TY - JOUR A1 - Sarem, Melika A1 - Arya, Neha A1 - Heizmann, Miriam A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Barbero, Andrea A1 - Gebauer, Tim P. A1 - Martin, Ivan A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Shastri, V. Prasad T1 - Interplay between stiffness and degradation of architectured gelatin hydrogels leads to differential modulation of chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo JF - Acta biomaterialia N2 - The limited capacity of cartilage to heal large lesions through endogenous mechanisms has led to extensive effort to develop materials to facilitate chondrogenesis. Although physical-chemical properties of biomaterials have been shown to impact in vitro chondrogenesis, whether these findings are translatable in vivo is subject of debate. Herein, architectured 3D hydrogel scaffolds (ArcGel) (produced by crosslinking gelatin with ethyl lysine diisocyanate (LDI)) were used as a model system to investigate the interplay between scaffold mechanical properties and degradation on matrix deposition by human articular chondrocytes (HAC) from healthy donors in vitro and in vivo. Using ArcGel scaffolds of different tensile and shear modulus, and degradation behavior; in this study, we compared the fate of ex vivo engineeredArcGels-chondrocytes constructs, i.e. the traditional tissue engineering approach, with the de novo formation of cartilaginous tissue in HAC laden ArcGels in an ectopic nude mouse model. While the softer and fast degrading ArcGel (LNCO3) was more efficient at promoting chondrogenic differentiation in vitro, upon ectopic implantation, the stiffer and slow degrading ArcGel (LNCO8) was superior in maintaining chondrogenic phenotype in HAC and retention of cartilaginous matrix. Furthermore, surprisingly the de novo formation of cartilage tissue was promoted only in LNCO8. Since HAC cultured for only three days in the LNCO8 environment showed upregulation of hypoxia-associated genes, this suggests a potential role for hypoxia in the observed in vivo outcomes. In summary, this study sheds light on how immediate environment (in vivo versus in vitro) can significantly impact the outcomes of cell-laden biomaterials. Statement of Significance In this study, 3D architectured hydrogels (ArcGels) with different mechanical and biodegradation properties were investigated for their potential to promote formation of cartilaginous matrix by human articular chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Two paradigms were explored (i) ex vivo engineering followed by in vivo implantation in ectopic site of nude mice and (ii) short in vitro culture (3 days) followed by implantation to induce de novo cartilage formation. Softer and fast degrading ArcGel were better at promoting chondrogenesis in vitro, while stiffer and slow degrading ArcGel were strikingly superior in both maintaining chondrogenesis in vivo and inducing de novo formation of cartilage. Our findings highlight the importance of the interplay between scaffold mechanics and degradation in chondrogenesis. KW - Cartilage repair KW - Scaffold stiffness KW - Scaffold contraction KW - Scaffold degradation KW - Matrix metalloproteinase KW - Hypoxia Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2018.01.025 SN - 1742-7061 SN - 1878-7568 VL - 69 SP - 83 EP - 94 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Satwiko, Muhammad Gahan A1 - Ikeda, Koji A1 - Nakayama, Kazuhiko A1 - Yagi, Keiko A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Hirata, Ken-Ichi A1 - Emoto, Noriaki T1 - Targeted activation of endothelin-1 exacerbates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension JF - Biochemical and biophysical research communications N2 - Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease that eventually results in right heart failure and death. Current pharmacologic therapies for PAH are limited, and there are no drugs that could completely cure PAH. Enhanced activity of endothelin system has been implicated in PAH severity and endothelin receptor antagonists have been used clinically to treat PAH. However, there is limited experimental evidence on the direct role of enhanced endothelin system activity in PAL-I. Here, we investigated the correlation between endothelin-1 (ET-1) and PAH using ET-1 transgenic (ETTG) mice. Exposure to chronic hypoxia increased right ventricular pressure and pulmonary arterial wall thickness in ETTG mice compared to those in wild type mice. Of note, ETTG mice exhibited modest but significant increase in right ventricular pressure and vessel wall thickness relative to wild type mice even under normoxic conditions. To induce severe PAH, we administered SU5416, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor, combined with exposure to chronic hypoxia. Treatment with SU5416 modestly aggravated hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary arterial vessel wall thickening in ETTG mice in association with increased interleukin-6 expression in blood vessels. However, there was no sign of obliterative endothelial cell proliferation and plexiform lesion formation in the lungs. These results demonstrated that enhanced endothelin system activity could be a causative factor in the development of PAH and provided rationale for the inhibition of endothelin system to treat PAH. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Pulmonary arterial hypertension KW - Endothelin KW - Hypoxia KW - SU5416 Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.08.002 SN - 0006-291X SN - 1090-2104 VL - 465 IS - 3 SP - 356 EP - 362 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guo, Ke-Tai A1 - Fu, Peng A1 - Juerchott, Kathrin A1 - Motaln, Helena A1 - Selbig, Joachim A1 - Lah, Tamara T. A1 - Tonn, Jörg-Christian A1 - Schichor, Christian T1 - The expression of Wnt-inhibitor DKK1 (Dickkopf 1) is determined by intercellular crosstalk and hypoxia in human malignant gliomas JF - Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology : official organ of the Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft N2 - Objective Wnt signalling pathways regulate proliferation, motility and survival in a variety of human cell types. Dickkopf 1 (DKK1) gene codes for a secreted Wnt inhibitory factor. It functions as tumour suppressor gene in breast cancer and as a pro-apoptotic factor in glioma cells. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate whether the different expression of DKK1 in human glioma-derived cells is dependent on microenvironmental factors like hypoxia and regulated by the intercellular crosstalk with bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs). Methods Glioma cell line U87-MG, three cell lines from human glioblastoma grade IV (glioma-derived mesenchymal stem cells) and three bmMSCs were selected for the experiment. The expression of DKK1 in cell lines under normoxic/hypoxic environment or co-culture condition was measured using real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay. The effect of DKK1 on cell migration and proliferation was evaluated by in vitro wound healing assays and sulphorhodamine assays, respectively. Results Glioma-derived cells U87-MG displayed lower DKK1 expression compared with bmMSCs. Hypoxia led to an overexpression of DKK1 in bmMSCs and U87-MG when compared to normoxic environment, whereas co-culture of U87-MG with bmMSCs induced the expression of DKK1 in both cell lines. Exogenous recombinant DKK1 inhibited cell migration on all cell lines, but did not have a significant effect on cell proliferation of bmMSCs and glioma cell lines. Conclusion In this study, we showed for the first time that the expression of DKK1 was hypoxia dependent in human malignant glioma cell lines. The induction of DKK1 by intracellular crosstalk or hypoxia stimuli sheds light on the intense adaption of glial tumour cells to environmental alterations. KW - Dickkopf 1 KW - Intercellular crosstalk KW - Hypoxia KW - Gliomas Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-014-1642-2 SN - 0171-5216 SN - 1432-1335 VL - 140 IS - 8 SP - 1261 EP - 1270 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Licausi, Francesco A1 - Giorgi, Federico Manuel A1 - Schmaelzlin, Elmar A1 - Usadel, Björn A1 - Perata, Pierdomenico A1 - van Dongen, Joost Thomas A1 - Geigenberger, Peter T1 - HRE-Type Genes are regulated by Growth-Related Changes in internal Oxygen Concentrations During the normal development of Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Tubers JF - Plant & cell physiology N2 - The occurrence of hypoxic conditions in plants not only represents a stress condition but is also associated with the normal development and growth of many organs, leading to adaptive changes in metabolism and growth to prevent internal anoxia. Internal oxygen concentrations decrease inside growing potato tubers, due to their active metabolism and increased resistance to gas diffusion as tubers grow. In the present work, we identified three hypoxia-responsive ERF (StHRE) genes whose expression is regulated by the gradual decrease in oxygen tensions that occur when potato tubers grow larger. Increasing the external oxygen concentration counteracted the modification of StHRE expression during tuber growth, supporting the idea that the actual oxygen levels inside the organs, rather than development itself, are responsible for the regulation of StHRE genes. We identified several sugar metabolism-related genes co-regulated with StHRE genes during tuber development and possibly involved in starch accumulation. All together, our data suggest a possible role for low oxygen in the regulation of sugar metabolism in the potato tuber, similar to what happens in storage tissues during seed development. KW - Co-expression KW - ERF KW - Hypoxia KW - Potato KW - Solanum tuberosum KW - Tuber Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcr128 SN - 0032-0781 VL - 52 IS - 11 SP - 1957 EP - 1972 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER -