature of environmental issues, focusing on climate change as an example, the need to shift to a more integral ecology, and what we need to do as a community and as individuals. Speaker: Fr Jose Ramon T Villarin SJ, is an atmospheric scientist, Jesuit, and outgoing President of the Ateneo De Manila University (2010-2020). Before being elected as University President, he was president of Xavier University-Ateneo De Cagayan. His research and contribution in the field of climate change earned him a seat as the lead reviewer of the UN Convention on Climate Change.https://archium.ateneo.edu/magisterial-lectures/1025/thumbnail.jp

Chronic Cold Exposure Increases Skeletal Muscle Oxidative Structure and Function in Monodelphis domestica, a Marsupial Lacking Brown Adipose Tissue

Monodelphis domestica (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) was used as a model animal to investigate and compare muscle adaptation to exercise training and cold exposure. The experimental treatment consisted of four groups of animals: either warm or cold acclimation temperature and with or without endurance exercisetraining. Maximal aerobic capacity during a running Vo2max test in the warm-exercised or cold-exposed (with or without without exercise) groups was about 130 mL O2/kg/min, significantlyhigher than the warm-acclimated controls at 113.5mL O2/kg/min. Similarly, during an acute cold challenge (Vo2summit ), maximal aerobic capacity was higher in these three experimental groups at ∼95 mL O2/kg/min compared with 80.4mL O2/kg/min in warm-acclimated controls. Respiratory exchange ratio was significantly lower (0.89-0.68), whereas relative heart mass 0.52%-0.73%) and whole-body muscle mitochondrialvolume density (2.59 to 3.04 cm[sup3]) were significantly higher following cold exposure. Chronic cold exposure was a stronger stimulus than endurance exercise training for tissue specific adaptations. Although chronic cold exposure and enduranceexercise are distinct challenges, physiological adaptations to each overlap such that the capacities for aerobic performance in response to both cold exposure and running are increased by either or both treatments

Human PSC-derived hepatocytes express low levels of viral pathogen recognition receptors, but are capable of mounting an effective innate immune response

Hepatocytes are key players in the innate immune response to liver pathogens but are challenging to study because of inaccessibility and a short half-life. Recent advances in in vitro differentiation of hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) facilitated studies of hepatocyte–pathogen interactions. Here, we aimed to define the anti-viral innate immune potential of human HLCs with a focus on pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-expression and the presence of a metabolic switch. We analysed cytoplasmic PRR and endosomal toll-like receptor (TLR)-expression, as well as activity and adaptation of HLCs to an inflammatory environment. We found that transcript levels of retinoic acid inducible gene I (RIG-I), melanoma differentiation antigen 5 (MDA5), and TLR3 became downregulated during differentiation, indicating the acquisition of a more tolerogenic phenotype, as expected in healthy hepatocytes. HLCs responded to activation of RIG-I by producing interferons (IFNs) and IFN-stimulated genes. Despite low-level levels of TLR3, receptor expression was upregulated in an inflammatory environment. TLR3 signalling induced expression of proinflammatory cytokines at the gene level, indicating that several PRRs need to interact for successful innate immune activation. The inflammatory responsiveness of HLCs was accompanied by the downregulation of cytochrome P450 3A and 1A2 activity and decreased serum protein production, showing that the metabolic switch seen in primary hepatocytes during anti-viral responses is also present in HLCs

Stabilisation of hepatocyte phenotype using synthetic materials

Primary human hepatocytes are a scare resource with limited lifespan and variable function which diminishes with time in culture. As a consequence, their use in tissue modelling and therapy is restricted. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) could provide a stable source of human tissue due to their self-renewal properties and their ability to give rise to all the cell types of the human body. Therefore, hESC have the potential to provide an unlimited supply of hepatocytes. To date, the use of hESCs-derived somatic cells is limited due to the undefined, variable and xeno-containing microenvironment that influences the cell performance and life span, limiting scale-up and downstream application. Therefore, the development of highly defined cell based systems is required if the true potential of stem cell derived hepatocytes is to be realised. In order to replace the use of animal derived culture substrates to differentiate and maintain hESCs-derived hepatocytes, an interdisciplinary approach was employed to define synthetic materials, which maintain hepatocyte-like cell phenotype in culture. A simple polyurethane, PU134, was identified which improved hepatocyte performance and stability when compared to biological matrices. Moreover, the synthetic polymer was amenable to scale up and demonstrated batch-to-batch consistency. I subsequently used the synthetic polymer surface to probe the underlying biology, identifying key modulators of hepatocyte-like cell phenotype. This resulted in the identification of a novel genetic signature, MMP13, CTNND2 and THBS2, which was associated with stable hepatocyte performance. Importantly, those findings could be translated to two hESC lines derived at GMP. In conclusion, hepatocyte differentiation of pluripotent stem cells requires a defined microenvironment. The novel gene signature identified in this study represents an example of how to deliver stable hESCs-derived hepatocytes

Regulation of Cytoplasmic Dynein via Local Synthesis of its Cofactors, Lis1 and p150Glued

Within the past thirty years, the discovery and characterization of the microtubule-associated motor proteins, kinesins and cytoplasmic dynein, has radically expanded our understanding of intracellular trafficking and motile phenomena. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which eukaryotic cells integrate motor functionality and cargo interactions over multiple subcellular domains in a spatiotemporally controlled way remain largely mysterious. During transport within the neuronal axon, dynein and the kinesins run in opposite directions along uniformly polarized microtubule tracks, so that each motor must switch between active transport and being, itself, a cargo in order to be properly positioned and carry out its function. The axon thus represents a model system in which to study the regulatory mechanisms governing intracellular transport, especially under conditions when it must be modulated in response to changing environmental cues, such as during axon outgrowth and development. Recently, the localization of certain messenger RNAs and their local translation to yield protein has emerged as a critical process for the development of axons and other neuronal compartments. I observed that transcripts encoding the dynein cofactors Lis1 and dynactin are among those localized to axons, so I hypothesized that stimulus-dependent changes in axonal transport may occur via local synthesis of dynein cofactors. In these studies, I have shown that different conditions of nerve growth factor signaling on developing axons trigger acute changes in the transport of various axonal cargoes, contemporaneous with rapid translational activation and production of Lis1 and dynactin’s main subunit, p150Glued, within the axons themselves. Differential synthesis of these cofactors in axons was confirmed to be required for the observed stimulus-dependent transport changes, which were completely prevented by axon-specific pharmacologic inhibition of protein synthesis or RNA interference targeted against Lis1 and p150Glued. In fact, Lis1 was, in an apparent paradox, locally synthesized in response to both nerve growth factor stimulation and withdrawal. I demonstrated that this is due to the fact that Lis1 is produced from a heterogeneous population of localized transcripts, differentiated chiefly by whether they interact with the RNA-binding protein APC. Preventing the binding of APC to Lis1 transcripts thus inhibited axonal synthesis of Lis1 and its resultant transport effects under conditions of nerve growth factor stimulation, while having no bearing on the similar phenomena seen during nerve growth factor withdrawal. This demonstrates that association with RNA-binding proteins can functionally distinguish sub-populations of localized messenger RNAs, which, in turn, provides a foundation for mechanistically understanding how localized protein synthesis is coupled to specific stimuli. Axonally synthesized Lis1 also was shown to have a particular role in mediating transport of a retrograde death signal originating in nerve growth factor-deprived axons, as neurons exhibited greatly reduced cell death when axonal synthesis of Lis1 was blocked. Through the application of pharmacologic agents inhibiting different steps in the propagation of this pro-apoptotic signal, I established that the signal depends upon effective endocytosis and the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3β. It is therefore likely that the retrogradely transported signaling cargo in question is a glycogen synthase kinase 3β-containing endosome or multivesicular body—a type of large cargo consistent with Lis1’s known role in adapting the dynein motor for high-load transport. Preliminary results further indicate that axons exposed to another type of degenerative stress, in the form of toxic amyloid-β oligomers, may also employ local synthesis of Lis1 as a means of regulating transport and survival signaling. These findings establish a previously undescribed mechanism of regulating dynein activity and cargo interactions through local synthesis of its cofactors, allowing for rapid responses to environmental cues and stimuli that are especially relevant during the development of the nervous system. In addition to illustrating a regulatory principle that may be generally applicable to subcellular compartments throughout polarized cells, these studies provide new insights into intracellular transport disruptions that occur in lissencephaly, neurodegeneration, and other human disease states

Robust generation of hepatocyte-like cells from human embryonic stem cell populations

Despite progress in modelling human drug toxicity, many compounds fail during clinical trials due to unpredicted side effects. The cost of clinical studies are substantial, therefore it is essential that more predictive toxicology screens are developed and deployed early on in drug development (Greenhough et al 2010). Human hepatocytes represent the current gold standard model for evaluating drug toxicity, but are a limited resource that exhibit variable function. Therefore, the use of immortalised cell lines and animal tissue models are routinely employed due to their abundance. While both sources are informative, they are limited by poor function, species variability and/or instability in culture (Dalgetty et al 2009). Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are an attractive alternative source of human hepatocyte like cells (HLCs) (Medine et al 2010). PSCs are capable of self renewal and differentiation to all somatic cell types found in the adult and thereby represent a potentially inexhaustible source of differentiated cells. We have developed a procedure that is simple, highly efficient, amenable to automation and yields functional human HLCs (Hay et al 2008 ; Fletcher et al 2008 ; Hannoun et al 2010 ; Payne et al 2011 and Hay et al 2011). We believe our technology will lead to the scalable production of HLCs for drug discovery, disease modeling, the construction of extra-corporeal devices and possibly cell based transplantation therapies