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Gagliardi PA, Pertz O. The mitogen-activated protein kinase network, wired to dynamically function at multiple scales. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 88:102368. [PMID: 38754355 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling network is a key transducer of signals from various receptors, including receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). It controls cell-cycle entry, survival, motility, differentiation, as well as other fates. After four decades of studying this pathway with biochemical methods, the use of fluorescent biosensors has revealed dynamic behaviors such as ERK pulsing, oscillations, and amplitude-modulated activity. Different RTKs equip the MAPK network with specific feedback mechanisms to encode these different ERK dynamics, which are then subsequently decoded into cytoskeletal events and transcriptional programs, actuating cellular fates. Recently, collective ERK wave behaviors have been observed in multiple systems to coordinate cytoskeletal dynamics with fate decisions within cell collectives. This emphasizes that a correct understanding of this pathway requires studying it at multiple scales.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Olivier Pertz
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
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2
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Nanes Sarfati D, Xue Y, Song ES, Byrne A, Le D, Darmanis S, Quake SR, Burlacot A, Sikes J, Wang B. Coordinated wound responses in a regenerative animal-algal holobiont. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4032. [PMID: 38740753 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48366-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Animal regeneration involves coordinated responses across cell types throughout the animal body. In endosymbiotic animals, whether and how symbionts react to host injury and how cellular responses are integrated across species remain unexplored. Here, we study the acoel Convolutriloba longifissura, which hosts symbiotic Tetraselmis sp. green algae and can regenerate entire bodies from tissue fragments. We show that animal injury causes a decline in the photosynthetic efficiency of the symbiotic algae, alongside two distinct, sequential waves of transcriptional responses in acoel and algal cells. The initial algal response is characterized by the upregulation of a cohort of photosynthesis-related genes, though photosynthesis is not necessary for regeneration. A conserved animal transcription factor, runt, is induced after injury and required for acoel regeneration. Knockdown of Cl-runt dampens transcriptional responses in both species and further reduces algal photosynthetic efficiency post-injury. Our results suggest that the holobiont functions as an integrated unit of biological organization by coordinating molecular networks across species through the runt-dependent animal regeneration program.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yuan Xue
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Eun Sun Song
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Daniel Le
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Stephen R Quake
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Adrien Burlacot
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - James Sikes
- Department of Biology, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Bo Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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3
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Huang JH, Chen Y, Huang WYC, Tabatabaee S, Ferrell JE. Robust trigger wave speed in Xenopus cytoplasmic extracts. bioRxiv 2023:2023.12.22.573127. [PMID: 38187567 PMCID: PMC10769400 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.22.573127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Self-regenerating trigger waves can spread rapidly through the crowded cytoplasm without diminishing in amplitude or speed, providing consistent, reliable, long-range communication. The macromolecular concentration of the cytoplasm varies in response to physiological and environmental fluctuations, raising the question of how or if trigger waves can robustly operate in the face of such fluctuations. Using Xenopus extracts, we found that mitotic and apoptotic trigger wave speeds are remarkably invariant. We derived a model that accounts for this robustness and for the eventual slowing at extremely high and low cytoplasmic concentrations. The model implies that the positive and negative effects of cytoplasmic concentration (increased reactant concentration vs. increased viscosity) are nearly precisely balanced. Accordingly, artificially maintaining a constant cytoplasmic viscosity during dilution abrogates this robustness. The robustness in trigger wave speeds may contribute to the reliability of the extremely rapid embryonic cell cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo-Hsi Huang
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Yuping Chen
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - William Y C Huang
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA
| | - Saman Tabatabaee
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA
| | - James E Ferrell
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 943055307, USA
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Abstract
Tissue regeneration is not simply a local repair event occurring in isolation from the distant, uninjured parts of the body. Rather, evidence indicates that regeneration is a whole-animal process involving coordinated interactions between different organ systems. Here, we review recent studies that reveal how remote uninjured tissues and organ systems respond to and engage in regeneration. We also discuss the need for toolkits and technological advancements to uncover and dissect organ communication during regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Sun
- Duke Regeneration Center, Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Kenneth D. Poss
- Duke Regeneration Center, Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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Seifert AW, Duncan EM, Zayas RM. Enduring questions in regenerative biology and the search for answers. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1139. [PMID: 37945686 PMCID: PMC10636051 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05505-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The potential for basic research to uncover the inner workings of regenerative processes and produce meaningful medical therapies has inspired scientists, clinicians, and patients for hundreds of years. Decades of studies using a handful of highly regenerative model organisms have significantly advanced our knowledge of key cell types and molecular pathways involved in regeneration. However, many questions remain about how regenerative processes unfold in regeneration-competent species, how they are curtailed in non-regenerative organisms, and how they might be induced (or restored) in humans. Recent technological advances in genomics, molecular biology, computer science, bioengineering, and stem cell research hold promise to collectively provide new experimental evidence for how different organisms accomplish the process of regeneration. In theory, this new evidence should inform the design of new clinical approaches for regenerative medicine. A deeper understanding of how tissues and organs regenerate will also undoubtedly impact many adjacent scientific fields. To best apply and adapt these new technologies in ways that break long-standing barriers and answer critical questions about regeneration, we must combine the deep knowledge of developmental and evolutionary biologists with the hard-earned expertise of scientists in mechanistic and technical fields. To this end, this perspective is based on conversations from a workshop we organized at the Banbury Center, during which a diverse cross-section of the regeneration research community and experts in various technologies discussed enduring questions in regenerative biology. Here, we share the questions this group identified as significant and unanswered, i.e., known unknowns. We also describe the obstacles limiting our progress in answering these questions and how expanding the number and diversity of organisms used in regeneration research is essential for deepening our understanding of regenerative capacity. Finally, we propose that investigating these problems collaboratively across a diverse network of researchers has the potential to advance our field and produce unexpected insights into important questions in related areas of biology and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley W Seifert
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA.
| | - Elizabeth M Duncan
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA.
| | - Ricardo M Zayas
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA.
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Xiao C, Xiong JW. ERK signaling waves via body-wall muscles guide planarian whole-body regeneration across long distances. Cell Regen 2023; 12:36. [PMID: 37938438 PMCID: PMC10632249 DOI: 10.1186/s13619-023-00180-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Whole-body regeneration is a multifaceted process that reinstates a body to its initial three-dimension size and structure after resection injury. It is well-known that signaling waves such as calcium and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) signaling waves can efficiently transmit information between tissues or cells. However, the mechanisms responsible for coordinating wound responses over long distances are largely unexplored. A recent study has reported that the propagation of ERK signaling waves via longitudinal body-wall muscles play an essential role in wound response and whole-body regeneration in planarians, underscoring the significance of feedback interactions between spatially distinct tissues during whole-body regeneration over long distances. These findings not only address the central questions of regenerative biology but also have potential implications for regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenglu Xiao
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health and Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
| | - Jing-Wei Xiong
- College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.
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Sun F, De Simone A, Poss KD. Regeneration: Signaling superhighways. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R947-R950. [PMID: 37751705 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Regeneration requires the collective effort of multiple organ systems. A recent study of planarian whole-body regeneration finds that Erk kinase activity propagates rapidly across the entire animal through longitudinal muscle cells to coordinate animal-wide wound responses and that this signal propagation is required for regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Sun
- Duke Regeneration Center and Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Alessandro De Simone
- Department of Genetics and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Kenneth D Poss
- Duke Regeneration Center and Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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