https://sites.bu.edu/chenlab/files/2014/01/38_McBeathDevCell_04.pdf

Cell shape, cytoskeletal tension, and rhoa regulate stem cell lineage commitment

Apolipoprotein E is a plasma protein that serves as a ligand for low density lipoprotein receptors and, through its interaction with these receptors, participates in the transport of cholesterol and other lipids among various cells of the body A mutant form of apolipoprotein E that is defective in binding to low density lipoprotein receptors is associated with familial type III hyperlipoproteinemia, a genetic disorder characterized by elevated plasma cholesterol levels and accelerated coronary artery disease Apolipoprotein E is synthesized in various organs, including liver, brain, spleen, and kidney, and is present in high concentrations in interstitial fluid, where it appears to participate in cholesterol redistribution from cells with excess cholesterol to those requiring cholesterol Apolipo-protein E also appears to be involved in the repair response to tissue injury; for example, markedly increased amounts of apolipoprotein E are found at sites of peripheral nerve injury and regeneration Other functions of apolipoprotein E, unrelated to lipid transport, are becoming known, including immunoregulation and modulation of cell growth and differentiation

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/240/4852/622.full.pdf

Apolipoprotein E: cholesterol transport protein with expanding role in cell biology.

Significant efforts have been directed to understanding the factors that influence the lineage commitment of stem cells. This paper demonstrates that cell shape, independent of soluble factors, has a strong influence on the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow. When exposed to competing soluble differentiation signals, cells cultured in rectangles with increasing aspect ratio and in shapes with pentagonal symmetry but with different subcellular curvature—and with each occupying the same area—display different adipogenesis and osteogenesis profiles. The results reveal that geometric features that increase actomyosin contractility promote osteogenesis and are consistent with in vivo characteristics of the microenvironment of the differentiated cells. Cytoskeletal-disrupting pharmacological agents modulate shape-based trends in lineage commitment verifying the critical role of focal adhesion and myosin-generated contractility during differentiation. Microarray analysis and pathway inhibition studies suggest that contractile cells promote osteogenesis by enhancing c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular related kinase (ERK1/2) activation in conjunction with elevated wingless-type (Wnt) signaling. Taken together, this work points to the role that geometric shape cues can play in orchestrating the mechanochemical signals and paracrine/autocrine factors that can direct MSCs to appropriate fates.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/107/11/4872.full.pdf

Geometric cues for directing the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

An elastomeric stamp, containing defined features on the micrometer scale, was used to imprint gold surfaces with specific patterns of self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols and, thereby, to create islands of defined shape and size that support extracellular matrix protein adsorption and cell attachment. Through this technique, it was possible to place cells in predetermined locations and arrays, separated by defined distances, and to dictate their shape. Limiting the degree of cell extension provided control over cell growth and protein secretion. This method is experimentally simple and highly adaptable. It should be useful for applications in biotechnology that require analysis of individual cells cultured at high density or repeated access to cells placed in specified locations.

http://dns2.asia.edu.tw/~ysho/YSHO-English/1000%20WC/PDF/Science264,%20696.pdf

Engineering Cell Shape and Function

Melatonin is a highly conserved molecule. Its presence can be traced back to ancient photosynthetic prokaryotes. A primitive and primary function of melatonin is that it acts as a receptor-independent free radical scavenger and a broad-spectrum antioxidant. The receptor-dependent functions of melatonin were subsequently acquired during evolution. In the current review, we focus on melatonin metabolism which includes the synthetic rate-limiting enzymes, synthetic sites, potential regulatory mechanisms, bioavailability in humans, mechanisms of breakdown and functions of its metabolites. Recent evidence indicates that the original melatonin metabolite may be N 1 -acetyl-N 2 -formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) rather than its commonly measured urinary excretory product 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate. Numerous pathways for AFMK formation have been identified both in vitro and in vivo. These include enzymatic and pseudo-enzymatic pathways, interactions with reactive oxygen species (ROS)/reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and with ultraviolet irradiation. AFMK is present in mammals including humans, and is the only detectable melatonin metabolite in unicellular organisms and metazoans. 6-Hydroxymelatonin sulfate has not been observed in these low evolutionary-ranked organisms. This implies that AFMK evolved earlier in evolution than 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate as a melatonin metabolite. Via the AFMK pathway, a single melatonin molecule is reported to scavenge up to 10 ROS/RNS. That the free radical scavenging capacity of melatonin extends to its secondary, tertiary and quaternary metabolites is now documented. It appears that melatonin's interaction with ROS/RNS is a prolonged process that involves many of its derivatives. The process by which melatonin and its metabolites successively scavenge ROS/RNS is referred as the free radical scavenging cascade. This cascade reaction is a novel property of melatonin and explains how it differs from other conventional antioxidants. This cascade reaction makes melatonin highly effective, even at low concentrations, in protecting organisms from oxidative stress. In accordance with its protective function, substantial amounts of melatonin are found in tissues and organs which are frequently exposed to the hostile environmental insults such as the gut and skin or organs which have high oxygen consumption such as the brain. In addition, melatonin production may be upregulated by low intensity stressors such as dietary restriction in rats and exercise in humans. Intensive oxidative stress results in a rapid drop of circulating melatonin levels. This melatonin decline is not related to its reduced synthesis but to its rapid consumption, i.e. circulating melatonin is rapidly metabolized by interaction with ROS/RNS induced by stress. Rapid melatonin consumption during elevated stress may serve as a protective mechanism of organisms in which melatonin is used as a first-line defensive molecule against oxidative damage. The oxidative status of organisms modifies melatonin metabolism. It has been reported that the higher the oxidative state, the more AFMK is produced. The ratio of AFMK and another melatonin metabolite, cyclic 3-hydroxymelatonin, may serve as an indicator of the level of oxidative stress in organisms.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-079X.2006.00407.x

One molecule, many derivatives: a never-ending interaction of melatonin with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species?

Cultures of human epidermal keratinocytes provide a useful experimental model with which to study the factors that regulate cell proliferation and terminal differentiation. One situation that is known to trigger premature terminal differentiation is suspension culture, when keratinocytes are deprived of substratum and intercellular contact. We have now investigated whether area of substratum contact, and hence cell shape, can regulate terminal differentiation. Keratinocytes were grown on circular adhesive islands that prevented cell-cell contact. By varying island area we could vary cell shape from fully spread to almost spherical. We found that when substratum contact was restricted, DNA synthesis was inhibited and expression of involucrin, a marker of terminal differentiation, was stimulated. Inhibition of proliferation was not a sufficient stimulus for involucrin synthesis in fully spread cells. When DNA synthesis and involucrin expression were plotted against contact area, classic dose-response curves were obtained. Thus cell shape acts as a signal for the terminal differentiation of keratinocytes in culture.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/85/15/5576.full.pdf

Cell shape controls terminal differentiation of human epidermal keratinocytes

Evidence for two distinct mechanisms of anchorage stimulation in freshly explanted and 3T3 Swiss mouse fibroblasts

We report here the discovery and characterization of a fibrous mineral contaminant of the diet in that area of north-east Iran where oesophageal cancer has a very high incidence. This contaminant has a smoothly tapering shape and is between 50 and 150 micrometers long. The greatest diameter is between 1 and 10 micrometers and this decreases to a sharply pointed tip with a radius of curvature of between 0.25 and 0.60 micrometers. Electron microscope X-ray analysis shows that this fibre consists almost entirely of silica. It is free from alkali metals, aluminium and iron, and therefore differs from other known natural or manmade mineral fibres. Examination of the seeds of more than sixty different species of weed know to contaminate the wheat in this area of the Middle East shows that the fibre originates from the seeds of the common Mediterranean grass Phalaris minor. This seed bears fibres of the same dimensions, composition and birefringence, borne upon the inflorescence bracts which envelop the pericarp of the seeds of this and other members of the phalaris genus. They are broken off from the seed when the wheat is milled but persist in the flour, where up to 3,000 are found in each gram. Similar fibres can be isolated in quantity from the seeds of related species which are grown commercially, and they have a similar size and composition. When cells of the 3T3 mouse fibroblast line are exposed to these fibres in semi-solid suspension culture, their proliferation is stimulated more than 100-fold. We present an hypothesis for the involvement of these plant mineral fibres in the aetiology of oesophageal cancer in Iran and in other areas of high incidence.

A fine fibrous silica contaminant of flour in the high oesophageal cancer area of north-east Iran.

The stimulus to growth that occurs when cells attach to the substratum can be studied with small adhesive islands. Large numbers of these islands can be grouped together into arrays made up of various sizes, and the response of cells to incubation on these arrays allows the anchorage stimulus to be measured. Past work has shown that single isolated cells can be stimulated to proliferate under these circumstances quite as freely as they do in ordinary cultures, and that the maximum response is given by islands whose size is less than 5000 microns 2. This anchorage stimulus might be mediated by the cytoskeleton, which assembles rapidly around the points of attachment to the substratum. One possible approach to testing this hypothesis is to expose cells to islands of different shapes, and to search for common factors among the different arrangements of the cytoskeleton that these different islands cause. Circular islands induced a relatively disordered arrangement of actin fibres. The fibres were attached at one end to foci of vinculin, which sometimes became arranged in a ring around the margin of the island. Triangular islands showed a more orderly arrangement of actin, in three bands parallel to the sides. In this case, the vinculin accumulated at the apices. Long islands only 3 microns wide could also provide effective attachment for the cells. In this shape the actin accumulated in two bands 2 microns or more apart and up to 5 microns high, and the vinculin similarly collected in parallel interrupted bands along the margins of the island. The number of vinculin foci differed on these three different island shapes, and the total area of vinculin was more than three times greater on long islands than on circles or triangles of the same size. Despite these differences, all three different shapes of island were capable of inducing up to 100 microns 2 of vinculin foci in each cell. Round and triangular islands induced this maximum amount of vinculin when their size was 5000 microns 2. Linear islands induced the same amount when they were only 1000 microns 2. The effect of different shapes on total vinculin focal area was paralleled by their effects on growth. All three shapes could support a similar amount of proliferation. Round and triangular islands induced the maximum amount of proliferation when they were 5000 microns 2 in area, and linear islands when they were only 1000 microns 2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

P.W. Jordan

Papers

Cell shape controls terminal differentiation of human epidermal keratinocytes

Evidence for two distinct mechanisms of anchorage stimulation in freshly explanted and 3T3 Swiss mouse fibroblasts

A fine fibrous silica contaminant of flour in the high oesophageal cancer area of north-east Iran.

Narrow linear strips of adhesive substratum are powerful inducers of both growth and total focal contact area.

The relation between surface area and anchorage dependence of growth in hamster and mouse fibroblasts